From The Toolbox: My Old Milwaukee Portable Band Saw
By Chuck Cage
I asked you to show me your tools, so I figured I’d better show you mine first. This old Milwaukee portable band saw is a total lifesaver when you need to cut steel outside of the shop — or when you need to make a cut that’ll never fit into your standard saw. My Dad picked this up used at a flea market about fifteen years ago, and I inherited it a few years back.
I’m always surprised at how few people actually own one of these. I understand that there’s a stand available to turn it into a sort of mini-standard-band-saw, but Milwaukee wants about as much for the stand as they do for the saw itself. Maybe I’ll get around to building my own at some point.
Anyway, now that I’ve shown you mine, you can show me yours via our new Flickr photo pool. (You can see more pics of the portable band saw there, too.)
May 30th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
I don’t own one of these myself, but I do use one at work. It’s a Millwaukee Portaband, one that’s older than the one you show.
They’re awesome for cutting steel stock in the field, far better than a Sawzall. the only restriction is space and depth.
May 30th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Aaron: It really tears through steel stock — even faster than my standard band saw, though it might be the blade that’s on it.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
This was my favorite tool when I was the “metals guy” in a previous job. I cried a little bit when the body went plastic.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
well I have to say as a tool for a steel shop it is a must have I didn’t however know that they have ben around that long my dad’s fab shop has one butit is less than 5 years old looks just like it
and for cutting hand rail and such for on site fab or repairs it is a gift from the gods
May 31st, 2007 at 6:49 am
These bandsaws are so awesome…. cut through big conduit like butter
May 31st, 2007 at 8:18 am
The second picture in this blog entry of mine shows a friend’s conversion of an old wood cutting chop saw base to hold a portable bandsaw:
http://mechanicalphilosopher.blogspot.com/2006/06/some-of-steve-locksmiths-shop-tools.html
He found the chop saw base without the saw at a local junkyard.