recommendation for band saw purchase

[Matt McGill]

I'm looking to get a band saw for under $2000.

I'm a total woodworking rookie ... it's been a hobby for about 5 years. About every 6 months I'll look into band saws and then talk myself out of getting one. Then I'll do a project where I wish I had one...

Every time I go "low end" on a (power) tool, I end up "getting what I paid for" and I feel like I've wasted my money ...

I'm betting the answer to this question is, "depends on what you'll use it for" ... and ... I'm not really sure (it's not like I'll be re-sawing 18 inch boards every weekend).

I'd like to have something that will last 10 or 20 years... and probably be enough of a machine that I can "grow" into ...


I'm looking at:

https://www.rockler.com/laguna-lt14-x-14-suv-bandsaw


any opinions (or facts!) would be appreciated!

[John TenEyck]

The Laguna LT14SUV is a fine choice. The Grizzly G0513X2BF would be a good choice, too, and allow you to run carbide blades w/o issues. With the 14" wheels on the Laguna you would likely be limited to Resaw King blades if you wanted carbide.

Personally, I almost always look for a used machine first when considering a "new" stationary machine, and for $2K you may be able to find a used MM16 of modern vintage (white) which would be a step up from either of the other two.

John

[Tom Trees]

Two grand!
You have answered your own question
Get a 20" 200kg machine at the very least, or a heavier 20" that can tension a blade to 25k PSI.
If you want a machine you can grow into then its a used 24" 3 phase using a VFD.

Take my opinion with a pinch of salt if you don't mind a loud machine you have to baby and don't mind replacing thrust guides often.
BEAM TENSION is what the bandsaw is all about.
That's referring to the blade, not the frame which would need to be stout in order to have a 3/4" blade tensioned correctly.
Tom

[Kevin Groenke]

+1 on no smaller than 17" wheels. That gives you the capability to run carbide tipped blades like the Lenox TriMaster which is a game changer for resawing. A 17" saw really doesn't have a larger footprint if space is a concern and the additional throat depth never hurts. IMO any of the Grizzly 0513 series are a great value if you are not a brand snob (we have 2 in a college shop and have never had problems with them).

[richard poitras]

I find I have used my bandsaws mostly for smaller work so if you get into to a large saw they don't work the best for smaller blades and things so a smaller to mid size saw is best if you only are going to have one saw as if you don't do a lot of re-sawing a smaller to mid size saw can do it all.
One of the mid size Laguna's would be my vote....

[David Micalizzi]

I bought a MM16 in 2005 and the only regret I have is I can't run a carbide TriMaster blade on it. I had one break on me after maybe a couple of hours of use, ouch! I'm a hobbyist so the price premium for new equipment is usually more than i'm willing to pay. I prefer to buy a better quality used machine then a shinny new one that i'm disappointed with. If you do any amount of woodworking you will realize the advantage of having two band saws one set up for ripping, resawing and a smaller one with a narrow blade for curves. I bought a 14" delta off craigslist for $150.00 that i keep a 1/4" blade on all the time. Keep a lookout for a used saw or two. I have seen 20" Deltas going for around $1000.00 or less in my neck of the woods.

When starting out there are so many tools and supplies you need. It's important to not blow your entire budget on one tool and then not have the funds for another you need. That's a lesson I learned the hard way. Also, when buying used if you are not satisfied with a purchase just turn around and sell it. I have done this a couple of time and have even made a few bucks on some sales.

Let us know what you decide to do.

Regards,

Dave

[John TenEyck]

I bought a MM16 in 2005 and the only regret I have is I can't run a carbide TriMaster blade on it. I had one break on me after maybe a couple of hours of use, ouch! I'm a hobbyist so the price premium for new equipment is usually more than i'm willing to pay. I prefer to buy a better quality used machine then a shinny new one that i'm disappointed with. If you do any amount of woodworking you will realize the advantage of having two band saws one set up for ripping, resawing and a smaller one with a narrow blade for curves. I bought a 14" delta off craigslist for $150.00 that i keep a 1/4" blade on all the time. Keep a lookout for a used saw or two. I have seen 20" Deltas going for around $1000.00 or less in my neck of the woods.

When starting out there are so many tools and supplies you need. It's important to not blow your entire budget on one tool and then not have the funds for another you need. That's a lesson I learned the hard way. Also, when buying used if you are not satisfied with a purchase just turn around and sell it. I have done this a couple of time and have even made a few bucks on some sales.

Let us know what you decide to do.

Regards,

Dave

Maybe you just got a bad blade, David. Lots of folks run 0.035" gage TriMaster (and Woodmaster CT) blades on a MM16 w/o issue. And I completely agree with your recommendation to have two BS's.

John

[Tom Trees]

Totally agree with you David
95% of folks expect a small machine to do all sorts of stuff, with the mindset of...
If it has that much resaw height under the guides, then it must be capable of doing so, if one is patient like I am.

