Soon to be 65th birthday present, asked what I want. So thinking a bandsaw. It wont be used much and never had one before so what specs etc? She would pay whatever but cant justify as I wont use it too much (yet) So looking at the cheaper end for ocassional use. I dont have a workshop just a small shed 8x6 so size important, proabably be used outdoors when required. Specs? Teeth per inch? Speeds? Max cut size? And anything else that maybe relevent.
Don't get something too small for all your needs...
I would expect most will have an induction motor - but check to be sure since that is what you want (quiet and smooth and power where you want it at the top end, rather than at startup).
You will probably want a selection of blades. I tend to find the finer blades are less useful that you expect unless cutting very thin stuff, where a fine tooth lets you key more than one tooth in the material. For general work 4 and 6 tpi are fine. Lower for resawing.
You have not said what you will be cutting primarily. Many are two speed (typically selected by choosing one of a couple of pully positions for the belt). These are fine for woodwork, and most composites. However less ideal for metalwork where a slower speed might be good.
The better ones will have a variable frequency drive to do this (and quite often a 3 phase motor and inverter to run it form a single phase supply) - but be prepared to pay big money for those.
Peter does a comparative review of a couple of the Axminster ones here:
Depending on application I would say 6" is really the minimum (apart from perhaps model making and signage). More is nice, especially if you want to resaw timber.
Also check the max size of blade it will take. For much detail stuff you will probably want a 1/4" blade, but if doing resawing then being able to fit something larger than 1/2" is quite handy.
Note that some of the entry level ones are very small. e.g:
(80mm depth of cut!)
Look at the blade guide system. One with bearings tends to be better than one with simple guide blocks.
I have a Elektra Beckum BAS315 (now branded Metabo), that came with simple guide blocks and I used to find blade drift was a problem. I upgraded it with a kit from Bedford saw a while back and that has made it much better.
My Protech(US) bandsaw uses 59.5 inch long 1/2 inch bimetal blades.
14tpi. These blades cut straight and will handle soft metals, laminates and hardwoods. Narrower single metal hardened blades are useful for cutting tight curves, but IME distort badly, losing the tooth set, after a few uses and lose their edge if cutting other than softwood. 8 inch is probably the minimum throat width which is useful. I had a 13? inch throat Burgess for many years, but the non bearing guides were poor. Two wheel bandsaws seem to have better drive capacity than 3 wheel.
John/Capitol....
Unlikely to be cutting metal so wood only. Resawing would be useful I can see me having a need for that.
I think I would go for a bigger shed first!
Wont happen.
Previous house I had a 20 x 20 ft garage a desire for DIY but no spare time to enjoy. Now I have downsized (well same size but mortgage free) have the time and just an 8x6 shed. Life is much better now but not perfect!
Just that a bandsaw in such a cramped area will limit how you can use it.
I agree but all my DIY is now done outdoors I have a small roofed area (perspex corrugated sheets) extending from my shed.
Some thoughts:
- make sure it's 2-wheeled, rather than 3-wheeled
- easy blade access is important
- an adjustable fence allows you to adjust it to cut straight
- blade guides are important but I've managed with side "rubbing blocks" and a thrust bearing at the back.
- You'll need a selection of blades: narrowish for curves (there are tables somewhere on t'web relating blade size to min bend radius), wide for re-sawing, skip tooth for general purpose work, fine for aluminium or thin work.
- Mount it on a wheeled cart so you can move it around to get the in/out feed you need for a job.
- Think about connecting some form of dust collection to it
- Remember that, as with many tools, the secondhand ones can be better than the new Chinese offerings. Check eBay and the woodworking forums.
I bought an Inca Euro 260 many years ago and have been happy with it, I think Kity do a look-alike.
Thinking about the guides ... has anyone tried converting from rubbing blocks to bearings?
For many bandsaw tasks, you don't need that much space... resawing long stuff would be an exception.
Yup, I managed to find a upgrade kit for mine:
It made a big improvement, and made it accurate enough for things it would have been too sloppy for in the past (like cutting cheeks of tenons).
The op might want to check some of their entry machines:
They seem quite good for the money.
Interesting, but from a quick look it would be a battle to adapt it to my Inca so it might be better to start out with a box of bearings and a couple of blocks of aluminium - but I don't seem to have as big a box of round tuits as you do :-(
TBH, I don't know that I would have bothered if I had to roll my own from scratch!
(although I suppose if I needed an excuse to get a milling machine ;-)
Thanks for all the info posted, I have decided a max budget of £200 and based on recommendations on here will see what is on offer. It will be the most expensive tool I have bought so far but hey I am due something for my 65th. Most other tools have been cheap end of the market but have served me well.
Now we know it'll break down.
NT
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