Shop Fox Band Saw Bake-Off

[Pat Germain]

I'm trying to narrow down options for a band saw. I bought a Shop Fox 8" jointer last summer and I'm very happy with it. Thus, I'm looking at two options right now:

- Shop Fox W1706, 14", 1HP: Currently $526.66 on Bibbtool.com with free shipping.

- Shop Fox W1729, 19", 2HP: Currently $1,240 on Bibbtool.com with free shipping.

Obviously, the 19" has more capability than the 14". However, I'm not sure it's worth more than double the price of the 14". Last year I was considering a 6" Jointer and folks here convinced me to go with an 8" which I think was very good advice.

I would like to do resawing for veneer and inlay work as well as make band saw boxes. I'm OK with waiting awhile longer to stuff the proverbial matress for the 19". Would the 19" possibly be too much gun and not worth the hefty price? The shop footprint between these two saws seems to be similar and I have 220V power available in my shop.

The 2HP on the 19" is probably more than I need, but I really like the idea of having all that capacity. I expect it would be the last band saw I ever buy.

I'd appreciate thoughts and ideas about these two band saws or others.

Thanks.

[Lance Norris]

I would like to do resawing for veneer and inlay work as well as make band saw boxes.

The 2HP on the 19" is probably more than I need, but I really like the idea of having all that capacity. I expect it would be the last band saw I ever buy.

I'd appreciate thoughts and ideas about these two band saws or others.

Thanks.

The 2 hp will really come in handy for resawing and if you make bandsawn boxes out of any exotics, the smaller, less powerful saw wont cut it(hey, I made a funny:D). If you can afford the 19" and have the shop space, by all means, get it. As far as other recommendations, Grizzly. If you dont want to spend the money for the Shopfox, Grizzly has saws in the 17" range that are an excellent value.

[Joe Vee]

Pat,

I just read a detailed 14" Band saw review at Fine woodworking.com. There was a rave review of the Grizzly G0555X 14" Extreme Series Band saw which was rated the best value of all the 14" band saws. It is 1.5HP. If you decide to resaw larger boards later on, you can buy an extension so you can resaw up to 12" boards for $59. With shipping it costs $669. This saw is sized in between the 2 tools at which you are looking. Grizzly and Shop Fox have the same owner. Just thought this would be a little more saw within your budget. Hope this helps

Joe

PS. I agree the free freight really is tempting

[Pat Germain]

Thanks for the info.

Boy, there sure are a lot of band saw varieties out there. They're like ice cream flavors.

The Grizzly comparison chart recently posted in another thread will come in handy.

To bad FWW didn't declare the best 19" band saw value.

[David Parker]

Hi Pat,

I too plan on buying a 14 inch bandsaw in the near future. I'd probably go for an 18 inch if I could get it into my basement shop, but realistically I realize I'll probably never even come close to taxing a 14 inch.

You probably have a local Shop Fox dealer that you could buy from and who could provide local support to you. My Shop Fox dealer quoted me a price of $499 on the W1706 (plus $69 for the 6" riser block). Incidentally, he uses a 1706 in his other business building speakers and raves about it. I find it interesting that he was leading me towards the Shop Fox, when I was showing more interest in the higher priced Steel City and Powermatic, which he also sells. The 1706 certainly seems like a nice machine for the money.

I finally think I've decided on the Rikon 10-325. After evaluating many saws, I feel it's very well built and gives you most of the features of an 18 incher for a lot less money ($675 at the Woodcraft March 1 sale). Plus I can avoid the pitfalls of dealing with a riser (I've read how a few people have difficulty aligning their wheels after riser installation.) Customer service is also reported to be excellent with Rikon and my local Woodcraft says they sell more Rikon 14 inchers than all other bandsaws put together. That could be why the 10-325's are back-ordered until mid March.

I notice that most people seem to be satisfied with their bandsaws regardless of what brand they own, so it seems the manufacturers are doing a decent job. I've also noticed that most people say they are glad they went with an 18 inch over a 14 inch. Unfortunately, it's not an option for me. An 18 inch Rikon is $999 now, but it would be a epic battle to get it down into my basement.

Good luck with your decision.

Dave

[glenn bradley]

As soon as I read resawing, my reaction is to advise against the 1HP. I run a 2HP 17" for resaw and although it does a great job, it would turn foul if the power were reduced. This experience has actually moved my sights off the 2HP jointer I was looking at and targeted a 3HP now.

[Dave MacArthur]

http://www.grizzly.com/products/19-Extreme-Bandsaw-3HP-Single-Phase-/G0514X2
If you're looking at the 19" ShopFox, I would advise looking at the Grizzly 19" 514x2. Why? Because the product lines are very similar between Griz and ShopFox, however the Grizzly bandsaw line (particularly the 19" x2!) has seen some MAJOR improvements during the last year that were NOT matched by ShopFox--While the saws were the same 2 years ago, I would now rate the 514x2 significantly higher! Read the page, and click the "which bandsaw" link in my signature below and find the threads on the 514. Shiraz Balolia comments in one of them on this saw.
Price:$1,295.00Freight:*$94.00Your Price:**$1,389.00

Sorry for the "sales pitch" look to the post--just wanted to cut/paste a price so you can compare to the ShopFox. If the ShopFox dealer was local, I'd place a value on the local service/support aspect (which is why Griz/ShopFox split across business models I think). If it's not local, then ShopFox has no particular advantage over Griz IMO.
For the extra $150 you get much more saw. This is the 19" I am planning on going with (after a year of study). However, truthfully what some folks up above have said seems to be the case: Almost all 14" through 19" bandsaw owners seem very pleased with their purchases, indicating that you almost can't go wrong in today's market--they're all quite well made and good value. This is just the saw I believe, from reading/study alone, seems to be the best value at 19".

[Grant Vanbokklen]

I'm trying to narrow down options for a band saw. (SNIP) I would like to do resawing for veneer

To give you some food for thought. Go to this page http://www.lagunatools.com/videos.htm and scroll down to the link "power feeder" and watch the video. Sure looks like a sweet system for sawing your own veneer.

If I were doing a lot of re-sawing for veneer I'd choose a larger saw than my 14" Delta.

[Doug Shepard]

Resawing+14" BS+Riser == an upgrade to a bigger saw. Only question is if you want to pay for it now or later.

[Pat Germain]

Thanks again for the input. I'm going to take a hard look at the Grizzly 514x2. My nearest Shop Fox dealer is North of Denver; about 1.5 hours away. I've talked to them on the phone and they carry only the very small Shop Fox tools. I would have to order anything bigger than a bench top tool. Thus, going Grizzly is also a good option for me.

Intellectually, I know I'm better off buying a bigger saw. I just want to be sure I'm considering all options and I'm not spending money I don't need to spend.

I'm also very glad to hear just about everyone is happy with their band saw.