Bandsaw

allen levine

Member
Messages
12,340
Location
new york city burbs
Im getting around to thinking its time I look into purchasing a bandsaw.
I want to cut stock 3-4 inches and I want to have curves, as in chair backs, and other things.
I cant get much more than a 2 inch cut through hardwood with my handheld jigsaw.
I know there are a million opinions on which to buy.
My needs are:(in no order of importance)
It must accept a decent mobile base so it can be moved daily.
It must not be over 75-76 inches tall with base, maybe a couple of inches higher
My biggest needs are for 3-6 inch width stock.
I want to be able to cut curves easy enough, not sure if this is related to blade size or blade length or power or all of these things.
It must be fairly understandable for me to change parts and update as needed or when something breaks or wears out.
I do not have a 220 line, must run on regular power.
I dont think Ill be using it 1/10 as much as my tablesaw or crosscut saw, but it should be a decent quality.
Accesories must be easy to find.(I dont know anything about bandsaws, but if there are better blade guides and things like that, I need them available, not on a hard to find list or make it yourself list)

Id appreciate a few thoughts if anyone has time to mention positive and negative things about some brands.
I must meet all my criteria, but I have to measure the height thing, I may be able to go a few more inches.
 
Well Allen, There are a big bunch of bandsaws to choose from. Delta, Powermatic, Jet, Rikon, Grizzly, Mini-Max, etc. etc.

Then there's the construction form. Cast iron frame, welded steel frame.

Size. 12", 14" 16" 18" 20", etc.

And cutting height, 6", 12", 16" 18", using a riser block or not.

Horse power, 1, 1.5, 2, etc.

Every one of the fore-mentioned makers have real good features and some not so good. Hard to find ones made in USA anymore. (Please correct me if I am wrong)

Deltas and Powermatics were the better of the cast frame USA made machines, especially in the 14" size. Their prices new are fairly high, but still decent machines. I have a 14" Delta and wouldn't part with it. (I bought it used 4 years ago for $500.) I just helpd a friend buy a 14" Powermatic with a riser setup (He got it for $500, only 2 years old) I'd say Jet & Grizzly would probably work just fine for you and save you a few bucks.

I have no experience with Mini Max or Rikon, but I am sure there will be others who will help on those.

Good quality blades will make most any bandsaw perform better. Spend your money on these and you won't go wrong.

Hope I have been of some help.

Aloha, Tony
 
tony, has given you good info and dont be afraid of rikon!, steel city looks good to for the dollars, and have good tech support,, have a large Rikon and its made pretty well. its NOT a mini max at all but for my use its fine.. if yu can find a used one you could go more bang for your buck.. hp is one thing yu want to get as much of as yu can for your dollar. but be aware chuck is huntin for one too:) and the way your progressing in this woodworking land you gonna want to resaw.. so get a rizer block or a saw that will resaw a good height ....
 
I dont think Ill be using it 1/10 as much as my tablesaw or crosscut saw
That's what I thought too, but you might be suprised at how handy it is. Mine is about the most used machine in my shop now. Of course, it will depend on your style of woodworking. I have a steel frame 14" inch Grizzly, have abused it severely, and have no complaints, other that now I wish I had a 19":D
 
Allen, as much furniture building as you've been doing, it wouldn't surprise me if you could take advantage of having a bandsaw with at least some resaw capacity. You'll be surprised how handy it is being able to turn a 2 x 8 into a pair of 1 x 8s (or thereabouts).

I'd suggest either one of the standard import 14" cast iron bandsaws with a riser (Grizzly, Jet, Delta, Powermatic, Steel City, etc.) or the biggest steel frame (Rikon, Grizzly, and probably others) saw you can find that'll run on 110v power. None of them are ideal resaw machines, but with your power limitations, they'd still get the job done.

I agree with Barry...you might just be surprised how handy a bandsaw is. ;)
 
don`t limit yourself to 110v....most saws table or band do best with at least 2hp........more is better! if nothing else rig up an extention cord to pull from your dryer circuit.
 
to go along with tod ,,allen have you checked in on gettin a larger service for your shop so you can have 220 available to you if needed.. that might be more useful to you right now..then it would allow for more choices in any tool you are looking for.
 
running 220 out to the garage is not an expense Im going to undertake.
Its a licensed electrician, and Im sure its going to take re-doing most of the stuff I have in there now.(and I wonder if local village needs to be notified if I upgrade to 220 out to garage with licensed electrician, the codes out here are ridiculous, unbelievably ridiculous)
Id rather not go that way, although I DO uinderstand the advantages.
If it was all in my home, Id think about it. More trenches, alot more expenses, Im sure it will cost me a small fortune, and Im happy running the machines now on 120, seems enough for me.
Can I run a 75 foot extension cord for a bandsaw from my home?
Is there some kind of limit running cords vs the performance of the machine?

