Bandsaw Sacrilege....?

Stuart Ablett

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Tokyo Japan
OK, no one throw anything at me, but I'm looking at buying this bandsaw........

CRAFTSMAN® 10" Bench Top Bandsaw <-Link (Canadian Sears Site)

craftsman_10_bs.jpg

You can also see it at Amazon re-branded as Yukon <-Link

yukon_10_bs.jpg

So why would I buy this?

Well at 73 pounds, my kids can bring it back on the plane as checked luggage :thumb:

I want a smaller saw for detail work and for cutting curves, like them Queen Anne legs, segmented turnings, etc, no heavy duty stuff, or resawing, that Big Blue does well, and this small unit can be easily placed on the workbench when used, and then tucked into a corner when not in use.

So, am I nuts or what?

A The Delta 10" band saw cost close to $450 US here in Japan :eek:

This Craftsman saw is on sale for $199 Cdn ($171US)

It gets decent reviews on the Amazon site.

Well, am I nuts or what?

If I could swing it, I'd love to buy a Delta 14" BS, but they cost over $1000 here in Japan.....

If I could get this saw, to me for about $200 US, hey, I'd be happy!

Cheers!
 
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Yeah, on the warranty, I'd be on my own, in fact, once it leaves the country, I'm sure the warranty is void, but aside from that, yeah.....

I'll talk to my Dad today, and if he can head down to Sears and see if they have one in stock, I might just pull the trigger on this one.....:D

Cheers!
 
Your search for tools and other items puzzles me. I always believed that Japan had a HUGE manufacturing industry for all kinds of items. Are there no Japanese branded tools that you could buy? (assuming they are in affordable price ranges)
 
Stu,
I have the floor standing bigger brother to that one from Sears. Mine got a 7" resaw capacity. I do like it and it's been performing flawlesly for me for over a year now. The only problem I every had was the ON Off switch went out which I redily replaced with an ofter market switch. I belioeve that Palmgren is making the band saws for sears.
 
warranty?

well stu wh needs it if you can get a wholesaw delivered to you on the plane a few parts shouldnt be a problem at all. heck you migght hav nuff freinds over this way to ship it to you:)
 
Your search for tools and other items puzzles me. I always believed that Japan had a HUGE manufacturing industry for all kinds of items. Are there no Japanese branded tools that you could buy? (assuming they are in affordable price ranges)

Well Frank, for me it is the mighty buck, as well as quality.

Let me explain.

bs150lsa.JPG

Delta 10" bandsaw $400


28-206a.JPG

Delta 14" bandsaw $950

bs316a.JPG

Elktra Beckam 10" bandsaw $1550

t_2264_a.jpg

Jet 10" band saw $650

t_0923n_a.jpg

Rexon 10" plastic bandsaw (I've seen it in person, not good quality) $320

bs220lsa.JPG

Delta 12" bandsaw $600

The big guys, like Hitachi, Ryobi, Makita, do not really make a 14" bandsaw, this is not really the DIY market over here, it is about 95% commercial stuff.

Sure, I can buy a newer version of Big Blue, for about $3500 :eek:

So, if I can get this little bandsaw from Canada, brought home with free shipping from my kids going to my parent's for Christmas, seems like a deal to me, heck, if I do not like it, I'm sure I can sell it on auction for more than I paid for it :rolleyes:

I am restricted by size and weight limits for checked baggage, so we shall see, but with Don's recommendation, I hope this one is worth a good hard look.

Cheers!
 
That's interesting, Stu. In this day of world economy, it is still difficult for the average person to exchange goods around the world. I regretfully had to cancel exchanges with someone in Australia just because of outrageous shipping costs. Oddly, a person in England can send to the U.S. at fairly nominal expense, but going the other way is prohibitive. Good luck with that bandsaw.
 
Afternoon Stuart.. at least it is here... :>)

For what you stated you needed it for, the money and space considerations of going bigger.. Not the best choice ideally, but given your scenario.. sometimes "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do". ha.. ha...

You have established "why".. unless you can over-ride it with legitimate "why not's"..... "get er done".

Regards...

JT..sarge
 
Hey Stu...

So lets think about this. (I'm no tool expert, just a shmoe who can type :wave: )

Why does one buy a bigger bandsaw?

1- resaw capability? You don't need that
2- more power? If you accept a slower feed rate, I think you'll be okay.
3- better/beefier frame? Can't help you there. As long as you can set the tension on this saw adequately... isn't that all you need?
4- better/beefier/more versatile trunnions? personally, I almost never tilt my bandsaw table, so if you can get it securely level, I bet you'll be okay.
5- overall more robust machine? Can't help you there.

