[Shop-talk] recommend a portable bandsaw

[Mark Andy]

Howdy,

Just an update on this... On a lark I called HF to see what replacement 
parts for everything I saw that was busted would cost me.

Turns out that I could get:

* left & right blade guide (just the casting, if the parts diagram is 
right, not the bearings)

* four of the bearing holder screws for the blade guides

* a new frame / case

* a pair of the rubber drive wheels

all for $30.

It wouldn't have been quite as much, except they loctite the screws 
holding the bearings into the blade guide castings, and I broke off a 
screw with an impact screw driver.  I really only needed one of the blade 
guides & one screw, but figured it was cheap insurance to get a few extra 
screws and the other blade guide (I can salvage the one I have, but I'll 
need to drill it out, retap, etc.)

Only downside was that some of the parts are coming from China, so they'll 
take 8 weeks to get here.  She did say that I had the option to have them 
pull the parts off a returned model if one existed if I wanted, so they'd 
get here sooner.  I told them to go ahead with that if it was possible.

Anyway, I haven't gotten the parts yet, but it was a pleasent enough 
experience.

Mark

(Also, I looked at the parts list for the Milwaukee portable... It seems 
to use the same plastic to steel "bearing" setup for the drive wheels as 
the HF saw uses.)