bandsaw help- is this worth it

[Bob Hallowell]

I am looking at a used 18" jet bandaw, I don't know much about it just that it is 2hp and has a 12" resaw hieght. There are no dust ports but I could cut those in. It is a 4 hour drive and it's $350.

I need a bigger saw for cutting bowl blanks

[keith ouellette]

It doesn't look like an 18 in bandsaw to me but the base could be throwing me off.

[Bob Hallowell]

I think it is an 18" he sells lots of used equipment. plus it has a 12"resaw hieght.

Bob

[Jim Becker]

You'll easily pay that much for a 12" band saw that wouldn't do the job you want to do. If the machine works and actually has a real 2hp motor, it's probably worth the trip.

[Jake Helmboldt]

I concur; that isn't an 18" saw. The size is an indication of the wheel diameter and at most that looks like a typical 14" bandsaw. It also doesn't appear to be in great shape, nor a saw with many features. I think (no, I know) you can get much more saw for the money. You can find old Deltas for half that if you look around.

PASS!

[Bob Hallowell]

well he sent me another pic when I questioned the size it is an 18"
so what do you all think. Jim it's located by you. and I can find anything on an older jet bandsaw.

Bob

[Danny Thompson]

I would be tempted. Did he provide a brand and model #?

[Bob Hallowell]

No just that it was a jet 18"

Bob

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Is anything worth a 4 hr. drive? Especially something that is a bit dubious. Is that one way?

[Jim Becker]

Jim it's located by you.

Bob, what town? If it's reasonably close and I can get a few minutes, I'd be happy to examine for you...or there may be someone even closer.

[keith ouellette]

One thing you have to consider is 8 hrs drive time (4 up and 4 back) multiplied
by $20 per hour is $160. I have a friend that spend many hours on many different weekends to find a bass boat he liked at a great price. One of the trips he took was a whole day.
He brags about the deal he finally got but doesn't like it when I question the time he spent. If driving is a hobby you enjoy then forget my post.

[Bob Hallowell]

Bob, what town? If it's reasonably close and I can get a few minutes, I'd be happy to examine for you...or there may be someone even closer.

Jim, I have no clue just how close it is but if it is close that would be great.

It's in Oxford, Pa

Bob

[Rob Will]

Jim, I have no clue just how close it is but if it is close that would be great.

It's in Oxford, Pa

Bob

Go see Wild Bill!
(Bill Kerfoot - machinery dealer in Oxford PA)
He's a good guy.

Rob

[George Morris]

Well if you want I may go down this week to look at what he has there. I can let you know what I find out, I also saw this on cl in killadelphia listing. I have also been looking for a 18" Bandsaw . George

[Bob Hallowell]

George that would be great. let me know what you see.

Bob

[Jim Becker]

It's in Oxford, Pa

Hour and a half for me...that's the same town as Hearne Hardwoods (http://www.hearnehardwoods.com). Which could be a nice incentive for you if you buy the saw! LOL That's west of Philadelphia out Rt 1 if you want to check it on a map.

[Jake Helmboldt]

well he sent me another pic when I questioned the size it is an 18"
so what do you all think. Jim it's located by you. and I can find anything on an older jet bandsaw.

Bob

Well I guess I'll eat my hat; sure looks like that tape measure says 18". Looking at the original pic I still can't believe it as it looks like your typical 14" saw. Without taking a look at it or having someone do so for you is still a crap-shoot in my book. Might be a bargain, might be a waste.

Does he say anything about the condition of the saw in general? Casting cracks, condition of the guides and trunnions? It appears there is no fence. Are the wheels cast aluminum or iron? Is that table as rusty as it appears in the pic? Just some considerations.

[Bob Hallowell]

Hour and a half for me...that's the same town as Hearne Hardwoods (http://www.hearnehardwoods.com). Which could be a nice incentive for you if you buy the saw! LOL That's west of Philadelphia out Rt 1 if you want to check it on a map.

