Resaw upgrade?

[Dave Cav]

I am considering upgrading my resaw bandsaw. I have a Grizzly G0513X2 I've had for about seven years and it's been flawless. I use it exclusively for resaw and ripping work, and presently am using a 1" Woodmaster CT. The saw and blade combination works very well and I have no trouble sawing veneers and ripping. The only problem is it's underpowered, having only a 2 HP motor, and I feel the saw is a little too small for the 1" blade as well. If I keep the saw I will probably move to a 3/4" carbide tooth later on.

The main problem is that any resaw or veneer cuts in stock over six or eight inches is VERY slow. It's hard to even use the full capacity of the throat due to the necessity to feed so slowly as to not choke the saw.

I'm considering moving up to a 20"/5 HP class saw, and I'm considering a Minimax or a Laguna, although I have no experience with either of them. Grizzly, of course, also makes saws in this size for considerably less money than the Italian saws. I'm also going to the AWFS show in Las Vegas in July, and there may be some deals available. Do any of the bandsaw gurus have any suggestions or recommendations?

thanks

[Mike Cutler]

Dave

Me personally? It would be a Minimax. These are very nice machines and if I were upgrading my bandsaw, it would be to a Minimax. I've actually been looking at their combo machines to replace my tablesaws and shaper.
Blade width does not necessarily correlate with resew quality, or capability. I've seen a 36" Moak with a 1/2" blade used to resew and it had no problems. It's more setup, than blade width.

[John TenEyck]

The Grizzly G0636x is a resaw monster at a great price. I bought one last Summer and am very happy with it. I have a 1", 1.3 tip Woodmaster CT on it and regularly slice 10" + wide veneer. It cuts as fast as you can push wood through it. Resale won't be as good as MM, but wasn't important to me.

John

[Jim Becker]

I think you are hitting on the correct issue around re-sawing...power comes into play at some point...so an upgrade makes a bit of sense. I'm a fan of MiniMax bandsaws (and an owner), personally, but there are a number of good options available. I think that the AWFS show is going to be a good experience for you and yes, you may be able to get a deal on something nice; if not in price, in added "benefits" tacked on to the deal, depending on the manufacturer. Both my bandsaw and my J/P were purchased via shows, although I pre-arranged for the deal before the show, let them use it as a floor machine at the show and brought it home after the show closed.

[Andrew Hughes]

Both saws sound good to me.Even Johns saws sounds like a winner.
I have the Aggazani B 20/20 4.8 hp and run the Woodmaster Ct and Resaw King no problems resawing any woods.
Before I made infeed and out feed tables I wanted a bigger table.Im satisfied now.
Good luck

[Dave Cav]

Thanks for all the information. I've been to the AWFS show two or three times before and there should be some interesting deals there plus I will probably get to try out all of the saws I'm interested in.

Another alternative would be to put a larger motor on my existing Grizzly; anyone have any experience trying that?

[Cary Falk]

Another alternative would be to put a larger motor on my existing Grizzly; anyone have any experience trying that?

I was going to suggest that but didn't think you want to go that route. I have put one on a band saw but put one in a grizzly sander. Get a c faced motor with the right shaft size. The worst part might be that you have to make an adaptor plate to so you don't have to drill holes in the bandsaw.

[Leo Graywacz]

What about just replacing the motor with something more powerful?

[John TenEyck]

If you want to put a larger motor on your saw I would step up the speed at the same time, to something in the 4500 fpm range. Saws that resaw well have powerful motors and run the band at high speed to clear the swarf faster.

John

[Andrew Hughes]

Might be a reason it came with a small motor.Thats blade is probably maxing out that saw and you could twist the frame on a saw if you push it hard enough.
Ive noticed how the sound of my Resaw changes from a 5 inch cut it a 10 or 12 in hard wood like hickory.Theres some serious pressure going on.

[Dave Cav]

Might be a reason it came with a small motor.Thats blade is probably maxing out that saw and you could twist the frame on a saw if you push it hard enough.
Ive noticed how the sound of my Resaw changes from a 5 inch cut it a 10 or 12 in hard wood like hickory.Theres some serious pressure going on.

