1 Large Band Saw + 1 Small One?

[Allan Speers]

As you know, I just scored, well not my dream saw, that would be an MM20 or an Agazani, but a very nice 21" Grizzly G0531B.

I have never in the past done ANYTHING but resaw on my Delta 14", but my projects were few, and limited. I'm hoping to finally get more heavily into w-working. The point being, I don't know what the heck I'm even asking about. :o But I'll be wanting to cut some curves for sure: Parts of an Adirondak chair design, and definitely table legs.

Even though my Grizzly makes it extremely easy to change blades (tension release lever, etc) I am considering using a small band saw JUST for 1/8" or 1/4" blades. I have a cool little 12" Craftsman form the 1940's with cast iron wheels, a cast iron trunnion, and a nice table angle adjustment system. It has a busted upper guide anyway, so I thought to put a Carter Stabilizer on there.

- But I'm not sure if this is a good or bad idea, and need opinions.

The factors that I can think of:

1: Space, of course, but let's not go there. The 12" currently reside in my bedroom, and there it shall stay. :(


2: Guides. There's no such thing as "1 guide to rule them all." No Hobbits running around my shop. (That I know of.)
When you use a Carter Stabilizer on any saw, you have to back both guides out of the picture. Then you have to move them forward again for resawing and such. This sounds horrible to me. I love the idea of just leaving one blade on the big machine (Changing only for green or highly resinous wood) and having just a 1/8" blade and Carter stabilizer on the little guy.

I know that it's theoretically possible to resaw with no guides at all, but I don't know if I'm that brave. Also, if ripping with no guides, couldn't there be a little stress letting go in your stock, pushing the stock into the blade? Seems to me guides are like insurance, even for ripping and resawing.


3: Blade speed: It's not critical, but I'd like the option of cutting non-ferrous metals on a band saw. That's out of the question on my 4600 SFPM Grizzly. However, the stock speed of the 12" is around 2100 SFPM. If I were to mount a 3-phase motor with a VFD, I could get it down to around 1,000 SFPM, which is totally acceptable even for copper & brass.

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So far it all sounds good, but then I realized one possibly serious negative:

Throat capacity. Ugh. I figure I could still do table legs, wit a little hand tooling on the feet, but I have no concept of what else I might come up against.

You folks that cut a LOT of curves on your band saws, would this limit much of what your do?

Any other good reasons to nix this idea?

[Matt Day]

Your bigger saw and a 14" saw would be a good combo if you have the space. If so, you're overthinking this.

[John McClanahan]

When I bought my 17" saw I kept my 12" saw. I really need to free up some space, but having 2 saws sure is nice.


John

[Bradley Gray]

I have a 12" that runs a 1/8" blade(Lennox 5 tooth pattern) and a 32" that mostly runs a 3/8" blade except for resawing. I use both saws every day.

[Prashun Patel]

If it were me, I would keep both saws for now. BUT, I would try running that Grizzly with a 3/8" 3tpi blade for a while and seeing if that works for 99% of your needs. In my work, tight radii aren't all that common, and the few times they are, I can make kerfing cuts and cheat through it with the 3/8". You may find that you want the space more than you want the flexibility to cut with a 1/4" blade.

Now, I can see wanting a smaller bandsaw for dirtier work. There are a lot of times I just want to rough cut unmilled boards or rip a bunch of waste down so I can dispose of it. For rough work, I can see having a second saw to preserve the blade in the primary.

Point is, keep both for a little while and see how and if you need it. When you decide you don't need it, sell it to me.

[Doug Ladendorf]

Keep the Craftsman and go get the Yates. :-)

I have had my Powermatic 141 14" for a while and recently picked up a 20" Powermatic, so had the same dilemma. No question, keep both. There are so many ways to take advantage of two saws, some of which are described above. I find it really nice to have both and they each get used.

Doug

[Tony Roun]

I was just pondering this the other day. I picked up a nice deal on a Minimax 17" bandsaw, and was thinking I would sell the bandsaw attachment I have for my Shopsmith. After a few minutes, I realized the logistics of keeping both setups would be great. I agree with others' sentiments. If you have the space, no brainer.

[Mike Cutler]

Allan

There is no good reason, other than lack of space, to nix the idea.
My shop is in the shape of an "L". Each leg is 19'x9', but the "back leg" is just a plywood floor, so it pretty much just has my workbenches and a Fire Locker in it. The "front leg" is a concrete floor and it has two table saws, two band saws ( one 14", and one 18".), a 6" jointer, 15" planer, 3HP shaper, rolling tool box, and rolling cart for either a chop saw, or a mortiser. It also has a couple hundred bd/ft of hardwood lumber stored in there. The only machines not in my shop are a 26" sander and the dust collector. In a 19'x9' area I have a lot of "stuff", but it works.
Two band saws, ready to go, are a very, very nice to have setup.