Yes, Im very lost on this, but Im almost sure going through a major expense for one machine I dont think Ill use as most think, just might not be wise now.
(if it was 500 dollar expense, Id do it, but I dont think it will be anywhere near that, so Im just reluctant)
 
I think just about any 12" or 14" band saw out there will fit your needs. The 14" saws are all over the place and made by everyone. The cast iron versions are nearly identical from one maker to the next and have been for about the past 50 years. If it were me, i'd start looking for a decent used machine. Because they've been essentially the same for the past several decades, age with a 14" saw isn't so much an issue as is completeness and condition. Accessories are pretty common and, for the most part, interchangable among brands (a bit of modification may be needed here or there, but usually nothing major).
Should you come across an older larger machine that will fit your needs, i'd seriously consider that as well. I've got a couple of band saws - my workhorse is a 1932 Crescent 20" machine with only a 1hp motor on it. While i'm thinking of upgrading the motor (just resawed a bunch of 10" black walnut - worked fine but sure was slow going) the saw is a good one. It weighs in around 900 lbs with its huge original motor, but i have it on a mobile base and move it in and out of its parking space when i need it.
Used machinery will give you more bang for your buck. If parts are missing or broken, i'd steer clear unless it's a fairly common machine. Parts for old Deltas and Powermatics are generally available.
If you think you might ever resaw, get something with a riser block already in it, or install a riser block before purchasing a bunch of blades. Also, you might want something with more than 1 hp of power.
If i were buying new, i'd look at Jet, Steel City, Delta, Powermatic, General International, Rikon, Shop Fox, and Craftsman, in no particular order. The Steel City and Craftsman come out of the same factory - newer Craftsman saws are a real step above what they had just 5 years ago.
Have fun with it.
Paul Hubbman
 
running 220 out to the garage is not an expense Im going to undertake.
Its a licensed electrician, and Im sure its going to take re-doing most of the stuff I have in there now.(and I wonder if local village needs to be notified if I upgrade to 220 out to garage with licensed electrician, the codes out here are ridiculous, unbelievably ridiculous)
Id rather not go that way, although I DO uinderstand the advantages.
If it was all in my home, Id think about it. More trenches, alot more expenses, Im sure it will cost me a small fortune, and Im happy running the machines now on 120, seems enough for me.
Can I run a 75 foot extension cord for a bandsaw from my home?
Is there some kind of limit running cords vs the performance of the machine?

Yes, Im very lost on this, but Im almost sure going through a major expense for one machine I dont think Ill use as most think, just might not be wise now.
(if it was 500 dollar expense, Id do it, but I dont think it will be anywhere near that, so Im just reluctant)

It might be closer to $500 (or less) than you think. You might check around a bit and see if any local electricians offer free estimates. Like you, I was pretty certain I'd never be able to have 220v power in my shop, but a year or so ago we had to upgrade the power panel for our house, so I had the shop upgrade done then. I don't recall the price for the shop portion alone, but I remember it was less than I'd been expecting.

I'll let others chime in about the extension cord idea. A 75 footer should work if the wire is big enough. If you did have 220v, you could also use it for other tools. Your tablesaw can run on either 110v or 220v, for example.

That all said, there are still bandsaws out there that'll do what you want to do with 110v power.
 
I have a 1 1/2 hp 110V bandsaw and it has never lacked for power, and I cut very gnarly stuff; mesquite and desert iron wood in large dimensions. So I don't buy that you need a larger 220v motor. Big motors are nice if you do a lot of resawing like 8"+. Doesn't sound like thats what your into anyhow. There are legions of people out there happy with 110v bandsaws.
 
It might be closer to $500 (or less) than you think. You might check around a bit and see if any local electricians offer free estimates. Like you, I was pretty certain I'd never be able to have 220v power in my shop, but a year or so ago we had to upgrade the power panel for our house, so I had the shop upgrade done then. I don't recall the price for the shop portion alone, but I remember it was less than I'd been expecting.


vaughn, this is long island. Electricians say good morning to you, and charge you 50 dollars because they spoke with you.

Its like the old joke(reality?)
The brain surgeon has the electrician over to fix his light, and when hes done, the surgeon smiles and says, hey, look at the new mercedes 560SL I just bought for 100 grand, and points to his new sports car.
The electrician takes a look and says, yeah, its an ok car, that was all I could afford also when I was a brain surgeon.
 
paul, Im reluctant to buy used since Im not that mechanically connected, nor know much about machines.
Someone here recently alerted me to a nice used machine on auction 10 minutes from my house, but the bids went high, and I was advised to forget it, wasnt worth it.
I keep looking. There are alot of bandsaws for sale in ads, but they are commercial units. Im not sure Id want to buy from a shop where the machine has thousands and thousands of hours on it since Im not too keen on that stuff, nor would I know how to rate its condition.(and they all are 220)
 
If this is a duplicate or similar post, Im sorry, seems I lost my first one.

