Cheap Bandsaw for Resawing

[Mike Cutler]

Resawing takes a few things. Resawing 8-12" wide material takes a few more.
- Resawing is a power game. You need power in the form the motor itself, and the mass of the wheels to drive the blade through that material.
I - t takes a robust setup. an 8/4 Maple board, 8-12" wide, of any appreciable length, is going to have enough weight that cheaply made trunnions are going to stress and the table will wobble on it's own under load.
- It takes a quality blade. Unless you have the ability the sharpen a carbon steel blade, you need to consider a carbide tooth blade for longevity. In 8"-12" wide Maple, you will see the dulling effects very, very, quickly.
- It takes robust guides, and fence. There are a lot of forces at play here.
Re-sawing thin veneers, as the off cut is quite a bit different than going straight down the middle of a 2" thick board. The thickness of the veneer, generally thin, does not present anywhere near the friction and pressure on the blade as a book match cut. You also have to realize that the material may want to change state just past the blade and begins to pinch the blade.Or it may want to spreading push itself away from the fence.
You don't want to go slow re-sawing, stopping, and starting, to apply pressure, or you will end up with a board face that looks like a cartoon washboard, and now what ever money you saved is going to be spent prepping that surface, which will add even more time. You want to apply a steady even pressure to the board going through machine.In other words, as fast as you can go keeping the gullets clear and not driving the blade into the guides. Each machine and blade will be different. It's a feel thing.
I don't know where you live , but if it's in the US, there is nowhere that a machine cannot be kept rust free for life. It might take some work, and prep, but we have machinery in marine environments here in New England that are a 100 years old, and they're not inside climate controlled buildings. It can done. Don't let that stop you from investing in a machine.
What do I have to re-saw with?
I have a Rikon, 18", 340. It's a 2HP bandsaw that came out in the early 2000's. I thin I got it for $1K then. It has a 1" wide Lennox 2/3 varipitch TriMaster on it right now. This is a $175-$200 blade.
The fence is heavily modified and the guide bearings have all been upgraded. Mine is what I would term a "cheap" setup. It can easily do what you need a saw to do.
If you're worried about rush, paint it with some marine epoxy and spray under the table with LPS 6. Remove the bearings when not in use and take the pressure off the blade, and this saw, or one just like it, will last your needs.
As for dust collection, you're going to need some dust collection, or a very powerful fan to blow that table, bearings and guides down. Sometimes I setup in the garage and use both, as well as a respirator if I'm working with nasty woods. If they are not kept clear, you're fighting a losing battle with material and debris buildup. It's not going to work well at all.
If you consider $1200 cheap, than you should be able to find an 18" to 20" bandsaw used, in working order, easily enough. Spend another $50.00 in bearings, and invest in a quality blade and you're set.

Update.
Someone is selling my exact bandsaw in the classifieds for $500.00. It's going to be hard to get less expensive than that.

[Alex Zeller]

I've also had really good luc with Lenox Bimetal blades. I've thought about getting a carbide resaw blade but I just don't do enough to justify the cost. At some point I will but there's other priorities that are higher up on the list. It seems like the carbon and "Swedish" steel blades dulled very quickly for me. A dull blade is going to make life a pain. The saw will not cut straight.

[Jimmy Harris]

