Harbor Freight Central Machinery Bandsaw

Discussion in 'Functional Gear & Equipment' started by Thunder5Ranch, Jul 25, 2020.


  1. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    The 14" stand alone one :) Cost $389. I am generally leery of harbor freight power tools for the obvious reasons. But I have been needing a new Meat Saw and was in Harbor freight anyway picking up a couple of their Very Good Yukon tool chest. So I checked out their only free standing band saw. It is not much to look at but it didn't take long to see it is basically a total knock off of my old Delta band saw. Fiddled around with the display model that was assembled very wrong and decided I can modify this one into something the health department will approve. So threw its 170 pound box in the truck with new tool chest.

    image_21451.

    It is a bit on the complex side to assemble and the assembly instructions leave out several critical parts. A bit of understanding mechanical engineering goes a long way in assembling this model and a Youtube video that covers the omitted assembly instructions didn't hurt.

    So I spent 4 1/2 hours yesterday getting it all put together correctly and I am pretty good at "Some or all assembly required" :) After I was finished I gave my health inspector a call to see if he was anywhere near by and if he could stop by and give his opinion on it. Already knew the top work plate would fail and have a plan to turn a old stainless steel counter top into a much larger work top. Just need to cut it to size and use the sheet metal press to bend the edges to shape.

    And hour later he rolls in and we give it a whirl. As expected he approved everything but the work top. And ask if there is anything I won't modify and convert to commercial food service use LOL.
    DSC01939.JPG

    For the stainless top I am just going to drill out 8 5/16ths holes in the steel, thread them and bolt the stainless on. Going to size the stainless sheet to fit from the inside neck of the saw and 6" wider and longer than the steel top.

    This one has 4 speeds and tops out at 2590 FPM in comparison most commercial meat saws run in the 3500-5000 FPM range and most Consumer model Meat saws run in the 1500-1800 FPM range. I can live with 2590 FPM :) The blade it came with will work but is a wood blade so I have ordered a couple meat bands to replace it.

    For a test run I ran some steer leg bones through it and it zinged right through them with breaking a sweat. Just a little rough and the wood blade on it is on the coarse cut side. So it made more little bone fragments than I want to see.

    Bit of a PITA changing pulleys, My old one holds the motor down with two tension locks, this one holds the motor down with 4 not so easy to loosen and tighten bolts and nuts. I am seeing another modification for that in the near future.

    One last mod I am going to make to it when I am done posting this :) IT IS GETTING A SET OF LOCKING WHEEL CASTERS PUT ON IT. It weighs 170 pounds and is a total pain to move around. LOL the rubber feet/levelers do a great job of keeping it stationary but I need to be able to move it easily into a corner when it is not in use.

    I have my old dependable Craftsman Band Saw for wood working but can see why this one would not be fine for most wood shops. Just is not what I need or want it for.

    Biggest drawback to this saw is the missing assembly portions of the instructions. That explained why their display model was not assembled correctly :) If I had found and watched the YouTube video before assembling, it would have taken maybe 2 hours. One of the bigger missing parts of the instructions was Where to plug the wires into the switch post. Only 4 wires and only so many options to try but a hint and starting point would have been nice :) Seems some manuals in the boxes have more complete instructions than others, I just got lucky and got one with the crappy instructions.

    Oh and one other semi minor flaw. Not all of the bolt holes are right. Six of them were off from 1/8th inch to 1/2 inch. I thought it might be operator error initially but went ahead and drilled out new holes where I thought they should be. Found later that YEP it is pretty common for the factory bolt holes to not be lined up right and you have to drill out holes.

    I would recommend this saw for anyone that can figure things out and has a morning or afternoon to spend putting it together. I Would not recommend it for anyone that struggles to put Ikea Furniture together :) Like AOC should never own one of these...... For that matter she should probably never own anything with sharp cutting edges :) But for $389 you get a good bang fer the buck.
     
  2. DKR

    DKR Raconteur of the first stripe

    I guess they can copy every thing but the English tech manual....
     
  3. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    @Thunder5Ranch
    If speed is important, you just may be able to gear it up if the motor is snorty enough.
     
    Thunder5Ranch and Gator 45/70 like this.
  4. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    Well,Glad you're not working around glass or with it for that matter,It will do !
     
    Thunder5Ranch likes this.
  5. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    Thought about changing pulleys but the math doesn't work out to go much more than what it is with a 3/4horse motor.
     
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  6. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    LOL those gashes are pretty much healed up and I have all new ones from creating Mr. Potato head duck work for a hood in the trailer. Just finished that up and it glad I only had to spend 30 minutes on that bazzillion and 2 degree metal roof! Not the prettiest screw and seal it up job I have ever done, but it ain't going to fly off going down the road at warp speed :) And that big fan in the hood sucks some serious heat out from around the grill!

    DSC01944.JPG
     
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  7. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    I bought a Rikon few years back to do my meat cutting. Already set up with a sliding stainless steel table as well as a thickness guide to the side and a 'fence' on the back to allow the chunk of meat to rest against while you push it thru the blade. Body/doors are a REAL nice powder coated paint (green), everything else is stainless or aluminum, including stainless steel blades. Cleanup is a breeze.....I remove the sliding table, open the doors and hose the whole thing down with a hot water hose I rigged to the water heater in the meat kitchen.
    As you said, put it on casters that lock with a toe step to make it easy to move around or roll out on the deck for hosing down.

    Also comes with a "pto" on the side and a meat grinder attachment (I've never used, have a counter top Weston grinder), so it's really set up to cut/grind meat right out of the box. I think I paid something like $450 for it at Northern Tool then, but they are higher now.

    [​IMG]

    A bandsaw isn't an absolute requirement for doing your own meat.....but it adds a level of proficiency allowing you to easily cut a pork loin into bone-in chops (making you a hero to your dogs who end up with the bone), or T bone/Porterhouse steaks rather than NY strips.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  8. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    I am Lazy so it is a requirement when cutting 5-6 whole Ribeyes per week down to 8oz and 16Oz steaks :) That and Sirloins and Prime Ribs is pretty much all this one is going to be used for. But not quite lazy enough to spend $3.62 per pound more to have them already cut......... Cheap Ass overrides Lazy at that point LOL.
     
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  9. KingFrank

    KingFrank Monkey

    Hello! Excellent equipment and results. Double kill for a reasonable price. Congratulations!
     
    TnAndy likes this.
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