I shopped around this morning, had some time off.

I wanted to buy something I felt is top notch, and I found the powermatic 14inch for 1100.(he has it for 1199, he took off 100)
The owner of the store will throw in the riser block, assemble it for free, and deliver it for free.
I tried to get him to throw in a free mobile base, but he wouldnt budge on that.
I will insist on a new blade to fit with the riser block installed.

Powermatic is also offering a rebate, not sure if he said 50 or 75 dollars.

If he threw in the HTC mobile base, I might have given him a deposit on the spot, but wanted to softly discuss this with the boss first.
I cant use the excuse well honey, if you want me to build you quality(in my world I have my own definition of my quality) furniture, I need the right machinery.I wore out that excuse with the tablesaw and jointer

Its my birthday coming, maybe Ill get lucky and convince her what a great gift this would make.
Ill hold off resawing the mahogany for the legs until I speak with her tonight.
Its not like she holds my wallet or the money, but Id feel no guilt knowing she agrees I should have it.
 
I cant use the excuse well honey, if you want me to build you quality(in my world I have my own definition of my quality) furniture, I need the right machinery.I wore out that excuse with the tablesaw and jointer

You keep using it until it does not work. I used the excuse of one build for an entire year of purchases. Of course it helps if it takes you forever to finish anything.:) Your best leverage is when you are near the end and you can convince her that this will be the purchase that will alllow you to finish the project.:D
 
Hi Allen

Before you put your cash on the counter do some more looking. Based on what I have read in your posts you are not even convinced you need the saw.

I would look at Grizzly. Now bear in mind I live in Canada, we cannot get them here, but if I was buying another machine i would be off to Grizzly like I did for my jointer. The value for money is just tremendous and their quality is good.

Now if you want to support the USA then buy the Delta X5 series of 14" Bandsaw. Still made in the USA.

http://www.deltaportercable.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=17671#

Thats what I bought when I was looking.

But to be frank after having made the trip to Grizzly and seen their 14" saws I spent way too much money buying mine from a local supplier.

I can see that the issue of having the machine assembled is a significant value to you so is delivery but putting a bandsaw together is not a big issue and Grizzly delivers all across USA.

You could easily save yourself minimum of $300 and have your mobile base and riser block included.

Take a look at this little baby and compare the costs and the power.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/14-Extreme-Series-Bandsaw/G0555X

You would pay $689 delivered to your door and then add about $130 for the mobile base and riser kit. I am sure if you phoned them right now they would probably do a better deal due to the economy.
I have nothing against the powermatic brand but it is a premium in this case for questionable gain.

You can do a lot with the savings in your tool budget.

Just an alternative thought. Not sure what others think but this is my 5 cents worth.

By the way all the machines refered to are 1.5hp just like the PM.
 
Your point is valid, and was considered Rob.

But, as with the jointer, buying locally from a guy who is less than 8 minutes from my house, a guy who has been around serving the industry for more years than Ive lived here, is worth alot to me.

My wife got home from work, and said if thats what I really want for my birthday, tell her where to go and I got it.

So it looks pretty certain Ill buy the bandsaw alot earlier than I thought, and use it to resaw my wood next week.

IM pretty well set with my tools, maybe a few more hand tools, and if the big orange store ever gets the lithium 18v battery packs in again, or even online, my batteries are all going.
 
Sounds like you made a good decision, Allen. The Powermatic is a great saw. I would also recommend the Grizzly to save a few bucks, but your reasoning for buying locally is very sound. :thumb: Plus, if you ever need to replace something like the deframbulator valve on the McKinney sprocket of the flugelpinger, the local guy will be able to take good care of you. :p

...I will insist on a new blade to fit with the riser block installed...

Keep in mind bandsaw blades are somewhat disposable, and you'll end up with several different blades for different tasks. They do last quite a while, but not nearly as long as a tablesaw blade does. On the plus side, they only cost about $15 or $20 each, so it's not nearly as painful as buying a tablesaw blade.
 
I looked at bandsaws for over a month before I bought mine. I went to home depot,woodcraft and some other local stores before i finaly bought my Grizzly Go555. It was on sale for $395 when I bought it last november and it had all the features I was looking for. I only wish I had gotten the riser block at the time even though I am not planing on resawing anything larger than 6" it would be nice to have.
 
Top