Good starter bandsaw

[Casey Carr]

What would be a good starter bandsaw? Kind of on the fence about getting one this holiday season. Can definitely see the use for one, just haven’t had the space or the time in the past. Don’t know how much resawing I’ll do, but general detail cutting would be nice. Saw the Laguna 14/bx on Amazon, price doesn’t seem bad. Can go up or down though if there’s something better. Saw there was a 14/suv which looks like it adds some capabilities, but not sure of what or the price difference.

[Casey Carr]

Doing some poking around, looks like the Laguna lt14 suv is the way to go unless I want Italian made? Where do folks buy these from? I’d rather go with someone I can talk with versus woodcraft or rockler, not knowing if I’m getting the latest and greatest version.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Casey,

You can buy them from Amazon but you can contact these folks https://lagunatools.com/contact/.

[Mike Kees]

My vote is figure out what you want to do with it and give us a hint of the budget available. That would help you get more advice.

[Jamie Buxton]

Starter? A lot of folks started with the good ol' Delta 16". They're often available used on urban craiglist for $300. But out there in the desert, you might have to drive a long distance to get to one. Perhaps buying something new, so the UPS truck brings it, may be less hassle.

[Bill Dufour]

I think he means delta/rockwell 14" BS

[fritz eng]

Consider either the Laguna 14 Twelve or the Jet JWDX-14DXPRO. The Laguna has a slightly higher hp motor. The Jet was on sale on-line at Home Depot last year around this time but doesn't come with a fence. Both are around $1000.00.

[Casey Carr]

What I want to do with it replace my jigsaw for any curved work, and a couple grand doesn’t bother me. Realize I might have to spend a little more to fully outfit with a fence and whatever else. And yeah, nothing used out here without taking a drive. I like the ups man!

[Matthew Curtis]

What I want to do with it replace my jigsaw for any curved work, and a couple grand doesn’t bother me. Realize I might have to spend a little more to fully outfit with a fence and whatever else. And yeah, nothing used out here without taking a drive. I like the ups man!

A "couple Grand" you might as well go for the 18 BX.

[glenn bradley]

I think some of the lackluster replies come from a need to better understand what you want to do with it. You can certainly replace a jig saw with a 10" bandsaw if you don't do any fretwork. If you want to do curves in thicker stock, a 14" saw is the starting point for many wood workers. Cast iron machines probably have the widest available after-market stuff available if that is important to you. Steel spine 14" machines have come of age and are getting decent re-saw height and power plants.

Getting a larger machine could possibly let you use the same machine for the rest of your days. Some 17", 18" and 20" plus machines are in your budget but, you are moving towards a tier that can move up quite a bit in price. Some folks feel that changing blades is too much hassle and prefer a large machine for re-saw and a smaller machine for curves. These folks generally just keep their smaller "starter" saw for curves and buy a larger saw mostly for re-saw.

You can see that there are a lot of variables. There is no such thing as a "best" choice that 9 out of 10 of us will toss out there without understanding a little more about what you want to do. To give a specific response as to what works for me; I have a 17" machine that I use for re-saw and for large curve work. I also have a 10" machine that is my main go-to for quick cuts. I have other machines but, these two do the lion's share of the work for me. I build everything from picture frames to china hutches.

[Alex Zeller]

Plus "not enough space" in the past is also a little vague. How much space are you willing to part with. A 20" machine will do almost everything a 10" machine will do and give you a lot more real estate to place your work on. To me you either have unlimited room, room for a bench top model, or a stand alone. A 14" band saw isn't going to save too much space over an 18" saw but that 18" saw is most likely going to a noticeable step up. Maybe a nice scroll saw would be a better fit if all you want is to replace using your jigsaw.

I personally recently upgraded from a 14" cast iron BS to a 19" Grizzly. Night and day difference. Now that 14" saw was under powered so that was some of it but having a massive table extra weight along with the extra power makes for a much nicer user experience. Also with the larger wheels I can run blades that I could only dream of before.

[Rod Sheridan]

Casey, don't buy a starter band saw for 2 reasons

1) Many starter band saws are what I refer to as "band saw shaped objects". They look like a band saw, they just don't work like a band saw. Many will make you frustrated with band saws, and you'll have to replace them.

2) in my opinion somewhere around 17" is the size of saw that will resaw, break down rough timber, make veneers and use a 1/4" blade for more intricate cuts. They also have tables which are a bit lower so that they are more comfortable for larger work pieces. In addition they can do a better job of adequately tensioning blades.

regards, Rod.

[Doug Dawson]

Doing some poking around, looks like the Laguna lt14 suv is the way to go unless I want Italian made? Where do folks buy these from? I’d rather go with someone I can talk with versus woodcraft or rockler, not knowing if I’m getting the latest and greatest version.

I agree with others that, if you can swing it, the 18BX is the way to go unless you want to have _two_ bandsaws in the future. (I have one. It doesn't take up much space...) I used to have a 14" Delta, which you can often find used for not a lot, and there's no comparison re performance. Plus, it has a good look, if you care about that sort of thing.

