Question re Bandsaw Riser Blocks

[Frank Pellow]

Within the next month, I plan to purchase my first bandsaw and I want that saw to be good enough that it will also be my last.

After a lot of reading, I have pretty well decided on the General 690.

My biggest concern about that saw is that one needs to use a riser block in order to achieve 12" resaw. I have no experience with riser blocks but have heard that they can take a lot of time to install and set up properly. I do plan to do a fair amount of re-sawing.

I would like to hear any comments about the use of riser blocks.

Also, if anyone knows a good reason that I sould not buy the General 690 please let me know (and your opinion that I should buy a Mini-Max instead does not qualify as good reason :D ).

[Bruce Page]

My biggest concern about that saw is that one needs to use a riser block in order to achieve 12" resaw. I have no experience with riser blocks but have heard that they can take a lot of time to install and set up properly. I do plan to do a fair amount of re-sawing.

I would like to hear any comments about the use of riser blocks. Frank, I was looking at the General 690 and according to General's website, the 690 has a one-piece frame with 12 3/4" resaw capacity. ??:confused:

As far as risor blocks go, I had one on my old Delta 14" and installation was pretty easy. The Delta setup used an alignment pin to line up the top & bottom frames.

[Jim Ketron]

I don't know about the 690 but I just got the G0555 with riser block and it took me about 15 min to get it in working order!

Jim

[Frank Pellow]

Frank, I was looking at the General 690 and according to General's website, the 690 has a one-piece frame with 12 3/4" resaw capacity. ??:confused:

As far as risor blocks go, I had one on my old Delta 14" and installation was pretty easy. The Delta setup used an alignment pin to line up the top & bottom frames.
That is what I thought from the web site too. But, I asked a local dealer and they said that it did have a riser block. I hope that it doesn't and will contact General directly in order to find out.

[Frank Pellow]

I don't know about the 690 but I just got the G0555 with riser block and it took me about 15 min to get it in working order!

Jim
But, then when you want to cut smaller stuff, do you have to remove the riser block? In other words, would I always be switching back and forth at 15 minutes a switch?

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

My Grizzley 0555 Riser block also took about 15 minutes to do . :)

You don't have to change to do small thing, just lower the upper blade guilde till it's just above the work.

Bruce ;)

[Bruce Page]

That is what I thought from the web site too. But, I asked a local dealer and they said that it did have a riser block. I hope that it doesn't and will contact General directly in order to find out.Frank, contacting General directly is a good idea. I'd be more inclined to believe their website, they are pretty explicit in their discription.

"The high-quality, one-piece precision machined cast-iron frame is heavily ribbed to <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com /><O:P style=eliminate any distortion."</O:P>
<O:P style="MARGIN: 0px"></O:P>
<O:P style="MARGIN: 0px">"MAXIMUM DEPTH OF CUT 12 3/4 ” (324mm)"</O:P>
<O:P style="MARGIN: 0px"></O:P>
<O:P style="MARGIN: 0px">It looks like a nice BS!</O:P>
<O:P style="MARGIN: 0px"></O:P>
<O:P style="MARGIN: 0px"></O:P>

[Ted Shrader]

Frank -

I think the other guys are right, you won't need one. It has enough capacity as bulit.

But if you end up with a saw that does - The one in my Jet 14" was very easy to install. The riser kits come with the riser block, an extended guide post and longer blade guards. No need to remove the riser block for thin work, just move the post down and cut away.

Regards,
ted

[Byron Trantham]

Liek Ted, my 14" Jet was a snap to retrofit and I have found the mod worth the effort. :o

[John Bailey]

Frank,

That's one of the bandsaw's I was looking at also. It was my understanding it did not have the riser option because it did 12+" and was one piece. The General 690 is the only one piece saw, that I could find, that was cast iron instead of steel. Does anyone know why? Am I wrong? How does a cast iron one piece compare to steel? So many questions, so little time.

John

[Greg Mann]

Frank,

That's one of the bandsaw's I was looking at also. It was my understanding it did not have the riser option because it did 12+" and was one piece. The General 690 is the only one piece saw, that I could find, that was cast iron instead of steel. Does anyone know why? Am I wrong? How does a cast iron one piece compare to steel? So many questions, so little time.John
John,
Comparing steel and iron is a mixed bag. generally speaking, steel is more rigid but iron has better vibration damping characteristics. Far more important than which material is used is the question of design. We have very large machine tools that are primarily fine-grain grey iron. Where more strength is needed they use ductile iron. What do we use for workholding fixtures? About 85% of the time it is steel. The point is to look at design and construction. How much cross section is there to counteract blade tension? How big is the footprint between the bolts holding components together? These types of explorations will generally tell you more than the material will. With good design, great tools can be made with either material, and, conversely, neither material can rescue a poor design.

