Quality Bandsaw in 2019?

[Alex Zeller]

I recently got a 19" Grizzly. What it really came down to was how much I would use the saw and what capacities I felt I needed. I also had to get it into a basement shop which meant height and weight could be an issue. I finally set a budget of around $1500 (knowing that I would go over a bit). I ended up with a choice between the Laguna 18BX and the Grizzly. I would have liked to have ended up with a saw in your top tier but it just didn't make sense for my uses. I really think you need to decide if you are ok with spending top tier money. If you are then I would skip those saws not in it. That SCM saw looks like a real nice saw but, for me, it would have been $3500 with shipping.

With the second tier machines you may have to do a little tweaking or work to get it to perform at it's best. In my case the urethane tires were bad. Some people aren't ok with this, and I get it. Who would buy a new car then have to spend a few weeks to make it run the best it could. When going the used route a lot of the top tier machines spent their lives in a commercial shop. That should be an issue since that's where they were designed to be. Unfortunately, depending on the shop, they may have been abused by workers who didn't really care. Even then you can find them at a reduced price as long as you don't mind doing repairs or living with a machine that looks well used.

The three saws I eventually decided on would be the Rikon 10-342, the Grizzly G0514X (ended up with the X2), and the Laguna 18BX. The Rikon was a good 100lbs lighter and only 2hp. It did have a very easy way to adjust the blade guides but the trunnion didn't look as nice. It looked like it was gear driven but not a cast iron machined one. The Laguna had the biggest resaw of the 3. It was the front runner. About the only down side was that getting support and parts still seams to be an issue and the trunnion was half cast iron and half aluminum. I did get to see one at a Rockler and was waiting for it to come on the usual 10% off sale. Then there was the Grizzly. The X2 weighed the most of the 3 but still not too much to get it where I needed. The resaw was the least of the 3 at 12" but it seamed like either 12" was enough or I would want to step up to at least 20" so I could cut the face of a large bowl blank (the Laguna was very tempting). The Grizzly had the best table of the 3 by far. The rack and pinion system to tilt the table makes for a very solid table and adjusting it is effortless. There were reports of the Grizzly having an issue with vibrations but going with US made tires solved it and I'm under the cost of the Laguna (thanks to a 10% off coupon) that I can get a Resaw King blade for it.

Hope this helps.

[Justin Rapp]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm trying to group saws into something meaningful:

Group 1)
- SCM / MM

Group 2)
- Laguna
- Powermatic
- Grizzly
- Rikon

Group 3)
- Jet
- WEN


I'd like to know more about Group 1 / Group 2. What are these brands? This is just a starting point. I'm looking at anything 14" to 18". Where do Hammer and Felder fit in? I'm assuming Felder is Group 1?

Thanks again and cheers,

I would need to disagree with how you are grouping you list.

You need break up the mfg list by there offerings. For example, an Italian made Laguna goes to group 1. Grizzly and Rikon have machines that are in Group 2 and Group 3. If you want Jet in Group 3, you need to move WEN to group 4 or maybe even a 5. BTW, you are underestimating JET. I have a drill press and table saw from JET, and they are nice machines. Also as your cross brands, many of the machines are the same, just rebranded. Look at Jet and Powermatic, , PM PWBS-14CS and Jet's jwbs-14cs are similar - different base and PM has an upgraded motor. I also was looking at a planer - I saw the same machine (to the specs and from the pics) in 3 different paint colors from 3 mfg. Price difference was $1000 less for a green one vs a white one.

You are also somewhat all over the board. An 18" can pretty much do anything a 14" does, but a 14" can't cut really BIG stuff. Before you even get narrowed down to brand, you need to determine what size machine will fit your needs. Then set your budget and pick a model that fits both. Also in the 14" space, you could have a smaller saw mounted on an open or closed stand (like PM PWBS-14CS) or you could have a solid one piece frame saw (like a Laguna 14/12).

If you are looking for the ultimate top of the line do-all bandsaw for hobby use, than there is no reason to even discuss some of the lower tier'ed offerings and vice-versa - if you budget is $700, you need to be looking at Grizzly or Rikon.

[andrew whicker]

Or pay $500 to have it strapped to a pallet and shipped.

Heck I if I hadn’t just gotten the MM16 recently I’d be looking for a way to get that one. LOL

Any leads on how I get that done?

[andrew whicker]

Who do I contact? Never have done this before.

