"Need" new bandsaw

[John C Bush]

I have a 21" BS I resaw with and a 10" Inca classic scrolling BS that is too light for anything large. I need a a larger saw to trim bowl blanks and don't want to undo the resaw setup.
SOOOOO, been looking at the Harvey 14" Ambassador--Any hands on experience out there?? Thanks, John

[Alex Zeller]

Not that this helps you with the Harvey but I have a Grizzly with a 12" resaw height for cutting bowl blanks. So far it's been more than enough. I was torn between it and the Laguna with a 16" resaw height. Would 14" be enough height for the blanks you deal with? What made me decide on the Grizzly was the table trunnions. They are heavy duty cast iron with a rack and pinion system to tilt the table. Some of the blanks I cut up weigh up to 100 lbs so I felt like it was a very important feature.

[Bill Dufour]

uh 14 is smaller then 21. I think 24/26 is the next step up from 21 then on to 36. Above 36 most go to four wheels and blade life can suffer. Will a 36 need a pit to use?
Bill D

Only $900 for 36"
https://www.ebay.com/itm/16454851699...EAAOSwsbFfxQWA

https://www.ebay.com/itm/25417254367...gAAOSww-Babl7o

https://www.ebay.com/itm/17423287114...temCondition=4

[Stewart Lang]

Both the Grizzly 21" and the Harvey Ambassador 14" have 14" resaw heights. I think he's aiming for a cheap third saw with a 12-14" resaw height so he doesn't have to remove the resaw blade on his 21". I've heard good things about Harvey so far.

[Tai Fu]

So you can't use the resaw blade to trim bowl blanks?

Just don't make curved cuts, but faceted cuts.

I'd say a 14" bandsaw is about minimum and even then, it's really not good for cutting more than a height of about 5 inches unless it's well tuned and have a beefy motor. A larger BS is so much more useful as you can always put a general purpose skip tooth blade on it that will rough resaw and cut curves and all that.

I had a crap 14" bandsaw I just got rid of because it had given me nothing but trouble. It worked great for light cuts but anything more than 5" and it struggles. Besides I needed better than average steel (mainly bands from the US that costs a lot to ship to Taiwan) so that the band does not break from fatigue, larger wheel can tolerate bands that are not as robust. It equates to huge savings on consumables.

Just remember any bandsaw up to about 26 inches occupies about the same amount of floor space... so what's better than a 21" bandsaw? 2 21" or above bandsaws. Can have different blades on them for different purpose.

[Matt Day]

I’m lot sure what the question is.

[Bruce Wrenn]

There is a poster over at NC Woodworker, who just bought (and received) a Harvey 14" saw. Several posts, about both the good and the bad.

[John C Bush]

Thanks for the replies.
Issue is not wanting to change/realign the resaw set-up and having enough power to cut big blanks round using a circle jig. A round blank saves a lot of time and beating and the 1" Lenox CT has a limited radius.
Alex-My 21"er is a Griz and is a great saw. I live 1 1/2 hrs from Bellingham and saving on freight is a plus and I like all the Griz machines(7) that I have. I like the looks of the Harvey tool-less guide adjusters as I would be more inclined to change blades for other purposes. Could be the decision maker+ it has 3hp.
Bill-don't need bigger-the DoAlls are metal saws
Tai-Round is better and wrestling a big wet blank is easier on a jig and leaves a nice circle. The resaw blade is spendy and can last a long time if I treat it kindly.
Stewart-Nailed it!
Features wanted -power--is 2hp enough--Thanks for the input Alex--Foot brake/switch--nice to have-no tool guide adjust--Harvey has Labor Day sale but a wash with shipping-and the survey says???
Thanks for your input. John

[Mike King]

No experience with the Harvey saw, but from what I understand, Harvey makes some of the Grizzly saws...

Mike

[Bill Dufour]

PS: no need to worry about 240 wiring the color code is the same as 120 volts. There are only four colors for residential wiring.
Green or bare is ground.
White is neutral, only used for 120 volts.
All other colors are hot.

Note that on light switches both wires can be hot in some switch positions regardless of color. that one violation is allowed.
Bill D

[John K Jordan]

...

Note that on light switches both wires can be hot in some switch positions regardless of color. that one violation is allowed.
Bill D

Can't think of this as a violation. On a standard SPST light switch both wires are typically black - the one that can be traced back to the circuit breaker is always hot when the breaker is on and the other black wire is switched from off to hot to carry power to the light fixture. If a white wire is used anywhere where it can be energized by a switch, breaker, or relay both ends have to be marked with tape or paint, typically black. This is to prevent a future person from making assumptions. I like to paint the ends of such a white wire with an inch of black "liquid tape." Of course, anyone with more than one functioning brain cell will still test every wire in every box every time.

[Chris Luke]

I have the C14 which I received in Jan/Feb and have no major complaints, though my usage is pretty light. It has some fit-and-finish issues, for example the little bolt head used as a stop for returning the table to level is not ground flat on top; it had the embossed grade lettering on it, so adjustments were clumsy until I fixed that. The blade guard needed a bunch of adjusting to have it run parallel to the blade, and the supplied blade was trash. After dialing it in, it runs true though and I've done a bunch of Walnut and Ash resawing of upto 10" and other routine cuts, including cutting tenon cheeks, all of which met my expectations.

A friend ordered the same saw just a month or so before mine and had several much more serious QC issues but which were ultimately resolved; at that time they also changed from shipping the table detached (which is how he received his) to shipping fully assembled (how I received mine).