First thread: introduction & some questions about bandsaws

[Kevin Schlossberg]

Hi there! I was recommended this site by various people on other sites, so here I am. I am a novice woodworker, and have been feeling the urge to create for a number of years. I recently pulled the trigger on getting some quality tools and am in the process of setting up my shop so that I can start to make sawdust.

I live in Louisville, KY, and due to the weirdness of our weather system there are always 12" through 28" rounds laying around from recently felled trees. Naturally I'd love to be able to turn these rounds into small boards for various projects, or blanks for bowls when I get into turning. What worries me is having enough capacity (and table strength) to be able to turn a torso sized round into smaller pieces, and having a table strong enough to handle heavier wood. Veneers aren't on my radar at this time.

My budget for a bandsaw is $1000-$1300 before accessories. If at all possible I'd like to stick with single phase power. I don't know enough to know if my "wish list" of features has mutually exclusive items on it :(

Many of the threads I've read contain information that is out of date, or models that are no longer being made. I've been searching through reviews here and recommendations on Amazon.com.. The guys at my local woodcraft shop swear up and down that I should buy Powermatic, but the reviews on Amazon indicate problems with machines built in the last couple years. I am not confident enough to build my own saw ala Woodgears.ca. I'm learning, but am still pretty confused. I appreciate any advise people could give.

[David Hawxhurst]

welcome to the creek. i guess the first thing is to determine a few things: new/use, how big. you can definitely get a lot more saw used than new. sounds to me like you want a big saw like 19+". if your not in a rush i would hunt down a used on that is in the price range and budget you have. if you want new or need it some what quickly i would look at grizzly.

[Kevin Schlossberg]

I don't care about the new vs used, but I'd rather have capacity and not need it, than need it and not have it. Single phase power is probably more important than anything else though because the saw will be at my shop / business location and I can't guarantee I'll always have 3 phase. Like I said, I don't know enough to know what I should be looking for.

[Van Huskey]

Lets try to home in on your actual capacity needs/wants. How much resaw height (room under guides) and throat depth do you need/want? Based on your budget I assume you are talking about the 14" Powermatic which is one of a number of 14" "Delta cast clones". These saws are at the bottom end of the "serious hobbyist" totem pole and NOT what I would think of as a turners bandsaw.

Lets hear it, how much capacity do you think you need?

[Rick Fisher]

Welcome to the Creek..

I would get a used saw.. Agree with Van..

You can often pick up a used Centauro.. 20+ years old for under $1000.00

I have an 87 ? Centauro which has the beef and power, but due to its age, only has about 13" of resaw height..

These are pretty common and pretty cheap .. they often need a bit of love.. They often come with 3hp x 3 Phase motors, a simple $200 VFD will make them run single phase..

Van is the resident Bandsawologist..

[Ronald Blue]

Welcome to the Creek. If you are up for a road trip here is a monster for you near St Louis. http://stlouis.craigslist.org/tls/3079693616.html

[Kevin Schlossberg]

Lets try to home in on your actual capacity needs/wants. How much resaw height (room under guides) and throat depth do you need/want? Based on your budget I assume you are talking about the 14" Powermatic which is one of a number of 14" "Delta cast clones". These saws are at the bottom end of the "serious hobbyist" totem pole and NOT what I would think of as a turners bandsaw.

Lets hear it, how much capacity do you think you need?Well, the budget isn't going to allow for more than $1500 at most right now, so the most saw I can get for the money would be the best option. Which ones are the middle of the road models for the serious hobbyist / prosumer? $2500 models? As far as resaw capacity, as much as I can get. Like I said, I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I don't anticipate doing exposed bark tabletops with it, so nothing like actual sawmill capacity, but being able to do 12" at a minimum "max limit" would be great. 16-18" would be even better, because that'd allow me to make 12" bowls.

[Van Huskey]

BTW Welcome! I tend to get one track minded in a bandsaw thread and forgot this the first time around.

With a $1,500 budget used would be an excellent option but like a box of chocolates you never know what you are going to find at a given time, it also depends on how easy it is for you to track a saw down and transport it, some people are very limited in this some are willing to stray 100, 500 or more miles for the right deal. Older saws within that budget AND resaw heights higher than 12" tend to be somewhat rare, but they exist and you just have to look.

In the new arena you will be looking at 12-13" max resaw height and/or 18/19" wheels @ your budget. The usual suspects would be the Rikon 14" 10-325/10-350 and 18" 10-345 along with the Grizzly 513/514 series. I might also look hard at the Laguna LT14SUV which is right at your budget. In all honestly probably the best bets would be the Grizzly 514X2 and Laguna LT14SUV each having its own pros and cons for your usage but both pushing your budget just a bit, one thing I like about both these saws is the 3hp motor which I would try to get for cutting blanks. If not those two saws then the Rikon 18" or moving down the Grizzly 513/514 line a little.