[andrew whicker]

I would need to disagree with how you are grouping you list.

You need break up the mfg list by there offerings. For example, an Italian made Laguna goes to group 1. Grizzly and Rikon have machines that are in Group 2 and Group 3. If you want Jet in Group 3, you need to move WEN to group 4 or maybe even a 5. BTW, you are underestimating JET. I have a drill press and table saw from JET, and they are nice machines. Also as your cross brands, many of the machines are the same, just rebranded. Look at Jet and Powermatic, , PM PWBS-14CS and Jet's jwbs-14cs are similar - different base and PM has an upgraded motor. I also was looking at a planer - I saw the same machine (to the specs and from the pics) in 3 different paint colors from 3 mfg. Price difference was $1000 less for a green one vs a white one.

You are also somewhat all over the board. An 18" can pretty much do anything a 14" does, but a 14" can't cut really BIG stuff. Before you even get narrowed down to brand, you need to determine what size machine will fit your needs. Then set your budget and pick a model that fits both. Also in the 14" space, you could have a smaller saw mounted on an open or closed stand (like PM PWBS-14CS) or you could have a solid one piece frame saw (like a Laguna 14/12).

If you are looking for the ultimate top of the line do-all bandsaw for hobby use, than there is no reason to even discuss some of the lower tier'ed offerings and vice-versa - if you budget is $700, you need to be looking at Grizzly or Rikon.

That's fair. I'm trying to make sense of it. I tried looking up reviews, but I didn't find anything really cohesive. I mountain bike and I can read about $12k mountain bikes along side $2k mountain bikes. It is really confusing with these tools. Like you said, sometimes brands are the 'same factory', other times they have models made in Top Tier countries, other times they don't.

Figuring all this out is a nightmare.

14" could probably work, I'm not really at that point though. I'm still trying to decide what even makes sense. Like you mentioned above, I could spend an extra $1k for a paint job which is infuriating. Do you have to research every single model to find out where it is made? Doesn't this change year to year too? I mean Laguna by itself has multiple offerings in the 14" to 18" range.

It's a screwed up market for sure. I feel like I am not grasping what everything costs.

[Greg Parrish]

Any leads on how I get that done?

He says in ad that he will secure to pallet for freight shipping. Contact seller and if still available work with him on it to find out what he is willing to do. Plenty of national freight companies. Just google and you’ll probably get 10+

[Greg Parrish]

The good thing with that 20” SCM is that you could sell it for what you pay for it. My guess is that it’s probably sold since the seller doesn’t appear to have posted again but you never know.

That's fair. I'm trying to make sense of it. I tried looking up reviews, but I didn't find anything really cohesive. I mountain bike and I can read about $12k mountain bikes along side $2k mountain bikes. It is really confusing with these tools. Like you said, sometimes brands are the 'same factory', other times they have models made in Top Tier countries, other times they don't.

Figuring all this out is a nightmare.

14" could probably work, I'm not really at that point though. I'm still trying to decide what even makes sense. Like you mentioned above, I could spend an extra $1k for a paint job which is infuriating. Do you have to research every single model to find out where it is made? Doesn't this change year to year too? I mean Laguna by itself has multiple offerings in the 14" to 18" range.

It's a screwed up market for sure. I feel like I am not grasping what everything costs.

[Alex Zeller]

If nothing else works just look for a shipping company with a depot close to you and see if they have one near the seller. Grizzly uses UPS freight. They may not be the cheapest but you should be able to contact them directly. I'm sure as an individual you will pay a higher rate than what a company will pay. Just make sure to put enough insurance on it to cover your costs in case it's damaged.

[Justin Rapp]

If nothing else works just look for a shipping company with a depot close to you and see if they have one near the seller. Grizzly uses UPS freight. They may not be the cheapest but you should be able to contact them directly. I'm sure as an individual you will pay a higher rate than what a company will pay. Just make sure to put enough insurance on it to cover your costs in case it's damaged.

There are a lot - and UPS Freight, while I read some reviews they were not 'great' but people tend to post a review as a VENT so you need to realize that there are most likely 1000's of happy customers for that 1 unhappy customer that decided to post. Laguna used UPS freight when my bandsaw was delivered and they were really good. UPS has lift gate service for residential delivery and they also called me ahead of time asking is a specific size truck will be able to get in/out of my neighborhood.

There is also