Why buy a 15 inch bandsaw?
I have listed my general bandsaw for sale. ITs a 15 inch model 490 in brand new condition and new, these are very pricey.
The first question I always get is how much resaw capacity does it have? RESAW CAPACITY! This is a 15 inch general purpose bandsaw with a 1 HP motor. You will be lucky to resaw 6 inchs with this beast.
So I began to wonder. I was young and naive when I bought this saw. It was the standard home shop bandsaw and much cheaper and easier to move than say my later acquistion. That being a Y-30 snowflake which weighs over 3000 pounds.
So here is the question. Why should someone buy a 15 inch or smaller bandsaw? Invariablely every user will want to resaw and then they are put off by the tiny resaw capacity. Now you can get a bandsaw with a neck extension but these do not have the mass and ridgidity that the general has with its massive one piece cast iron body. Furthermore, its very hard on the light duty motors to resaw a bunch of 6 inch veneer.
So I would like to know why folks still purchase 15 inch bandsaws new? Would you not be better off with say a 20 inch, heavier duty saw? Make the 20 inch saw the minimum for the new shop. Anything under that just isnt going to workout in the resaw department. I wish I had understood this problem years back when I bought this general new.