24” bandsaw bargain

[Kendall Scheier]

I have the opportunity to buy an minimax 24” bandsaw at an insane value. This will be my only bandsaw; so my question is: “will I regret not having a smaller bandsaw?” I know the question is usually the other way around when guys are upgrading from a 14” or so and the common answer is to keep the 14” for curved or detail work and the larger one for resawing and ripping...

I feel like I can’t pass up the opportunity to get this massive 24 incher don’t have room for 2 bandsaws in my shop.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Jim Becker]

That's a GREAT saw...you'll really enjoy it. And if you find that you have a frequent need to use narrow blades, you can always add a small saw. I have not had that issue with my MM16, for the most part, and I even had a 14" saw in the garage that I could have restored to use but never found the need. It really comes down to what work you do and what you want to do with a bandsaw. Obviously a big saw is better suited to heavy/big work but it's easier to do small stuff on a big saw than it is to do big stuff on a small saw... ;)

[Tom M King]

Buy it. Find somewhere to store a little 10"-maybe sitting on the table of the 24" when it's not being used.

A 24", with a Lenox 1" 1.3TPI blade makes the difference between resawing with that, and a 14, or even 18" saw seem like the difference between Major League, and Little League.

[Tom Trees]

For doing curved or detail work, it will be likely you will like the bigger table, and perhaps wouldn't go back to a small saw.
Lots of hurley makers have 24" machines and run wee blades.
You might have to adjust tracking a wee bit, maybe annually to account for wear, I can't speak of experience running a narrow blade much, and never noticed any
wear happening, but have dressed a tire that wasn't looked after and the saw was used in anger for cutting pallets before I got it.

I wouldn't be worried about it at all, might even be able to swap those tires out in a jiffy if its the same machine as the video with Sam Blasco.
I'd guess you would be really needing to be maximizing the saw either way to be bothered with that.


God speed in your venture :)
All the best
Tom

[Kendall Scheier]

Thank you for your responses gentlemen; you have quieted my fears!

[Walter Plummer]

From the old woodworking machines website numbered rules:
OWWM Rule No. 2: Better to own a machine and not have a need than need a machine and not have it/one.

OWWM Rule No. 5: In the time between finding a machine and asking others if you should buy it someone else will come to the proper conclusion.

[Bill Space]

More OWWM sage advice. Not sure if it has a number:

Buy quickly and ask questions afterwards. Otherwise you will have your answers and someone else will have the tool!

[Tom M King]

Yes, tires are really easy to change on that machine.

[Patrick Kane]

Whats the minimum blade width it will run? My 20" saw will do 3/8", i think. Maybe even 1/4". My point being, you can do some pretty tight curves with a 1/2" blade. Its not a scroll saw, but will handle most furniture curves. Id love a 24" saw, but i dont have the ceiling height.

[Curt Harms]

Buy it. Find somewhere to store a little 10"-maybe sitting on the table of the 24" when it's not being used.

Wise man. a 9" -10" saw doesn't take much space and is easily portable. I'm not familiar with the Minimax saws or their blade guides but I wonder if you get a 3rd party blade guides from somebody like Carter that would enable narrower blades.

[Matt Day]

More OWWM sage advice. Not sure if it has a number:

Buy quickly and ask questions afterwards. Otherwise you will have your answers and someone else will have the tool!

That’s No. 5, as stated above.

[Bill Space]

That’s No. 5, as stated above.

Guess so...somehow it seemed different when I read the post...:o

[Kendall Scheier]

I believe anything smaller than a half inch requires an aftermarket set that are bolt ons. I will double check the manual though.

I am picking up the saw tomorrow with no hesitation!

[Robert LaPlaca]

Wow great score, MM24’s are beasts. I own a MM16 and as much as I love the saw, I would jump at the opportunity for a larger machine, with a larger table. Congratulations, I am sure you will love it.

[Erik Loza]

They “do not make them like that” any more. Literally. I was talking with a customer yesterday who has an MM20 in his shop. Was thinking of maybe replacing it some day and I basically talked him out of one of ours and into keeping the MM. To anyone out there, if you have the chance to get a real Centauro, BUY IT.

Kendall, regarding the 1/2” blade, in my opinion, I wouldn’t. Yes, you could (you will need coolblocks or a Carter Stabilizer) but in my experience, tensioning a 1/2” blade on a machine the size of an MM24 is fussy. There is so much span between the flywheels that you need to really crank the tension up in order to get the blade to straighten out and in doing so, blade life goes down. Honestly, this should be your 1-inch machine: Lenox Die-Master II, a gnarly skip-tooth blade for resawing, etc. Best of luck with it.

Erik

[Kendall Scheier]

Thanks Erik. I found out what you mean about “not making them like they used to.” We laid the thick girl down cuz it was taller than the garage door opening... it was in 2 furniture dollies rated for 1100 pounds and the band saw literally crushed both! We put a third underneath and that got crushed too. I definitely underestimated how tough it would be to move but after a lot of effort we got it moved. Woo doggy!

[Tom Bender]

Congrats to you Kendall

Eric you suggest that a long span is not good with narrow blades. So are you saying that a saw with a riser will compromise performance with narrow blades?