Bandsaws for the short

[Jeremy Greiner]

I'm in the market for a bandsaw and I think I've narrowed down what I'm looking for, but I'm having trouble with the height of the bandsaw table. Being 5' tall, the table on the bandsaws feels higher than I would like.

I would like a 14'' bandsaw, that I can get a riser block for to allow for 10'' resaw.
I would like to get a nice bandsaw, but a lot of the higher end ones have enclosed bases with the motor mounted inside. This makes it difficult to make a custom base for the tool to lower the table.

I just wanted to see if there are any other shorter wood workers out there and what they suggest for a bandsaw.

-jeremy

[Tom Esh]

Actually two of the more popular deluxe 14" models have enclosed bases that are entirely separate from the frame/motor assembly. Check out the Grizzly G0457 and the Rikon 10-325. Note both of these also have 10" or better resaw capacity - no riser needed.

[Joseph Tarantino]

almost all 14" band saws mount to a base, so removing it from whatever base it is supplied with is usually just a matter of removing 4 or so bolts. build your own base, drill holes in it for the mounting holes of the band saw and bolt one to the other. larger saws, 16" and up, have a tendancy to be all in one units, so adjusting for height would be more challenging. even the rikon 10-325, a well thought of 14" BS with 13" resaw capacity, sits on a base from which it can be removed.

just do yourself a favor and avoid jet and powermatic. long on promise, short on delivery and generally pricey. they almost never seem to be rated as either top tools or top values in most tool tests, especially the tests conducted by wood magazine. at 14", there are several other brands out there (rikon and grizzly come to mind immediately) so finding a good 14" in your price range shouldn't be a problem. good luck.

[Jamie Buxton]

Laguna sells a 14" bandsaw with a 12" resaw capacity. It sits on a stand, not the floor, so you could make it any height you want.

When I had a 14" Delta, I put a riser block on it. The saw struggled. It didn't have the power to cut 10-12" worth of height, and/or it didn't have the ability to tension a nice big resaw blade. Life became much much better when I bought a saw designed from the beginning to resaw 12".

[Van Huskey]

The Laguna LT14 SUV has a very low table. Any floorstander designed around resawing (as all Lagunas are) will have a table 8-12 inches lower than the Delta cast clone saws. My Minimax has a table at about tablesaw level, but the only really low table 14" saw that I know of (without modifying obviously) is the LT14 SUV.

[Matt Meiser]

What about building a nice stable box you could keep by the BS to stand on?

Any of the CI ones you could build your own base since they are basically a box with a motor mount inside. Many people have built bases from wood/MDF/plywood.

Thinking about my own (older Rockwell) it wouldn't be a ton of work for a welder to cut off say about the bottom 1/3 and weld in a reinforcing frame made of some angle to replace the structure that was removed. I'd guess the work of cleaning it up and repainting it would take longer.

[Chris Parks]

Leave the bandsaw alone and raise yourself by building a platform around it or in front of it. I had a bench exactly the same, it was too high so I built a platform and even 4" made a huge difference.

[Paul Symchych]

A platform built out of 3/4" ply on 2x4s or 2x 'whatever' makes a lot of sense to me. Just make it big enough so you have room to shuffle your feet around. This way you can get whatever standard saw that suits your needs or budget.
In addition to being the quickest and cheapest solution you will have a standard height saw which will be easier to sell come the day you want to get rid of it.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I would watch CL for an open stand Delta. Remove the stand and build a base that brings height to where you want. I know a lady who has a stool so she can reach tension knob on her Jet 14". It does have a riser block though.

[Jeremy Greiner]

Check out the Grizzly G0457 and the Rikon 10-325.
The grizzly looks really nice I'm just aprehensive about ordering from them, I have no experience with them and I've read that there can be quiet a few problems when the tool is delivered.


What about building a nice stable box you could keep by the BS to stand on?