6- because you can. Well, you can't. ;)

Oh yeah, on the checking-as-luggage front... I'd suggest having your father wrap it in a second layer of cardboard. Preferably blank.
 
stu, get a few 1/4" -4 tooth blades while you`re shopping.......that`s what i use for scrolling....when your saw is tuned you should be able to cut 1" circles in 5-6" thick stock...tod
 
FWIW I think it is probably a good option for you. Like others I am amazed at the lack of selection you have there. Like I tell everyone, no one knows your needs better than you do. It's not often I wish I had bigger saw but there have been a few times I wished I had more than the 14" throat on mine. So, if you can live with it's limitations then buy it. Like you said if you don't like it you can sell it be out virtually nothing. Sounds like a no brainer to me.

Only other option I can think of is buying one on Ebay and having one of us work with you to get it shipped. But again, you know the costs of that better than me. And I imagine you have looked at that too.
 
Stu, I have it’s cousin the 10” Rikon that I bought to supplement my MM. So far I have no complaints other than the cheesy cast aluminum table that I soon replaced (I think the Craftsman has a better table.) It has been a good little BS.
 
Thanks guys for your honest opinions, if I could easily buy a 14" saw (read for a reasonable price) and I did not have Big Blue, then I would for sure, but so many things make me think this is the way to go.

1) I need a BS that can cut circles with a diameter smaller than the width of my Dungeon :rolleyes:
2) Space is always a problem
3) I'm cheap, when I think it is the right thing to do, I'll spend the money if I have to, but I'll explore all the less money options first.
4) If I don't like it, I'm sure I can sell it for what I paid for it.

Yep, sounds like a no brainer to me too, and, I got my lovely wife's OK, she thinks it makes sense too.

Now, I have to make sure of the shipping size and weight, I'll get my dad to check on that, and the only other concern I have is that my sister is taking the kids to the airport, and she has some arthritis, but then again, my 12 year old daughter is not small for her age, and once they check the stuff in.....:D

OH Yeah, the table, it is cast iron, so that is good too.

Again, thanks everyone for your input, I'm going to try to see if the Sears store in my hometown stocks it.

Cheers!
 
Stu, I happened to be at Sears this evening, and I had a look at the saw. (It's on sale in the Burbank store for $149.) They didn't have a blade on it, but I was able to look it over pretty well. All in all it seemed a bit light (and next to Big Blue it'll seem to be a toy), but still a pretty well executed tool, especially for the price. The wheels seemed a little light, but I'm used to cast iron in my Shop Fox. The trunion also seemed a bit un-beefy, but you're not gonna be ripping logs on the thing anyway, so what's there seemed ample for the kinds of stuff the saw's designed for. The blade guides looked functional, although they don't have a micro-adjustment for positioning. I failed to check the miter slot, but I believe it's smaller than the standard 3/4", but nothing you couldn't find a workaround for. If I wasn't out of space and already pushing the shop budget, I'd have considered getting one for myself at the sale price.

The box it comes in is about the size of the saw itself height and width-wise, and about 9 or 10 inches deep. It's pretty bulky to schlep through an airport, but definitely doable. It might help to make handles for the box out of tape.

As you said, if you get it and don't like it, you can likely sell it at a profit. Then you could change your sig to say Honest Stu's Import Tool Exchange -- Tokyo's Finest. ;)
 
What................... no pictures :D

Thanks very much Vaughn :thumb:

I know it will not be a Big Blue II, I'm hoping for a Baby Blue ;)

I want it to cut the Cabriole legs for a table, or for cuting segments for a segmented turning, or to just cut circles of some kind.

My eldest daughter and my younger sister should be able to get this into her car (backseat) and then at the airport they have those carts for luggage, once on the cart it would be easy enough, I hope.

Hey, I'm paying big bucks for them kids to go back to Canada for Christmas, I know they won't mind doing some schleping for dear old dad :D

Cheers!
 
Well, I made a mistake in the weight thing, of the saw, it is 73 pounds which is 33.2 Kg and the max overweight bag is 32 Kg. This means that the box will have to be opened and something removed and put into my kids luggage.

As it stands the saw is on sale for $199 Cdn, with a $5 shipping charge and a $35 overweight charge, so I should get it to me here in Japan for $239 Cdn :thumb:

My I'll have it shipped to my brother in Vancouver, and he will open the box to check to make sure everything is there, and he will remove some stuff that will make it under weight.

Looks like this is a go, I'm calling him in another hour or so to work out details.

Thanks everyone for the help, I sure hope this works out.

Cheers!
 
OK I ordered it, the total was $226 Cdn, (forgot about the GST & PST :rolleyes:) no shipping charges, my brother will pick it up at the Sears outlet store which is less than a mile from his house. Add to the cost the $35 over weight fee and I'm sitting at $261 Cdn or about $225 US.

Not bad, thanks again for all the help guys! :thumb:
 
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