Jim,
I got www.westpennhardwoods.com (http://www.westpennhardwoods.com) 2 hours north of me That I get to stop at occasionly on my lunch break. They are one of the main importers of exotics in the country and have some darn nice stuff They supply alot of the woodcrafts and many others. They always laugh when I walk in cause I am always trying to get a bargin. I'm good at finding something wrong with a peice of wood and telling them I will take it anyway if the cut me a deal! My wife doesn't always like when I stop there:eek:

Bob

[George Morris]

will do, I think i will go down on wendsday or thursday. May have to stop at croft and croft!! George

[Bob Feeser]

I'm always learning something new from SMC. I have an old circa 1948 band saw from Walker Turner. When I saw this thread about band saw measurements, I went and measured mine. It has a 16" wheel rim to rim, and the clearance from the arm is about 16" as well, so in other words you could almost sneak a 17" board by it, cutting one inch off. Does that make it a 16" band saw. I only found literature from Walker Turner about 14's. Any comments are appreciated.


I concur; that isn't an 18" saw. The size is an indication of the wheel diameter and at most that looks like a typical 14" bandsaw.
PASS!

[matt dumney]

That initial pic sure looked smaller than 18". In my personal opinion I think it looks rough for 350. However, the pic may it look smaller so maybe the lighting is making it look rough. Granted a 18" would cost considerably more but seeing is believing.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I own a Jet 18" cast iron C-frame saw similar to the one posted. They look just like a 14" saw but proportionately bigger...so, looking at picture, it is difficult to determine its real size.

My Jet has a resaw height of only 9 1/2". Apparently, my model and this model are somewhat different. My Jet is also the modern gray and black paint scheme and was bought around 1990. I suspect this one was around mid 1980s.

My machine is functional and has adequate power (2 hp, 220V only). The fit and finish is poor. This quality was typical of of asian imports of this early era. The saw you're considering likely has cast aluminum spoked wheels with rubber tires, metal block upper and lower guide assemblies that may be a bit crude to adjust, guide height adjusment that may require the guide blocks to be readjusted everytime the height is changed, a relatively poor fence, and no dust collection.

When I bought my saw, it was an upgrade to a 14" saw. Not much offerings were available at the time in the 18" class for the serious hobbyist. Things sure have changed today. I'd like to upgrade to a modern welded box frame bandsaw, but can't justify benefits versus the cost and difficulty getting it down into my basement shop.

My saw was approximately $1,000 in 1990. I'm guessing it would be worth about $350 today. The offerings today for a new 18" asian import saw still remain around $1,000 to $1,200, and the new saws boast an overall better quality and some nice features. The saw you are looking at is probably not in the category of the 'old ron days' that may folks seek out. But, it will probably work fine with a little extra fumbling and modification for dust collection.

Hope this helps....Jeff :)

[Steven Wilson]

Bob, if you're looking at it primarily for bowl blanks then it's probably just fine. Stick a 3/8" Timberwolf AS blade on it and you'll be all set. I'm not sure if it would be a good choice for acurate resawing.

[Wilbur Pan]

I'm always learning something new from SMC. I have an old circa 1948 band saw from Walker Turner. When I saw this thread about band saw measurements, I went and measured mine. It has a 16" wheel rim to rim, and the clearance from the arm is about 16" as well, so in other words you could almost sneak a 17" board by it, cutting one inch off. Does that make it a 16" band saw. I only found literature from Walker Turner about 14's. Any comments are appreciated.

I've got the identical Walker-Turner 16" bandsaw. I just love it. If you poke around on owwm.com, you'll be able to find some reprint material on Walker Turner 16" bandsaws. They were very much identical to the 14" bandsaws, except for size.

I always thought that the wheel diameter determined how big the bandsaw is: 14" bandsaw = 14" wheel, 18" bandsaw = 18" wheel. The fact that this roughly corresponds to how big a board you can cut on it is a bit of a coincidence due to the design, but it's conceivable to make a C-frame with a really deep or narrow throat so that the cutting capacity has nothing to do with wheel size.

[Bob Feeser]

Wilbur,
Thanks for the follow up. One question, at the risk of stepping outside of the thread, but how do you grease the gearbox. Machine oil, or whatever. I couldn't figure out how to dissassemble or don't I have to. I am interested in preserving the gear box. Everything works great now, and I want to keep it that way. Is there an oil hole? What kind of oil/grease/machine oil do you use? Have you had to service yours this way? Any suggestions are appreciated.


