Bandsaw Suggestions?

[Rob Luter]

Greetings to all from the currently frozen wasteland of Northern Indiana. All this snow has my thoughts turned towards the shop........

I need to add a small band saw to the arsenal. I'll be using it to cut smaller (<24") round table tops, curved parts for various projects, and perhaps resawing some small stuff for box projects. I have a basement shop and can't accommodate anything huge, so I'm thinking a basic 14" version with open stand that I can set on a mobile base. I see Jet has one, as does Ridgid and Craftsman. Price isn't really a major factor at this end of the spectrum and I don't mind paying a little more for quality and superior performance.

Any suggestions, cautionary tales or amusing anecdotes?

All input is welcomed. Thanks in advance.

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi Rob.
I have a Rikon 14" (model 10-325). It works very well and has a significant resaw capacity - thirteen inches. I see woodcraft sells them for $950, but I bought mine on sale elsewhere for $700 just last spring. Its got everything I need/want as a hobbyist.

I also have a JET 12" that has been rock solid reliable, FWIW. But I dont know about their 14".

But if money isnt too much of a constraint, you ought to at least look at Laguna's 14". A guy I know has one and LOVES it. Looks like a heck of a tool. (I just saw one in woodcraft's catalog for about $1700.)

Let us know what you decide on!
Fred

[Jeff Heath]

Consider used, like a vintage 14" Delta, or Powermatic 141. They're all cast iron, very rigid, and will outperform any of the newer saws made today made of stamped steel, when properly tuned. Oh yeah, at a fraction of the cost, too.

[Andrew Fleck]

My 14" is a Grizzly G0555. I have no complaints at all and it resaws surprisingly well, with the right blade of course.

[Jim Matthews]

+1 on a used American made Delta.

Durable, solid build quality on the cheap.
If you can buy any of the new versions with delivery included - that would be a plus.

I'm still sore from lugging a little 10" Craftsman home - with it's cast iron web frame.

[Michael Mahan]

I'm still sore from lugging a little 10" Craftsman home - with it's cast iron web frame. what do you think of it ? That is a Rikon Clone they are rated as quite good

[Nathan Callender]

I had a ridgid and its not one of their better tools. I could never get the vibration out of it. Personally, I wouldn't buy a cast iron saw with all the saws with steel frames on the market. There are quite a few 14 inch steel frame saws now. My other thought is that of all the tools that could be problematic buying used, bandsaws are up on the list, so I would go new if you don't want to inherit a project. Personally, I'm saving my money to buy the best bandsaw I can and hopefully it will be my last purchase. After seeing what a good one can do, I don't want to settle. :)

[Rich Riddle]

The recommendation will be to purchase a bigger band saw than you think you need. As Erik says, no one ever regrets having a band saw that's too large. He often gets people purchasing other saws because they went too small. Think about a 16" model as a minimum size. If you don't, you might be shopping again. I own a 14" Powermatic 143 and Agazzani 24". Dave will likely come in here and ask you more questions to proffer a good suggestion. He collects band saws like I collect screw drivers.

[John TenEyck]

I have a Delta 14" with riser block and it does everything a hobbiest needs to do, including sawing very nice veneer from 10" thick hardwood. Not to start an argument, but CI saws are not as rigid as the newer steel box saws. As such, you can't apply very much tension to the blade, even with an aftermarket high tension spring, around 12,000 psi, max., far short of the 18K+ that most blade manufacturers recommend. See Louis Iturra's booklet for more details. Following up on that I measured it on my BS and it's true. If you try to go higher the frame distorts badly and the blade won't track well, and you risk breaking the upper wheel carriage. With the Laguna 14", on the other you can put a lot more tension on the blade. That makes for faster sawing and straighter tracking in the cut, just generally all around easier to use. I'm not trying to convince you to buy a Laguna, or any other saw, just pointing out the differences between CI and steel. All said and done, based upon what you said, a used Delta or similar would probably meet your needs just fine if you are good at diagnosing what needs to be done to get it to track straight. I doubt you'll find one that tracks straight when you get it and nothing goes well if it doesn't. If that doesn't sound like you, pony up and get a new or lightly used steel frame saw from one of the better manufacturers. The Laguna looks hard to beat, to me.

John

[ken masoumi]

Consider used, like a vintage 14" Delta, They're all cast iron, very rigid, and will outperform any of the newer saws made today made of stamped steel, when properly tuned. Oh yeah, at a fraction of the cost, too.


+1 on a used American made Delta.


Couldn't agree more,too bad you are too far but there's a good old Delta here in the city of Peterborough($250) that I would have gabbed it in a heart beat but I already have a good 14" bandsaw.

http://peterborough.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-tools-power-tools-Delta-Rockwell-14-band-saw-W0QQAdIdZ557037714


http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFg3NTA=/z/TawAAOxy4dNSy1dx/$_20.JPG
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFg3NTA=/z/TtsAAOxy4dNSy1eB/$_20.JPG

[Jim Rimmer]

I have a Grizzly G0555X and love it. They now have several varieties of the G0555 at different price levels. I am not in the market for one so I don't know what the differences are but one of them might be a good fit for what you need.

[Rob Luter]

Thanks to everyone for all the input. I've been looking for something used as has been suggested, but it's been slim pickings. Anything I find in the paper or on Craig's List is pretty much junk. I'll look in to the models suggested above as well. The quest continues...

[Mark Patoka]

I picked up an older model 14" Jet from a fellow creeker a number of years ago. With the 3/4 HP motor it was way underpowered to do any type of resawing and was sorta OK for regular sawing. Ended up getting a Grizzly G0555 with riser and am very happy with it. As you're finding out some of the older models on CL may just not be worth it even though the price may be tempting.

[Bill White]

I have the 0555LX from Grizz, and couldn't be happier.
Bill

[Earl McLain]

I'm from the same region as Rob (La Porte, IN)--it took a long time for me to find a decent BS on CL, and that was a Ridgid 14002 near Joliet. Got it for around $150 with light use, and it's an okay machine. Underpowered for much over 4" of resaw on hardwoods, acceptable on most everything else i've tried. I've been able to get the set-up dialed in fairly well with little to no drift, and i'm surprised at how much i use it, especially good for a quick job on small pieces. Buying it or its equivalent new i'd not do. Besides power, add almost $100 for a riser block to take the resaw from 6" to 12" (Rikon 10-325 is "13 stock), single speed versus 2 speed in the Rikon for some versatility (it would be nice to be able to cut non-ferrous at times)--buying new i'd favor the 10-325 in the 14" class.

Odd side benefit to owning a band saw for us--we used to do cedar plank salmon once a year or so as i couldn't stand paying $5 for the cooking planks. Now we've always got some cedar handy and anytime the taste buds call i just slice off a few 1/4" planks!!

earl