I bought the version with the pivoting base, instead of a friction based dropsaw or cold saw. I bought it on ebay for about $260 Australian. So far it's working great. I'm really happy with it. Admittedly, I'm not using it on a daily basis, only occasionally when I manage to get some time out in the shed, but It's working a treat for me, and is a lot quieter than a friction drop saw, and doesn't shower everything in sparks, so I can literally cut stuff in my garage / shed without fear of setting things on fire. So handy!
Good to hear your saw is going well. Yes, it has some advantages over a friction chop saw as stated. Quite a few brands are available and most use a fairly similar design. Cutting throat size can vary and a light and blade guards may not be included. You get what you pay for, as with the base (which is the best option if you don't have an existing pivoting saw). Very handy. Cheers Rob
This is such a useful tool Rob. I bought a similar one with the base. Has helped me a lot, as I get out of breath very quickly now. Great addition to your workshop. Cheers Nobby
Been thinking about getting one of these for a while, for when an angle grinder is not appropriate. I made a custom bracket recently from 5mm steel plate, 2 holes and a couple of angles bent in it. Since I started at 6PM, didn't want to make much noise so I did it all with hacksaw and hand file. About 250mm of cutting all told took 30 minutes instead of 3 minutes with the grinder. Cleaned up the edges and radiused all the corners with hand files. Half way cut the fold lines with the saw for sharp bends to weld up later. I tell you what, putting that much time and effort into making it by hand gave that bracket an enormous sense of value and pride in the finished item 😄
That's how everyone did it in the old'en days ;) At least you are always in control of the job. It's all too easy to make a mistake with power tools. Cheers Rob
Having the stand would certainly make it much more accurate, and most of the time you will be using it with the stand as a cut off saw so it's probably the best way to buy one. Quality wise the VEVOR unit looks very good. Cheers Rob
Yes. It's not rocket science and will be much cheaper. It would be good to put it on a vertical slide for parallel/horizontal cuts. Lots of possibilities. Cheers Rob
If like me one hadn't had need to hacksaw in a while, the ensuing arm ache the next could have been avoided if I had one of these Rob, one that would fit the abundance of DeWalt batteries I have would be a good boon to my toolbox.
Hi Ian. I see Dewalt do have an 18 V cordless version (most brand names do) but it's an expensive little gadget (skin only) at near $500 AU. Still, it's only money ;) Cheers Rob
That's basically the same unit as the Aldi one. The design of the tension end is rubbish, and usually assembled dry - at the very least, pull the tension wheel and grease the bushings. If the blades supplied are of the same quality as Aldi's ones, they won't last very long, the milwaukee ones are streets ahead - they cut straight and well. Using lube with these is a no-go, they start throwing blades if you do so. All that said, they do a pretty good job for what they cost, but if you want it to last or work better you have to treat it as a base for modifications.
Those saws are great Rob. I've had mine for about 5 years now, sold over here in our Aldi Supermarket chain under the Workzone brand but is in fact made by Scheppach. I paid £150 which included the horizontal base. Very reasonable price. After much use I finally ditched the original base and, like a lot of other people, made a vertical stand for it. Since doing that I have never used it any other way. Obviously no good for round stock if you don't have a vice, my power hacksaw takes care of the round stuff, but for sheet, plate and square stock, it's the business. Cheers, Alan.
From the comments it seems these saws are pretty popular, lots of viewers have one. One advised not to use lube on the job as it can throw the blade. I always use lube on aluminium to prevent tooth clogging. What's your take on the statement ? Cheers Rob
I have a similar portable metal cutting bandsaw. Mine is sold by US company Harbor Freight under their Bauer brand. My saw does not have the light or the plastic shields. I find portable bandsaws are not easy for me to hold so the blade is vertical. After a few cuts I made a home-made stand to hold my unit vertical. This makes it so much easier for me to get straight cuts in the pieces I need to cut. I also use the hacksaw often. I will not be surprised if the Vevor model and my model is made in the same factory. Dave.
Hi Dave. The bandsaws I've seen appear to be very similar. Getting the blade vertical takes some practice as the saw body is angled and can't be used as an indicator. Buying/making a stand is a good idea if you don't already have an accurate saw of some type. Cheers Rob
Looks good to me, have some 4140 I cut with side grinder. The heat hardened it , made it very hard to drill. This would have made it easier. Thank for the review.
