Why buy a 15 inch bandsaw?

[Dev Emch]

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.

[Steve Clardy]

Price comes into the picture when you get past a 15-16" bandsaw. Lots more money.
I have a 14 for small stuff, a 20 for larger stuff.
And I usually go for width of cut, not depth.

[tod evans]

dev, when i first set up my shop years ago i too bought a smaller bandsaw, it wasn`t long before there was a real 5hp motor driving it, then a good set of guides.......you know the drill. plain and simple i outgrew it, right now i tell myself i won`t likely outgrow what i have.....but who knows? i really don`t want to work hard enough to feed a baker....02 tod

[Matt Meiser]

I've got to agree with Steve. Not everyone has the skills, time, or interest to restore large older machines or the money to buy a new 20" plus machine. And, not everyone needs the capacity of that machine.

I have less than $400 in my used 14" Delta/Rockwell including a few improvements (riser block, tension spring, ceramic guides.) So far it has done everything I've asked of it, including a little resawing, and fully expect that it will meet or exceed my needs for the forseeable future.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Here's why I bought a 14" saw with riser kit:

1. Lack of space.
2. Lack of funds.
3. Lack of 220v power.

I'm not planning to resaw a bunch of 6" veneer, but the 6" and 7" stuff I've cut was done without the saw struggling. I've successfully made 11" deep cuts without the saw even acting strained. Sure, I'd want something bigger if I was doing lots more resawing than I am, but for my needs, I'm good for now.

- Vaughn

[John Miliunas]

I think Vaughn touched on the most frequent "hits" for reasons. Matt also speaks of the "skill level" at the time of purchase, as well. When I bought my original 14"er, it was pretty much "all of the above"! Today, I drive a Laguna 16HD but, I would not mind having my previous 14" saw in addition to the 16! So, does my current saw do that much more than the smaller guy??? Quite frankly, no. But, it does do it better, faster and I have the capability to do more, if/when I need to and to do it with relative ease. I think that's the big difference between the two ranges. It's like most other WW tools: If you "over-buy", you can most likely do more things than if you "under-buy". For most hobbyist shops, particularly ones with space constraints, I think a good 14/15" saw is all one would need.Now want is a totally different aminal!

[Kurt Forbes]

For Bowl blanks.
Alot of us need the extra distance to trim bowl blanks or split a large one into 2 thinner peices.
Not a long resaw or alot of strain on the saw but alot of height is needed

[Homer Faucett]

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.

I went through this thought process, and here were some of my thoughts (although I probably would have went with a 16" if my FIL hadn't insisted that he liked the 14" better):

(1) Easier/cheaper to source blades locally;

(2) Replacement parts readily available locally;

(3) 1.5 hp probably enough to handle anything I need;

(4) I can move this one around the shop for more room;

(5) Riser gives me all the height I need to cut box tops, resaw, etc.;

plus, all the reasons given earlier. If I had infinite resources and space, I probably would have gone bigger.

[Dev Emch]

I would tend to agree with you all. In fact, I put my money were my mouth is and now own not one but three band saws. So when it comes time to thin the heard, I have guys from Hawaii knocking on my door for the yates Y-20 snowflake but nobody is interested in a virtually brand new general which is made extremely well and has very little time on it. In fact, there are virtually no scratches. None that I can find. But everyone wants the yates and I want to keep it. So I remain confounded by this dilema.