Has anyone used a meat band saw as a wood bandsaw?

[Mark Kay]

I have seen threads here about using meat blades in their bandsaw, but just the opposite--has anybody used an electric meat saw for wood?

I noticed that in similar price ranges, the meat bandsaw had a taller depth of cut, for example, 9-7/16" height at about $280, not to mention slightly more horsepower on some models, i.e. 3/4hp vs 1/2hp... and other features as well, like bigger tables, and made of stainless. I was looking for something to do re-sawing, and most woodworking bandsaws under $400 only have a depth of cut in the 3 to 4-inch range. Even the 14" Grizzly anniversary model I think only does 4-5/8" at around $500-$525 delivered price.

As an added bonus, the meat saws some come with miter gauges and/or fences, not to mention a meat grinder!

Anybody use one for woodworking?

[Joe Jensen]

My dad uses one. His is MUCH heavier built than a grizzly, nice saw.

[Mort Stevens]

I'm not sure where you're shopping to find prices like that on meat cutting bandsaws... usually they are much more expensive then a comparable sized wood cutting bandsaw, because of the stainless, water proof enclosures, etc to meet health department regulations. Also, I would bet they come standard with a motor setup for 208v, 3ph.

[Mark Kay]

I found a couple on ebay when I was looking for a regular bandsaw... one was like 289 with free shipping, the other was 295 w/free shipping...

it even has a sliding tray/tabletop. Go there and do a search for 350850598926 and 330636505135. The last one is 312.95 w/free shipping and TWO blades.

They are 115V, 3/4hp and 550W, and UL listed.

Hey Joe, do they only take one size blade or do they take a variety of blade widths?

[jack forsberg]

Blade speeds on meat saws run 3500 SFPM (surface feet per minute) so your speed is fine for wood cutting. anywhere between 3200 and 5000 SFPM is good for resawing. Your HP is light at 3/4 and that's where you will find your lacking . 2Hp is what i would recommend. Blades glides will most likely be to weak for wood too but up grades can be had from carter. The last consideration is frame stiffness and is it able to tension a resaw blade. The 14" wood cutting saws can't/don't do this well IMHO.



carterproducts.com/product_list.asp?cat_id=12 (http://www.carterproducts.com/product_list.asp?cat_id=12)

jack
English machines

[Lee Schierer]

My experience with meat saws tells me that meat saws do not have rubber tires on their wheels, therefore would not make a good choice for wood cutting blades.

[John McClanahan]

Also, are the sliding tables accurate enough to be usable for wood cutting?

[Myk Rian]

My experience with meat saws tells me that meat saws do not have rubber tires on their wheels, therefore would not make a good choice for wood cutting blades.
Exactly right.

Before I got my 1966 Delta M/W saw, the last thing it cut was a deer carcass.
Took some/alot of cleaning to get it all out of the saw.

[Mark Kay]

Blade speeds on meat saws run 3500 SFPM (surface feet per minute) so your speed is fine for wood cutting. anywhere between 3200 and 5000 SFPM is good for resawing. Your HP is light at 3/4 and that's where you will find your lacking . 2Hp is what i would recommend. Blades glides will most likely be to weak for wood too but up grades can be had from carter. The last consideration is frame stiffness and is it able to tension a resaw blade. The 14" wood cutting saws can't/don't do this well IMHO.



carterproducts.com/product_list.asp?cat_id=12 (http://www.carterproducts.com/product_list.asp?cat_id=12)

jack
English machines

First, thanks everybody for your replies.

I was looking at a Ridgid 14" just for comparisons and its motor was listed as 3/4hp (.75hp) too...

It has a maximum cutting height of 6".

It costs over one hundred dollars more than the meat saws ($399.)