Hey Rob-I have two saws. A 7x12 Dayton and a 5x6 jet. They cost 1200 and 400 respectively. Had both for over six years with no problems and believe me they have been put through their paces. Options-keep it simple and buy the best blades you can get. I use Lenox diemaster2 from MSC. Hope this helps.

Rob,

I've been using a Grizzly with the swivel head for a year or two now and really like it. It is only the 5x6 size, but I don't work with much bigger than it will handle easily. It doesn't have a coolant pump or reservoir, but I use a dry stick lube on the blade from time to time and use only Lenox Diemaster II blades with very good life from them. I like the swivel head, as opposed to the swivel vise, because my shop doesn't have room for a 20' stick of stock to wave all around the place. The swivel head will do miter cuts tighter than 45 degrees and the saw is very accurate once set up properly.

For vertical freehand cutting, the horizontal/vertical saws aren't too good. They use a single size of blade, usually either 1/2" or 3/4", and you can do radii tighter than about 4" with a 1/2" blade. You also have to make an auxilliary table to use them vertically for anything other than quick cuts, as the work stop on them is miniscule.

For freehand cutting, I have a 14" band saw that is a Taiwanese knock-off of a Rockwell Model 14 with a jackshaft to reduce the speed far enough to cut steel. Still a bit fast, but the Diemaster II blades seem to withstand it pretty well. It was only a $300 saw when I bought it 25 years ago and its still running fine after plenty of hard commercial use, so I guess I got my nickel's worth, huh? I'd rather have a nice DoAll or a Grob, but I don't have three grand for a saw.

I think if you're going to use it pretty hard, I'd go with a 7x12 horizontal bandsaw with a coolant pump and reservoir. Grizzly, Jet, and others make fairly cheap ones around $500-900 or you can upgrade to a Wellsaw or another of the heavy-duty industrial models for around $2500 to $4000. They will be a disappointment for freehand cutting, though. You'll still need a vertical saw for that, and you can determine how much you'll use it and choose accordingly. No coolant on the vertical saws, as coolant would ruin the tires on the wheels and cause slipping. Use dry lube as necessary.

You'll be glad you got a band saw and quit using the abrasive cut off saw, believe me! These days, I only use my cut-off saw for hardened stock that the bandsaw can't eat.

Rich