Bigger Band Saw

Tattooed and Dusty · 2005-05-07T20:57:32+00:00

Hi All,So starting to plan another large cast iron purchase, and thought Iwould pole the group for thoughts.I am thinking of replacing my Grizzly G0555 14" Bandsaw. There are acouple reasons for this. I have been less than satisfied with thepurchase since uncrating and setting the guy up. It works well, but fora decent amount of my needs it feels somewhat wimpy. I have a bunch of8/4 african hardwoods that I attempt to book match in virtually everyproject. I have found this saw to be less than ideal for this use. Irealize I am asking alot of the saw, and it might not be fair to judgeit harshly for this failing, but I would like something better. Itdoesn't seem like I can get the blade tension tight enough using even1/2" blades, let alone 3/4" which the saw is rated for. This seems tocause some great degree of wander in the blade tracking when using thewider blades, something I haven't noticed when using thinner blades. Itseems to me that even without the riser kit installed there is moreflex in the body of the saw than I would expect. The table is small,and the included fence is downright hard to lock in place withoutfeeling like I am torking the table beyond ideal.Alright, so I would like to recoup some of the expense of the saw, andinvest in a better one. I primarily use the band saw for resawing,trimming odd little things where I don't want to setup another saw, andto cut curves with a jig.I would like a decent size motor, as large as a table as possible, anda really solid frame.So far looking to spend maybe an additonal 1000, after selling theGrizzly that moves me into about 1300 range. Looking online and some inperson the Jet 16" jumps out at me, the Laguna 14LTSE and the 16" areboth appealing, and the Delta 18" seems worth looking at. Are thereother models I am overlooking? Does anyone have experience with thesesaws? Also it seems like while the laguna 14LTSE is smaller than theother models I am looking at it, it has all the same features and mighthave higher...

Bigger Band Saw

May 07, 2005 42 Replies

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Bruce Barnett 21 years ago

Yes. There some sort of legfal issue with using the trademark. I think only one dealer is allows to use the "Timberwolf" name. I learned this from the Iturra catalog, which used ANOTHER name for the blades. The one I bought from Woodcraft was called "PS WOOD - by the makers of Timberwolf."

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Mark Thieme 21 years ago

I have the first rendition of Jet's 18". Of course, they've added a couple of necessary features they forgot in the first model and have added a 16" version now. Anywho, this would be a cheap way to go if you don't mind a basic unit. With the proper blade, it serves me well. I've resawed cherry logs at capacity. With the wrong blade, you'll burn up the wimpy 2 HP motor (unless they've boosted this). Mark

Tattooed and Dusty wrote:

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Patriarch 21 years ago

Mark Thieme wrote in news:d836c$427ecdc7 $d8080e49$ snipped-for-privacy@DIALUPUSA.NET:

I have the Jet 16 version of this saw. If you are going to step up from a

14" saw, I don't think that this one is enough of a change to make it worthwhile. It is my first bandsaw, however, and I bought it well.

A Laguna or MiniMax, it is not.

Patriarch

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