Purchasing a Bandsaw

[Mandell Mann]

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

I'm a hobbyist, but I grow into hobbies really fast. I'm in the market for a 16" to 18" bandsaw. I'm thinking about a Laguna 16 or Minimax 16 or higher, but I was wandering if there are any saws made in America that can compete with these two saws and which of the saws you think will make my woodworking experience more enjoyable?:rolleyes:

[Mike Cutler]

Mandell.

It really depends on how much you are willing to spend, or how much time in refurbing an older one. My opinion is to buy the biggest one that you can afford, and provide power for in your shop.

Either of the two saws you mentioned would be excellent. In that same category is Aggazani.

[Doug Shepard]

I bought the MM16 and have been real happy with it. A number of posters here have mentioned the Bridgewood highly too (dont know the model nbr off hand) in comparison with the MM16, Laguna, and Agazani.

[Bruce Page]

Ditto what Doug said. The MM16 is a great saw. I don't know of any American BS manufactures out there today.

[Brian Hale]

I've got the the MM16 and it's a fine saw but i suggest you take a good look at the Bridgewood PBS 440. Italian made by the same company that makes the Laguna but with a much stiffer frame. Also, Wilke (the folks that sell Bridgewood) service is second to none. They also setup and test run your saw before they ship to make sure it's operational before it leaves their dock. It also comes with an American made motor, Baldor or Marathon.

http://www.wilkemach.com/WelcomeToWilke.html

I'm not aware of any American made saw in that price/quality range but i wish there was.

Brian :)

[Jim Becker]

About the only way you're going to get "north American made" is to buy vintage...which isn't a horrible idea if you have the time and skills to do minimal to major restoration, depending on what you fine and how much you want to invest.

Other than that, the machines already mentioned plus the Aggazani are worthy of your short list. For the record, I'm a very happy MM16 owner.

[Mandell Mann]

Thanks Guys,

I'm moving towards a MM16. I trying to spend my budget the smart way so I really appreciate the feed back. Here are other tools I have in mind: 8 in PM jointer, Dewalt portable planer, and pm 2000 table saw. Any feed back will help.

[Joe Mioux]

MM16 is my saw, but I wouldn't lose sleep had a chose the MM S45. There are some nice features on that saw as well.

Joe

[Mandell Mann]

I'm sure, but if I spent that kind of money I need to justify it with several week jobs. I'm just a hobbyist. I like woodworking on the weekend not chasing the dollar.:D

[Mandell Mann]

About the only way you're going to get "north American made" is to buy vintage...which isn't a horrible idea if you have the time and skills to do minimal to major restoration, depending on what you fine and how much you want to invest.

Other than that, the machines already mentioned plus the Aggazani are worthy of your short list. For the record, I'm a very happy MM16 owner.

Man! you're hilarious. I been following your comments you should do stand-up. :)

[Joe Mioux]

I'm sure, but if I spent that kind of money I need to justify it with several week jobs. I'm just a hobbyist. I like woodworking on the weekend not chasing the dollar.:D

If this quote was directed at my comment, the S45 is about $600 less expensive than the MM16. the s45 is an 18 inch saw.
joe

[Mike Cutler]

Thanks Guys,

I'm moving towards a MM16. I trying to spend my budget the smart way so I really appreciate the feed back. Here are other tools I have in mind: 8 in PM jointer, Dewalt portable planer, and pm 2000 table saw. Any feed back will help.

Mandell.
From personal experience, and many, many threads on jointers. I can state with certainty that the consensus of opinion is to purchase the largest jointer you can.
I have a 6" jointer, and the next one will be at least 12" wide. Some people say that they don't have room for a big jointer. I say it doesn't really matter. An 8' board requires 17' of room to joint. The size of the jointer underneath doesn't really matter at that point.

[Roy Wall]

Mandell.
From personal experience, and many, many threads on jointers. I can state with certainty that the consensus of opinion is to purchase the largest jointer you can.
I have a 6" jointer, and the next one will be at least 12" wide. Some people say that they don't have room for a big jointer. I say it doesn't really matter. An 8' board requires 17' of room to joint. The size of the jointer underneath doesn't really matter at that point.

Totally agree - Good point Mike!

Secondly, contact Sam Blasco at MM..... he may have a used machine for less $$$.

["Gary Brewer"]

Mandell: You might want to look at the Bridgewood 540 and 440. The 440 is an 18 wheel saw and cheaper than the comparable Italian saws ( $1799 + shipping). It depends on the price break you are looking at and what you can get. I was going to get a mm16, which is a very fine saw, but really wanted larger wheels and a little bigger throat. The Bridgewood 540 ( $2399+ shipping) for $170 more ( shipped price ) than the mm16( at that time in December) gave me bigger wheels, throat and heft and an American made motor. The resaw height is less though. ( 14 inches vs 16 inches on mm16). There are a lot of similarities between the Italian saws and they are still the top of the heap. But if you want value and a lot of bell and whistles that the Italian saws don't have look the the larger Grizzly saws. I went to Muncy and they aren't junk any more. They actually have things the Italian saws don't have ( standard miter T-slot, rack and pinion crank tilt for the table, quick blade tension release lever ( very nice), etc.) The machining is also very nice. I think all the Italian saws have been slow in adopting the inovations. Also shipping can skew the price one way or the other depending on where you live. I'm in New York state and from Pa was a lot cheaper than Texas. You will enjoy any saw from the groups mentioned. A larger format saw is wonderful to work with.
Gary

[Jim Becker]

Dirty job...somebody's gotta do it! :)

Seriously, as compared to a few years ago, there are some really great choices in band saws available. While the MM, Laguna and Aggazani are not in the budget for many, other vendors have taken notice and produced machines that certainly emulate them in many good ways. Grizzly, Bridgewood, Jet, Rikon, etc., all have offerings. Buy as much weight, stiffness and power as you can afford. All of these things make work like resawing a pleasure and you can still do detailed scrolling when you want to.

[Kristian Wild]

There is still one high quality North American manufacturer who makes a big bandsaw. General (not General International) still makes three different band saws in their Drummondville Quebec factory. There are two different 15" models (one with 6 3/4" resaw, the other with 12 3/4" resaw) and a 20" model.

From what I remember prices are comparable to the European machines. Definately more expensive than Asian machines, but you get what you pay for. And as a bonus the people building your machine can earn an honest living at a real living wage!

Here's the link for the taller 15" saw:
http://www.general.ca/pagemach/machines/0general/690_1a.html

And here's the one for the 20" monster:
http://www.general.ca/pagemach/machines/0general/390a.html

Good luck in your search!

Kris

[Mandell Mann]

If this quote was directed at my comment, the S45 is about $600 less expensive than the MM16. the s45 is an 18 inch saw.
joe

Point taken.