Yeah, I think a 5 HP motor would be overdoing it on this saw. It would probably involve a larger frame size motor, and a bigger shaft, and it could get complicated in a hurry. I sold my engine lathe and mill when I moved, so I'm no longer set up for fabrication projects like this. I could probably go to a 3 HP motor without much trouble but I don't think the incremental increase would be worth the effort. I'm really looking forward to seeing the new saws at AWFS.

[Dave Cav]

Well, AWFS is two weeks away, and my wife didn't say NO yet....I think I have narrowed it down to the Felder FB-610, Minimax MM20 or Laguna LT-20. I'm leaning toward the Minimax, but I want to take a hard look at the Felder, too. However, the MM20 seems to be a SMC favorite.

[Brian Holcombe]

Pretty satisfied with my MM20 and originally thought I would never use it to full capacity, I have come very close more than a few times. I use a woodmaster Ct 1.3t and have resawn 19" of white oak without the saw even blinking.

[Dave Cav]

Thanks, Brian, I appreciate the endorsement. I can't imagine trying to resaw 19" of anything with my present saw.

[Matthew Hills]

Brian,
Are you using a tall auxiliary fence?

Matt

[Brian Holcombe]

Brian,
Are you using a tall auxiliary fence?

Matt

Havent needed to, I strike a line on the board and use that as a guide along with maintaining registration with the fence. It can be trouble if the board begins to cup but that is usually trouble regardless.

[Jim Becker]

SCM is indicating that they will have some show incentives (and they have two booths, side by side, one larger than the other) so hopefully that will bring something toward the bandsaw cost if you decide on the MiniMax MM20, which is a great machine.

[Dave Cav]

Well, AWFS is over and I have a S500P on order direct from SCM. I met Sam Blasco and he took great care of me; I got a good deal, more than enough to offset the cost of shipping and sales tax. It should be here next week, so I need to order a Woodmaster CT for it. My neighbor is already interested in my Grizzly.

[Brian Holcombe]

Sam's good people, really helped me out with my order and questions after the sale (that last part is most important!).

This is 18.5" wide white oak and came off my minimax with a dulling CT Woodmaster (it was replaced 5 days later).

https://brianholcombewoodworkerblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/img_7187.jpg

The new blade started by resawing 40ft of 12" wide QS white oak, which took me less than 20 minutes.

So, you will really enjoy your saw, congrats.

[Jim Becker]

Congratulations, Dave! And yea...Sam is great!

[Dave Cav]

Well, so far, so good. The saw was delivered a week ago and the blades came a couple of days later. I got a Woodmaster CT and two Woodmaster GT steel blades for backup/rough work. A couple of neighbors came over and helped with the uncrating and setup, and the next day brought a trailer over and moved my 17" Grizzly over to my next door neighbor's place. He's going to use it for sawing up turning blanks as that's 90% of what he does and he was thrilled to be able to buy the saw from me.

I set up the blades using the handout Sam Blasco emailed me using the flutter method, and it cuts very well. I'm happy with the purchase and looking forward to using the saw for a long time. The only problem I have with it is the low (35" or so) table height so I'm going to glue up and mill a couple of skids to go under the base to raise it up to 39" or so (I'm 6'5"). The other is the dust collection; there is only one port on the side below the lower guides. I'm thinking of hole sawing a 4" port on the lower back and adding a second dust port at the bottom of the lower wheel; any thoughts on whether or not it would structurally compromise the saw? The Grizzly saws have a second port in that location and very little sawdust gets out of the saw.

[Chris Hachet]

From an Old woodworking machines standpoint...Powermatic 87 20 inch bandsaw, made in 1979. 2 HP 3 phase motor with a VFD...cannot get it to bog down. Will resaw anything....

That being said, If it were me I would want even larger/more powerful. Thinking I would not mind a larger MINImax, Grizzly, or other Italian bandsaw at some point.

Good luck in your search!

[Chris Hachet]

Thanks, Brian, I appreciate the endorsement. I can't imagine trying to resaw 19" of anything with my present saw.Having used a 36 inch bandsaw....size really, really matters with resawing.