[Erik Christensen]

for sure keep the other saw. I am coming at it from the other direction - have a 19" that has a 1/2" carbide blade - does everything great but close curves - I have my eye out for a 14" to get just to have it ready to go with a 1/4" for detail work

[Jim Laumann]

I've got a 17" Grizzly w/ a 1/2" blade, and a 12" Jet w/ a 1/8" scroll blade (mainly for toys). They both have their place.

Jim

[Judson Green]

Gee no ones asked!!

A bandsaw in the bedroom?

I'm really that's kinda cool but...

[Mel Miller]

1000 FPM is too fast for metal cutting in my opinion.

[Jim Matthews]

If you're not cutting tight curves with a really fine blade,
the little one is surplus. Sell it off to get a Newbie started.

[glenn bradley]

I have a 17" and a 10". The 17" is primarily for resaw, tall crosscuts and ripping. The 10" is primarily for long curves and I have a little sled built for it for repetitive short cut-offs. The 17" gets a small blade when I have curvey work to do on a large piece of material. The 10" doesn't have the throat to deal with curlicues, the material hit the spine. I have been very happy with this setup.

[Allan Speers]

The answer seems pretty clear, thanks, folks.

Glenn was the only one to address the throat issue, (14" on my Craftsman) but it sounds like it's not a big problem.


What about the table size? My Craftsman's table is only 13" X 15" (15" in the feed direction) Will that be limiting for things like legs? I suppose I could make a hinged table extension, but so many other things to do ...

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And FWIW, I can't keep the Delta 14" though I wish I could. Its footprint isn't much bigger than the craftsman 12", but with the Craftsman I can make a small cabinet on the bottom, and there's tons more room above it, (no riser) and every extra square foot matters. Plus, I need the money from reselling the Delta, which is a really fine saw.

[Allan Speers]

I have a 12" that runs a 1/8" blade(Lennox 5 tooth pattern) and a 32" that mostly runs a 3/8" blade except for resawing. I use both saws every day.


Bradley, this is slightly OT, but why do you switch from a resaw blade to the 3/8" for general work? Do you do a lot of cross cuts, or is there some other benefit?

[Jim Becker]

When I originally bought my MM16, I initially thought I would keep the 14" Jet for "smaller work", but it didn't take long for me to realize that I a) really didn't have the space for both machines and b) really didn't do all that much "small work". So I sold the smaller saw. For those few occasions where I did need to do some detail, I've run as narrow as a 1/8" blade on the MM16 (taking great care with tension and so forth) and got fine results. If I had the shop space, I probably would have kept the smaller saw.

[Allan Speers]

Thanks, Jim. It's good to hear an opposing viewpoint.

I am getting tied of bumping into that Craftsman every night ! I'm still leaning towards keeping it, but like you I probably would not use it much. I ran some numbers and realized that to simply make it a solid user (not pimp it out with modern doo-dads) would cost around $250. My Delta 14" is probably only worth $500 - $600. Of course, I don't have room for either .... and then my head just explodes.

Th 21" Grizzly I just got makes it very easy to change blades, as it has both a quick release lever and a tension gauge, so maybe I can deal with just one machine.

I think what it ultimately comes down to for me is, DO I REALLY NEED A CARTER STABILIZER?
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So that's my new question, but I will start a new thread about it.

Thanks to all !

[Phillip Gregory]

First, I'd suggest getting a 1/4" blade for your G0531B. This will let you can cut curves down to a 5/8" radius. The Grizzly steel-spined saws make it very easy to change blades.

I'd suggest a scroll saw instead of a second little bandsaw with a narrow blade for cutting intricate curves. A narrower blade on a smaller bandsaw will let you cut tighter curves than a 1/4"er on your G0531B and do so faster than a scroll saw, but a scroll saw can be used to cut interior curves that are not contiguous with the outside of the workpiece.

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

Gee no ones asked!!

A bandsaw in the bedroom?

I'm really that's kinda cool but...

you don't have to haul dead hookers out to the garage for disposal.

just a wild guess.

[Joe Cowan]

I have a 14" Laguna and a older Delta bandsaw. I have a resaw blade on the Laguna and a 3/16" on the Delta. Love this as it is so quick to get jobs done. I thought about selling the Delta, but glad I kept it.

[Allan Speers]

Thanks, Phillip.

I will try a 1/4" on the Grizzly first.