Tool Reccomendations

[Chinmay_S]

@cbale2000

Good to know!
Do you have (or know anyone with) any experience with Grizzly band saws, or is there another brand/model you might recommend? I’m not familiar enough with this kind of equipment to know the difference between the “Cadillac” model and the “harbor freight special”. We want something that’s going to last a while.

We’ve bought quite a few tools from Grizzly, including:

This Horizontal Bandsaw It has served us very well, we’ve used it to cut through as many as (12) 1/4" thick 4" wide 6061 bars at once. A few drops of cutting oil and this thing eats through it. The key to this tool is tramming it up really well and tensioning the blade properly. We’ve broken one blade over the 1 whole season, and that includes having freshmen abuse it when they were getting trained.

This Vertical Bandsaw Again, served us very well once we got it setup right. We just replaced the blade with a metal cutting one from McMaster and it just works. We have used it for anything from making bumper panels to cutting polycarb to cutting 1/4" plate. It’s probably more than what you need and there are definitely better options out there, this is just what works for us.

This Lathe Yes, we bought a lathe from Grizzly. It works ok, but the tailstock is utter garbage. Produces decent parts, just needs a lot of work to get it setup right and straight. Kinda wish we got a DRO but the ones that came with it were out of stock for a while.

We have also purchased a bunch of smaller items from them too, such as a small belt sander, oscillating spindle sander, small sheet metal ‘brake’, and a slip roll.

All of these products work for what we need them too and seem like they will last for 4-5 years at least. By that point the team would probably already be looking to upgrade. From what I’ve experienced the mid-range stuff from Grizzly is definitely alright, but I would stay away from the bottom end if you are looking for something that will last.

[gorrilla]

@cbale2000

As a followup, since people had been recommending getting a Mill, I figured I’d share this little addition to our shop that was delivered the other day:

http://i.imgur.com/T01afGVl.png](http://i.imgur.com/T01afGV.png)

It’s an older Bridgeport knee mill that is in fairly good condition and comes with a DRO already installed. ::safety::

NEAT

that thing looks good. once you get it zero’d and maintain everything it will last forever

[Nate_Laverdure]

@Chinmay S

Yes, we bought a lathe from Grizzly. It works ok, but the tailstock is utter garbage. Produces decent parts, just needs a lot of work to get it setup right and straight.

The import “9x20 class” lathe has a decent user community behind it. The tailstock on that one is trash also… I think that’s something you just have to accept with these lathes. Stock, it is not an enjoyable piece of equipment to use. After some recommended mods it’s OK.

For FRC use, you can go even smaller… I get a great amount of utility out of my import 7x12 with an extended cross slide and a 4" chuck. Typically I am just making spacers, carving snap ring grooves, and monkeying around with the bores on small stuff made from soft materials. No big cantilevers requiring lots of machine rigidity.

[DaveL]

@CooperCash

We use I think the cheapest band saw from Home Depot while not the top of the line, as long as you get the right blade for it and use cutting fluid, it will cut through aluminum like butter. (Keeping the blade in a healthy condition and training students to treat the blade with care makes a huge difference) Although there are plenty of other options for cutting fluid we generally use WD-40. We spray the surface of the material before we start cutting and then spray more as needed. We also use a 10TPI 3/8" wide blade that has worked great for cutting up to 1/4" aluminum.

Here is the saw:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-2-5-Amp-9-in-Band-Saw-in-Green-BS904G/205503634

We have the older version of this saw. Its been working for us for 6 years.
The blade we use is an 18 TPI. We cut wood, aluminum and plastic without lub. http://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Power-Tool-Accessories-Saw-Blades-Band-Saw-Blade/0375-in/N-5yc1vZc2jkZ1z0udvz

I thought about a bigger machine, but most make replacing the blade a big effort. This machine has a lever to release the blade tension, so a new blade can be installed.

Dave
Dave