No one told them that it IS capable of cutting at that maximum depth, but not for cutting timber, for cutting foam insulation. :p

Therefore you have a huge variety of curve cutting machines that people are trying to flip all the time,
And they will do the very same mistake again, their expectations will be high, and they will be fooled by the marketing
because they're thinking with their wallet instead of their brain.

If you think this or that is capable because you seen this review, I suggest you watch the promotional video closer again.
What you won't see is a cut from start to finish in REAL TIME without some 90's easy going cheesy sax music that makes your brain shut off ;)

You only get to see the very start of the cut, and then its either sped up or edited out until the very end of the cut.
If this was not done, you wouldn't watch the video because the screaming thrust guides would put you off.

Just a heads up
Tom

[Matthew Curtis]

Laguna 18BX

[Mike Kees]

I have a 14'' delta with riser block in my shop as my small saw. The bigger machine is now a centauro CO 600 (24''). I sold a 18'' Steel City when I bought the Centauro. I wish I had sold the Delta and kept the Steel City. My vote would be for a 17''-18'' saw for a great place to start. Leave a 3/8'' blade with 3-4 teeth per inch on it for most stuff and have a coupe 1/4'' blades as well as a 5/8 or 3/4'' blade for resaw. Grizzly 513 series is great value and decent saws.

[Rick Peek]

I had a 14” ridgid band saw that I tried like heck to use for everything. As I don’t do much resawing I thought for the few times I did need to resaw,I could get by with it. So I put a riser block on it and with 1/2 inch resaw king blade. Also put a fence on it. Well it was a total disappointment. I suffered for a while,then finally bought a Grizzly 513x2f. I put a Timberwolf 3/4 for resaw and it’s a beast. Love this saw and a great value for 1500.00, kept the ridgid for the couple of hundred bucks I might get for it and put a 1/4 blade for small stuff and cutting curves. Love having the 2 saws.

[tom lucas]

Two saws is best. But if you can only have one, then get one that will take small blades first, since resawing isn't a primary chore for you. I have a cheap 14" with a 1/4" blade on it with a carter blade stabilizer. And I have a 513X with a 3/4" blade on it. The smaller saw gets used by far the most. I've been looking to upgrade the smaller saw from the used market but haven't found something suitable for what I want to pay ($500). For small blades I like the Lenox bimetals.

[Rob Luter]

I got my first bandsaw this summer. I went in thinking I'd go with a Powermatic but wound up with a Rikon 10-326. It's a lot more saw for the money. Now that it's set up properly and I bought a couple good blades it works exceptionally well.

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[Jim Andrew]

You didn't post your age, which has something to do with this question. I bought a MM16 15 years ago, and have not used it hard enough to hurt it. I use it for feet on my chests, once in a while I resaw some drawer sides, but do not use it for a sawmill. Have a bandmill for that. Thing is, a MM16 or larger will outlast you and could outlast your heirs, unless you use it 8 or more hours per day.

[Mick Simon]

If I were buying new on your budget I'd get the Laguna 18BX. They're currently on sale for 10% off at around $1799. Great features and I've been really impressed with the build quality. The ones I've seen have been smooth as silk.
Buy once, cry once. Go with 17" + wheels. You'll be much less limited in what you can do with it down the road. Blade life is better, more capacity, etc.

[Jim Becker]

My recommendations:

1) Go as large as you can accommodate and find for your budget. Larger wheels and height can be an advantage. You can cut small things on a big saw, but can't cut big things on a small saw
2) If you can be patient, try to acquire a "big" machine used
3) If you can't find a "big" machine used, there are great options from Grizzly, and others that will fit the bill nicely
4) Keep in mind that most larger saws do require 240v for operation. If that's a limitation for you, find the stoutest 14" saw you can afford that still runs on 120v power

[Matt McGill]

You didn't post your age,

I’m 46 years old!

[Frederick Skelly]

Matt, there's a lot of good advice in this thread. I agree - if you can afford a big saw without hardship, by all means get one. It's like having extra horsepower in your car - you'll seldom regret it. But don't think for a minute that you HAVE TO spend all that money to have a useful bandsaw. There are a lot of (hobbyist) guys here who do just fine with smaller, less capable machines. For what I build, my Rikon 10-325 works just fine. I don't ever anticipate needing to resaw 11" thick Osage Orange. :)

Hope you enjoy whatever you buy!
Fred

[Alex Zeller]

This summer I went through the same process as you are going through. I ended up with a Grizzly G0514X2 for about $1800 with shipping and tax (with a 10% off coupon). In the end it came down to the Laguna BX18 and the Grizzly. Each saw had some points that stood out. The Laguna had an extra 4" of resaw height and a disc brake set up. The Grizzly has a stronger set up for the table. Both are about the same price. I think there was a Rikon I looked at but it weighed noticeably less. The only issue I had was the urethane tires were junk and the saw would vibrate. I simply removed them, put the blade on and it was a smooth as silk so I replaced them with ones from another company.