I've got the identical Walker-Turner 16" bandsaw. I just love it. If you poke around on owwm.com, you'll be able to find some reprint material on Walker Turner 16" bandsaws. They were very much identical to the 14" bandsaws, except for size.

I always thought that the wheel diameter determined how big the bandsaw is: 14" bandsaw = 14" wheel, 18" bandsaw = 18" wheel. The fact that this roughly corresponds to how big a board you can cut on it is a bit of a coincidence due to the design, but it's conceivable to make a C-frame with a really deep or narrow throat so that the cutting capacity has nothing to do with wheel size.

[Wilbur Pan]

Hi Bob,

Okay, I think we might not have completely identical bandsaws. Judging from your description and the reference to the gear box I'm guessing that you have the wood/metal version of the 16" Walker-Turner bandsaw, like in this web page (http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=2413). This version has multiple speeds.

In which case, I'm extremely jealous. Mine is just set up for cutting wood, and has a single pulley on the driveshaft, and a single speed. Here's a picture:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/162/341844053_b45adea800_o.jpg

In any case, you might want to check out the Old Woodworking Machines website (owwm.com). There's lots of information there about your bandsaw and other vintage machines. But to answer your question, synthetic motor oil from your local auto parts store would be fine for the gear box. It's way overkill for this application, but your gears will be well protected, and a quart of oil will last you a long time, and will be a lot cheaper than trying to rebuild the gear box.

On the other hand, if you're talking about lubricating the shaft itself, there is a small lubrication hole for the bearings, but I replaced the bearings on my bandsaw with a set of sealed bearings, so lubrication won't be an issue for a long time.

[Ronald Thompson]

This looks like an older 14" Grizzly.
Ron

[Bob Feeser]

Wilbur,
I am so glad someone did not do to my saw and yours, what they did to ths one, from the link you provided. Yours is all orginal condition, and paint like mine was.
http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/Images/2413-A.jpg
It looks like they took a spray can of whatever color they had laying around, and sprayed everything, including the black motor. What a shame. Restoring that machine to it's former glory would require a complete disassembly, paint removal etc. A daunting task to say the least. Mine came in original worn condition too as you can see in the following picture.
http://inlinethumb03.webshots.com/30466/2640645780100733997S600x600Q85.jpg
The base you can see in this picture, I removed when refinishing. The part you show in your picture is the actual saw. The wood metal option is based on a geared motor, which several people have told me is impossible to replace, so when it goes, a setup like your picture shows is a nice way to continue to use the saw. For woodworking, a faster speed is all you need. Tuniing the pulley size to one setting is great. So if the motor ever goes, I will be buying a motor and hooking it up outbound as well. Mine has a sideplate, that the electrical box is mounted on, that has the elongated slots for bolts to go into, so that is a mount waiting to happen. If you ever want to put on a new finish, I wrote a post here at SMC outlining every step of the process. To be honest with you, I had a body shop for 20 years, did a lot of high end finishing, and it is all in the preparation. I actually sprayed this band saw with a can spray of paint designed for industrial machinery, that I bought at Home Depot. The color even matched to the original.
It looks to me like we do have the exact same saw. I love it, and I am sure you like the way it cuts. At some point I have to experiment with different blades. I have been using a 3/4" on it only. Have you done any resawing with it? If so, how does it do? Good talking to you. Bob Here are some pictures of the refinished, and tuned saw. I called Delta which as you know bought Walker Turner, and they said by the serial numbers that it is one of the last ones made, and the year it was built was 1948.
http://inlinethumb12.webshots.com/4299/2679830560100733997S600x600Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb17.webshots.com/5584/2027978870100733997S600x600Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb07.webshots.com/5382/2959895410100733997S600x600Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb49.webshots.com/5360/2100747380100733997S600x600Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/2789/2917692780100733997S600x600Q85.jpg






Hi Bob,

Okay, I think we might not have completely identical bandsaws. Judging from your description and the reference to the gear box I'm guessing that you have the wood/metal version of the 16" Walker-Turner bandsaw, like in this web page (http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=2413). This version has multiple speeds.

