Warco 5" benchtop metal bandsaw | Any good ?
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- I have been looking out for a metal cutting bandsaw for several months but the typical 4 1/2" model on legs is pretty big for my workshop.
Then this Warco portable unit appeared and I decided to have a look . . .
. . . . spoiler alert, I like it ! 
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Can’t wait for the upgrade videos
Only if I think it needs improving . . . . (!)
will it hold small parts? how close to the vice is the blade? by draper horizontal band saw has a 1/2 gap between vice and blade...bit wide for tiny stuff
The gap from the jaws to the blade is about 15mm. I notice the moving jaw is screwed on so you could make a custom jaw for that one up to the blade. You would have to tap the fixed jaw to mount something similar there but would work. Not checked but would probably not allow mitre cuts. So maybe mount the jaws in slotted holes to move them in and out as required. Also machine V along jaw centreline to hold round stock.
By the way what was your PhD in?
@@routercnc9517 i'm a senior lecturer at uni in media studies
I also bought one of these 5 inch Warco metal cutting bandsaws for £375 (including free delivery) when Warco were having their discount sale, It's been fantastic ! and has cut just about anything I threw at it including 5 x 5 timber fence posts ! - Don't worry about the motor of this saw only being 400 watts - it has a very strong reduction gearbox which gives it's permanent magnet DC motor even more torque !.... the first day it arrived I was rather curious to see what lays under that huge plastic cover, I undone 4 small Phillips head screws and carefully slid the motor cover off and I saw a long, slim PM DC motor attached to a nice reduction gearbox, the motor resembled something like a treadmill DC motor !, there were also lots of wires and a massive circuit board module that controls the motor via a sophisticated variable speed feedback circuit (where when the motor is under load it increases the voltage and current in order for the motor to maintain the set speed whilst under load when the machine is cutting.)
All in all this is a great saw and well worth the money if you manage to get it during Warco's discount period before they put the price back up to £412 !
I'm happy with it so far and I also managed to get it in the sale. The main base and arm are really sturdy but I do still worry about the motor. To be clear it has been OK so far but the speed does vary a bit and I just wonder about how long it will last based on Tr Precision Machining comments about his friend's experience. We will see. Thanks
@@routercnc9517 It seems well made and very similar to my friend's "Cutmax" saw which he has had for the past 12 years and its still going strong in his workshop ! - Keep it clean and service it regularly and it will last for a long time - worst enemy of any permanent magnet DC motor is metal sawdust ! - Good luck man with this saw and all your projects !
OK thanks. That is encouraging. I’ll take the motor cover off at some point soon and give it a regular clean out.
Seems like a nice saw! It´s nice to get straight cuts!!! Maybe you could feed a bit harder if you had coolant?! 🤔
The instructions say to cut dry otherwise the coolant gets onto the wheels. I’ve read around and the more expensive bimetal blades apparently cut much faster. I’ll see how it goes as 5 mins was way faster then hand cutting !
"Let me introduce you to my Warco portable bandsaw. But could it be improved?"
Don't you start ! I hope to keep it stock for now. Although reading Tr Precision Machining's comments who knows . . . .(!)
How are you getting on with it? I've got an Evolution Rage 4 185mm chop saw which seem to go through aluminium just fine, but apparently it's not really suitable for steel or iron, so I was toying with the idea of getting one of these. £375 is a lot for that upgrade though, given I rarely need to cut anything over 40mm, and I've managed OK with a hack saw until now...
I got lucky on the price as it had been hovering around £320 for a while and then they had a sale and it was about £290. That was enough to buy it as I'd been looking at it for some time. £375 is not impulse buy levels so I'll try to give you my honest opinion having used it for a while. The overall build quality of the cast metal parts such as the main frame, the lower base etc are very good. It feels structurally very solid and has a nice action in use. The only 2 parts which let it down are the blade seems to jump slightly once per revolution which is probably where they joined it. It's not obvious by looking the blade but I will wear this one out and probably go for the higher performance blade for ~£35. Cutting through large diameter steel parts is very good and is very fast compared to manual cutting or parting in the lathe, however. The other part is the motor itself which works well enough and seems to have enough power in general but does not sound or feel like it would go on for many years without something happening to it or the controller. I think it is a brushed DC motor and the speed controller is not great and the rpm can fluctuate when cutting (load independent). I had someone comment here that their friend had one and the motor or controller was the first thing to go. They ended up fitting a 3 phase motor and invertor drive which I like the sound of, but it would be some work and cost at least half as much as the machine. I also have a rage pro and they are great but for thicker materials they don't sound happy and really in my experience are better at the thinner wall stuff. Thick aluminium can clog the teeth very quickly requiring cleaning out during a single cut. I still think either this saw, or something like it is a very, very good addition to the shop and is just about worth the £375, but ideally see if it comes up a bit cheaper in a sale etc.
