navycop
Member
It has to be fairly cheap, but not cheaply built. I don't have alot of floor space so I would like it to go on a cart or workbench. I am just looking to cut blanks and small pieces of wood. Is vari-speed really needed?
I am looking for a bench top bandsaw
- Thread starter navycop
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hasha2000
Member
el_d
Member
That maybe an Oxymoron?
I have a benchtop Delta that "chews" my blanks fairly accurate once I compensate for the blade drift. A
My tuned up benchtop can get pretty good resuts but I wish I had a larger/stronger one.
witz1976
Member
+1 I too have a delta shopmaster that really has no wiggle room in terms of being able to tune it up. Once you get a hand of the drifting you can get pretty good cuts. I am planning on upgrading to a larger saw. I would just save up.
Daniel
Member
I have a bit of a weird attitude about band saws. Mostly personal experience. My first band saw was not a cheap one. but it was cheaply built. at the time i didn't really know much about them so I counted on it being a brand name. I will just say there is little to nothing you can know about the quality of a saw from it's skin. some of it you can't really know by looking at all even if you took the machine apart piece by piece. how high quality is the metal in those wheels, Bearings, that sort of thing. my not cheap piece of crap band saw lived for maybe 100 hours of use. I now own a slightly more expensive but drastically higher quality saw that has been asked to do the impossible and come through shining. less a blade and a couple of guide bearings. This time i knew much more about what made a saw quality though. I also had the recommendations of many of the people here.
In my case an extra $100 or so made a huge difference in the quality of the equipment in my shop.
I believe you can find better quality at a low price, but you have to know what you are looking for and search for it. Cast iron chasis, and Iron machined table are a good indication of quality. still expect to upgrade things like bearings, blade guides, and possibly even the wheels soon if not immediately in a low cost machine.
If it where me looking to buy a saw. I would be looking to see what Grizzly has in the way of low cost machines. But that is just me and where I have come to believe where I can find good answers to my needs. Thanks to the knowledge of this group I managed to find one gem of a Lathe out of the heap of garbage HF sells. but there was no credit to my shopping prows involved in that. Good knowledgeable friends are often the best way to find the best deals.
In my case an extra $100 or so made a huge difference in the quality of the equipment in my shop.
I believe you can find better quality at a low price, but you have to know what you are looking for and search for it. Cast iron chasis, and Iron machined table are a good indication of quality. still expect to upgrade things like bearings, blade guides, and possibly even the wheels soon if not immediately in a low cost machine.
If it where me looking to buy a saw. I would be looking to see what Grizzly has in the way of low cost machines. But that is just me and where I have come to believe where I can find good answers to my needs. Thanks to the knowledge of this group I managed to find one gem of a Lathe out of the heap of garbage HF sells. but there was no credit to my shopping prows involved in that. Good knowledgeable friends are often the best way to find the best deals.
Dalecamino
Local Chapter Leader
I got a used Delta 28-160 from Johnnie Jarheaded & Wolftat(brothers) This bandsaw was well used and, is fantastic in my opinion. I use it to cut blanks and, have set up a fence and ripped blanks with it too. Nice and straight. Have cut segment pieces and, even put a 5/16" blade on it and cut some curves. FWIW