Hi Lawrence. It works very well and certainly cuts fast. Even on the lowest speed it's very impressive. Takes a bit of getting used to the vertical blade position due to the body angle and bulk. Definitely worth having one. Cheers Rob
Have similar Makita one at work. I have small workshop, but big outdoor storage facility. These suck at accuracy imo, but I love it anyway. It's so fast to grab on and go make a rough cut and then go for bandsaw to get more precision. It's also insanely good on cutting steel wire reinforced dairy hoses to proper lengths.
I have the Milwaukee version of this saw and a lesson I learned the hard way is starting and stopping the saw with the blade in contact with the work will smoke the blade in no time flat.
Hello, Rob - I've a WEN Cordless Portable Bandsaw and wouldn't be without one now. It's nice to be able to cut down large lengths of metal in situ when delivered then haul the entire piece over to my Chop Saw and I ain't getting no younger! PS. Apart from the Colour, your Vevor and my WEN look identical. PPS. Get the Saw up to Speed and *then* introduce it slowly to the metal.
Hi Bob. They are a very handy device and also low mess. Makes light work of hacksaw jobs. Chop saws are better for really hard stuff, but this handheld saw is certainly very versatile. Even on the low speed it cuts quite fast. I will try your last comment re introduction to the cut. Initial impressions are that the blade is a bit aggressive. Cheers Rob
Brilliant tool Rob. I'm allergict to hand hacksaws. I allways end up in a hot sweat, cursing. Thank f, the lord that's finished. That variable speed is a great feature. Defo on my list. Cheers Tony
Hi Tony. I was thinking you had one, but it must have been on another UK channel like yours. Yes, the variable speed that you can set is a great feature. I've seen a few other videos of these units slicing through heavy RSJ and channel section like it was butter. Certainly pretty handy. Cheers Rob
Interesting how these bandsaws can cut plate on edge whereas the 6x4 bandsaw I have loses teeth & becomes useless on edge cutting 3 mm mild steel using a home made horizontal cutting support very quickly. There are many videos of folk cutting similar thickness plates on edge to cut out figurines & similar with this portable kind of bandsaw & you show it edge cutting thin walls. The difference seems to be blade speed with the portable saws running slower than the 6x4, unless there is something else I am not understanding. Thank you for sharing!
Faster speed puts more loading on the teeth, basic physics, as my old saw doctor said. Go slow to avoid damaging them. The tooth count still has a lot to do with it. My 6x4 runs 16 or 18 tpi and cuts thin steel in the vertical position/hand feed no problem. The portable saw runs 14 and did the job. Any lower tpi would be asking for trouble. Cheers Rob
@@Xynudu Interesting. My 6x4 band saw will cut 75x3 mm steel all day at its maximum speed, so long as it is cutting the 75 mm, turn the work piece so that it cuts 3 mm & the 18 tip blade is destroyed after a few cuts: Lost teeth & will not cut. My 6x4 has 3 speeds: 20,29 & 50 m/s or 65, 95 & 164 feet/second. According to Vevor their bandsaw runs at 137 to 472 ft/s, so at its lowest speed it is similar to the 6x4. The other difference is that my 6x4 has a 370 W motor, whereas the Vevor has a 1100 W motor. Probably I am doing something wrong with my 6x4, but as is I have given up using it for sheet metal cut on its edge. I remember folk having said something about the 6x4 having resonances with thin metal, but what was actually meant is not clear to me. In the by & by I will hopefully get one of the Vevor units as the ability to rough out shapes in sheet metal would be useful to me. Regards & thanks for the review.
Interesting stuff indeed. I have a small home made thick metal table on my 6x4 which is attached all the time. I junked the original pressed metal table which is intrusive, horrible and definitely could resonate the job. One thought is that maybe your downward arm pressure is adjusted too heavily for thin edge work ? I always keep that backed off as it can sound too aggressive if not right. With the VEVOR I was only applying very light downward force to avoid overshoot, so maybe that is the issue. I run the 6x4 at the middle speed for all jobs, regardless of metal type. The only issue I ever had is to use lube with thick aluminium otherwise the 6x4 blade can clog, jamb up, and pop off the idler pulley. Cheers Rob
@@Xynudu Thank you. I will use the centre pulley & reduce the down force & make a better table as mine is flimsy. It will be great if I can get this to work for thin plate. The last figure I cut out of 16 gauge with a hand hatch saw & a chisel. It worked but took a long time.
