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PostPosted: March 29, 2017, 9:27 pm 
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Joined: February 2, 2017, 1:02 am
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Location: Illinois
Hi all, me and my buddy are building a +442E and he stumbled across a Duracraft HBS-346 bandsaw. Supposedly it was gutless and he picked it up cheap. We got it back to his shop and found one of the pulleys has a set screw that wasn't tightened down. So the motor spins but wouldn't turn the blade very much. Before we go crazy and start using this for our build is there any other things we should check? And what pulley speed is good for cutting tubing? Been enjoying learning and reading lots about building these cars on this site and excited to build one of my dream cars.


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PostPosted: March 29, 2017, 10:03 pm 
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Looks like the same bandsaw a bunch of us got from HF.

There isn't much to them. Keep fresh oil in the gearbox and the guides aligned; they'll do good enough work.

I recently did a bit of a rebuild on mine since a bearing and oil seal failed. I was originally going to toss it and get another one for $160 until I realized they are no longer regularly $160 like they were back in 2010. The sheet metal stand is really the only weak point. Most people build something better once they get sick of dealing with it.

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PostPosted: March 30, 2017, 12:57 am 
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Joined: January 5, 2017, 11:36 am
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Does it have ball bearings for the saw wheels? I have an early one (1981) that has no ball bearings just a sleeve that needs oiled. The blades wheels also have a set screw I think. If it does have ball bearings I would check that they are seized or something.

You can also take out the 4 screws on the gear box and check for trashed gears. A good time to upgrade the gear oil if the brass gears are good (the factory stuff is no good anyway). If not check eBay replacements do pop up.

Keep in mind metal saws turn much slower than wood saws. So maybe yours is in the realm of normal.

Personally I like low speeds, the USA made hft blades last longer that way. You can always do a simple oiling system too. I got mine used without a stand and mounted it to a two drawer file cabinet with a bedframe angle iron and castor's to make a dolly underneath. I bolted the saw base to some 4x4 lumber as a spacer between the cabinet and the base. That way I can fit a cookie sheet under the cutting area to catch the shavings and oil.


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PostPosted: March 30, 2017, 6:51 pm 
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Joined: May 27, 2006, 9:46 pm
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Location: BC, Canada. eh?
I used one of those to cut all the tubes for my entire frame. It worked perfectly, made clean, precise cuts, and made no heat at the cuts at all. It was worth every, single penny I paid for it (which wasn't much, even though I bought it new!). I still use it often for long, slow cuts through heavy stock, such as through 2" diameter solid steel stock, etc.

If you can get it running freely, you've made a great score, IMHO.

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PostPosted: March 31, 2017, 8:45 am 
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Joined: September 22, 2005, 8:12 am
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Spend some time shimming the blade guides, and the camber on the top idler wheel.
Check out McMaster-carr for Bi-metal blades.
Dave W


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PostPosted: April 5, 2017, 8:32 pm 
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Joined: February 2, 2017, 1:02 am
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Thanks for all the replies folks. It does mean a lot. Me and my buddy got the set screws tightened on the pulleys for the electric motor, checked the gearbox, and made adjustments. Set it up to run on the slowest speed pulley set. Everything ran good so we tested cutting a piece of exhaust tubing and it worked great. The blade even looks pretty good so we'll see how it goes once we start using it to cut tubing for the build. :cheers:


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