Bandsaws; Resaw Capacity

[Nelson Bryan]

I'm sure it's been asked in various forms a million times here, and I've searched but I'm not quite finding the answer I'm looking for, so here goes...

I'm historically a power tool user that's gravitated toward the human powered hand tool and becoming more and more of a luddite. But I'm not Tom Fidgen crazy (yet).
I'm in the middle of deciding how I'm rebuilding my workbench and workspace over this winter and which powered machines I'm still keeping, selling and which ones I might buy over the course of a year or two. It seems like the powered machines I choose to keep will also directly affect what kind of bench I build and how big, etc.

Right now I have in mind to make anything from small boxes, trinkets...maybe a chess set with my kids, and more furniture. Probably next up dining table and chairs.

For a powered saw I'm really thinking to dump my jobsite saw and switch to bandsaw and a better circular saw with jigs, crosscut stations, or perhaps a tracksaw instead/too? So thinking about the bandsaw and just generally shopping around. Everyone always gives the blanket statement of "Get at least a 14 inch", "buy more than you think you'll need", etc.

So leaving actual bandsaw sort of off the table, I want to get into resaw capacity. I've noticed that not all 14 inch bandsaws are created equal. Some have no option for a riser, some do. Some come out of the box with 12+ inch capacity, and some are limited to about six inches. So the real question isn't exactly about the size. But more about how much resaw capacity is enough?

I guess I'm curious to hear from others who actually own a medium to large bandsaw and how often they resaw more than 5-6 inches? And if they do how often they do it? Or people who have a smaller one and if they have regrets, or how they work around the shortcomings of what they have.


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Nothing is really off the table. I've been monitoring places like Craigslist and Facebook Market place. I've found some seemingly decent deals on old Deltas and Powermatics, or even older vintage units that have open wheels, but rebuilt with new motors and look to be in really good shape. Then every once in awhile used Rikons of various sizes.
The clearly really old vintage 14 inchers, they don't look like they can resaw more than about 5-6 inches. So if they had a strong motor I'm wondering if I'm gimping myself considering a 14 inch bandsaw that only has 5-7 inch resaw capacity?

Or I might pinch pennies for awhile and go out and buy new and am leaning toward something like a Rikon 10-326 or Laguna 1412.

Or heck, I just saw the smaller Rikon 10-3061 go new on Amazon for $400 and it and the 10-305 seem to go used for around $150-200. Benchtop model has some appeal from a portability standpoint, and a Roubo frame saw looks like a fun project for deeper cuts, so there is that in the back of my mind too.

Or maybe I'll end up with something like a 10 inch benchtop model and keep a smaller blade on it, and then look to get a 14 inch to keep around with a wider blade. So yes, I'm even thinking about getting TWO bandsaws. I don't know. I'm still mulling it all over. Yeah, I'm all over the place...

[John TenEyck]

It really depends upon what you plan to build as to how much resaw height you'll need. I regularly saw 12" wide veneer, so I needed a bandsaw with significant resaw height and a powerful motor. Not knowing much else about your plans, I'd say to forget any bench top saw, or cast iron 14", and get a 14" steel frame saw with at least 10" resaw height and at least 2 hp motor. That will give you resaw height adequate for most work and the ability to use a wide range of blades, both for resawing as well as finer work, in a package that won't overwhelm your shop.

John

[lou Brava]

Well IMO it's real simple pick a budget & get the most saw you can for that amount. I use a 14" Laguna SUV 3hp motor & it will resaw 10" materiel no problem it's guard would allow about 13" materiel but I've never tried anything that tall, got it used for 1000 bucks.

[Andrew Hughes]

I think a 14 inch bandsaw is the smallest you should buy.
93.5 inch blades are fairly easy to come by with a good selection of tooth configuration. Anything shorter the blades just don’t last very long and you’ll be stuck with fewer choices.
Good Luck

[Nelson Bryan]

It really depends upon what you plan to build as to how much resaw height you'll need. I regularly saw 12" wide veneer, so I needed a bandsaw with significant resaw height and a powerful motor. Not knowing much else about your plans, I'd say to forget any bench top saw, or cast iron 14", and get a 14" steel frame saw with at least 10" resaw height and at least 2 hp motor. That will give you resaw height adequate for most work and the ability to use a wide range of blades, both for resawing as well as finer work, in a package that won't overwhelm your shop.

John

Thanks, that’s helpful. So the older 14’s are cast iron and generally don’t have that much resaw capacity? Likewise, also probably can’t easily add a riser, I suppose.

So, aside from veneer do you resaw anything wider than about six inches?

I don’t think I’m likely to do veneers, but you never know. Like I said above, mostly around the house smaller stuff, boxes and more practical stuff like furniture are in my sights.