Definitely. If I didn't already have a larger metal cutting bandsaw (pivoting) I would have asked for the unit with a base, as most work will require using a base for more accurate cuts. I mainly did the review to see how it compares to a hacksaw for usebility and accuracy. It's horses for courses, but very impressive, even at the lowest speed. For the money it can't be beat IMHO. Cheers Rob
Hi Jon. They've been around for a while. Quite handy for cutting heavy gauge steel. I was interested to see what else it could do. It's lost a few teeth off of the blade already despite cutting at number 4 and slower speed settings. I've bought another blade as back up (similar price to my large old 6 x 4 swing arm band saw). The actual saw itself appears well made for the money. Cheers Rob
Au contraire Rob, I reckon that thing looks delightfully aggressive. ;-) The compact size appeals as I'm more interested in fabricating smaller stuff. Plus, it'd take up less room in the shop. You've no doubt seen the DIY tables built for these portable band saws so I was wondering if the Vevor has some conveniently placed threaded bosses for that sort of farnarkeling?
Hi Chez. I haven't seen any DIY tables for these, but I will take your lead and have a look. The saw has three threaded mounting positions (holes) to bolt it to a table swing arm. They are near the blade tensioning lever. Cheers Rob
I bought the version with the pivoting base, instead of a friction based dropsaw or cold saw. I bought it on ebay for about $260 Australian. So far it's working great. I'm really happy with it. Admittedly, I'm not using it on a daily basis, only occasionally when I manage to get some time out in the shed, but It's working a treat for me, and is a lot quieter than a friction drop saw, and doesn't shower everything in sparks, so I can literally cut stuff in my garage / shed without fear of setting things on fire. So handy!
Good to hear your saw is going well. Yes, it has some advantages over a friction chop saw as stated. Quite a few brands are available and most use a fairly similar design. Cutting throat size can vary and a light and blade guards may not be included. You get what you pay for, as with the base (which is the best option if you don't have an existing pivoting saw). Very handy. Cheers Rob
This is such a useful tool Rob. I bought a similar one with the base. Has helped me a lot, as I get out of breath very quickly now. Great addition to your workshop. Cheers Nobby
Hi Nobby. Yes, very useful gadget, especially as a cheap swing arm bandsaw. Cheers Rob
Been thinking about getting one of these for a while, for when an angle grinder is not appropriate.
I made a custom bracket recently from 5mm steel plate, 2 holes and a couple of angles bent in it. Since I started at 6PM, didn't want to make much noise so I did it all with hacksaw and hand file. About 250mm of cutting all told took 30 minutes instead of 3 minutes with the grinder. Cleaned up the edges and radiused all the corners with hand files. Half way cut the fold lines with the saw for sharp bends to weld up later. I tell you what, putting that much time and effort into making it by hand gave that bracket an enormous sense of value and pride in the finished item 😄
That's how everyone did it in the old'en days ;) At least you are always in control of the job. It's all too easy to make a mistake with power tools. Cheers Rob
Hi Rob Thanks for a good review. I have been thinking about getting one probably with the stand.
Having the stand would certainly make it much more accurate, and most of the time you will be using it with the stand as a cut off saw so it's probably the best way to buy one. Quality wise the VEVOR unit looks very good. Cheers Rob
Buy or build a base/table. It makes this saw a daily tool.
Yes. It's not rocket science and will be much cheaper. It would be good to put it on a vertical slide for parallel/horizontal cuts. Lots of possibilities. Cheers Rob
If like me one hadn't had need to hacksaw in a while, the ensuing arm ache the next could have been avoided if I had one of these Rob, one that would fit the abundance of DeWalt batteries I have would be a good boon to my toolbox.
Hi Ian. I see Dewalt do have an 18 V cordless version (most brand names do) but it's an expensive little gadget (skin only) at near $500 AU. Still, it's only money ;) Cheers Rob
That's basically the same unit as the Aldi one. The design of the tension end is rubbish, and usually assembled dry - at the very least, pull the tension wheel and grease the bushings. If the blades supplied are of the same quality as Aldi's ones, they won't last very long, the milwaukee ones are streets ahead - they cut straight and well.
