Meat band saw?

[Richard Preston]

Anyone have any experience with meat cutting band saws? They have a 9-12" depth and cost much less than a wood band saw.
Would they be sufficient to crosscut logs or trim bowl blanks?

TYIA

 

[ahoiberg]

i certainly can't say for sure, but since they're used daily for hours and cut a lot of animal bone, i would assume that they'd cut wood OK...

 

[Ed_McDonnell]

Look at the size of the motor when you are comparing depth of cut and price.

Cutting through a 9" - 12" chunk of dense hardwood is going to take a lot more power than cutting through a 9" - 12" chunk of meat.

Meat and wood saws with equal capacities and equal sized motors are probably pretty closely priced. Actually I would expect the meat saw to cost more because of the stainless steel that it will likely have instead of cast iron.

Ed

 

[dkulze]

Can't say for certain but it would surprise me if the meat saw had any horsepower at all. I'd guess it goes for speed over power, as you're cutting ice at worst and flesh with small bits of bone (small being relative) at best.

Dietrich

 

[David Somers]

Hmmmmm, I am just guessing, but bone is a very different substance than wood. It is not fibrous or stringy, its overall density is probably less than wood, and not nearly as thick as the wood we use for turning. It is essentially hollow, and doesn't have the issues of end grain versus cross grain that wood has. My guess is that without actually trying one out, the only way to make an educated guess on the question would be to see how wide a blade it could handle, and what its horse power and RPM is? Is it equivalent to what we use with wood? If you do decide to try one out please warn us first. I don't want to buy meat in your immediate area. Fish bones in fish are annoying enough......but splinters in my sirloin is going too far?? <grin>

I have been working 12 hour days on routers and I am really getting punchy. I almost included a sick bandsaw joke that would have had animal rights activists driving to my door. Thank the gods for a last minute infusion of coffee that drove common sense back into me. <grin>


Dave

 

[Jim Keenan]

That was Kona coffee, correct?

I read somewhere in the last couple of weeks (wish I could remember where) that a meat saw does not use tires on the drive pulleys due to contamination issues. Apparently they are also manufactured with the throat on the right side rather than the left. Probably should check out the blade guides too.

Hmmmmm, I am just guessing, but bone is a very different substance than wood. It is not fibrous or stringy, its overall density is probably less than wood, and not nearly as thick as the wood we use for turning. It is essentially hollow, and doesn't have the issues of end grain versus cross grain that wood has. My guess is that without actually trying one out, the only way to make an educated guess on the question would be to see how wide a blade it could handle, and what its horse power and RPM is? Is it equivalent to what we use with wood? If you do decide to try one out please warn us first. I don't want to buy meat in your immediate area. Fish bones in fish are annoying enough......but splinters in my sirloin is going too far?? <grin>

I have been working 12 hour days on routers and I am really getting punchy. I almost included a sick bandsaw joke that would have had animal rights activists driving to my door. Thank the gods for a last minute infusion of coffee that drove common sense back into me. <grin>


Dave

 

[john lucas]

The one I saw had a thin stainless steel table. I think it would flex with heaavy wood.

 

[Larry Marley]

They don't usually have a tire, but rather a rim at the back of the wheel to help retain the blade, they are not built to give the blade fine control, as much as they are made to be cleanable. I know a couple people who have used them for wood working, not your best choice

 

[Pete Kekel]

I've got one.

Richard -

I've got an older Biro 14" Meat Saw (sort of hate the sound of that) that I use for my bowl blanks. The table has been replaced with a 27" x 36" cast iron table saw top that makes it easy to hold large pieces of wood. The clearance, top to bottom, is just over 14" which makes for a pretty good size bowl blank. I have a 1-1/2 hp motor and use 3/4" blades. There aren't any tires on the wheels, but there is a lip on the back of the wheel, as mentioned in another post. There are no guides to speak of, just slots that the blade runs through, so it's important to keep a sharp blade on it and not to push too hard when cutting. I've even used it to resaw exotics from time to time. I don't consider this an everyday, or every function, bandsaw. Maloof rockers - probably not, but it's hard to beat to take the corners off of a large hunk of wet wood that will fit on a 24" swing lathe.

Good luck.

 

[Joe Greiner]

Not yet mentioned: They typically don't have a tilting table, so they'd be pretty much limited to the functions in your question.

Joe