Bandsaw question?

[Jack Mincey]

I've used bandsaws now for over 30 years in high school and as a shop teacher in a small high school. I am in the market for a good bandsaw for my home shop, I just finished to use in my retirement years. I've been looking at the laguna 16 HD classic, the MM16, and the Grizzly 21" industrial. Here is my question. Why do all these nice bandsaws have the table height so dang low. The old delta bandsaw in my school shop has it's table at 43 3/4" high. I have a 18" jet set on blocks to bring it up to 42" in our School shop. At 6' 4" I found the table on the Jet to be way to low and put it on blocks. My High school students like it better raised up so they don't have to bend over as well. I hate to buy a 2 to 3 thousand dollar saw and have to put it up on blocks to use. I think that the foot brake on the Laguna and the MM16 would be odd setting up off the floor 6 or 7 inches more.
Thanks,
Jack

[Jeff Willard]

Possibly to keep the overall height below a certain level. I don't know, I don't design bandsaws, but here's what I see. The table could be raised, but at the cost of reduced resaw capacity. Or the whole thing could be elevated, creating an overall height that, maybe the designer felt was impractical. Or the column could be extended, increasing the amount of material used in the construction, and possibly sacrificing some rigidity. That would also increase the length of band needed. Not a major concern with a carbon blade, but when a carbide blade is installed, the cost can really get up there.

I notice that Laguna makes one of their 14" saws with a 44" table height, but none of the larger ones.

[george wilson]

I believe some of those saws are primarily for resawing thick boards. You don't want a low one for general use. If you push a 12" thick board over the low ones,it's at more of a working height.

[Rod Sheridan]

I've used bandsaws now for over 30 years in high school and as a shop teacher in a small high school. I am in the market for a good bandsaw for my home shop, I just finished to use in my retirement years. I've been looking at the laguna 16 HD classic, the MM16, and the Grizzly 21" industrial. Here is my question. Why do all these nice bandsaws have the table height so dang low. The old delta bandsaw in my school shop has it's table at 43 3/4" high. I have a 18" jet set on blocks to bring it up to 42" in our School shop. At 6' 4" I found the table on the Jet to be way to low and put it on blocks. My High school students like it better raised up so they don't have to bend over as well. I hate to buy a 2 to 3 thousand dollar saw and have to put it up on blocks to use. I think that the foot brake on the Laguna and the MM16 would be odd setting up off the floor 6 or 7 inches more.
Thanks,
Jack

Jack, with your height, a cabinet saw is too low to be comfortable for you.

When I owned a contractor saw, I cut 4" off the legs of the saw to make it a good working height for me.

I have the opposite problem, I'm 5' 7" and find the larger bandsaws more comfortable to use.

There's nothing wrong with building a base for a bandsaw, it's just smart practice to adjust your work environment to your physical requirements.

It's like workbenches, if you're hand planing wood, you want a low bench, if you're doing delicate work like inlay you want the bench higher so that you are at a comfortable work height.

The larger saws see a lot of resaw use, so the table is low, this is an advantage for seeing the cut line, and for pushing the wood through the blade.

One option would be to make an 8" high box that fits on the bandsaw table. That way when you are cutting curves in thinner material, the work table would be raised up for you. You could have a low height for resaw and a higher height for fine work.

Regards, Rod.

[Scot Ferraro]

The lower table is for resawing heavy timbers. It would be easy to raise the saw up on a platform to make it a more comfortable height (Lonnie Bird's Bandsaw Book has one such example for his 24 inch BS).

Scot

[Philip Johnson]

I put the footmaster casters under my minimax it is now about 37.5 inches not quite as high as you would like but good for me and it sure moves nice.

[Jack Mincey]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I cut out bowl blanks all the time that are right at 12" high on a 18" jet that I have the table at 42" and it is very comfortable. It will be easier to raise the saw than it would be to lower it.
Thanks again,
Jack

[Josiah Bartlett]

The nice thing is that when you put it on a mobile base it comes up to the right height.

I'm 6'2", I find a lot of saws to be too low as well. I'm working on a new welded steel base for my 16" Walker Turner to relocate the motor underneath and give me a bit higher table.