Using lube with these is a no-go, they start throwing blades if you do so.
All that said, they do a pretty good job for what they cost, but if you want it to last or work better you have to treat it as a base for modifications.
Thanks for the tip on the lube. I usually cut dry except for aluminium. Cheers Rob
Those saws are great Rob. I've had mine for about 5 years now, sold over here in our Aldi Supermarket chain under the Workzone brand but is in fact made by Scheppach. I paid £150 which included the horizontal base. Very reasonable price. After much use I finally ditched the original base and, like a lot of other people, made a vertical stand for it. Since doing that I have never used it any other way. Obviously no good for round stock if you don't have a vice, my power hacksaw takes care of the round stuff, but for sheet, plate and square stock, it's the business. Cheers, Alan.
From the comments it seems these saws are pretty popular, lots of viewers have one. One advised not to use lube on the job as it can throw the blade. I always use lube on aluminium to prevent tooth clogging. What's your take on the statement ? Cheers Rob
@@Xynudu When cutting any large pieces of aluminium I always use WD40 for lube, not had any problems so far. Cheers, Alan.
I have the unit with a base and had to shim the crap out of the vice and the blade guides to get it to cut square
I have a similar portable metal cutting bandsaw. Mine is sold by US company Harbor Freight under their Bauer brand. My saw does not have the light or the plastic shields.
I find portable bandsaws are not easy for me to hold so the blade is vertical. After a few cuts I made a home-made stand to hold my unit vertical. This makes it so much easier for me to get straight cuts in the pieces I need to cut.
I also use the hacksaw often.
I will not be surprised if the Vevor model and my model is made in the same factory.
Dave.
Hi Dave. The bandsaws I've seen appear to be very similar. Getting the blade vertical takes some practice as the saw body is angled and can't be used as an indicator. Buying/making a stand is a good idea if you don't already have an accurate saw of some type. Cheers Rob
Looks good to me, have some 4140 I cut with side grinder. The heat hardened it , made it very hard to drill. This would have made it easier. Thank for the review.
Hi Lawrence. It works very well and certainly cuts fast. Even on the lowest speed it's very impressive. Takes a bit of getting used to the vertical blade position due to the body angle and bulk. Definitely worth having one. Cheers Rob
Have similar Makita one at work. I have small workshop, but big outdoor storage facility. These suck at accuracy imo, but I love it anyway. It's so fast to grab on and go make a rough cut and then go for bandsaw to get more precision. It's also insanely good on cutting steel wire reinforced dairy hoses to proper lengths.
I totally agree. Very handy saw. I use a metal band saw to cut steel reinforced hydraulic hose. Better than using a friction disc. Cheers Rob
I have the Milwaukee version of this saw and a lesson I learned the hard way is starting and stopping the saw with the blade in contact with the work will smoke the blade in no time flat.
I'm surprised to hear that the blade can be damaged that way. Cheers Rob
Hello, Rob - I've a WEN Cordless Portable Bandsaw and wouldn't be without one now. It's nice to be able to cut down large lengths of metal in situ when delivered then haul the entire piece over to my Chop Saw and I ain't getting no younger!
PS. Apart from the Colour, your Vevor and my WEN look identical.
PPS. Get the Saw up to Speed and *then* introduce it slowly to the metal.
Hi Bob. They are a very handy device and also low mess. Makes light work of hacksaw jobs. Chop saws are better for really hard stuff, but this handheld saw is certainly very versatile. Even on the low speed it cuts quite fast. I will try your last comment re introduction to the cut. Initial impressions are that the blade is a bit aggressive. Cheers Rob
I agreed about the stock blade - a finer toothed one (which I've installed) does make for a better finish and easier control.@@Xynudu
Yes, I run a 16 TPI blade on the larger pivoting band saw. 18 is probably as fine as I would go, especially if you work with aluminium. Cheers Rob
Brilliant tool Rob. I'm allergict to hand hacksaws. I allways end up in a hot sweat, cursing. Thank f, the lord that's finished. That variable speed is a great feature. Defo on my list. Cheers Tony
Hi Tony. I was thinking you had one, but it must have been on another UK channel like yours. Yes, the variable speed that you can set is a great feature. I've seen a few other videos of these units slicing through heavy RSJ and channel section like it was butter. Certainly pretty handy. Cheers Rob
Interesting how these bandsaws can cut plate on edge whereas the 6x4 bandsaw I have loses teeth & becomes useless on edge cutting 3 mm mild steel using a home made horizontal cutting support very quickly. There are many videos of folk cutting similar thickness plates on edge to cut out figurines & similar with this portable kind of bandsaw & you show it edge cutting thin walls. The difference seems to be blade speed with the portable saws running slower than the 6x4, unless there is something else I am not understanding. Thank you for sharing!