Resawing takes a few things. Resawing 8-12" wide material takes a few more.
- Resawing is a power game. You need power in the form the motor itself, and the mass of the wheels to drive the blade through that material.
I - t takes a robust setup. an 8/4 Maple board, 8-12" wide, of any appreciable length, is going to have enough weight that cheaply made trunnions are going to stress and the table will wobble on it's own under load.
- It takes a quality blade. Unless you have the ability the sharpen a carbon steel blade, you need to consider a carbide tooth blade for longevity. In 8"-12" wide Maple, you will see the dulling effects very, very, quickly.
- It takes robust guides, and fence. There are a lot of forces at play here.
Re-sawing thin veneers, as the off cut is quite a bit different than going straight down the middle of a 2" thick board. The thickness of the veneer, generally thin, does not present anywhere near the friction and pressure on the blade as a book match cut. You also have to realize that the material may want to change state just past the blade and begins to pinch the blade.Or it may want to spreading push itself away from the fence.
You don't want to go slow re-sawing, stopping, and starting, to apply pressure, or you will end up with a board face that looks like a cartoon washboard, and now what ever money you saved is going to be spent prepping that surface, which will add even more time. You want to apply a steady even pressure to the board going through machine.In other words, as fast as you can go keeping the gullets clear and not driving the blade into the guides. Each machine and blade will be different. It's a feel thing.
I don't know where you live , but if it's in the US, there is nowhere that a machine cannot be kept rust free for life. It might take some work, and prep, but we have machinery in marine environments here in New England that are a 100 years old, and they're not inside climate controlled buildings. It can done. Don't let that stop you from investing in a machine.
What do I have to re-saw with?
I have a Rikon, 18", 340. It's a 2HP bandsaw that came out in the early 2000's. I thin I got it for $1K then. It has a 1" wide Lennox 2/3 varipitch TriMaster on it right now. This is a $175-$200 blade.
The fence is heavily modified and the guide bearings have all been upgraded. Mine is what I would term a "cheap" setup. It can easily do what you need a saw to do.
If you're worried about rush, paint it with some marine epoxy and spray under the table with LPS 6. Remove the bearings when not in use and take the pressure off the blade, and this saw, or one just like it, will last your needs.
As for dust collection, you're going to need some dust collection, or a very powerful fan to blow that table, bearings and guides down. Sometimes I setup in the garage and use both, as well as a respirator if I'm working with nasty woods. If they are not kept clear, you're fighting a losing battle with material and debris buildup. It's not going to work well at all.
If you consider $1200 cheap, than you should be able to find an 18" to 20" bandsaw used, in working order, easily enough. Spend another $50.00 in bearings, and invest in a quality blade and you're set.

Update.
Someone is selling my exact bandsaw in the classifieds for $500.00. It's going to be hard to get less expensive than that.

I'm flexible on budget. It's gonna cost what it costs and I have a bit of money saved up. But I'm not rich, so I every dollar spent towards a bandsaw will mean a sacrifice from something else.

As for dust collection, if need be I can get a little motor and just hook it up straight to the bandsaw and my Dustright bag for my DW735. Something small and portable. I'll address that need as it arises. I just done have room for a permanent system.

As for rust, it's a concern, but I'm pretty good at staying on top of it. But no matter how hard I try, anything exposed gets a surface patina eventually. For example, I have some 304 stainless steel shelf brackets in my garage that I had to sand the rust spots off of a few months back. So I'm not worried about losing the bandsaw to rust, but I won't be able to keep anything in mint condition for resale later on. It's not just humidity, but wild temperature swings and saw dust migrating everywhere.

[John Kananis]

Jimmy, if your budget is flexible, spend once, cry once. The bandsaw is one of the last tools I would give up in my shop. The tablesaw would go way before I gave up my bs.

I'm flexible on budget. It's gonna cost what it costs and I have a bit of money saved up. But I'm not rich, so I every dollar spent towards a bandsaw will mean a sacrifice from something else.

As for dust collection, if need be I can get a little motor and just hook it up straight to the bandsaw and my Dustright bag for my DW735. Something small and portable. I'll address that need as it arises. I just done have room for a permanent system.

As for rust, it's a concern, but I'm pretty good at staying on top of it. But no matter how hard I try, anything exposed gets a surface patina eventually. For example, I have some 304 stainless steel shelf brackets in my garage that I had to sand the rust spots off of a few months back. So I'm not worried about losing the bandsaw to rust, but I won't be able to keep anything in mint condition for resale later on. It's not just humidity, but wild temperature swings and saw dust migrating everywhere.

[Steven Cooper2]

I didn't read everything, but i'll put in my $0.02...

I have a 14 inch grizzly with riser and a 21" that I'm rebuilding. The 14 does decently well with a good sharp blade and some magic feedrate. I've used it to break down hard maple logs up to ~10-12", so the full height with riser block. When the grain is straight and everything is good, it does fine.
Once there is some squirrlyness it gets a bit unpleasant. it will do it, but it is really touchy.

If you plan on doing only a little at the max capacity of the saw, I think it is OK. I'm going to move all my resawing to my 21" Grob once I'm done rebuilding it and keep the Grizzly around for finer cuts. it is nice to have one saw set up for resawing and another for detail work. I had a little 9" ryobi before the grizzly and I had both in my shop for a year or so before selling the ryobi. It was nice being able to have one ready to go for either task.

[John TenEyck]

I'm flexible on budget. It's gonna cost what it costs and I have a bit of money saved up. But I'm not rich, so I every dollar spent towards a bandsaw will mean a sacrifice from something else.

As for dust collection, if need be I can get a little motor and just hook it up straight to the bandsaw and my Dustright bag for my DW735. Something small and portable. I'll address that need as it arises. I just done have room for a permanent system.