In which case, I'm extremely jealous. Mine is just set up for cutting wood, and has a single pulley on the driveshaft, and a single speed. Here's a picture:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/162/341844053_b45adea800_o.jpg

In any case, you might want to check out the Old Woodworking Machines website (owwm.com). There's lots of information there about your bandsaw and other vintage machines. But to answer your question, synthetic motor oil from your local auto parts store would be fine for the gear box. It's way overkill for this application, but your gears will be well protected, and a quart of oil will last you a long time, and will be a lot cheaper than trying to rebuild the gear box.

On the other hand, if you're talking about lubricating the shaft itself, there is a small lubrication hole for the bearings, but I replaced the bearings on my bandsaw with a set of sealed bearings, so lubrication won't be an issue for a long time.

[Wilbur Pan]

It looks to me like we do have the exact same saw. I love it, and I am sure you like the way it cuts. At some point I have to experiment with different blades. I have been using a 3/4" on it only. Have you done any resawing with it? If so, how does it do? Good talking to you. Bob

Hi Bob,

Boy, that's a sweet job you did on your Walker-Turner! Very nice!

I've been using a 3/4" 2-3 variable TPI Timberwolf blade for resawing on my bandsaw. It works great. I've been able to resaw a thin veneer ~3/32" thick in 6+" stock, and the motor on my bandsaw is the original 1/2 HP motor that came with it. I have replaced the pulleys on the motor and driveshaft so that the blade speed is up around 3400 surface ft/min, which I think also helps with the quality of the cut. With the pulleys that were on the bandsaw when I originally got it, the blade speed was down around 2000 surface ft/min. You can see what I did in this shot:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1013/871279420_36cb9dc3d1.jpg

I posted the other picture because it gave you a clearer shot of my drivetrain.

As far as other blades go, I found that a 3/4" 10 TPI blade can give you really nice cuts in sheet goods. I've also used a 1/2" blade to good effect. All of my blades are from Timberwolf.

I'd love to do a restoration job, but I have a lot of other things I need to do in my shop before I can start on the old machine restoration projects. I have found the matching base for my bandsaw, but it's still sitting in my garage.

There's a fair amount of drift on my bandsaw, but I still need to tune up the guide blocks and make the crown on the tires a bit more pronounced.

By the way, I found your post about how you did the paint job on your bandsaw restoration. What's your opinion about using sandblasting to get rid of the old paint?

Also, since the label suggests using grease in your gearbox, I'd use a synthetic grease, like Mobil 1. Again, it's probably way overkill for this application, but your gears will be well protected, and a can of the grease will last you a long time, and it still will be a lot cheaper than trying to rebuild the gear box.

[Bob Feeser]

[quote=Wilbur Pan;748619]Hi Bob,

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1013/871279420_36cb9dc3d1.jpg

I'd love to do a restoration job, but I have a lot of other things I need to do in my shop before I can start on the old machine restoration projects. I have found the matching base for my bandsaw, but it's still sitting in my garage.

There's a fair amount of drift on my bandsaw, but I still need to tune up the guide blocks and make the crown on the tires a bit more pronounced.

By the way, I found your post about how you did the paint job on your bandsaw restoration. What's your opinion about using sandblasting to get rid of the old paint?

Wilbur,
It is funny how the base fits. These parts are all cast, and it seems like they were cast out of crude molds, but then they dressed surfaces to be able to get things to line up. So the base fit needs aligning.

Sandblasting is the preferred method for getting paint off of old metal when it is really thick. Depending on the sand blaster, is it an industrial 4 or 5 inch hose with a Caterpillar motor, will warp sheet metal, whereas a handy sand blaster from Sears will barely get the paint off. It makes a difference. The industrial will get a thick piece of metal, reduced to its' core real nice; looking like new. A hand held will with a lot of patience, as you probably already know, remove paint in a small area at a time, but not really score the metal surface to take out embedded rust. Metal conditioner is neccessary no matter what method you use.
I chose to sand this unit down for 2 reasons. The outer layer of paint, although it was not peeling, came off real easy. With 80 grit on a ROS I was able to take all of the chips, and old paint off easily. After going over it with that, then I went to a 120 or 150 to bring the surface up. Then degreased, etc again, and primed. Then went to about 320 or 400 in final prep for paint. See instructions in my older post. The big advantage to sanding is that I did not have to remove the Factory labels that were riveted on, and other attachments that were not neccessary, such as the motor, to get a nice looking job, I just protected them, and cleaned them up. So a total ground up restoration would be even more time consuming.
My saw was functionally fine with a few exceptions. Getting everything squared up was one thing. You mentioned the guides. I had to unfreeze mine. With WD 40, letting it pentrate for a while, the roller guides started to work free, and finally, they spin like new ones. The rollers are just on the back edge of the blade, there are...??? rubbing sticks on each side of the blade that are adjustable, and that keeps the blade true. This saw was taken care of, so I do not know when the bearings were replaced, but there is no wobble at all in the large pulleys. Everything spins true.
I used to restore classic TBIrds, and it always blew my mind, when I would send out an old rusted piece of metal, and after blasting it with an industrial sand blaster service, it would come back looking brand new. If I primed and painted it, put wrapping paper around it, and placed it in a box, you would swear it was new metal. What do I think of sand blasting? It's great. Sometimes you can totally disassemble, and other times you sand blast some, and sand and prep others.