[Andrew More]

I've got a Laguna 18BX. I find myself resawing things pretty regularly, usually in the 7-8" range, since that's the size of the stock I use, since I have an 8" jointer.

As stated before a 14" cast iron, even with a riser block isn't very good at resawing. The blade you can use is limited, as is the amount of tension you can put it under. As a result you're going to have issues with it wandering, etc. They often also come with smaller motors which will stall out.

I know all this because I tried to use a riser block in my 14" Delta. I've still got it, but I only use it for curve work. The Laguna 18 BX with a 1 1/4" blade are what I use for resawing.

[Nelson Bryan]

Well IMO it's real simple pick a budget & get the most saw you can for that amount. I use a 14" Laguna SUV 3hp motor & it will resaw 10" materiel no problem it's guard would allow about 13" materiel but I've never tried anything that tall, got it used for 1000 bucks.

Yes, and that resaw capacity does have some appeal to me, but my question to you is how often do you use that resaw capacity you have? What if I get say a Laguna 1412, but then have a 15 inch wide plank I want to split?

I think a 14 inch bandsaw is the smallest you should buy.
93.5 inch blades are fairly easy to come by with a good selection of tooth configuration. Anything shorter the blades just don’t last very long and you’ll be stuck with fewer choices.
Good Luck

You make a very good point on blade availability. Kind of like the whole 6 1/2 vs 7 1/2 circular saw argument…

[mike stenson]

I have, and use, a 14" cast iron bandsaw with a riser. I ended up resawing a whole lot more than I figured I would initially. It works, but had I to do it over again I'd have gotten a steel saw. Even though I'd have not gotten as good a deal. Eventually I'll just get another bigger saw, but.. Well, that's my 2cents.

[Tom Trees]

Agreed with Andrew, bearing in mind, the footprint of most 14" saws is basically the same up to a budget 20" machine,
if they've got any sort of decent sized table,
unless you're in extremely tight quarters, and say, 2 or 3" matters, that is.

Lots of questions one could ask, like....
What about bookmatching panels for furniture, dining tables could be quite long.

What about having a wee taster of some amateur Matt Cremona shenanigans?

Have you got the time to restore, since you've mentioned all cast iron machines, guess you wouldn't mind "getting to know" the machine?

What sort'a space have you, does it need to move every time, i.e, for a car, and have you got ceiling height?

What about tenon cutting, or just not having to need an infeed of sorts, larger table is more of a doddle in that sense,
not to mention further away from the blade!

Tropical hardwoods, perhaps, carbide blades need more tension/hefty saw.

Have you looked at used three phase, as used often = half the price of new, & 3 phase = half that, again ...
Most modern motors for bandsaws are likely "dual voltage" which means if you see 220 v alongside any of these three notations ... delta / D / △ ,
and either 2 pole, meaning the RPM is 3600RPMish, or 4 pole RPM will be around 1800ish, either one is the norm speed on modern motors,
and the HP is not exceeding your socket, then you could cheaply get the machine running for not much cost using a VFD.

What sorta supply you got, upgrade down the road for extraction, regardless of what machine you get....VFDs are easy on the supply in this regards,
if yer running a half decent dust extraction system, due to the lovely easy adjust , soft starting feature, compared to single phase startup oomph what trips breakers.
Nuff said bout that, just mentioning many prefer that solution, (and the Italian bandsaw what goes with it)

I often see the likes going for real cheap, but not locally, like 500 quid compared to the cost of a budget 20" new machine, at about 3 grand.
Keep onto yer monies and think about it...unless something like a foolproof design old Centauro CO or similar pops up on your doorstep for what you might want to spend on the biscuit tins,
or perhaps something for twice that, what's in pristine condition, something with cast iron wheels at minimum, could prob get Italian saw with the same money if you wait.
I've probably left loads out.
Better to look at all the options, than go round and round comparing cheap saws head to head, coulda summed it up really

Just spotted this today, but guess you don't live in Dublin
Not a CO, but a Centauro none the less, and single phase, these normally are quite pricey, and still being made today.
Screenshot-2023-10-25 Bandsaw for sale in Co Dublin for €400 on DoneDeal.jpg

All the best
Tom

[glenn bradley]

If I did mostly hand tool work I could see losing the table saw and going with a bandsaw only. I have smaller bandsaws and they are useful to a point. If a bandsaw was to be my main powered saw I would want (to quote Gary Rogowski) "a real one". That is, a saw that is up to easily doing everything I might require of it.

[lou Brava]

Yes, and that resaw capacity does have some appeal to me, but my question to you is how often do you use that resaw capacity you have? What if I get say a Laguna 1412, but then have a 15 inch wide plank I want to split?