As for rust, it's a concern, but I'm pretty good at staying on top of it. But no matter how hard I try, anything exposed gets a surface patina eventually. For example, I have some 304 stainless steel shelf brackets in my garage that I had to sand the rust spots off of a few months back. So I'm not worried about losing the bandsaw to rust, but I won't be able to keep anything in mint condition for resale later on. It's not just humidity, but wild temperature swings and saw dust migrating everywhere.

If you resaw much you'll find dust collection is a key issue. You can get by with a shopvac on a saw that can only cut a few inches/minute, but once you get to several ft/min that won't be able to keep up, and then the saw loads up with sawdust. Worse, sawdust will get between the blade and tires and that sometimes ends up rather badly.

John

[Randy Heinemann]

By now everyone has provided opinions and I'm not sure you're even reviewing responses anymore . . . I have a Rikon 14" 10-325 Deluxe (which is now a 10-326). I believe that its resaw capacity is 11" although I don't believe I've ever resawed anything more than about 9"; possibly 10". It does have a 1 1/2 HP motor. I have upgraded to Rikon's toolless guides (which I believe are standard on the 10-326 which is the newer version). I've never found a board I couldn't resaw on this bandsaw. While it is true that a saw with a bigger motor will do the job faster, I don't believe it will do the job any better. The reason is this.

For me, the main thing with a bandsaw is setup. The guides need to be set in the right position and as close as possible to but not touching the blade. Once I learned how to set up the blade and guides (tension, position of the blade on the wheels, position of the guides in relation to the blade, and squareness of the table) I have always gotten great results with a sharp blade. A sharp blade is the other important factor. If the blade has been on the saw for awhile and is dull or the teeth are even a tiny bit out of set, it just won't cut straight.

So, first of all, unless you are putting the saw to heavy duty use frequently and are planning to resaw 10" or 11" boards a lot, a 14" bandsaw should work well. It might mean that you are forced to do a slower steady feed rate, but it will do the job just as well as a bigger saw as long as the setup is done correctly.,

There are some good videos on YouTube. The best one I've ever seen (and really saw it live at a Woodoworking Show) is by Alex Snodgrass. If you follow his steps, you will get good results. If you don't set up the saw correctly the results won't be satisfactory no matter what size or HP the bandsaw. While it might be somewhat easier and faster to resaw with an 18" saw compared to a 14" saw, the results will be the same.

Also, I wouldn't go "cheap". Most of the manufacturers of bandsaws have good quality products, including Rikon, Laguna, Grizzly, maybe General, Powermatic, Jet, and others. Buying used is a great idea as long as the saw doesn't require a lot of work to get it perform properly. Plus, these days, used tools are being sold for rather high prices and it would be tough for a woodworker like me, even though I've been at it for over 40 years, to be sure a used saw doesn't have some problem requiring additional money to fix.

[John TenEyck]

From my observations side guides are of almost no importance on a bandsaw that can adequately tension a wider blade (1" or more. Maybe 3/4", too, but I've never used one.) that is set up to cut straight. On saws that can only tension a 1/2" blade, but still put adequate tension on it, then guides start to become important. With saws that can't apply enough tension, like my 14" Delta, guides indeed are critical to getting straight cuts.

What's adequate tension. 20 ksi, minimum, and 25 ksi is better. My Delta can barely muster 12 ksi on a 1/2" blade. My larger Grizzly has no trouble applying 25 ksi on a 1" blade.

Saws that are robust enough to put 25 ksi on a 1" blade make resawing so much easier, almost trivial.

John

[Jimmy Harris]

I'm not seeing a whole lot on the used market. The Laguna LT16 SEC (Meber) and a Mini Max E16 (Centauro) have popped up. Both look to be in really good condition and have some accessories (the Laguna has a power feeder). Both have 2.5 hp motors. But, a new Grizzly G0513 (currently on sale) is the same price. Ony 2hp, but one more inch (16 vs. 17) and with a warranty. Which makes the used ones kind of hard to swallow. Plus, I'm not reading a lot of stellar reviews on either the Laguana or Mini Max. Or really any information at all. They seem to be models everyone avoided. Beyond those, I see a ton of used bandsaws that are being sold for the same price as new, which makes zero sense to me.

