The perfect dedicated countour cutting bandsaw?

[Van Huskey]

I have been mulling over the choices for a deictade contour cutting bandsaw for a while now. Although I am months away from getting my new shop built I like to make machine choices far in advance so I can watch CL and quickly evaluate if a machine that comes up will satisfy my needs/desires, which is easy if you have a machine picked out you can compare it to in price/quality/capacity etc. I am curious what attributes others would look for in a decidated curve cutting saw. Wheel size/guides/features etc etc.

[Eiji Fuller]

I would have to ask what size table and throat distance you need for the work peices you normally cut and go from there. When I finally get to rebuild my 24" scmi I think ill use that for my curve cutting. With a 3/8 trimaster I should be good for about 3 years.

[Van Huskey]

I would have to ask what size table and throat distance you need for the work peices you normally cut and go from there. When I finally get to rebuild my 24" scmi I think ill use that for my curve cutting. With a 3/8 trimaster I should be good for about 3 years.

This is something I have obviously thought about. At first I thought I needed a lot of thrat depth BUT the more I thought about it I realized the rare times I cut something that would exceed the 13.5" or so throat depth of even a 14" saw I realized that a nice big rolling L shaped table would cure any issues in that I could cut the piece with the wide potion out. I figure I will build a rolling cabinet (that I can add tool storage to) with a laminate covered L shape top that nests against the saws table and give myself as much table space as I need when I need it.

I should have already mentioned if the "easy answer" would be to look at what pattern makers use, if I did that I would probably find the solution in a 24"+ Agazzani et al. That however is not value effective for me!! I also didn't mention a budget because I am interested in attributes not machine recommendations.

So for me I think even a 14" saws throat depth is fine as long as I follow through with a auxillary table, something I am surprised I don't see more of with bandsaws, but they are almost always found at the back of a TS though obviously thay probably get more use on a typical TS.

[Lance Norris]

Van, I have a dedicated, curve cutting bandsaw, now dont laugh, but its the mostly, universally hated, Ridgid. It is a very much hot-rodded Ridgid though, and for my hobby shop, its excellent. I also have a Grizzly G0457, and if I was looking for a dedicated curve cutting bandsaw, in what I perceive to be your budget(I follow your posts), it would be something similar to my 457. A steel frame, larger horsepower, quick tension release, solid base, 14-17", Carter Stabilizer equipped, or parallel, grooved rear bearing guided, bandsaw. This would be the curve cutting saw, and a larger saw in the 20-24" range for resaw and ripping. You know what features makes a quality bandsaw, Im sure you really dont need other opinions, but those are mine.

[Dave MacArthur]

Van,
Ohhh I was just out looking at my 14" Delta today and thinking about this exact same thing! I know you'll be a good choir for me on this, so let me start preachin'!

1. It's for curves, so it needs to handle smaller blades needed so: Blade sizes available: 1/8" - 1" wide
2. On curves, you need a decent size throat depth, if you're just getting the thing for this then I'd want 17". Yes, you know where I'm going, can I have an , "Amen Brother Band-sawman!"
3. You may be cutting thin stuff mostly, but then you may need to cut some decent thickness curves too, so let's ask for 2HP hey? We can always back off this if we don't find something that meets all our specs...
3. Table size. For most curve cutting on larger items, it's probably fairly thin and light work, so you could easily build a larger table size, so I don't think this is critical--in fact for a dedicated curve machine, I would do just that. However, at least 17"x17", or maybe 24"x17".
4. Dust collection. I'd want 2 4" ports built in.
5. Frame... I'd want a euro steel frame. Why? You may end up using this for larger blades than you expected, might as well be able to tension them up. Plus I just think it's a better design. AND...
Footprint! The euro footprint is smaller than a 14" clone with open base, and more stable.
6. Electrical--I always want my tools to be able to be wired 220V to allow me to keep my amps low for my shop breakers. But I also want to be able to set it to 110v in case I don't have my circuits run in that area of shop yet... so dual voltage.
7. Should have nice holes drilled in base ready to attach some full lock casters (on sale from Rocker with free shipping for $24, got mine yesterday, nice).
8. Color, I think you should probably have some "Dazzling White" in your shop. Maybe mitigate it with some green.

My suggestion:
$698 G0513P
or $895 G0513x2.

Then you can use it as a resaw machine too... Honestly, for $698, why would you buy a 14"?

Ok, that being said... if you can find a solid 14" for a steal on CL, then I'd get it, and since you already have a 20"MM, you can probably afford to just wait and look for it. And since you won't be able to justify another BS for a long time, maybe this is your last chance to loooook and looook, which we both know is great fun. Maybe you should draw this out longer than that impulse Griz buy will allow, for max enjoyment.

[Josiah Bartlett]

I've used my Walker Turner 16" to cut out a few big contoured things, and it does the job nicely. It has a pretty big table and its rock solid, although the guides need to be carefully adjusted to get it to cut well. I really use it mostly for resaw. If I was doing contour-only work I would try to adapt a Carter stabilizer to it. Whatever you decide to go with, make sure it has good tires, is well balanced, and has the ability to upgrade the guides.

[Stephen Cherry]

INCA?

vive la différence


That's french.

[Rusty Eads]

My suggestion is going to be a bit different. I have a 1930's Boice Crane 24" scroll saw. Though I must add it is not your everyday scroll saw. It can cut up to 5" thick using regular band saw blades. I cut my blades to length out of regular band saw blades. It can also cut metal up to 1/4" thick if you ever find yourself needing to. I have my band saw set up for resaw and do my curve cutting on the Boice since it has the 24" throat. It also has a 24" x 24" table perfect for support. I got mine off of CL for $35 and came with 15 80" band saw blades. Maybe not exactly what you were asking about but I thought that since it seems to serve your needs I would throw it out there.

[Van Huskey]

Had a big reply typed (using wifes computer with a different keyboard) hit something and went back a page and lost it, too mad to repost. Will bump this and reply when I get a chance!

[george wilson]

My favorite bandsaw is an old 20" Delta from the 50's. We had one at work,which I used for 39 years,and I have bought one which I'm painting for my home shop. MAKE SURE THE PARTS ARE ALL THERE as delta charges a fortune for their "Historic ' parts. It is easy for blade guides to be missing. I've been using an OLD model Delta 14" since 1964,with riser blocks. It's a lot better than the new clones. Heavier,more rigid castings.

[Kirk Poore]

A big throat and a big table are really handy. I run a 1/4" blade on my 30" Hall & Brown all the time and it does great. A 3/16" blade worked good too, but I don't think the Carter guides could handle an eighth inch blade.

Oh, and a big old C-frame bandsaw will have a much lower table, which is really nice. My 14" Jet table is very high, which is fine for cutting small, detailed stuff, but for cutting curves on big items a low table makes the wood much easier to handle.

Kirk