bandsaw Recommendation

[Andrew Gibson]

So... I have a Client that wants me to build him a new dining set, table and 6 chairs. We got to talking one day and I said I would be happy to build him the set, but I need a band saw to make building the chairs realistically possible (I could do it, but it would take a good deal longer with handtools)

Anyway he is ready to cut me a check for materials and put in the order for the saw...
this all sounds crazy to me as I type it.

Anyway I am trying to finalize my bandsaw choice. At the moment I am leaning on the Grizzly G0513x2Bit Should come in at around $1250 or $1300 with a mobile base.
I thought I should check in here and see if anyone has a better choice. My primary want for the saw it to do periodic resawing, and make chairs and the like.

Any thought would be great.

[Van Huskey]

So... I have a Client that wants me to build him a new dining set, table and 6 chairs. We got to talking one day and I said I would be happy to build him the set, but I need a band saw to make building the chairs realistically possible (I could do it, but it would take a good deal longer with handtools)

Anyway he is ready to cut me a check for materials and put in the order for the saw...
this all sounds crazy to me as I type it.

Anyway I am trying to finalize my bandsaw choice. At the moment I am leaning on the Grizzly G0513x2Bit Should come in at around $1250 or $1300 with a mobile base.
I thought I should check in here and see if anyone has a better choice. My primary want for the saw it to do periodic resawing, and make chairs and the like.

Any thought would be great.

Are you on a timeline? The a lot of the 513/514 series are on back order...

[Andrew Gibson]

Hmm I may have to see whats available... Lets say I would like to get everything rolling by, say, second week of March.

[Van Huskey]

This was posted 2 days ago in a 513 vs 514 thread:

"My understanding is that the 513X2B is on backorder for a good month and a half,"

Seems from the same thread the 513x is available.

[Van Huskey]

Back to the general question. Assuming your budget is around $1,300 the 513X2 or X2B are the most saw for the money. The one that sneeks in there WHEN is Woodcraft has it on sale for 999 is the 18" Rikon. But it doesn't have a brake so it is closer to the 513X2.

If the X2B is backordered and you can't wait nor move your budget up and can wait until the end of the month the Rikon MAY be on sale next month @ Woodcraft. It is about time for either it or the 14" to go on sale. I prefer the Rikon at the same price as the 513X2 very similar in capacity with a larger motor and a warranty twice as long, plus you could buy it local. The local WC may be able to tell you if it is going onsale, if they know it is they will probably "pre-sale" it to you.

Bottom line the 513X2, 513X2B and the 18" Rikon (on sale) are your best choices under $1300 for a general bandsaw. As the budget moves up other options open up, the more budget the more options.

[Andrew Gibson]

Thanks Van. I would almost say that it is a harder choice as it is my sweat and not my checkbook buying the saw... I am fine with this but It is hard to gauge where the clients budget lies. If I can walk him into this one, I think it is the best for the money, also seems that many agree. I sent griz an email asking about availibility. The client is a big Jet fan himself, but IMO the closest saw to this in the Jet Line is the 710751B just a mere $500 or so more. I think I can convince him to save the cash and go with the grizzly...

[Van Huskey]

Thanks Van. I would almost say that it is a harder choice as it is my sweat and not my checkbook buying the saw... I am fine with this but It is hard to gauge where the clients budget lies. If I can walk him into this one, I think it is the best for the money, also seems that many agree. I sent griz an email asking about availibility. The client is a big Jet fan himself, but IMO the closest saw to this in the Jet Line is the 710751B just a mere $500 or so more. I think I can convince him to save the cash and go with the grizzly...

Shame he isn't a Agazzani, Laguna or Minimax fan... :(

It is always our sweat buying stuff though isn't it...

BTW nice to see you over here in the corded "room" and congrats on your Fair wins!

