Steelcity 18" bandsaw

[glenn witgen]

Looking at purchasing a 18" bandsaw.
Wondering what owner of steelcity have to say about there products.

[tim mathis]

Hi Glenn,
I have 3 steelcity tools ( drill press, 18 " bandsaw,8 " industrial jointer). i contacted them once for a replacement part and they sent it out fast and my problem was fixed.I am impressed with their tools.

The 18 inch bandsaw is a great saw. i use a 1/2 inch blade and a 1 inch blade . When set with the flutter method the tention scale is right on the mark on the saw, for these 2 blades.It is quiet, powerful and no vibration.
5 year warranty and I would purchase again.

Most are very happy with their tools and i don't remember reading a negitive post on here or other sites. Hope this helps.
Tim Mathis

[Myk Rian]

I have a Hybrid cabinet saw. Great equipment, customer relations, and warranty.

[Peter Melanson]

I bought the SS 18 BS in May, however I will be on my third one this weekend. The first was damaged so bad in shipping the store would not accept it. The second came in looked pretty good except for a good size dent near the top, however once I got it off the pallets, which was slightly damaged the base of it was not flat and very unstable. I spoke with the mamager of the store where I bought it and he came by my house to look at it and agreed. SS was not very interested in getting me a new one they were asking if I would take some free stuff and just get it ground flat. Both I and the store manager agreed a new one was the only way to fix it. They did and it is at the WC store now and will be delivered this weekend. I hope it is in good condition this time. The box has some crunch marks on it from some straps or something so we shall see. I would highly recommend SS to hire a trucking company that is worth while in the future. I believe it is part of there responsibility to assure it arrive in good condition as a manufacturer. I would also recommend that they crate the machine much better, it arrives on a pallet with a cardboard shell around it only, I have seen post where grizzly's are shipped with a wood structure around it which seems much better for preventing damage. So hopefully it will be in good working order and of the quality I hope and thought SS promotes.
Peter

[Mike Davin]

I have the SC 18" BS as well as their planner, jointer, TS and DS. All are great machines. Great customer service! When you give them a call you get a knowledgable person who can answer your question. I like making one call and the problem is resolved.

[John Thompson]

I got a deposit back on a MM 16 after seeing the 18" BS introduced at the International WW Fair in Atlanta in 2006 when Steel City made their debut. I felt it would do everything that machine can do with the exception of 16" re-saw which I really don't have need for not being a turner working with extremely large blanks.

It is extremely well made with double tension springs mounted to a solid base.. re-enforced in all the places it should be re-enforced.. large roller bearings.. micro adjustments.. extremely large bearing on the pulleys and motor hubs.. and a 5 Year Warranty backed by people that know tools and owned by people from the U.S. and Canada that have long track records with Power-matic and Delta.

I also have the 8" SC jointer and a SC 5 HP TS. I will have a SC variable speed drill press in a month or so. So.. needless to say I am impressed with Steel City machines and Steel City customer service and have no reason to believe I will become dis-illusioned with either in the future.

I have never got a machine yet that has been damaged but.. Steel City or no other manufacturer has control of how stock is treated once they sign a trucking way-bill. Trucking company employee's are not exactly top candidates for working in a Day Care Center for infants. :)

Good luck with your decision...

Sarge..

[Randy Rose]

Have an SC hybrid saw/jointer/mortiser very pleased.

[glenn witgen]

Due you notice any flex in the upper wheel housing.
It seamed like I could flex the Steelcity some and could not flex the new Jet 18" housing.

[John Thompson]

Due you notice any flex in the upper wheel housing.
It seamed like I could flex the Steelcity some and could not flex the new Jet 18" housing.

Glenn.. if you can flex a Steel City 18" upper housing I would compare you to a Budweiser Clydesdale horse. Take a good look at the upper case lower arm and you will see why you didn't flex it. I can't make it flex with a 3/4" bi-metal blade and trust me the double springs can tension that blade to the point the blade breaks before it will flex.

I was not thrilled with the original 5/8" stock blade on my saw. Steel City has since gone to using Timber-wolf blades but... I put it on the saw to see if I could get the upper case to flex? Do you need a 5/8" 6 TPI blade for free? It will require re-welding to make it work.

I am not sure about the new Jets but the old Jet would flex and had a host of other problems. I assumre after many years Jet figured that out all my themselves when they weren't selling many band-saws and have made improvements. I kept my small Jet bandsaw to keep a 1/4" 6 TPI blade on for curves. Not a bad BS but.. not a great BS.

Hope that helps and I will take a look a the new Jets. I did at IWF but the locals haven't put them on the floor yet. Maybe Redmond and Son but they are 65 miles away.

Sarge..

[John Sanford]

Sarge,

Could you provide some detail on the Jet flexing issue. Does it affect their their most recent "old model" (the first 18" with the triangular column), or is it an issue with the pre-triangular column models?

[Dave Lehnert]

It was with the pre-triangular column models that had the problem. The new column is so new I have not seen a review yet. I like JET products but the old style saw got bad reviews. Have hopes for the new model. It looks very well built.
The SC bandsaw also looks impressive.
The Grizzly 17" 0513x2 gets great reviews from owners and is priced at around $995. Reviews has it as good as the Jet's, SC, etc at $1600

[glenn witgen]

The flex that i was talking about was the upper blade guide. When i pulled and pushed on the upper blade guide i could flex the upper housing on the SC about 1/4". I dont know if this is anything to worry about just a obsevation.

[John Thompson]

Sarge,

Could you provide some detail on the Jet flexing issue. Does it affect their their most recent "old model" (the first 18" with the triangular column), or is it an issue with the pre-triangular column models?

Sorry to not get back sooner John.. I got your alert but got tied up with something and almost forgot. Looks like Dave covered you on the issue as he is correct that it was the old style Jets. I have an older small Jet which it is not an issue as small carbon blades don't require a lot of tension.

But when you get up to the larger blades in bi-metal which require more tension or carbides that really require tension.. the "back-bone" and upper case re-enforcement become an issue.

Sarge..

[John Thompson]

The flex that i was talking about was the upper blade guide. When i pulled and pushed on the upper blade guide i could flex the upper housing on the SC about 1/4". I dont know if this is anything to worry about just a obsevation.

I just saw your post as I am headed to the shop shortly. The upper blade guides will flex slitghtly but that is not an issue of concern IMO. I just re-sawed some 9" maple for two small boxes and have a piece of two left over it you would like me to post pictures of.

What I find is that upper case lower arm.. back-bone (main rear column).. side case and the way it is re-enforced and spring tension are issues. But.. I set my rear thrust bearing a bit farther back than most at about 1/16". When I push a piece of hard-wood through using my stock fence with a phenolic fence face I attached and a spring-board to ther right to trap the stock... the 3/4" Lennox bi-metal I use never bends back to touch the rear thrust bearing so consequently it doesn't spin at all.

With a sharp blade.. with a proper blade and correct teeth count for a given task.. there is really little tension placed on bearing. The real tension is placed by tensioning the blade properly and that's why the above mentioned are of importance as I see it.

Sarge..

[glenn witgen]

Broke down and bought a Steelcity 18" bandsaw.
Decided on the SC due to all the adjustment that can be made to there saw compaired to other bandsaws.
Over the weekend I ran about 150" of lumber threw the saw.
The fence could be a little better,but its usable.
So far I am completed satified with it.