What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Bandsaw & drill press (rent or buy?}

HardinJC

I'm New Here
Hello all,

I'm new here but I have a kit on order I would like to know, should I buy these two items? That's easy enough but it takes space and I won't use them much other than this project.

So the rent option is what I would like best but I want to understand from you builders. I have access to a garage that has a very good drill press and bandsaw that I could use (borrow). But it would involve me packing up parts and driving about 10 minutes to get there. I'm willing to do this two or three times on a Saturday afternoon if that would suffice for the needs. However if I'm needing one of these tools every 5 minutes, for weeks on end, then that doesn't make sense. Any recommendations would be helpful here.

What kind of time and duration are we looking at on these two?

Thanks,
JC
 
Consider shopping for used but good quality equipment. Take care of them and they'll sell for most of what you paid for them, if not more when you're done ^:)
 
Renting would be a PITA and not worth it. You may not use them every work session but you will use them on and off through the entire build.

IMHO the Harbor Freight drill press and a basic wood bandsaw with a fine blade will suffice. You'll spend more money and trouble trying to rent them repeatedly than you will just buying them.
 
I built a rolling cart I think about 30" square and installed the following, one in each corner.

  • 9" drill press
  • bandsaw with blades for cutting metal
  • combo bench grinder (ScotchBrite wheel) and belt sander
  • bench vise

None of the tools were of the expensive variety, Harbor Freight and the like. Apart from the vise which never really had enough space to be useful, the other tools saw a lot of use and I can't imagine building/maintaining without them easily accessible. I hauled the cart down to the airport once I was flying and still use all 3 power tools. Make sure to buy proper metal cutting bands, they'll cut through thick aluminum stock like a hot knife through butter. The wood bands that typically come with the saw are useless..
 
If you want to go thrifty on the bandsaw, I got a cheap 9", and used the standard blade for several years. Just go the appropriate speed. It will cut 2023 and 6061 t6 nicely, but anything softer, like hardware store, be a little more careful as it may smear. Otherwise keep the tires clean and it will be a worthwhile time saver.

Drill press - good to have and a quality one is better. It can always be resold after. The band saw may be gifted. :)
 
You'll absolutely want to buy a band saw and a drill press. You will use them a lot. IMHO, the biggest threat to not finishing your airplane will be lack of time and progress. Any time that you spend driving to use tools or having to mess with borrowing things, is time not spent pounding rivets. Look for used stuff on marketplace or craigslist. I bought a used Porter Cable drill press and bandsaw that were like new for $200 off craigslist. In addition to cutting and shaping numerous aluminum airplane parts so far, I also used the bandsaw to build my wood cradles for the horizontal stab.
 
I'm new here but I have a kit on order I would like to know, should I buy these two items? That's easy enough but it takes space and I won't use them much other than this project.

Drill press -- very recommended, for much better precision on critical holes. Also, for scary things like hole saw or a fly cutter.

Band saw -- you can do without it, but would be a quality of life improvement. Hack saw goes through the aluminum pretty easily, but cutting precisely close to a line might be a bit of an issue. If you have a belt sender (or skilled hands :D), you can compensate for precision.

If limited in space, I would prioritize belt sender over the band saw.
 
Get them both. My opinion is you don’t have to buy top of the line stuff, so both can be had for under 400 bucks. As mentioned, a fine tooth blade on a band saw works very well - and don’t use it on carbon steel or the blade will be toast.
I’m amazed that people can get through the entire project without these 2 things. Obviously more skilled than me :cool:
 
Quality

I would spend the money on a high quality drill press. One where the spindle doesnt wobble, and not buy a bandsaw. I dont think the modern kits need a bandsaw. I had one and never used it. Use the bandsaw money for a better drill press JMHO.

Belt sander is a must, but a Harbor Frieght one i found was good enough.
 
Last edited:
Tools

I have a HF band saw. It's actually served me pretty well. The blade had bearings to keep it aligned. Works very well. Clean cuts mean less waste of material and time. Many would disagree but I use a 6TPI for thick stock down to .040". 14TPI for the thin stuff. Stay just outside the line and clean up on the sander.
Sander is a used HF. Not crazy about it, but it works. I use the 6" disk more than the belt. Final is done on the grinder.
Grinder is a Ryobi with a 6" scotchbrite. Other sidebis a polishing wheel. I use the grinder a lot. Change wheels as required but always keep a polishing wheel on the opposite side if deburring large parts. One hit on a rough wheel will ruin a part pretty quick.
Drill press is a used HF. Not crazy about it. Too much runout for my standards. I'm considering an upgrade, but it's served me well. I'm very OCD.
Any high quality bench tools you find will work. HF are OK.
 