Frank,
Somehow your posts have always brought out the best in us. The opinions about tools, electrical, DC, construction technique, etc. have always been presented in a true spirit of cooperation. The book idea has some merit. Perhaps an appendix highlighting the SMC contributions, thus illustrating how effective this forum can be in dessiminating collective wisdom, would add another dimension. I don't know if that would violate any publishing 'rules' regarding the reprinting of forum content. Just a thought.

Greg

[Scott Banbury]

Greg, you are so right.

I visited with an older woodworker a copule months ago--gave me a nice Walnut and let me saw it up in his yard. Sadly, he doesn't do much woodworking nowadays due to health but he did show me around his shop.

He does still tinker and rebuild old machinery and has several lathes, planers and jointers of the heavy castiron variety--won't come off any though :(

Of particular note is his resaw/bandsaw home built out of heavily laminated and gussetted plywood with 28" wheel and a 5 hp direct drive motor. He has a tension meter and this plywood bandsaw was easily holding as much as I typically put on my Woodmizer. It cut great and had little vibration due to the huge chunks of mahogany he had it bolted-to/sitting-on. The whole construction is heavily bolted on well-specified centers/patterns.

It wasn't quite as sweet as the old 7.5 HP direst drive 36" American Woodworking Machinery that came with my shop though :cool:

[Mac McAtee]

""MAXIMUM DEPTH OF CUT 12 3/4 ” (324mm)"

I think you will find they are talking about the distance between the blade and the side where you put the riser. That dimension is the maximum width that you can cut.

[Frank Pellow]

""MAXIMUM DEPTH OF CUT 12 3/4 ” (324mm)"

I think you will find they are talking about the distance between the blade and the side where you put the riser. That dimension is the maximum width that you can cut.
Mac, what you are describing would be the width of cut, would it not? According to the General web site, the maximum width of cut is 14.75 inches.

I still have not heard back from General, but I have talked to some more folks who say they think (they do not actually own the saw) that there is no riser in the General 690.

[John Bailey]

Frank,

I've been trying to find a place to see a General 690. Do you know where? Is there a place in Toronto? Also, has anyone on the U.S. side of the border bought a General or General Int. tool, and if so, where? One last question Frank, how did you come to pick the 690. For the price, does it concern you that the throat size is only 14.75? I guess that was two questions! Eh!!

John

[Frank Pellow]

Frank,
I've been trying to find a place to see a General 690. Do you know where? Is there a place in Toronto?
....
One last question Frank, how did you come to pick the 690.
...
For the price, does it concern you that the throat size is only 14.75? I guess that was two questions! Eh!!
John
I have not seen a General 690, nor do I know where to see one. Hence my apparent ignorence about whether the saw does or does not require a riser block for 12.75 re-saw. I have seen the General 490 at a dealer (Markham Industrial) very close to my home. The 490 is similar to the 690, except that it has an (even) smaller motor and a smaller re-saw capacity.

The main attraction of the General 690 is that it is entirely made in Canada and I have heard nothing but good things about General's Canadian-made machines. My high school had a lot of General stuff and it really stood up to the abuse that we gave it. Other things I like are: (1) the cast iron construction making it likely that their claim of no vibration is true; (2) the tension adjustment indicator on the 490 looked good to me. The thnig that concerns me is that the motor is only 1.5 horsepower.

I would prefer more than 14.75, but it is not a show stopper.

[nic obie]

Frank,

I also would be concerned about the lack of hp. My 14" Delta had a 1.5 hp motor and no riser block. It would resaw 5.5" boards but it was a slow tedious process. I almost bought a riser block and a larger motor for it but after finding out what they would cost and after figuring out what the Delta would resell for, I opted for just buying a bigger saw.

Maybe it would be possible for General to sell you the saw with a bigger motor if you paid extra for it. Your local dealer might do the change over (for a price) just to get the sale. It never hurts to ask.

[John Bailey]

Frank,

I've noticed in the reviews that sometimes one bandsaw's 1.5 hp can be considerably more powerful that the next 1.5 hp. I, also, have heard nothing but praise for General products. Besides, that little maple leaf flag decal sure looks cool!!

John

[John Bailey]

Frank,

Just got off the phone with "The WoodSource" in Grand Rapids, MI. They handle General and General Int. They only had the 490 along with a number of General Int. bandsaws. He did say they had trouble selling the General line because of price and apparent lack of features. However, he said, while the General line does have a much better fit and finish, the real difference is seen when you start taking them apart. He said they're worth every penny and are quality throughout. Just so happens I'll be going through Grand Rapids on my way to Chicago this week. I'm going to stop and take a look. I'll let you know what I think.

John