Also since you aren't a huge power tool guy you may want to check this out about blades.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?149862-Lets-talk-bandsaw-blades!&highlight=bandsaw+blade


Since you need to hit the ground running with the saw you don't have time to experiment so you may want to inquire about blades for your specific tasks. Nothing like working for money (or tools) and not having the right tooling on hand.

[Douglas Clark]

It is true that the 513X2B is on backorder. I just placed my order for one on Tuesday (2/15) and on Thursday (2/17) I got a confirmation from Grizzly that they are on backorder until March 31st and that I can expect mine 3-5 days after that. I had also asked about the 514 and it was on backorder but I didn't ask until when. I know the G0555x is available and also the base 513 and 513p (which is why they are still listed on EBay while the 513X2B isn't.

[Van Huskey]

(which is why they are still listed on EBay while the 513X2B isn't.

Good point the 513X2 is currently on eBay so one assumes it is available as well.

[John A. Callaway]

highland woodworking has the big Rikon on sale right now. worth a look.

[Frank Drew]

Andrew,

Since your argument to the client is that a bandsaw is critical to making the chairs in an efficient manner, I think you should only ask him to pay for as much machine as the job requires; the premise of having a client outfit someone else's shop isn't very common in cabinetmaker/client relations, I think it's fair to say. I assume you need the bandsaw for cutting the curves required for chairs, so I'm thinking a 14" used machine, which shouldn't be too expensive or too hard to find. Having him buy you something closer to you dream machine (future resawing needs, etc.) might be a bridge too far, as it were.

[John Coloccia]

I'll just toss out my $.02. In my ideal shop, I would have two bandsaws (Van would have 200...I would have 2). I'd have a 14" for general work, and then I would have a 19" dedicated to resawing and ripping. That's just something to consider. If the 19" you want is not available in time, you can do what you need to do on a 14", and then hustle for another commission and pick up a 19" :)

[Andrew Kertesz]

The Rikon 14" with 13" resaw capacity is on sale at WC for $769 which is about $130 discount. Power is 1.5 HP, up to a 3/4" blade, comes with a fence, good guides. At least worth looking at...

[Andrew Gibson]

Thanks again all.
Frank I totally agree with your point. However I think more information on the relationship of the client is in order. The client is the father of a good friend and in fact the saw purchase was his idea. He is a knowledgeable person and quite handy himself, with Good deal of knowledge in construction, as well as tools. I am not saying I need the 17" saw for this project alone, but he said what saw have you been drooling over, and I said the grizzly 17". He said see if Jet makes something you like in a similar package. Because there is not a Jet saw that I feel is quite comparable to the grizzly, and neither seem to be locally available to play with in store, the grizzly is once again my personal choice.
Hopefully I will be meeting with the client in the near future where we can sit down and make these decisions in person and not via e-mail.

Thanks John, hopefully the next commission will be going into the bank for a short stay and then toward bills :p

Ooh this is also going to be a big project. I have estimated 180bf of cherry for the project. Mostly because he wanted a solid 8/4 table, and I have a source. if I can get him to agree I am hoping to resaw some of the the table top boards and go with 3/4" in the middle to reduce weight, otherwise he will have a table north of 200 lb I fear... The cherry is rough and almost closer to 10/4 then 8/4 thick, so resawing to two reasonable thicknesses should be possible.

[Van Huskey]

Andrew,

Since your argument to the client is that a bandsaw is critical to making the chairs in an efficient manner, I think you should only ask him to pay for as much machine as the job requires; the premise of having a client outfit someone else's shop isn't very common in cabinetmaker/client relations, I think it's fair to say. I assume you need the bandsaw for cutting the curves required for chairs, so I'm thinking a 14" used machine, which shouldn't be too expensive or too hard to find. Having him buy you something closer to you dream machine (future resawing needs, etc.) might be a bridge too far, as it were.

