I am interested in purchasing a bandsaw. I would like to make sure it is capable of resawing small logs and vanier, but most use would be normal ripping and freehand sawing. I was thinking a 16" or 18". I would also prefer a 110 VAC cirucuit, but 220 is not absolutely out. I looked at Laguna Tool and Minimax. I like those tools but they are a bit pricy. I am not opposed to spending good money, especially if the lower priced tools cause me to purchase options. Does anybody have advice on models to look at? I definately do not want a flimsy tool. All advice appreciated.
so what you are saying is you have the secret to making a silk purse from a cow's ear??? Please share your secret and we'll all go out and buy "lower priced" tools and them throw options at them until they become transformed into the best damned tools ever conceived. Maybe there's even hope for Crapsman tools, using that approach!
Don't look at the price alone. Go with the best you can afford that suits your needs.
SWMBO got me a bandsaw a while back for my birthday. It's a cheap Tiawanese model from a no-name importer. She got the advice for it from a coworker who said they're just fine. He's clueless. At the time, I was in no position to turn it down and suggest a real bandsaw (don't ask...)
I've had no end of trouble with it. I've spent a lot of time modifying this thing to make it minimally useful. It takes forever to set up and change blades. It uses odd size blades - this past weekend, I bought a set of Viking blades from Lee Valley. Three hours to change and set up! I had to bend the top of the wheel cover to make them fit (the option was to stay with the minimally cheaper but greatly inferior crap from the importer). The wheels are marginally balanced, but the friction in the bearings make it difficult to balance it.
You have to remove the table to adjust the lower guides. You have to remove the fence to remove the table. You have to remove the lower wheel to adjust the thing for coplanar alignment. If it takes three or four tries to get the adjustment right, that means stripping the machine down three or four times. All these things because of stupid placement of set screws.
I drool over the Delta's at the local shop every time I go in there.
Your time and effort are worth a good machine. Spend a few hundred more now and get a less expensive car next time around ($thousands)..
Mike PS - the Viking (Timberwolf) blades are awesome. No comparison to the original blades.
You won't go wrong purchasing either of the machines you just listed. You may or may not want to upgrade the guides but you really won't know until you use it for a while.
If you have the money for an 18", then you won't go wrong with either of those.
If you're cutting costs, then go with a 14". There are plenty of good (IMHO, steel framed) 14" machines with good performance and enough spare budget to fit a good set of guide wheels. They'll do better than a cheap 18" and poor guides.
Literally, what the hell crawled up your ass and died? The guy was just asking for some advice. Most of the people on this NG don't have bottomless pocketbooks and are looking for the best buy for the dollar. Lighten up.
Instead of buying new you may want to look at a good used 16", 18" or
20" BS. Look at Rockwell/Delta, Powermatic, Doall, etc. Check your local used machinery dealers, Ebay, classified ads, etc. If you look hard enough and have cash on hand you can find a very good deal.
ah, Layne, did Groggy piss in your cornflakes? YOU lighten up. I was NOT advocating that he spend a ton of money, so what's your beef?? Reading comprehension issues got you down?
Work on your sense of humor--then you might not feel compelled to tell me to lighten up.
my reply to Kevin was due to a smart assed comment he made in another thread. Granted my post here looks out of place. Trust me,(HA!) he deserves my comment!
:) nope. just a bit of an explanation for my post to Kevin, which DOES look out of place. Next time I'll confine my snide comments to the offender's offensive post. I don't expect the same treatment from the few miscreants who have made it back on my twit list, due to their unflagging rude comments. I'm sure you cheer them on...
BTW, why do you keep changing your screen name, NORM?????
Speaking of bandsaws.... I noticed that in the latest Horrible Fright catalog they now sell a steel 18" saw for $700 something. I'd be interested if anyone here can comment on it if they have actually seen one.
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