Hi Everyone,
It has been a while including trolling but now I'm on a come back. I am in the market for a 14 in. bandsaw and hoped to get some insightful advice on this tool and/or what you currently use and why you like it. Are there any brands/models I should avoid? I avoid cheap tools typically and especially of this size. I would normally look for Jet, Delta, Powermatic and the like. Since I am in Canada, Grizzly is not an option.
Thanks in advance for any advice you may have to offer.
I have a 14" Delta and it has performed well but Delta has slipped in quality over the years. Today I'd consider the 2HP Laguna (/w a 220 v motor). The Grizzly G0457 is the best value pick at about half the price of the Laguna. General and Powermatic are decent brand choices as well. An out-of-tune bandsaw can be the shop's most agitating piece of equipment, so resist the temptation to get a cheap one.
Hey Phish, thanks for your reply. Is the 14" Delta you're using one of the units of poor quality but you find it ok? What model is it? The Laguna is beautiful but out of my price range. I was hoping to spend no more than $800 on a unit. I wish I could get the Grizzly but they don't sell to Canada that I know of. What about Steel City or Jet? Any opinions.
I have the Delta model 28-283. I bought it about 15 years ago (about $600) and compared it to a Jet model (about $450) at that time. After trying both models, the Delta was clearly the better of the two. The Grizzly I mentioned would be worth a search if you can find one, plus it has similar power of the Laguna. You might find a quality used bandsaw.
And when I was shopping for a bandsaw, the Delta had lost it's quality. I ended up buying new old stock Jet. I have not regretted buying the Jet. The Powermatic would be a good choice. The Laguna is a little pricey for me, but I'm sure it's worth it.
I don't know about 14" specifically - I bought a 19" Jet a while back, and it's a very nicely made unit. Compared to all the other Taiwan made saws I looked at before buying it had much higher production standards I thought. Still very happy with it after 18 months or so ... and it gets a moderate amount of use. Dumping the 20mm blade that it came with and going to a high quality 6mm blade has improved the performance greatly b.t.w.
-P.
I've got the Jet 14" and have been very happy with it. Fit and finish are excellent, and the alignment and tuning of the saw have been easy. I added the 6" riser and have done quite a bit of resawing. My only complaint is the dust collection, and only because I haven't gotten around to adding a good 4" attachment. This isn't just a Jet problem and like I said it is possible to modify the saw for better dust capture.
D.G. Adams
I had a Jet 18" that never worked for me. I then bought a Laguna 18". It is well worth the money. Laguna's are pricey, but I believe they are head and shoulders above the rest. For example, you never have to worry about finding the right compensation angle for the fence. Just adjust it for parallel to the blade and be done with it. I believe this is because Laguna's have more spring capacity to tension the blade correctly. See my web page for a better review.
If you are looking for a first saw or if you are looking for a second saw and don't mind "fiddlin with it to keep it in tune, most any of the $1000 range saws should be a decent choice.
If you are looking to upgrade I strongly suggest looking at all the above mentioned saws and then look at a MiniMax or a Laguna.
I had a 10"Craftsman with 1/2 hp for about 23 years. I did not use it much, more so because of lack of power. Adjustments were not that tough, but like most, it was a chore that gets old real fast if you intend to use the saw more than occasionally. I wanted to up grade and 2 years ago I went with the Rikon. A nice saw for the money but I wanted a total upgrade. The 18" Rikon for the 2 weeks that I had it had plenty of power but was no less trouble to keep set up than the old Craftsman.
I ended up buying the HD series 16" Laguna. You put the blade on, quickly adjust the 10 ceramic guides and start sawing. The 10 ceramic guides adjust much more quickly than the roller bearings did on the Rikon, IMHO. Very pricey, but again IMHO it is to a typical $1000 band saw as a quality Table saw is to a bench top table saw. It is as heavy as the typical cabinet saw 450+ lbs. and can resaw to 16". So far nothing has hinted as slowing down the 4.5 hp Baldor motor.