[John Coloccia]

The 514X2 has a rock solid table thanks to the tilt mechanism. Very convenient for the kind of work you're talking about. That coupled with a 1/2" carbide blade (which will run you $150 to $200) wouldn't be the most terrible choice you could make. re: Powermatic. They don't make a bad saw, but it's probably one of the last saws I'd buy. It's just not a particularly good value, IMHO. For $1300 bucks, I can either buy a lot more saw elsewhere, or spend a lot less on a very comparable saw. That's my opinion.

[Myk Rian]

Look for a used Delta 20".
That ought to do it for ya.
A WTB ad on www.owwm.org in the BOYD section might turn up a nice one.

[Van Huskey]

Look for a used Delta 20".
That ought to do it for ya.
A WTB ad on www.owwm.org (http://www.owwm.org) in the BOYD section might turn up a nice one.

The Delta and Rockwell 20" welded steel saws (both the older "round" and newer "square") are one of my favorite mid-sized "light-weight" saws (roughly 700# but lightweight in general terms) I own a 28-350 and love it. They often come up for sale cheap and could be outfitted quite nicely for well under the OP's budget. One caveat switching to a higher horsepower motor presents a challenge on these saws since they used two pulley sheeves with a unique spacing AND an odd (in todays motors) motor shaft size so if one goes up in horsepower to a point where one belt is not enough to transfer the power (you can easily get a correctly sized single sheeve for any modern motor) then you have to begin looking for a way to use both belts, it is possible but not an off the shelf solution.

[Kevin Schlossberg]

http://www.grizzly.com/products/19-Extreme-Bandsaw-3HP-Single-Phase/G0514X2
This is the saw you guys are talking about, yes? Van, what would the cons be for this machine vs the Laguna?

I'm totally not compentent enough to remotely consider refurbing an older machine at this point. Though it sounds cool, I'm aware of my limitations and quite frankly I don't have time for such a project, even assuming I could find one.

[Joseph Tarantino]

http://www.grizzly.com/products/19-Extreme-Bandsaw-3HP-Single-Phase/G0514X2
This is the saw you guys are talking about, yes? Van, what would the cons be for this machine vs the Laguna?

I'm totally not compentent enough to remotely consider refurbing an older machine at this point. Though it sounds cool, I'm aware of my limitations and quite frankly I don't have time for such a project, even assuming I could find one.

now you're making sense. as the owner of an 18" jet BS, i can tell you it and powermatic (a more expensive version of the jet line) are NOT the brands to buy. that your woodcraft guys are recommending those brands indicates they don't know a whole lot about power tools and have no sense of value (i.e., bang for the buck). stick with rikon, grizzly or even laguna, if you can get past some of the recent negative comments about their service and support.

[Richard Dragin]

There is currently another Band saw thread running and I'll give you similar advice... Grizzly 513 series saw. Some additional advice is to not be such a hurry to outfit your shop, buy some wood and build something with the tools you already have. Let your building determine what tools to buy and don't get caught up in outfitting a shop without ever building anything.

Using fallen lumber and limbs can be problematic and not the best place to start a wood working hobby. Get yourself some lumber based on surfaced already if you don't have a planer and jointer, rough if you do, and start building. You can thank me later.

[Van Huskey]

http://www.grizzly.com/products/19-Extreme-Bandsaw-3HP-Single-Phase/G0514X2
This is the saw you guys are talking about, yes? Van, what would the cons be for this machine vs the Laguna?

I'm totally not compentent enough to remotely consider refurbing an older machine at this point. Though it sounds cool, I'm aware of my limitations and quite frankly I don't have time for such a project, even assuming I could find one.

That is the one. The Laguna has better guides and a taller resaw height and one might argue a slightly better motor. The Grizzly in question will have a bigger more solid table and more width of cut. If you plan to use a lathe with 12" or less of swing I would get the Laguna, larger than 12" of swing I would get the Grizzly.

[Matt Mackinnon]

I am failing to get some of the comments posted here. If the OP is looking to use fallen lumber in the 12 -28" round range, then any of the bandsaws given are going to fall far short of cutting these logs. Why don't you look to get a good chainsaw? If the fallen logs are so plentiful, then picking up a chainsaw mill will be the best investment for making boards.

But you also said that you were looking to do some turning. Then you will need to chop off the logs the slabs to rough out your bowels. Again, a chainsaw will be more handy than a bandsaw as you'll be bringing the blade to the wood rather than trying to lug a huge log over to the blade.

Other considerations that you need to think about when deciding on a bandsaw if you are looking to do re-sawing of dried boards.

1. It makes little sense to get more under the blade clearance on your bandsaw than you have in a jointer and planer. A bandsaw doesn't cut flat. You will need to joint anything you cut. So having 14-18" of under the guard clearance means squat if you have an 8" jointer. You are going to have to rip the board down thinner regardless. Why spend the money on what you cant use.

2. You will more likely run out capacity to the left of the blade than clearance under the guard if you plan to use the bandsaw for anything other than just resaw.

3. The blade makes more of a difference than the size of the motor. Use the right blade for the job rather than just trying to throw more HP to overcome a bad choice.