Though I agree that normally you don't discuss the issue so openly but it is pretty common in a lot of situations that a clients deposits are paying for tools and or tooling that the company or individual needs to do a specific job. In this case it is not "charity", have you seen Andrew's work? Even without knowing the complexity of the chairs the materials and $1,300 bandsaw budget does not seem remotely excessive for even a deposit. However, the discussion with me might have been a little less fruitful since when ask what bandsaw I was drooling over and I replied a Laguna LT37 or a fully restored Yates American Y36 snowflake the conversation would have moved to something more on the lines of a cutting board... :)

[Douglas Clark]

I looked over your page, too, Andrew and really liked your stuff. Congrats on your State Fair win. Good luck with this next project, isn't it great when we have people who value and appreciate our skills enough to invest not only in our work but us, too.

Not to high-jack your thread, but It doesn't take long for a newbie to this forum to figure out that Van has a thing for bandsaws. So when I read Van's response about 36 inch bandsaws it reminded me that I saw a big 'ole honker yesterday at my "local" (50 miles away) saw shop in Fresno. And it made me wonder... is this something that guy on Sawmill Creek would appreciate? Lacking space and money, I'm not really a tool collector so I have no idea if this is worth much or not but I'm posting a link to the picture of this saw, just for Van to ogle.

http://gallery.me.com/efxart#100002/newsletter%20pics&bgcolor=black

[Van Huskey]

http://www.idealsaw.com/ That may be an easier way to get to their used machine gallery, the link above was "correct" but wanted me to download all the files, may just be my computer.

That is a Tannewitz GH they still make almost the identical saw though the most recent model is the GHE. They weigh in at 3,000 pounds and just shy of 9 feet tall, the little auxiliary table near the spine (that doesn't tilt with the main table) is about the size of the main table on a 16" bandsaw! The problem for most hobbyists is getting one through a garage door, laying a 1.5 ton bandsaw down and getting it back up is a chore, I have seen some VERY interesting solutions. There is another creeker (I won't call him out) who got a 36" BS for a GREAT price was restoring it and built a gorgeous mobile base for it then when he got it on the base he realized it was above the bottom of his open rafters and could only move it forward and backward, glad I wasn't there when he came to that realization! Thanks for the eye candy!

[Andrew Gibson]

Thanks for all the help all. I am getting ready to pull the trigger on the 513x2. I got the check in the mail today for all the materials and the saw.

I saw that there are 10% coupons for Griz floating around in the Deals section. If anyone has one they would be willing to pass my way I would really appricate it, it would save me $100.

I am planning to order on the first if I can dig one of thise coupons up.

[Van Huskey]

Thanks for all the help all. I am getting ready to pull the trigger on the 513x2. I got the check in the mail today for all the materials and the saw.

I saw that there are 10% coupons for Griz floating around in the Deals section. If anyone has one they would be willing to pass my way I would really appricate it, it would save me $100.

I am planning to order on the first if I can dig one of thise coupons up.

Have you put your name "on the list" in the deals section? That may expedite getting a coupon.

[Andrew Gibson]

Also I red Vans thread on blades, thanks Van for posting it.
Does anyone have a good source for a resaw blade for the grizzly, it seems all they sell in the line of blades in silicon steel blades. I think I would like at least a bimetal blade for resawing.

[Andrew Gibson]

Sure did Van, thought I would sneak in a request here as well and try to swipe one from someone that doesn't make their way into the other section.

Sneaky and ruthless I know, but otherwise the coupon may go to waste.

[Van Huskey]

Also I red Vans thread on blades, thanks Van for posting it.
Does anyone have a good source for a resaw blade for the grizzly, it seems all they sell in the line of blades in silicon steel blades. I think I would like at least a bimetal blade for resawing.

I am a fan of Lenox bands. My favorite bi-metal resaw blade is the Lenox Woodmaster B they come in 1" 1.3 and 2 TPI which I think will be fine on that saw. I use Spectrumsupply.com for my Lenox bands and have had good luck with them.

Here is a link to the Woodmaster B on the Spectrum site since it doesn't come up with the other bi-metal blades:

http://www.spectrumsupply.com/woodmasterb.aspx

You may also have a local place that welds this blade.