@@routercnc9517 that's some great info, thanks so much. I just missed the easter sale, which would have saved 10%, so I'll at least wait until the next one and see how often the hack saw comes out until then. Cheers!
Hmmm. Wondering how long this thing will last in it's stock configuration...
I know. I’ve already had some ideas . . . but they will have to wait !
Ha ha, maybe I will leave it stock. For now . . .
Why does each machine has its own motor and electronics? I wish our house had a large build in motor and all we had to buy was accessories to use the massive motor.
Back in the old days factories were like that. A big water wheel or engine drove a series of shafts and then each machine was linked to the shaft by big belts.
@@routercnc9517 i have a manual mill from that era that was modified to be driven by an electric motor, but still has the original belt driven shaft😁
Nice! Good to keep it going.
@@routercnc9517 i am in the middle of the cleaning and rebuilding it (it had grease in every single oil channel immaginable)
It will be very satisfying when it's done. In case you don't know, Keith Fenner is rebuilding his Bridgeport which may suit you.
hello from asturias spain .. i have a friend who once had that saw but from optimun brand and the truth is that soon after i ended up selling it given its poor quality and poor performance .. in my case i also have a very similar quee s of The Italian brand FEMI and the truth is that after 2 years I already changed the electronics .. gearbox sprockets etc .. in the end I got tired of repairing it and bought a HBM brand saw but bigger with a normal single-phase motor and that includes Liquid pump .. with the hbm if I am very happy it is a machine that weighs 135kg but if you have little space they will not serve you since they take up a lot .. I hope you have luck with the warco .. I recommend that you cut very slowly with it and so maybe it will last you a little longer .. in truth those saws are designed to cut profiles and pieces of little diameter .. when you put pieces of more than 35 or 40mm, the problems begin one after another, this What I tell you is my experience with this type of saws, maybe you u have more luck than i have had with them ,, greetings
OK thank you for sharing your experiences. I’ll have to see how I get on with it. The frame and base seem to be solid and well made. We will see how the motor and electronics hold out. I do have a single phase 750W motor (from my drill press upgrade). . . .! Let’s see how it goes. Thanks
What happened to the gear sprockets? Are they metal or plastic? Did they wear out or break ?
@@routercnc9517 the sprockets are made of a very bad metal and they broke into pieces ... very bad quality and very bad factory setting ... then the speed regulation plate broke and finally the motor was scorched ... in my opinion is very bad buy that type of saws
@@routercnc9517 I have a friend who adapted one of those saws to him an endless reducer and a three-phase motor with a VFD and since then the problems are over .. although the adaptation takes a lot of work but if you don't have room maybe in the future if it goes badly it is you only alternative
OK good to know thank you. I could faintly smell ozone when the motor ran. It is a brushed DC motor ? The specs don’t say. If the speed controller ever breaks in the future I will know what type of controller it needs. Or I could swap it out as your friend did for a 3 phase motor and VFD if I have problems in the future. Thanks
Well i've had one for just under two years...............sorry but i'm not happy, after hours spent trying to adjust it i still cant get a straight cut,fine on the cross section(90 degree),but on the down cut it wanders(bevels) mainly to the left,gone through 5 blades of differant makes/sizes,different speeds/pressure you name it,on a 50mmx50mmx3mm mild steel box section i'm out by 1mm.
My only assumtion has to be with the roller blade guides,just somethings either missing or bad design
The only real +'s with this is the workclamp,good torque on the motor and its weight its easy to load into the van etc
Would have been great if a laser cut line was added,but there you go
I once bought a cheap one from Aldi which was perfect straight out of the box,shame it fell to the ground two floors up☹
Mine has cut straight on anything I’ve cut so far so maybe I got lucky. I did have a problem whereby the blade would jump and make a bang every now and again. I worked out it was because the saw is quite small so the blade has to twist back onto the roller in a short space. This made it ride up the roller until the tension banged it back into place. I fiddled around but couldn’t improve it and in the end the blade suddenly snapped. I bought the more expensive blade type and that has been fine since. The mechanical build quality is very good with nice Ali castings and a good vice. The motor however does not exude a quality sound and fluctuates in speed so we will see how long that lasts. I may do a follow up video and include the comments from others so far and my own experiences but this will be a later way off. Thanks for your comments, hopefully this will all help others with their decision