Michael Panis
10-29-2007, 1:04 PM
Hi Folks,
I'm in the process of purchasing a bandsaw for hobby work. I'm leaning towards either Rikon or Grizzly (prior Creek postings have helped a lot). One question I'm wondering about is whether I should care about the minimum blade width.
The Rikon 14" Deluxe supports a 1/8" blade, while its big brother only supports blades down to 1/4". Both similar Grizzly saws claim to support 1/8", but the salesman at Woodcraft suggested that larger saws can put so much tension on a blade when they startup that he wouldn't recommend an 1/8" blade on any 17" or 18" saw.
Is there truth to this?
More importantly, is minimum blade width something I should even consider? Obviously, it depends on what I'll be using the saw for, and I don't have any real plans to do fine pitch scroll work. Then again, part of the fun is not knowing what projects I'll try to tackle, and I'd hate to purchase a larger, more expensive saw, only to learn that its size limits what I can do with it.
How often do people find themselves using narrow saw blades? :confused:
Thanks...
---Mike
I'm in the process of purchasing a bandsaw for hobby work. I'm leaning towards either Rikon or Grizzly (prior Creek postings have helped a lot). One question I'm wondering about is whether I should care about the minimum blade width.
The Rikon 14" Deluxe supports a 1/8" blade, while its big brother only supports blades down to 1/4". Both similar Grizzly saws claim to support 1/8", but the salesman at Woodcraft suggested that larger saws can put so much tension on a blade when they startup that he wouldn't recommend an 1/8" blade on any 17" or 18" saw.
Is there truth to this?
More importantly, is minimum blade width something I should even consider? Obviously, it depends on what I'll be using the saw for, and I don't have any real plans to do fine pitch scroll work. Then again, part of the fun is not knowing what projects I'll try to tackle, and I'd hate to purchase a larger, more expensive saw, only to learn that its size limits what I can do with it.
How often do people find themselves using narrow saw blades? :confused:
Thanks...
---Mike