Small bandsaw

[John]

I am looking at buying a small bench top bandsaw and would be interested in hearing any recomendations, or ones to avoid! It will mainly be used for sawing through bone and maybe the occasional piece of timber. Now before I get weird emails and knocks at the door by plod, I should explain that I make bone carvings using beef shinbones or deer antler. After the bone has been cleaned and processed I need to cut it into small pieces. So nothing big and heavy needed. It will be used for the odd bit of wood, but as space in my shed is limited these wont be large either!! Was thinking along the lines of Machine Mart or Screwfix, comments welcome. John

[Andy Dingley]

I just wouldn't - I've yet to hear of anyone who bought a "small bench top" bandsaw and found it satisfactory. I'm using a 14" (the old white Axminster 350) and I really wouldn't want anything smaller.

I also saw bone, although I'm mainly a woodworker - also antler, buffalo horn, and there's a narwhal I've got my eye on 8-). Slabbing beef knuckles is certainly making my saw work for its living.

Frame rigidity, guide quality and motor power are all important. If you're trying to resaw something a few inches deep, so as to prepare stock, then you need all three of these to be working right. IMHO, anything with wheels under 14" diameter just doesn't deliver what you need.

Most 14" machines either work, or can be made to. Poor guides can be upgraded with Cool Blocks, which are as much guide as that size of machine ever needs. If the guide fittings are too small or rudimentary though (the small diameter metal pins in particular), then you're just stuck with what you have.

If you don't already have it, Mark Duginske's book has some great advice, particularly on choosing blades.

[mrcheerful]

my performance power bandsaw is really quite pants.

mrcheerful

[Andy Hall]

There is also a video or DVD to accompany this which is pretty good, although I am not sure it's available in the UK. I bought mine in the U.S. and it is also available from amazon.com.

He has another book and video on woodworking machines in general, although aspects of it such as table saw operation are more geared to Delta Unisaws et al. The other sections are fairly useful though.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl