Hi all,

I am shopping for a band saw for the woodshop I am building at home. I have access to pretty reasonably priced 8/4 hardwood (especially the maple) and I would really like to be able to resaw these 12"x48" pieces. I have been doing pretty well selecting tools that have great dust control, so I am interested in continuing that trend with this band saw. After looking around, I can see that the really inexpensive saws probably aren't going to do it for me. Given that I would like to resaw as well as use it for cutting curves, ease of blade changes probably matters. All that being said, several saws including the Laguna 14bx and the Hammer 4400 look like they might work. My question is this: For a home shop where the saw won't be in continuous use, is there a benefit to the European saws like the Hammer and the Mini-Max that would justify the price premium over a Laguna 14bx (or a Grizzly G0778)?

Thanks again in advance for your help ... this site is amazing!

Elle