Bandsaw Choices

[Steve Newman]

I am getting ready to purchase a floor model bandsaw and I need some input on what to buy. My budget is around $1000 give or take. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Matt Day]

New or used?

You'll get a lot more bang for your buck if you buy used. That sometimes entails being persistent about checking craigslist regularly for an unknown period of time though.

[John TenEyck]

If you know nothing about BS's it's probably best to buy new. Of the new ones, Grizzly, Rikon, and maybe Laguna will give you the most bang for your buck at that price. If you are good at repairing things, or happen to find a cherry that needs no work, a used machine will get you a lot more for the same money. There's a whole slew of machines that might fit your needs. What are your needs? General use, resawing, shop sawn veneer?

John

[John K Jordan]

The advice to mention your needs (or desires) is good. Some bandsaws do some things better than others and it would be a shame to get the wrong thing. Also, do you have 220v or need to use 110v?

I personally use 5 bandsaws for wood and metal, for general wood things I use a 14" Delta with a riser block and an 18" Rikon. The Rikon is my go-to saw. I process a lot of wood, green and dry, into woodturning blanks. Although both can resaw the same height, the Rikon has more power and can drive a bigger blade which is handy when slicing up a 10" chunk of Dogwood tree! I have no idea what a new one goes for.

BTW, every bandsaw I've seen for wood has needed "tuning" to work the best unless you are lucky. I disregard negative on-line reviews and complaints from people who have not made the effort to learn how to adjust the saw.

JKJ

[Prashun Patel]

+1 for looking at these brands.

I will say this, tho: a bandsaw is a versatile and fiddly tool. You want one that is easy to adjust and has capacity for all the things you don't need it to do yet (like resawing thicker stock and perhaps milling logs). To this end, get the biggest one you can afford. If you can at ALL go higher than your budget, it's well spent getting a bandsaw with larger resaw capacity (which will also give you larger table, more hp, more mass). The table is not often discussed, but a large, heavy table makes it possible to cut wider things.

A bandsaw is by its nature not as stable as squattier machines, so heavy is good.

[Steve Newman]

Thanks for the input. I've been doing my research and I've learned a lot in the last few days. I'm a novice but I've been buying machines with the goal of eventually having a full shop. As for bandsaw use at first it would just be general use but I do plan to use the it for resawing and eventually I want to get into turning as well. I do have 220v power. My budget is keeping me in the 14" price range but from everything I've seen so far I don't think I'll need anything bigger. Right now I've got it narrowed down to three saws, the Jet jwbs-14dxpro, the Laguna 14-12, and the Rikon 10-325. Any thoughts?

[Kevin Groenke]

IMO one or another variety of the Grizzly 17 should be on your list. The anniversary model is quite well priced but is a bit blingy, the Polar Bear is pretty much the same saw in a different color. For a bit more coin you can upgrade to cast iron wheels, trunnions, resaw fence and/or a foot brake. Each of which are legitimate improvements.

We have a 17" Grizzly 0513 and a Rikon 10-325 in our shop. Both work, the extra power and throat depth of the Grizzly make it a better machine for the same $. Put a .025"x 1/2 TriMaster in it and you'll be resawing like you wouldn't believe.

It's over the budget of the other machines on your list, but I think the newish Jet 14-SF has some really nice features (micro adjust fence, no-fuss table tilt crank) and may be worth of consideration.

[Art Mann]

I bought a Laguna 14/Twelve for a little less than $1000 on sale because so many people on so many forums said so many good things about it. It is ideal for my applications. I mostly resaw 10 inch wide and smaller 4/4 and 5/4 lumber into 1/4, 5/16, 3/8 and 5/8 thicknesses for CNC carving and building boxes. If I were planning to resaw 10 or 12 inch thick hardwood in large quantities, I would be looking for a bigger saw.

[Allan Speers]

The Laguna 14-12 looks awfully good for the price, though I haven't used one. The biggest factor for me would be its excellent post assembly. It's nice to have guides that don't need constant adjustment every time you change height.

[Art Mann]

That is a great point Allan. Also, I really like the ceramic guides a lot better than the ball bearing guides on my Rikon. They are easy to set and have absolutely zero slop.

[Frederick Skelly]

Right now I've got it narrowed down to three saws, the Jet jwbs-14dxpro, the Laguna 14-12, and the Rikon 10-325. Any thoughts?

I'm not sure you can go wrong with any of those saws. I have the Rikon and I like it. (I just saw it online for $750, which is a good price.) The Laguna wasn't available at that time or I'd have seriously considered it. I don't know anything about that model of JET, but I have a couple of their other machines and like them very much.
Fred

[john lawson]

Here are some general comments about woodworking and machinery and band saws. They are not always true, but I believe they usually are.

1. Buying used you should pay 50-60% of new price. If you buy locally you will save another 10-20% for freight and tax. That's pretty substantial.
2. You should always buy an Italian band saw. OK, not always, but almost always. Always!
3. You can buy a used Italian bandsaw for what you would pay for a new (Insert Name).

[Kevin Groenke]

Here are some general comments about woodworking and machinery and band saws. They are not always true, but I believe they usually are.