You make a very good point on blade availability. Kind of like the whole 6 1/2 vs 7 1/2 circular saw argument…

Well not all 14" bandsaws are created equal. A 14" Laguna SUV uses a 125" blade and has a 3 hp. motor. It can tension a 3/4" Resaw King just fine not even near maxed out.
I had a budget & got the 14" SUV because it was the most saw I could get for the money. If money wasn't part of equation I'd have bought a bigger saw. However after using the 14 for bit I really have no need or want for a larger saw.
I've never had the need to resaw anything larger than 9-10". If your thinking of resawing 15" materiel you will obviously need a much more expensive saw than the ones you mentioned in your OP.

[John TenEyck]

Thanks, that’s helpful. So the older 14’s are cast iron and generally don’t have that much resaw capacity? Likewise, also probably can’t easily add a riser, I suppose.

So, aside from veneer do you resaw anything wider than about six inches?

I don’t think I’m likely to do veneers, but you never know. Like I said above, mostly around the house smaller stuff, boxes and more practical stuff like furniture are in my sights.

The cast iron 14" saws can't put much tension on a 1/2" blade, and don't even think about using a 3/4" one. I measured 12 ksi on a 1/2" blade on my Delta, which is half of what I comfortably run on my larger saw with a 1" blade. There's just no substitute for tension if you want to resaw efficiently - i.e. in a straight line and w/o blade bowing. Despite the low tension on my Delta, I put a riser block on it (a Powermatic one, no less, it's not hard but realignment to get the wheels parallel is important) and a 1.5 hp motor and I sawed a lot of 10" veneer with it, slowly and after very careful set up. On my larger saw slicing veneer is fast and easy with pretty much no care needed other than using a consistent feed rate. So, yes, you can resaw and slice veneer on a 14" Delta, but it takes very careful setup and operator attention. For your stated needs, it may be a workable option.

But at some point, you will want to resaw a board as wide as your jointer can handle and maybe even as wide as your planer. Of course, you can rip it in two, resaw the smaller pieces, and then glue them back together, but that's extra work and the grain match won't be perfect. There are always workarounds, but why go down that route if you can afford a saw that will meet your needs w/o compromise? A 14" steel spined saw capable of applying at least 20 ksi to a 3/4" blade, 12" of resaw height and a 3 hp motor would be a no compromise machine for most hobby woodworkers.

John

[Jim Becker]

A lot of 14" band saws don't have the stiffness or power to do a "great" job with resawing. There are a few that do a pretty good job in the current marketplace...steel frames, heftier motors, etc. Even so, they are not going to do "this one job" as well as a much larger machine will simply because of physics. John just spoke a bit about that. So you need to carefully consider what your plan will be, especially if the bandsaw is going to be your primary machine for ripping and resawing. Honestly, I have a heavy, steel frame Italian 16" bandsaw and while it does a nice job for what I ask of it, I'd want larger if I was doing a lot of resawing. In fact, I've visited another 'Creeker who has a larger one when what I needed was just not going to be practical on my own machine. So again, what you want/need to do should dictate what level of machine you choose to invest in...you don't want "a bandsaw", you want "the" bandsaw that will do the work you need it to do.

[Michael Burnside]

I think you should ask yourself where you'll procure most of your project wood from. Will you regularly need 14" of resaw? Will you need more? I typically resaw 7-10" and have never done 14", so what I have is perfect. Also keep in mind that unless you're resawing verneer, anything wider and the final product will have some serious risks of more than average wood movement.

For perspective, I just recently I took some 12/4 red oak, 11" wide and resawed in half for a CNC project where I made two custom feet for a coffee table. My Laguna 14BX with Resaw King blade made little work of the job. For me, that's plenty, it's proven in my shop and that's all I care about. I respect many of the other posters above, but quite frankly I don't need "more power"!

One more note, coming from a power tool guy, is that I often employ the use of my tablesaw for critical resaws. Say I want to resaw a 7" wide board. I'll rip one edge on the table saw about 30 percent through, flip it and do the same thing. Then I'll resaw the remaining.

All that said, the bandsaw isn't my main tool, it's an accessory. If most of what I did was on the bandsaw, maybe I'd have a different opinion and I'd want some kind of bandsaw that could resaw a small car? Since I've not resawed any cars or California redwoods recently, I'm pretty happy with what I've got.

[Russell Hayes]

OP you mentioned getting two bandsaws. You might get a 14" first, if it doesn't have enough capacity then get a larger steel frame saw later. Then use the 14" set up for curves with a narrow blade.

Changing blades on bandsaws is a royal pain and time consuming.

I use my 17" Grizzly mostly for rough lumber rips (wood too cupped to safely use the table saw) and resaw (but rarely more than 7-8") and I keep a 3/4 3tpi blade on it. My old blue JET 14" has a Carter stabilizer and 1/4" blade so when I need to cut a curve it's ready. I only have to change blades when they get dull.

And keep that jobsite table saw - you will need it for something one day.