4. No mater what size you get, you will always find a job that needs something bigger. Don't sell yourself short upfront.

[Kevin Schlossberg]

Thanks for the great comments guys!

Some additional advice is to not be such a hurry to outfit your shop, buy some wood and build something with the tools you already have. Let your building determine what tools to buy and don't get caught up in outfitting a shop without ever building anything.True enough, dropping another 2k on a bandsaw and then planer, jointer, etc was is daunting.


Using fallen lumber and limbs can be problematic and not the best place to start a wood working hobby. Get yourself some lumber based on surfaced already if you don't have a planer and jointer, rough if you do, and start building. You can thank me later.Yeah there's a number of mills around (almost)locally that have no problem delivering rough sawn items so that might be the best choice.


That is the one. The Laguna has better guides and a taller resaw height and one might argue a slightly better motor. The Grizzly in question will have a bigger more solid table and more width of cut. If you plan to use a lathe with 12" or less of swing I would get the Laguna, larger than 12" of swing I would get the Grizzly.I'm really liking the looks of the Laguna. The Rikon's in this range look amazing as well. The grizzly reviews on amazon have me a bit worried due to the wheel balancing and vibration issues.


I am failing to get some of the comments posted here. If the OP is looking to use fallen lumber in the 12 -28" round range, then any of the bandsaws given are going to fall far short of cutting these logs. Why don't you look to get a good chainsaw? If the fallen logs are so plentiful, then picking up a chainsaw mill will be the best investment for making boards. Sure, if I was intent on taking entire downed trees and turning them into lumber. For me, though, The rounds are typically 12-28" diameter and 12-18" high. Splitting one of those in half (via chainsaw or maul & splitter) leaves me with a 14" or so half round of whatever length that needs the edges trimmed off.


But you also said that you were looking to do some turning. Then you will need to chop off the logs the slabs to rough out your bowels. Again, a chainsaw will be more handy than a bandsaw as you'll be bringing the blade to the wood rather than trying to lug a huge log over to the blade. Sure, for rough cuts on large pieces I totally agree.


Other considerations that you need to think about when deciding on a bandsaw if you are looking to do re-sawing of dried boards.

1. It makes little sense to get more under the blade clearance on your bandsaw than you have in a jointer and planer. A bandsaw doesn't cut flat. You will need to joint anything you cut. So having 14-18" of under the guard clearance means squat if you have an 8" jointer. You are going to have to rip the board down thinner regardless. Why spend the money on what you cant use.

2. You will more likely run out capacity to the left of the blade than clearance under the guard if you plan to use the bandsaw for anything other than just resaw.

3. The blade makes more of a difference than the size of the motor. Use the right blade for the job rather than just trying to throw more HP to overcome a bad choice.

4. No mater what size you get, you will always find a job that needs something bigger. Don't sell yourself short upfront. 1, true enough - realistically I was envisioning cutting these planks off and then planing them for boxes and such. Since I'm not picturing having to deal with massive bowing or cupping or twisting, I figured jointing wasn't going to be that big of a deal.
2, another real concern, except for where I'm just removing corners on large pieces of wood to make it nearer to round for turning.
3, of course
4, naturally, but I'd hate to buy twice when for $2-400 more I could have gotten the right thing the first time

[Van Huskey]

1. It makes little sense to get more under the blade clearance on your bandsaw than you have in a jointer and planer. A bandsaw doesn't cut flat. You will need to joint anything you cut. So having 14-18" of under the guard clearance means squat if you have an 8" jointer. You are going to have to rip the board down thinner regardless. Why spend the money on what you cant use.

2. You will more likely run out capacity to the left of the blade than clearance under the guard if you plan to use the bandsaw for anything other than just resaw.

3. The blade makes more of a difference than the size of the motor. Use the right blade for the job rather than just trying to throw more HP to overcome a bad choice.

4. No mater what size you get, you will always find a job that needs something bigger. Don't sell yourself short upfront.

1. Nope not true, this myth gets perpetuated all the time but with the right saw and blade bandsaws cut straight. I prep the first face of a 18-20" piece of hardwood for resawing ON my bandsaw. I saw 1mm veneer and consider anything more than .002" out anywhere on the sheet to be a fail. This wood never sees a jointer in my shop. Right saw properly tuned and the right blade with proper tension and it will saw as straight as a table saw within resonable limits. I honestly hate to see the jointer/resaw height myth, there are plenty of people resawing veneer with nowhere near that capacity in their jointer.

I agree about the blade, that is one of my mantras, the correct blade means a lot in the final outcome. HP is very important as well, the faster (and smoother) the feed rate the better finish the veneer will have. My rule of thumb is 1hp for ever 4" of resaw height, it is conservative but will cover everything except the hardest of exotics some of which HATE to be resawn.

[Kevin Schlossberg]

Is saw tuning something that will be in the manual or is that something I'll have to research in depth?

[Van Huskey]

Setup and tuning will be in the manual BUT youtube and lots of other sources for good videos which are easier to follow for some people. There are also different approaches and usually people try different ones before deciding what works best for them.