The Baldor motor is one of the highest quality motors you can buy. I have one of these (DC) Baldor motors on my lathe.
| > It has been a while including trolling but now I'm on a come back. I | > am in the market for a 14 in. bandsaw and hoped to get some insightful | | | I had a Jet 18" that never worked for me. I then bought a Laguna 18". | It is well worth the money. Laguna's are pricey, but I believe they
Hmmm... I just resawed some 8" wide stock tonight on my first generation 18" Jet and as usual it did a terrific job. My saw has never exhibited blade drift and with 1/2" Timberwolf blades resawing wide stock using nothing more than the factory fence is easy. Slicing off 3/32" pieces is no problem...
I'm wondering if there was either a problem with quality consistency or if there were actually generations of the first generation saw before they redesigned the saw...??? Of course we cannot rule out the possibility that I got an exceptional specimen... ???
John
Can't speak to the Jet, but I have a 14" Delta that is useable, but I haven't been able to tune it to get thin veneers or resawing. I have put on good quality blades, added Carter guides, and many hours spent tweaking the alignment. Either there is something I just don't get or I'm expecting too much from the bandsaw.
Bearing guides look good on paper but in my reality they were noisy and vibrated.
John,
That could be. I know I have been on the other end of the good one/bad one scenario. I bought a Grizzly G0586 8" jointer after reading glowing reviews. The one I got had co-planarity problems between in the infeed and outfeed tables, and a slight twist in the fence. Ahhh! Such is life in the woodworking world.
Joe.....
I have to say there has been some great feedback and advice!!!
I turned up my nose to the higher price of the Laguna but now that I have looked into it somemore and heeding your advice, I may just purchase one. The Canadian Homeworkshop show is on at the end of February so I will see what I can get there.
"maico" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@o77g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
I have to say there has been some great feedback and advice!!!
I turned up my nose to the higher price of the Laguna but now that I have looked into it somemore and heeding your advice, I may just purchase one. The Canadian Homeworkshop show is on at the end of February so I will see what I can get there.
The Laguna site offers several videos about their product. Additionally you can order a DVD and get some very interesting details that simply do not exist on the less expensive saws. I waited until the show also as Laguna is sold out of California and IIRC there are no stocking dealers. The saws look and perform magnificently. I actually talked to Larry at Laguna and made a deal with him over the phone with him understanding that I wanted to see the saw first. He would honor the deal for 2 weeks after the show IIRC. If the show price was better he would honor that also. I think I had to put down a refundable deposit to have my name assigned to one of the saws that were in stock. Since it was going to set for up to 5 weeks until after the show I did not want to have to wait even longer after the show. The show was all it took to sell me on the saw. MiniMax makes a great saw also and they were at the show however they had broken units and units missing parts. Oddly the only saw that Minimax had at the show that was operational was not performing very well. Adjustments were obviously needed. The sales staff at the show seemed more interested in showing how you could grab the upper guide bar and pull the saw over on its side. Perhaps the demo saw had been handled this way a few too many times. I might as well also add that MiniMax is based out of Austin TX, I am in Houston about 150 miles away. I made a weekend trip of visiting MiniMax with an appointment to see the saw and use the saw. They talked to me Friday night to verify that I was coming and when I got there the saw I was to test had been taken apart for spare parts. No demo. I went with the Laguna. Laguna has 2 lines of band saws. The heavy duty line is made in Italy, the lighter duty line is made in Bulgaria IIRC. If you can afford it the HD version will be the better saw. There are no compromises with these saws, nothing cheezy, built to last like a quality cabinet saw.
Hey Leon, are you sure you don't work for Laguna??! Just kidding. You are really selling me on their product. According to their website, they sell directly to Canada and they take care of all the shipping. All we pay extra is the difference in the dollar (next to none these days) and $25 for the extra paperwork. They ship to Mississauga once a month IIRC. I'd like to buy the HD but the price is WAY to high for a hobby woodworker at this time so their LT14SE seems reachable. My wife will have a sh*t but I only have to buy it once, right?! I will see what they have to offer at the show. Thanks again.
Hey Leon, are you sure you don't work for Laguna??! Just kidding.
Not a problem and no I don't work for them but I am very impressed and pleased with the saw. No more putzing around with adjustments over and over. The free DVD that they sent me was very educational.
Must be nice. My griz requires constant tweaking.
I use $20 blades almost exclusively with my Laguna and it works great. But they sell a Resaw King blade which is carbide tipped. It is pricey, about $130, but if you are looking to cut 1/16" veneers or resaw large pieces of rough lumber, it is well worth it.
Good luck. You will love this saw.
Joe....
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