1. Buying used you should pay 50-60% of new price. If you buy locally you will save another 10-20% for freight and tax. That's pretty substantial.
2. You should always buy an Italian band saw. OK, not always, but almost always. Always!
3. You can buy a used Italian bandsaw for what you would pay for a new (Insert Name).

Maybe in Birmingham one can find good used machines at 50-60% of retail but that is not necessarily the case everywhere. In my neighborhood I'm lucky to save 25% on good used tools, often items at live and on-line auctions craziness results in near or even over retail prices on high demand equipment. Items on craigslist are often listed higher than Amazon prices. Also, not everybody has the time, patience and/or freedom to constantly watch for the great deals so we choose from what is readily available when we're ready to buy it.

OP Steve, it may be useful to list your location as people may know of or help find you a local bargain on a used machine as John Lawson mentions.

Like $1000 for an 18" MiniMax 1ph in Adairsville GA.
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/tls/5362096001.html

[Bill Adamsen]

I would be very comfortable considering used as long as you can test it out.

No idea where you are located, but a search for "Centauro Bandsaw" on CL comes up with a few in the $1000+/- range that are substantially more machine than the new saws you're evaluating. For instance an 18" in Dallas for $900, which is likely (doesn't say) either the SP500 or more likely a CO500 (looking at the quoted hp). Either way, that's potentially (depending on model) a 700lb+ machine which should handle tensioning up even a 1" blade. The former has a limited throat height (10-1/2") but the latter had a pretty significant depth of cut close to 20". That's a real bandsaw that can handle resawing with ease. Saws this size can be logistically challenging to move, so that's a limitation of the larger machines. A 16" is really the best balance of function and size, but tend to be priced accordingly. The 18" Minimax S45 mentioned in a prior post is not quite in the same class as the MM series, the weight alone (400lbs) gives that away (compare to the MM16 at 530lbs). One note is that a Centauro is likely to be 3-phase. I use an RPC ... but I suspect one might be able to use a VFD. Anyone out there with large bandsaw VFD experience?

Full disclosure ... I am a very happy owner of a 28" Centauro machine.

[Tom M King]

I'm running a Centauro 600 (about 24") on a VFD, and like it a lot. I'm overclocking the speed 10% with the VFD for a current job, but will dial that back to normal for regular resawing. The motor never gets warm, and the whole thing is as smooth as can be.

[Bill Adamsen]

I'm running a Centauro 600 (about 24") on a VFD, and like it a lot. I'm overclocking the speed 10% with the VFD for a current job, but will dial that back to normal for regular resawing. The motor never gets warm, and the whole thing is as smooth as can be.

Tom: Your machine must be in the 4.5hp range (like the 18" Centauro saw I mentioned) what VFD are you using?

[Tom M King]

Quan Vang UPDATED 5.5KW 7.6HP 25A 220V VFD VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVE INVERTER off ebay for $268 I keep a fan blowing on the heat sink-don't know if it matters or not, but I had one sitting right there.

I'm awfully tempted to go get this one, but don't really need it now, and beyond busy. https://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/5348178124.html

[Bill Adamsen]

That Northfield is a real production machine. I do like the Carter wheels and direct drive. I suspect that would require a rigger to move.

[Tom M King]

Dually with gooseneck flatbed to move it on, and I can back into the shop that I'd use it in, and have a chain hoist......sounds like I'm trying to talk myself into it.

[john lawson]

I'm running a Centauro 600 (about 24") on a VFD, and like it a lot. I'm overclocking the speed 10% with the VFD for a current job, but will dial that back to normal for regular resawing. The motor never gets warm, and the whole thing is as smooth as can be.
This is my Centauro 24" with VFD, maybe twins. I pulled this one out of a barn, it was a rust bucket and I spent some time on it. It cost me $800 for the saw, and $400 for a new Laguna Fence and new Laguna ceramic guides. I used it today for about 4 hours, what a pleasure to use such a great machine. Here is a link to my restoration thread.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?158866-Restored-24-quot-Centuaro-(Minimax)-Bandsaw

[john lawson]

Thanks for the input. I've been doing my research and I've learned a lot in the last few days. I'm a novice but I've been buying machines with the goal of eventually having a full shop. As for bandsaw use at first it would just be general use but I do plan to use the it for resawing and eventually I want to get into turning as well. I do have 220v power. My budget is keeping me in the 14" price range but from everything I've seen so far I don't think I'll need anything bigger. Right now I've got it narrowed down to three saws, the Jet jwbs-14dxpro, the Laguna 14-12, and the Rikon 10-325. Any thoughts?

Here is a Laguna 16" that you could probably negotiate into your price range. Not sure if this is close enough, but they are out there.

http://houston.craigslist.org/tls/5371328583.html

[Tom M King]

327704John, Yours is a lot prettier than mine. I drug mine in the back of the pickup with a rope come-a-long, took it home, put a new lower guide on it, new tires, the VFD, a new blade, and put it to work.

[William A. Parker]

I would look at the Powermatic 14 if there is anyway you could come up with $1,200?

[john lawson]

327704John, Yours is a lot prettier than mine. I drug mine in the back of the pickup with a rope come-a-long, took it home, put a new lower guide on it, new tires, the VFD, a new blade, and put it to work.

This is what mine looked line when I drug it home: