Another bandsaw question

[BGlegal1]

I'm in the market for a 14" bandsaw. I'm seriously looking at the Powermatic 1791216K 14CS. Seems to be better built (more cast iron) than some of the others. Anybody have any experience with this model?

[gadgetman]

Don't personally know the powermatic. My delta not that great. I am going to try to do something about the guides which are pretty sloppy. Cool blocks not helping that much. The Laguna get's the best review usually, also the Rikon. I don't know what kind of work you are doing but re sawing is pretty hard on the 1 hp 14" delta. The blade is absolutely critical. Delta Blades Suck,

MBR

[Lowell Holmes]

I agree, the blade is critical. Try a 3tpi stagger tooth blade from BC Saw and making a resaw will be easier for you.

[David]

I purchased one from Amazon last year. The castings aren't clearly any better than any of the others 14" saws I looked at, and the paint started to chip off even before it was out of the box. I couldn't generate enough tension with the stock blade, so I replaced it with a better blade and a higher tension spring. This was a lot better, but the handle on the quick release broke. The guide post wasn't straight, so that every time the height was adjusted, the guides needed to be reset. It took 6 weeks for a replacement post to arrive which was dramatically better, but far from perfect. Those are just the highlights of the problems I had - although others have been very happy with their saws.

I ended up sending mine back to Amazon, and replacing the saw with a Grizzly G0513X for almost the same price. There is no comparison. The Grizzly is bigger and needs 220V (and was more of a challenge to get down the steps!) but is quieter, more powerful, has less vibration, has a more effective quick release, bigger guides. . . It is just more enjoyable to use. The Powermatic I got didn't seem that much better than the 12" sears it replaced (at least for the things I used it for). The Grizzly is a different tool.

Good luck

David

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