If you can find a used saw that's not too old to get parts for that's great. What I was finding was either the 14" Delta cast iron clones (which is what I was replacing) or machines that wouldn't fit in my basement. 24" of resaw height and 1200 lbs would be great but not if I couldn't put it where I want.

[Matt McGill]

I ended up with a Grizzly G0514X2 for about $1800 . . .

Thanks for the feedback!

In your opinion, is 100 bucks more worth having a motor break?

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-19-3-HP-Extreme-Series-Bandsaw-with-Motor-Brake/G0514X2B (https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-19-3-HP-Extreme-Series-Bandsaw-with-Motor-Brake/G0514X2B)

I'm a little hesitant of replacing something (urethane tires) on a new tool ... but it looks like others had to do the same... probably not too difficult?

thanks,
Matt

[Jim Becker]

Matt, there have been a number of times that I've appreciated having the brake pedal on my band saw. As to tires, I wouldn't want to have to replace them on a new saw...one of the reasons to buy a new saw is to not have to do that kind of thing!

[Mike Kees]

I would put new tires on from another source if the stock ones were junk. Like the way Alex tested that by installing the blade without tires to isolate the tires as the issue. Proves there is a real good machine there with cheap tires. On pretty well every machine some "tweaking" is going to be required to get good performance. Nice to see a little common sense applied to a problem.

[Alex Zeller]

I like having the brake. The foot brake is tied to a switch that cuts the power to the saw so even if you don't need to stop the blade quickly. It's easier than pushing the button. I also like having the key switch. I take the tension off the blade when not in use and what i do is take the key out and it's on a key ring with a magnet. I stick that to the lever so the machine can't be started without putting tension back on the arm.

As for the tires go, swapping them was easy. I'm sure I could have gotten a replacement set from Grizzly (probably several if needed) but I decided not to. Yes I agree it should have worked fine with the ones the saw came with but there are several people who complain about the saw vibrating and struggling to fix it. I posted my experience simply because people should know. The Laguna may have been perfect right out of the crate but if it wasn't it seamed like their customer service was a little more hit or miss. Replacement tires are easy to source from another company, other parts not so much. Each person is different. I would expect if I paid $4K+ on a saw it should work great. When I pay $1800 for a saw with the same capacity I might have to work out an issue or two. Other people would have expected G0514 to work perfectly.

I did talk with the localish (3 1/2 hours away) Rockler about the BX18. They said they could order one to the store and we could remove it and try it out. I don't know if other stores have this ability or not but it would be a good way to see a saw run before making the purchase. I was leaning towards the Laguna but in the end, because I use the band saw to cut turning blanks that can weigh over 100 lbs, I felt the trunion/ table lift set up on the Grizzly would be more robust.

[David Micalizzi]

Maybe you just got a bad blade, David. Lots of folks run 0.035" gage TriMaster (and Woodmaster CT) blades on a MM16 w/o issue. And I completely agree with your recommendation to have two BS's.

John

I have heard that many run TriMasters with no issue on MM16s. Maybe I did get a bad one. Manufactures do recommend wheels 18" or larger for carbide so it does make me a little squeamish. I heard Lenox reformulated their band so the TriMaster could be used on smaller wheel saws but I don't know this for sure. Maybe I should give it a try again that was one sweet blade when it worked.

David

[Tim M Tuttle]

I was in a similar position earlier this summer. I started out with a budget of $1000 but ended up getting a Laguna 18bx during their 10% off sale. Saved about $200. I don't know a ton about band saws but I like it so far. I have a 1" Resaw King on it right now and I also got the light and mobile base. The mobile base is fairly meh but it gets the job done. I only have to move it when working with anything longer than 8'. The ceramic guides are kind of a pain but based on what I have read they get a lot easier the more you work with them.

Like you, I went the cheap route early on with a few of my tools and I have regretted most of those purchases. This band saw replaced a 10" WEN which, while good for its size, was just completely undersized for most of my needs.

[Matt McGill]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Someone asked if I’d post what I ended up with.

I’m going to do the Grizzly G0514X2. The Laguna 18bx looked real good too.

[richard poitras]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Someone asked if I’d post what I ended up with.

I’m going to do the Grizzly G0514X2. The Laguna 18bx looked real good too.
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Between the two I would go with the Laguna 18bx.

[Matt McGill]

Between the two I would go with the Laguna 18bx.

lol I knew as soon as I posted someone would say that!!

[richard poitras]

lol I knew as soon as I posted someone would say that!!

Its all good. The 514 is a good saw you will be happy. I had a 513 and liked it.

Richard

[Bill Dufour]

Some people dig a pit in the shop floor so they can run a bigger saw! Also look at some of the metal saws which can be variable speed with a transmission to allow wood cutting speeds. Other processes have made band saws less attractive for the metal working trades. Do-all and Grob come to mind. As well as powermatic and rockwell.
Metal saws go to about 24 inches then they go to four wheel designs. Most will not be able to increase throat height with a riser block. What you buy is what you get. Once you get to about 36 inches the prices tend to rise very little up to 48". They do jump up at 60 inches.
Bill D