is 0.5 HP bandsaw enough to resaw 3-4 inches of hardwood?

[Matthew N. Masail]

I'm looking at getting a small 8" band saw prior to buying a big one, it has all the capacity I need at the moment and it's affordable. is 0.41 HP enough for such a saw? and is there a reason I should not get such a small one? thanks.

[Bill White]

I have a .5 hp on my 11" BS. For resawing, I use the Woodslicer blade and take my time. Works for me.
Bill

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

You won't be doing any production resawing with it, but it will work fine. The very best bandsaw is the one that you have.

Sharp blades and appropriate feed rates are what's really important.

[glenn bradley]

I had a 1/3HP 12" machine. With a Timberwolf 3-4 TPI blade I was able to resaw 4-5 inches verrrrry slooooooooowly but, I could do it. We'er talking about 3 seconds per inch so over a full minute to saw through a 2foot long board but, it would do it for those rare occasions. I wouldn't want to do it regularly; it was agonizingly slow which leads to impatience which leads to accidents. Also it really taxed the machine.

[Matthew N. Masail]

So basically yes but only occasionally, I'll look for stronger, thanks.

[Ralph Okonieski]

Based on how often you need to resaw, you may or may not be satisfied. I have an older 12 inch Craftsman with a 1/2 hp (I think) motor and it takes a LOOOONG time to resaw 2-3 inches even with a sharp blade. Of course, the time is subjective. I'm not very patient so it seems like a long time to me. There are a number of 14 inch BS with good ratings that aren't too expensive. There are lots of threads on bandsaws.

[Matthew N. Masail]

I live in Israel, and don't have the pleasure of availability you have in the US, abd I'd pay for a 8" what you would for a 14" +-.. hence my dilemma, honestly, I'm considering saving up 3000$ for a professional saw to put all needs to rest. I'm not very patient with these things either, that’s not the fun part of woodworking, and if you have to do it repeatedly....

[Van Huskey]

You could do it once or twice but you would get tired of it really quickly. My rule of thumb is 1hp per 4 inches of resaw, that is conservative and you can get away with less but that is my personal preference.

[Phil Thien]

I'm looking at getting a small 8" band saw prior to buying a big one, it has all the capacity I need at the moment and it's affordable. is 0.41 HP enough for such a saw? and is there a reason I should not get such a small one? thanks.

My Skil 10" saw w/ 1/2-HP motor and a narrow-kerf bimetal blade (SHARP) will cut 3-4" thick material very fast.

What 8" saw are you look at? And is it .5-HP? Or .41-HP?

[Matthew N. Masail]

it's 0.41, but in any case I've decided to go with a bigger saw that's will allow me to resaw logs and such. thanks anyway for the response. Van, thanks for the rule of thumb, it helps get the ratio in perspective.

[Van Huskey]

it's 0.41, but in any case I've decided to go with a bigger saw that's will allow me to resaw logs and such. thanks anyway for the response. Van, thanks for the rule of thumb, it helps get the ratio in perspective.

Just to make sure there is no confusion, you can resaw with less, much less if you are named Job, my rule of thumb allows me to feed the saw (with a good blade) as quick as I am comfortable with most hard woods. Some of the tropicals will begin to stress a saw even if you follow that rule of thumb and continue at my usual feed rate.

[Roger Pozzi]

My Skil 10" saw w/ 1/2-HP motor and a narrow-kerf bimetal blade (SHARP) will cut 3-4" thick material very fast.



Not trying to hijack this thread but, are you just using a 3/8" blade Phil?
I've looked at that saw for just what you say it's capable of but I thought I would need a 1/2" blade.

[James Carmichael]

I haven't done it in awile, but my 3/4 hp ridgid handles it with ease.

In carbon blades, find starret much better than lennox, but they're a bit hard to find.

[Phil Thien]

Not trying to hijack this thread but, are you just using a 3/8" blade Phil?
I've looked at that saw for just what you say it's capable of but I thought I would need a 1/2" blade.

My Skil is the older HD (Heavy Duty) 3640. It had a 7" resaw height, single piece aluminum body, and 1/2-HP motor.

My current favorite blade is a 1/2" bimetal 3-TPI hook blade (.025" thick). I squish the kerf by squeezing the teeth in a vise (they spring back a bit). Then I install the blade on my saw and sharpen it with a diamond bur on my Dremel-type rotary tool.

It will fly through 3 or 4" thick stock. 6" or 7" thick stock requires I slow down somewhat, but probably less than you'd think.

[Matthew N. Masail]

Just to make sure there is no confusion, you can resaw with less, much less if you are named Job, my rule of thumb allows me to feed the saw (with a good blade) as quick as I am comfortable with most hard woods. Some of the tropicals will begin to stress a saw even if you follow that rule of thumb and continue at my usual feed rate.

Thanks, I understood you perfectly, I'm mostly on the same conservative attitude, I just decided that if I'm going to spend, it might as well be at least a simpler 14" (like the Makita I asked about) with a 6" resaw and some more power.

[Russ Kay]

I had a small Delta bandsaw -- 8" sounds about right; got it for many of the same reasons Matthew mentions, at a cost of about $100. It was a total bust; hardly ever sawed a straight line and couldn't stay vertical enough to resaw anything, no matter how much tension I applied to the blade. A few years later I got a 14" Rikon. Wonderful machine for me.