Re where to buy, I've had really good luck with acmetools.com. I don't like getting soaked on delivery charges.

[Casey Carr]

I want to build furniture. Dressers, bed frame, maybe a table and chairs at some point, bed frames for kids, etc. Don’t want it for re-sawing just yet as I don’t have a planer or dust collector, but don’t want to have to upgrade later to get the capability. Firm believer in pay once, cry once and not every time I use it. Don’t mind spending more to get a better machine.

Space issue is I work out of my garage. It’s a three car, but I keep two vehicles in it as well. I pull my truck out whenever I need to work on something. I just built the frame for a workbench for a buddy of mine and my scroll saw was worthless on 1.75 maple. The jigsaw too rough. Bandsaw would have been pretty nice. Can see utilizing one for the bed frame I want to build next.

The lt14 suv seems to get good reviews, haven’t looked at the 18 Bx. The lt14 has a 14” re-saw capability though. Figured that would be pretty decent. If the 18bx is a better overall machine, I’ll definitely look at it.

[Rob Luter]

I got a 14" Rikon 10-326 this summer. It's my first bandsaw so I guess it qualifies as a starter saw. It handles blades up to 3/4" wide easily. I've used it for curved work as well as resawing up to 8" so far. I've been very pleased. I got it on sale for about a grand.

419864

[Jim Becker]

Casey, re-saw capacity and re-saw capability are not necessarily the same thing. The typical 14" saw can re-saw material but will not will not likely provide good results on taller material, even though it can fit between the guides and the table. That kind of re-sawing requires significant blade tension, a wider and more stable blade and a stiffer structure with more power to handle both. So if you're truly a "buy once" person, shoot bigger, even though it's a "first" saw and you might not be doing the heavier work with it at first. There is a practical limit, however. While you can run narrow blades on many bigger saws, it's not always optimal. Why? Because a large percentage of the larger saws use flat, rather than crowned, tires. That's great for wider blades because you actually hang the teeth off the edge of the tires. That's not possible with narrow blades, so you have to change the tracking to run them more centered and without the crown, the set suffers for it sooner. That's why you often see folks with a big-honkin' saw for re-saw work and a smaller saw for scrolling/general utility. Now I happen to run a 16" saw (2004 era MiniMax MM16) as a single tool. I don't use narrow blades very much for what I do, so the occasional reconfiguration to support them is no big deal. Most of the time, I run a 3/8' or 1/2" blade for "everything" on that machine.

[Robert Hazelwood]

I have the 14BX. I am happy with it. However I think the ceramic blade guides on it are not the best for tight scroll work. You'd probably want to get a carter stabilizer or something like that if you did a lot of tight curves. The ceramic guides are great for straight cuts though, and less fiddly than bearing guides. The 18bx is just a scaled up 14bx, so if you like the 14bx and have the space and budget go for it.

With a 14" wheel you are limited on blade selection for resawing as most of the dedicated resaw blades are too thick to run without breakage on a 14" wheel. Your best options will be a Woodslicer/Kerfmaster (spring steel, cuts great but short life) or a Laguna Resaw King (Carbide) which has a thinner band than other carbide blades - but I've had one of these break on my saw after about two months of use. Could be a defective blade, and Laguna has replaced it for me. We'll see how the replacement lasts. Anyways getting the 18" version should eliminate that issue and you can use a wide variety of carbide blades assuming that saw can tension them.

It seems that most people who do a lot of curve cutting and a lot of resawing end up with two saws.

[Mike Kees]

I currently have a centauro CO 600 (24'') and a Delta 14'' with a riser block. I used to own a Steel City 18'' saw. I sold that one when I got the Centauro, I wish I would have kept it and sold the Delta. I agree with Rod"s post earlier that the sweet spot for bandsaws is the 17''-19'' machines. Most have crowned wheels so they work great with 3/8'' size range blades as well as have the ability to resaw well with blades in the 3/4'' width range. Big lower tables for work support and options like blade brakes,what's not to like. That is where I would end up with a shop with only one saw.

[Rob Simmons]

As someone who wanted a bandsaw a few years ago I got the Powermatic 14 inch bandsaw that had the riser that gave me a 12 inch resew capability. I was not happy with it being the extra 6 inches I got, although nice, the motor was lacking in power. I ended up selling it on Craigslist and got the Laguna 18 with 16 inches of resew capability. Should have gotten it in the first place. An 18 will let you grow and have the power to cut through hard woods should you need to resew boards or logs. Yet you still have the ability to slap a 1/4 inch blade and do curve work to small pieces should you desire. Of course now I want a small 10 inch table top for that very reason only for the convinence of not having to switch blades. But I am making it work. I have learned you should always get what you really want first instead of working up to it. It is always cheaper in the long run.

