In the market for a new bandsaw

[Ray-CA]

I've been using a Harbor Freight bandsaw (like this one https://www.harborfreight.com/14-in-4-speed-woodworking-band-saw-60564.html) but have never been happy with the quality of the cut etc. It's been adjusted and tweaked without much improvement.

So far I've looked at Grizzly but haven't settled on anything yet. Would appreciate suggestions in the $1,000 range.

Thanks,

Ray

 

[MRDucks2]

I have been quite happy with my 14" Rikon.

 

[KenB259]

I have a Jet deluxe 14 inch bandsaw and I love it. I bought it about three years ago new for right around 1100 dollars, I just looked it up and it's now selling for 1800. Tool prices have skyrocketed.

 

[egnald]

I have the Shop Fox W1696, 14" 1HP which is essentially the same as the Grizzly G0555 only a different color and with a cabinet type base instead of the sawhorse style. The only complaint I have is that the dust extraction is not very efficient, but then again I've heard that this is a problem common to bandsaws in general. I'm sure I made it worse by installing a zero clearance insert.

I have had it for about 3 or 4 years now and just as Ken found, the price has increased by about 75%. - Dave

 

[jttheclockman]

I like the Laguana line. If I had to pick a second it would be the Jet line. Being able to resaw is a must for me. I think you need to write down some of your needs and would like and some of the would be nice but not needed.

 

[jrista]

I've gone all-in on Jet the last year. Well, Jet and PowerMatic, which are owned by the same company. The 3520C is my new lathe.

I bought a Jet air filter, drill press and then the Jet JWBS-14SFX bandsaw last year ($1500 during black friday deals.) All of them have been excellent so far. The bandsaw is really nice. Easy to use, fairly large table for its size, and can resaw ~13"! I built a cutting sled for it as well, which has helped me a lot with the trimming and cutting blanks out of larger pieces of wood for pens.

Jet has their smaller sized 14" bandsaw as well. It is $1299 now I think, but if you don't need any resaw capacity (I was interested in making things like bandsaw reindeer, and eventually I'd like to make boxes, some of which would need more headroom than the smaller Jet 14" would have supported, hence why I got the 14SFX), then the smaller 14" might just do for you. That said, the larger 14SFX, when on sale, is not that much more, and it is a lot more capable.

I started with a Laguna as my larger/full sized lathe, but have had a number of issues with it. It has ended up down and unusable more time than its been usable since I bought it Dec. 2020. I have probably used it less than a third of the time I've had it due to the problems I have run into (and have not heard back from Laguna since January this year...issues still ongoing). The issues I've run into have lead me to other people who have had issues with their Laguna equipment as well. Suffice it to say, I've lost trust in the brand, and I don't think I'll be getting any more Laguna products. Seems to be real hit or miss...some people get a good "copy" and love it, others get ones that seem to be riddled with problems.

 

[Jarod888]

I as many others have the jet 14 inch deluxe with the built in larger resaw capacity. I got it on a hell of a deal on Amazon several years back. I think I paid 700 ish for it. It is phenomenal! I would highly recommend it, but at 1900, I think there are even larger ones available.
I've heard people really like the older Laguna stuff, same with rikon. I don't think right now you will find a new one for your price range which has the large resaw capacity and a large, stable base. I would stay away from the ones with a "open" frame, basically the ones that are strips of metal bolted or welded together.

 

[Edgar]

I have a Rikon 10-325 14" bandsaw and I'm very happy with it. Current model # of the same saw is 10-326.

I selected it over other comparable saws because of its 13" cutting height without having to use risers.

If $ are a concern, you can save about $300 by getting an open frame base rather than the deluxe base, but I really like the closed storage area and don't regret stretching my budget to get that at all.

I did replace the original bearing guides with a set of Carter guides after I had the saw for a couple of years - something that most any saw in that price range could use.

 

[mg_dreyer]

I had a delta. I switched to the laguana 1412 and love it. Smooth cut perfect out of the box. Setup took a few hours and you will need help on the last few steps. Much greater cutting capacity than my older delta.