Faster speed puts more loading on the teeth, basic physics, as my old saw doctor said. Go slow to avoid damaging them. The tooth count still has a lot to do with it. My 6x4 runs 16 or 18 tpi and cuts thin steel in the vertical position/hand feed no problem. The portable saw runs 14 and did the job. Any lower tpi would be asking for trouble. Cheers Rob
@@Xynudu Interesting. My 6x4 band saw will cut 75x3 mm steel all day at its maximum speed, so long as it is cutting the 75 mm, turn the work piece so that it cuts 3 mm & the 18 tip blade is destroyed after a few cuts: Lost teeth & will not cut.
My 6x4 has 3 speeds: 20,29 & 50 m/s or 65, 95 & 164 feet/second.
According to Vevor their bandsaw runs at 137 to 472 ft/s, so at its lowest speed it is similar to the 6x4. The other difference is that my 6x4 has a 370 W motor, whereas the Vevor has a 1100 W motor.
Probably I am doing something wrong with my 6x4, but as is I have given up using it for sheet metal cut on its edge. I remember folk having said something about the 6x4 having resonances with thin metal, but what was actually meant is not clear to me.
In the by & by I will hopefully get one of the Vevor units as the ability to rough out shapes in sheet metal would be useful to me. Regards & thanks for the review.
Interesting stuff indeed. I have a small home made thick metal table on my 6x4 which is attached all the time. I junked the original pressed metal table which is intrusive, horrible and definitely could resonate the job. One thought is that maybe your downward arm pressure is adjusted too heavily for thin edge work ? I always keep that backed off as it can sound too aggressive if not right. With the VEVOR I was only applying very light downward force to avoid overshoot, so maybe that is the issue. I run the 6x4 at the middle speed for all jobs, regardless of metal type. The only issue I ever had is to use lube with thick aluminium otherwise the 6x4 blade can clog, jamb up, and pop off the idler pulley. Cheers Rob
@@Xynudu Thank you. I will use the centre pulley & reduce the down force & make a better table as mine is flimsy. It will be great if I can get this to work for thin plate. The last figure I cut out of 16 gauge with a hand hatch saw & a chisel. It worked but took a long time.
G'day Rob, I bought the version with the base. An excellent tool for the money.
Definitely. If I didn't already have a larger metal cutting bandsaw (pivoting) I would have asked for the unit with a base, as most work will require using a base for more accurate cuts. I mainly did the review to see how it compares to a hacksaw for usebility and accuracy. It's horses for courses, but very impressive, even at the lowest speed. For the money it can't be beat IMHO. Cheers Rob
Good review Rob. I have seen a few other UA-camrs using these types of saws.
Hi Jon. They've been around for a while. Quite handy for cutting heavy gauge steel. I was interested to see what else it could do. It's lost a few teeth off of the blade already despite cutting at number 4 and slower speed settings. I've bought another blade as back up (similar price to my large old 6 x 4 swing arm band saw). The actual saw itself appears well made for the money. Cheers Rob
Au contraire Rob, I reckon that thing looks delightfully aggressive. ;-)
The compact size appeals as I'm more interested in fabricating smaller stuff. Plus, it'd take up less room in the shop.
You've no doubt seen the DIY tables built for these portable band saws so I was wondering if the Vevor has some conveniently placed threaded bosses for that sort of farnarkeling?
Hi Chez. I haven't seen any DIY tables for these, but I will take your lead and have a look. The saw has three threaded mounting positions (holes) to bolt it to a table swing arm. They are near the blade tensioning lever. Cheers Rob