[Bob Feeser]

Hi Bob,

Boy, that's a sweet job you did on your Walker-Turner! Very nice!

I've been using a 3/4" 2-3 variable TPI Timberwolf blade for resawing on my bandsaw. It works great. I've been able to resaw a thin veneer ~3/32" thick in 6+" stock, and the motor on my bandsaw is the original 1/2 HP motor that came with it. I have replaced the pulleys on the motor and driveshaft so that the blade speed is up around 3400 surface ft/min, which I think also helps with the quality of the cut. With the pulleys that were on the bandsaw when I originally got it, the blade speed was down around 2000 surface ft/min. You can see what I did in this shot:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1013/871279420_36cb9dc3d1.jpg

I posted the other picture because it gave you a clearer shot of my drivetrain.

As far as other blades go, I found that a 3/4" 10 TPI blade can give you really nice cuts in sheet goods. I've also used a 1/2" blade to good effect. All of my blades are from Timberwolf.

I'd love to do a restoration job, but I have a lot of other things I need to do in my shop before I can start on the old machine restoration projects. I have found the matching base for my bandsaw, but it's still sitting in my garage.

There's a fair amount of drift on my bandsaw, but I still need to tune up the guide blocks and make the crown on the tires a bit more pronounced.

By the way, I found your post about how you did the paint job on your bandsaw restoration. What's your opinion about using sandblasting to get rid of the old paint?

Also, since the label suggests using grease in your gearbox, I'd use a synthetic grease, like Mobil 1. Again, it's probably way overkill for this application, but your gears will be well protected, and a can of the grease will last you a long time, and it still will be a lot cheaper than trying to rebuild the gear box.

Sandblasting rules. I used to do body and frame restorations to like new on Classic T Birds 55's etc and would liquid strip out "sheet" metal parts, and then sand blast all of the cavities like door jambs, motor compartments, frames etc. I took it to an industrial sand blasting place. Everything came back like new metal. Then you spent lots of time with air blowing all of the sand particles out of crevices. Then, and this is important, you do any additional sanding with something like 220 grit or coarser if you want to further smooth some metal area, and the important part is treating it with metal prep. That is an acid the destroys the myriad of little tiny sanded metal particles that just by the moisture that is in the air can create rust seeds. I could go into specifics on that. So you then when the acid wash metal prep is completely dry, and I mean completely, you use an oil based primer to seal it all in. Then whatever you want for a top coat. I have spray equipment, but oddly enough I found a spray can of industrial grade gray spray paint at Home Depot that just about perfectly matched what came on the saw in the first place.

[Bill Dufour]

Check and make sure you can buy tires for this saw before you buy. Custom lengths can be made up for no extra charge but widths and crown or no crown could be a killer.

I believe the WT gearbox is made by powermatic for both bandsaws. At any rate I am fairly sure it was made by another saw company.

John Deere cornhead grease is often recommended over oil. At any rate do not use gear oil with EP additives. the modern EP additives are not compatible with yellow metal. GL 4 and below are okay. GL5 is not.

Bill D.

[Marshall Harrison]

This is a 10 year old thread.

But I do wonder if the OP bought the saw and how it turned out.

[Bill Dufour]

By now he may have upgraded to even bigger saw.
Bill D