I've also found a couple of large, 3 phase bandsaws. But there's no way I could fit one in my garage, let alone get it on or off a trailer. And they all look like they need a good bit of work and aren't really any cheaper. I've found a handful of bandsaws that have everything I need at 50% off new prices or less... but are heavily rusted from being stored outside in the elements for possibly years. Which means after all of the work restoring them, it would probably be cheaper to buy new. And soooo many meat bandsaws. Which makes sense, I guess. We have more cows than trees here.

That Grizzly goes off sale in a few days, but I think I might pass and just keep looking. I'm not in a huge rush. I've gotten by this long without one. I'm sure there will be more sales in the not-too-distant future. And I'm betting someone who's a bit more reasonable in their pricing will be selling a nice bandsaw sooner or later. One of the tricks that I've learned to get the best deal when buying used is to have both lots of cash and time on your hands.

[Warren Lake]

Always saw bandsaws mostly italian at auctions for 750.00 to maybe 1,200.00. they were working in production at the time and most needed nothing. All were three phase.

[Edward Weber]

From my observations side guides are of almost no importance on a bandsaw that can adequately tension a wider blade (1" or more. Maybe 3/4", too, but I've never used one.) that is set up to cut straight. On saws that can only tension a 1/2" blade, but still put adequate tension on it, then guides start to become important. With saws that can't apply enough tension, like my 14" Delta, guides indeed are critical to getting straight cuts.

What's adequate tension. 20 ksi, minimum, and 25 ksi is better. My Delta can barely muster 12 ksi on a 1/2" blade. My larger Grizzly has no trouble applying 25 ksi on a 1" blade.

Saws that are robust enough to put 25 ksi on a 1" blade make resawing so much easier, almost trivial.

John

I'm once again in the same camp.
My guides will probably never wear out because they hardly ever turn.
If I see one of the bearings start to move, I know I'm putting too much feed pressure on the stock or the blade is starting to wear.

IMO. If you understand them, bandsaws are an easy machine to set up and run straight, true and parallel. I never found it anywhere near as daunting as many here seem to portray.

[Warren Lake]

set up the rear wheel should not be turning, when cutting and putting pressure on it it should be turning.

[Tom Trees]

Good call to wait it out and look for a more modern design with more adjustability than the very old Meber, and one with cast iron wheels, IMO.
Worth noting regarding the "lesser" SNA/Star line, (not the same as posted earlier) are more common, if you can find a 500mm sized saw,
the wheels will likely be the disc type rather than spoked, but the same as earlier,
I believe you may have to look into motor size as mentioned, if wanting more than 2hp.

Should either of these frequently used in business Italian machines pop up, the chances of the original vulcanized real rubber still remaining,
will likely be higher than with other modern saws...
(others who use something in between rubber and urethane, that is)
and as such, will likely have damage, hence the bargain element, which simply need a little dressing up again.
I take it the SNAC 540 saws are getting a bit large, but I wouldn't dismiss those either TBH.
Someone posted a real old previous model (1983 vintage) of this last week, though it had a non adjustable lower wheel like the Meber,
which I hadn't seen before, I'd avoid those.

If not wanting such a hassle with working on a machine, then I suggest finding one running with a wide(ish) blade,
And as with any used saw, a good hands on feel and listen for noise without a blade installed for sounds of a worn bearing journal, which might give a clunk noise.
That's the biggest issue one might have to face damage wise, and apart from that worth working on, specifically for someone who wants a bargain,
as chances are from saws made by any manufacturer, the ones getting sold won't be as nice as the ones which don't.
Nothing guaranteed with new either, as nobody's making anything like the specific era C0500 I posted earlier, though there are foolproof design Meber saws out there too
which feature both lower wheel and motor adjustability, though not looked to be sure such a 500mm wheeled Meber exists.
Edit, I see they do exist, but might be a bit heavier than an equivalent sized ACM saw.
Meber SR500.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/cHHwP0Yz/Meber-SR500.jpg



All the best
Tom

[Warren Lake]

Tom so what type of tires are on my 1962 Wadkin DR? Still in the graveyard, pretty sure its original tires.

[Tom Trees]

Not sure if manufacturers used anything else but real rubber on saws older than whenever, not a clue, but I'm sure it would be documented on OWWM
if not here.
I only have interest in capable saws in which I can move really...well, I might be partial to having interest in some of the larger Italian saws with foolproof designs also,
as most make/made a good range of sizes.
and of the lighter weight Wadkin's, two flavours of 500mm wheels look moveable and very decent to me, though largely the same design as we see today compared.
Certainly not something to dismiss IMO.
$_86.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/FsDmHvJp/86.jpg
Tom