How good are Northfield bandsaws?

[Darcy Warner]

Pretty sure Northfeild still offers replacement parts for older machines.

They should have almost anything needed.

[Matt Tebo]

I have a Northfield 36" deluxe bandsaw and it cuts very well. It has a 15hp motor, belt driven to provide ~5000fpm blade speeds, excellent for resawing. I bought it used with only 2 hrs on it, so it is in like new condition. It has the power feeder Northfield sells on it, and I added the hand resaw fence Northfield makes as well. It will resaw whatever you feed through it, and it will never slow down during a cut. It is vibration free, and I have nothing bad to say about it. I like the large table on the deluxe bandsaw, I think its 42" square. It allows you to have adequate support for scroll type cuts of almost size and shape object.

Northfield can supply parts for just about any vintage of their machines and you will not find any company in any industry willing to help you like Northfield in my experience. The owner, Jeff, is very honest about their equipment, willing to tell you machines to avoid, machines that are good to buy, and they keep track of all parts ever sold for all of their machines. This gives you the ability to see what someone has replaced in the past, is an indication of machine use/abuse, etc.

Matt

[Darcy Warner]

I have a Northfield 36" deluxe bandsaw and it cuts very well. It has a 15hp motor, belt driven to provide ~5000fpm blade speeds, excellent for resawing. I bought it used with only 2 hrs on it, so it is in like new condition. It has the power feeder Northfield sells on it, and I added the hand resaw fence Northfield makes as well. It will resaw whatever you feed through it, and it will never slow down during a cut. It is vibration free, and I have nothing bad to say about it. I like the large table on the deluxe bandsaw, I think its 42" square. It allows you to have adequate support for scroll type cuts of almost size and shape object.

Northfield can supply parts for just about any vintage of their machines and you will not find any company in any industry willing to help you like Northfield in my experience. The owner, Jeff, is very honest about their equipment, willing to tell you machines to avoid, machines that are good to buy, and they keep track of all parts ever sold for all of their machines. This gives you the ability to see what someone has replaced in the past, is an indication of machine use/abuse, etc.

Matt

One of the reasons I like buying NF stuff. Sure, parts aren't cheap, but they have parts and getting to hear any of Jeff's knowledge is well worth it. I am a Unipoint aholic.

[Jeff Bartley]

+1 to everything Darcy said, and I'll add: You're guaranteed a great conversation with Jeff. I'm still bummed about passing on a 20" Northfield bandsaw a couple years ago.

[Edward Dyas]

I have never seen one in the wild and from what reading and information I can gather they seem like impressive machines. In particular I am looking at the 27 and 32 inch models. I am looking to use a larger bandsaw for resaw and joinery. The resew height is less than a European bandsaw of that size which is fine as I don't have much stock greater than 14-15". Who has or has used a Northfield 27 or 32 and how do you like it? If anyone has also used the Minimax s600 (mm24) how would you compare the two?

I would trust anything made by Northfield. Chances are with the exception of maybe wiring or safety equipment the saws are made identical to saws made 50 years ago. They are still in business and still making the same parts if you manage to break something. I have a Northfield shaper and a jointer which are cast iron all the way to the floor like real machine companies used to do.