My opinion: Don't skimp on tools!

The cost of tools versus the airplane is miniscule.
Get a good (doesn't have to be the best) drill press, bandsaw, grinder, and bench sander. You will save hours of time having these always available during your build.
Bandsaw vs. hacksaw? hours!
Grinder vs. file? hours!

If you will never use them after the build, then sell them and you will probably get most of your money back.
 
I would say that a bandsaw is "nice to have" and a drill press is "essential".

My RV kit is an older version that requires more cutting, drilling and fabrication than the newer kits and I use the bandsaw a couple of times a day, some days, but then may not use it again for perhaps 2 or 3 weeks. I'm working in the shop almost every day. Aluminum angle can be cut easily enough with a hacksaw however the bandsaw is useful for cutting .063 and .125 plate. A hand held jigsaw can cut plate too.

The drill press gets used most days that I'm in the shop and can be used 5 or 10 or 20 times a day. I wouldn't like to drive somewhere each time I need to drill a hole or spin something in the chuck for sanding or polishing. It's worth getting a solid good quality drill press with variable speeds and decent bearings. The floor space requirement is about 2 sq ft, so not much for the convenience.
 
Next time you're in SoCal buy my 2-speed Craftsman band saw with extra blades and when you are done with it sell it to another builder. $250 and it also comes with a brand new metal-cutting blade, and a few other various blades too. ;-)

-Marc
 
Thanks everyone, it wasn't so much about the money is more of the space and I won't need these things later on. I'll go ahead and start looking for what's available on Craigslist and look at some models that were mentioned above as well.

JC
 
Thanks everyone, it wasn't so much about the money is more of the space and I won't need these things later on. I'll go ahead and start looking for what's available on Craigslist and look at some models that were mentioned above as well.

JC

If space is the issue, buy what you need when you need it.
 
Lots of solid comments here, and I would agree that while optional, a bandsaw will make your build go faster and easier. Not to mention safer. I kept thinking, "ok, this is the last time I need to cut something like this, so it doesn't make sense to buy a bandsaw now". I wish I had bought one at the start of the project.

Drill press? This is a quality issue - sure you can drill holes by hand, but a drill press will increase quality, reduce rework, and reduce build time.
 
You'll want both.

Especially when you first start out you won't be that great at drilling holes square to the piece. Later on you learn how to check yourself and do much better.

I have a small Delta drill press and it is sufficient. I also have a 14" Delta bandsaw. I don't think you need one that large but I had it from doing woodworking. Most of the material you will be cutting is pretty small. A lot is 3/4" aluminum angle, mostly 1/8" thick. There are a few instances where there are more substantial pieces but very few. Do a search here and you will probably find a thread with some suggestions.

I would also suggest buying the small 1" belt sander from HF. They are about $50 and I use mine all the time. Like I said before there is a lot of 3/4" angle used so this belt is wide enough to square the ends after being cut to length and it also works great to radius the corners. Best $50 I have spent on a tool.
 
HF is all you need. I have had a band saw, drill press, belt sander, and other stuff on a mobile cart all from HF and have lasted a long time. Wait for sale and pounce on it.
 
I have a large ryobi cutoff tool that I use instead of a bandsaw. Gets the job done and fits in a medium box which lives in my tool chest.
 
After having built a few planes and having had all the different tools over time I would go with:
A grinder with a scotchbrite pad on one side and wire wheel or grinding stone on the other. (Remove the guard from the scotchbrite side)
A small sander with a 6" wheel and a sanding belt.
One of the table-top band saws such as Delta, etc.
A table-top drill press if you think you need one.
I like using the 20V DeWalt drills rather than the pneumatic versions.
Of course, you will need an air compressor. A 20 or so gal will work fine for your project. (I would opt for the quiet version.)

Get everything from a local HD or Lowes so you can easily get parts, etc.

VANs kits, especially the newer ones, don't require a lot of fabrication so you don't really need bigger tools unless you want them.

Just my opinion. Good luck with your build.
 
Back
Top