[Biff Phillips]

I have an 18" Rikon.
Most of the time, I have a 1/4" blade for curves on it.
The "Carter stabilizer' is fantastic when using the 1/4" blade.

It can also use 1/2 or 3/4 inch blades when the need arises.

I would also recommend an 18 inch bandsaw . Second choice is one of the more powerful 14" bandsaws .

Definitely would get a saw that can accept the "Carter stabilizer". That thing is wonderful..

[Alan Lightstone]

I owned a Laguna 14SUV for a number of years. Nice sized motor, but the Driftmaster fence was terrible. My understanding is that they redesigned it. Laguna often gets poor grades for customer support. That may have improved since Woodcraft started selling them, and they probably don't want to anger such a large customer, but not really sure that's the case.

That being said, I upgraded for a far larger saw and am much happier. The 14SUV was a decent saw, but resawing left much to be desired, as you would expect. Wasn't impossible, but I wouldn't attempt it with very wide boards.

Personally, I'd start with a larger saw than a 14". You won't regret it.

[Nick Lazz]

I have the Laguna 14 SE. It is excellent at resawing and does pretty much anything I need it to do. When I first got it, I thought it sucked...but with blade selection and the right set up it now works great.
I wouldn't mind a bigger saw...but I've seen guys resaw like pros on a 14" delta which isn't even in the same class as the 14 SE.
Most often it is set up and blade selection. You need to figure out what you think you want to do with your bandsaw, but most are capable (with the right set up).

I think a 16" saw would be my perfect all around saw for what I do - mostly resawing. I would just like a bit more capacity and a brake.

[Randy Heinemann]

If you're going to use a bandsaw mostly for curves and only sometimes for resawing, I would say you can save yourself some money by going with a 14" like the Rikon 10-326. I have it's predecessor; a 10-325 Deluxe. The 326 sells for about $1,000 on sale. Equipped with the Carter Stabilizer and a 1/4" or narrower blade (like another said), I'm sure that it will cut most curves well (not curves inside a piece though, like a jigsaw will). I resaw with mine much more than I used to. I found that blade/guides/tension setup were the most important to give good resaw results. This will be true regardless of bandsaw size. I also replaced the original tires with urethane tires and that improved my resaw results also.

Having said all of that, if you have the money for an 18" I'd buy an 18". Resaw power is much better and i would imagine you can still do curves with narrower blades. However, I believe most 18" saws are 220V so you will need a 220V line in your shop.

As for a fence, I would guess the fence with the saw would need to be upgraded. For my 14" I just bought a Carter Magfence. I can set it wherever i want on the table and just lock it down. If I ever need to buy a different one, I think I'd make one with some Magswitches and add a few conveniences.

[Tony Latham]

Take a look at the motor HP ratings.

I've got an older 14" Delta that came with a 3/4 HP motor. Even with a new resaw blade, it didn't have the muscle for any kind of serious resawing.

I recently upgraded it with a 1-1/2 HP motor from Grizzly. It's now a beast

T

[Casey Carr]

I figured an 18" would be significantly more than a 14". Looks like the 18/BX is pretty much the same cost wise as the LT14SUV. I'll have to do some looking and see what all the 14 gets versus the 18. I know I'd prefer bigger, just didn't think it would be in the same ballpark. The 14" has to have some upgrades that the 18" won't? Thanks for all the inputs!

[Alex Zeller]

Don't forget to look at weight. Often a smaller but more expensive saw will be made with more steel. Possibly a bigger thicker table and a stronger spine. Or it could be simply one is made in Taiwan while the other is made in Italy.

[Tom Bender]

If you never resew anything you're still going to love having a bandsaw.

[mark kosse]

Casey, don't buy a starter band saw for 2 reasons

1) Many starter band saws are what I refer to as "band saw shaped objects". They look like a band saw, they just don't work like a band saw. Many will make you frustrated with band saws, and you'll have to replace them.

2) in my opinion somewhere around 17" is the size of saw that will resaw, break down rough timber, make veneers and use a 1/4" blade for more intricate cuts. They also have tables which are a bit lower so that they are more comfortable for larger work pieces. In addition they can do a better job of adequately tensioning blades.

regards, Rod.

I liked Rods bandsaw shaped objects. Casey, you can pick up a used Delta reasonable. It is the saw all others should be judged by. blades readily available anywhere, cuts great, lots of parts around and almost bulletproof.

I recently changed my 2 delta's at work into 3 Rikons because I wanted better dust collection. BIG mistake. They are not near the saw the Delta is.

[Casey Carr]

Went with the Laguna 18bx. I’m in the buy once, cry once crowd versus the buy and cry every time I use it. Don’t know when it gets here though. I think after the new year, which is fine by me. Gives me a chance to find a spot for it in the garage.

[Alex Zeller]

That saw was at the top of my list and if not for a 10% off coupon from Grizzly would have won out. I think you are going to cry a little until you use it and ask yourself what took so long getting one.