A platform built out of 3/4" ply on 2x4s or 2x 'whatever' makes a lot of sense to me. Just make it big enough so you have room to shuffle your feet around. This way you can get whatever standard saw that suits your needs or budget.
I'm a firm believer of bringing the tool to the woodworker, not the woodworker to the tool. It doesn't make me feel comfortable standing on a box or platform around any tool. I'd like to make a custom base for it and I'd throw the original base in the attic or something so if I do resell it I'd have it.


I would watch CL for an open stand Delta.
http://orlando.craigslist.org/tls/2183175700.html this has been on craigslist for a week or two, I'm concerned about the poor paint job, not really because it's bad but because it makes me feel like he's hiding something. Unfortunatly most people are trying to sell off their 9'' craftsman for 100$ and that's the closest we get to bandsaws.

Thanks a lot for the input, it looks like I need to find one that doesn't have the motor mounted under the saw in the base like the powermatic and jet saws do.

-jeremy

[Chris Parks]

Don't knock a platform until you have tried it. In the end the result is the same, the tool matches the woodworkers height. It is a fairly common thing to use what I call duck boards (platform) to get off the concrete floor of a workshop for foot comfort reasons and it works well.

[david brum]

Jeremy, here's another idea. There are a LOT of happy owners of the Grizzly 513 series saws. The stock table is already 6" lower than the table on a 14" saw (37ish inches vs 43ish inches). You also get a saw which has 12" of resaw, can tension a wider blade and has a motor capable of handling the larger capacity cut.

In contrast, say you get the $250 saw. You still need to get a riser kit, plus a bigger motor to make it work well. Then figure in some Carter blade guides and a few extras and you could easily be spending $600 anyway. Add another $100-$150 for a decent fence. Then consider the hassle factor of figuring some kind of dust extraction and making a lower base, etc. You get my drift.

If you search the forum's database, you'll find about a gazillion references to these saws. They're one of the best deals out there.

http://http://www.grizzly.com/products/17-Bandsaw-2-HP/G0513

[Curt Harms]

Actually two of the more popular deluxe 14" models have enclosed bases that are entirely separate from the frame/motor assembly. Check out the Grizzly G0457 and the Rikon 10-325. Note both of these also have 10" or better resaw capacity - no riser needed.

Bingo. I did precisely that with a Rikon 10-325 and built mobile base features into the shop-built base. I had a Delta mobile base without the lifting caster so improvised on that. T'ain't a thing of beauty but it works well. Step on the hinge to lift the saw, step on the hinge and pull the rope to lower. Though you can't see them, there are 2 2" casters screwed to the bottom of the 2 X 4 in the front. The casters swivel. One thing I would do differently--I'd reduce the height a couple inches so the B.S. table is about the same height as the table saw & J/P tables, around 35". Then I could use those as infeed/outfeed support.

[Bruce Wrenn]

First, the saw in the CL add is used to cut aluminum, which most likely means it will have to have new tires. I would hold out for a saw with riser kit already installed. Here (central NC) they come in bunches. First there are none on CL,and suddenly several will appear. The last saw I bought was an enclosed stand, with riser block. I paid $350 for it

[Josiah Bartlett]

I personally think a raised platform is fairly unsafe unless it is large enough that you can put a railing around it. I like to keep any tripping hazards away from power tools with spinning blades.

[Steve Peterson]

I was searching for a bandsaw that I could place at the end of a 40" tall workbench.

Most 14" bandsaws seemed to have a table height around 43". And most 18" or larger bandsaws have a table height around 37". I ended up finding a nice 18" bandsaw and was able to build a mobile base bringing the height right up to the workbench.

Steve

[Jeremy Greiner]

Thank you for the pictures, I agree this is the best route. I'm now researching the rikon and and grizzly bandsaws to see which would be a better fit for me.

-jeremy

[Rod Sheridan]

My reccomendation would be to buy a 17" or larger saw. You get a more capable machine with a lower table........Rod