Which 3hp bandsaw to buy? Grizzly/Jet?

I took a turning course at a local highschool. They have a 5hp Powermatic. As you might expect, the blade is so battered that it barely has teeth; yet it goes through 20/4 oak easier than my 1hp Delta with a brand new good blade. The bigger wheels much contribute an awful lot of moment to get through any sticking points.

If it were available, I would actually prefer a 14" with a 3hp motor; as long as it cut 12". I was tempted by the European 16" saws, but they are just too expensive.

Where'd you get stuck on the idea of needing 3 hp? The right blade and setup are a lot more important on a BS than the hp of the motor. I think the bigger wheels need more power so that's why the hp goes up with the size of the saw. I just find it strange that you're starting with "3 hp" when most people start with the capacity.

-Leuf

"brand new good" doesn't necessarily mean proper. And there are good blades and *GOOD* blades. _____________

They would/could increase blade speed. ________________

No reason that you couldn't have replaced the 1hp with a 3hp.

What - exactly - was your problem? And blade? Five inch oak really shouldn't be a problem.

This is not a unique problem with Rikon, it is a problem IMHO with any saw that has roller bearings. Rikon just happens to only come with roller guide bearings.

As far as what to look for, I would pay more attention to the mass of the upper and lower wheels. The more mass the more smooth the saw will operate in heavier cutting. You might want to go to the Laguna site and take a look at those saws. I do not know what your price range is but the Laguna will probably be your last BS and probably has a 99.9% chance of satisfying all your needs with out compromise. The Laguna BS's come with 10 point ceramic guides that tend to be self cleaning and don't vibrate.

I went through this in the Winter and Spring of last year. I had an old Craftsman, bought the 18" Rikon, kept it for about 10 days and returned it. A couple months later I bought a Laguna.

Toller

I have an Oneida dust collection system installed in my shop and an older 16" Grizzly band saw. You are welcome to stop by and check them out, I am located in Brighton.

Toller wrote:

Which Laguna? The E16 isn't all that expensive, but it probably isn't really a Laguna either... Or maybe it is.

The Grizzly is $1100. I don't know what the Jet is because the two lowest price sellers don't seem to know what the freight charge is. (I am guessing $1,600) The Laguna LT16 is $1800. No matter how good it is, it can't be worth 60% more than the Grizzly.

"Toller" wrote in news:t8oqi.12859$ snipped-for-privacy@news02.roc.ny:

Laguna is a reseller/distributor of excellent machines, built by others, elsewhere. 'Really a Laguna' is an interesting concept.

They seem worth their price, according to most who own/use them.

Patriarch

st=A0and=A0you=A0get=A0vibration

ome=A0with=A0roller=A0guide

I think I made this comment before, but I have the Rikon and indeed the= guides did load up. After cutting a dozen or two green logs I stopped, cleane= d the guides and the blade, and wiped the blade with some version of TopCote =

- not that brand but something similar. I then cut another 30 or 40 blanks w= ith no more problems.

I can't swear that the technique will work for everyone, but based on m= y experience it's certainly worth a try. Not just on the Rikon, but on a= ny roller guide bandsaw.

--=20 It's turtles, all the way down

But it does have 2 speeds an the lower speed has a lot of torque.

The HD series are built in Italy, The lighter weight series are built in Bulgaria. I bought the LT16HD. I would think that either unit would be better than the Griz of Jet.

This is true however they do modifications once they hit the US. For instance they add the Baldor motors and IIRC add the unique and patented 10 point ceramic guide system.

;~) Don't use a Laguna if you buy the Griz.

You tried them both?

If I had access to either I wouldn't be asking advice here. But Grizzly would have to be real crap to be worth that much less than Laguna, and people seem happy with Grizzly in general, so it probably isn't crap.

Grizzly used to have a service where you could ask them for someone in your area with the exact model you were contemplating, and they would hook you up so you could try one out. You might want to call and see if they still do that.

steve

I'm sure it is not "crap", but you said the Laguna can't be worth 60% more. How did you arrive at that conclusion?

FIY, I strongly suspect also that the Griz in not crap. It all boils down to what you are comfortable with in spending and willing to compromise with. I had the $1,000 Rikon that got glowing reviews, "in it's class". What I was looking for was a trouble free set up, perfect tracking, plenty of power for resawing, and smooth operation. In my case I paid about 150% more than the Rikon and for me I got what I wanted. IMHO well worth the extra money. My purchase also included the mobility kit, shipping, Resaw King blade and 3 other blades. Discounting those items would have dropped the price more then $500. My Laguna is so much more convenient to use that I use it for more than I ever had used my previous BS. I don't think twice about rolling it out and making a small cut rather than using the jig saw like I used to do.

If you are in a hurry, I'd say go with the Griz, that is "probably" a safe and economical choice. If you want a lot of band saw that requires little to no prep and tweaking before each use, I would say to look into Laguna and MiniMax. Both of those companies have demo DVD's that point out advantages and in general what to look for when shopping for a new BS. I can say that if you step up to the Laguna or MiniMax you will not be disappointed and may walk away with a silly grin on your face every time you use it. IMHO if you are going to use the saw occasionally any brand will probably be good. If you are going to be using the saw regularly I'd say set your sights a bit higher.

Given that the Grizzly is a functional saw, with no significant defects, and will give years of service; and sells for $1,100. What could the Laguna have that the Grizzly does not? The Laguna is lighter, so it is probably not radically more robust construction. While the Laguna has an American motor, I have never heard a complaint about Grizzly motors, so that is probably not a big difference. A search on 'laguna bandsaw' has many users complaining of customer service and defects on delivery. Looking though 'grizzly bandsaw' doesn't show such things, so that probably doesn't account for the price difference. Laguna skips the miter gauge and includes their light duty fence; so those are not advantages. Maybe the Laguna blade guides are greatly superior (though I have never actually heard that anywhere) but they sell for $265, so they can't account for the $700 price difference, even if they are that good. So, how does the Laguna justify the price difference? Because it is Bulgarian rather than Taiwanese? That must be it. The Bulgarians are widely know for their fine bandsaws.