small bandsaw

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watch_art

watch_art

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I'm looking at getting a small bench top bandsaw and need to know the good, bad, and ugly of what's out there. I don't want to spend a ton of money if I don't have to, but understand I get what I pay for...

Or would I be better off with a nice people powered backer saw?
:biggrin:
That doesn't sound too unappealing.

Thanks!
 
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What are you going to use it for? Crosscutting blanks? Resawing? Curved work in thin/thick stock? The answer varies...
 
I have never owned a smaller Benchtop BS but I would think for just cutting blanks any will do but do yourself a favor and drop a little extra chedar on a nice blade. I swear the blade is 75% of a saws performance.
 
If the blank size is no larger than 1" you can use a modelers miter box with a Zona or Razor saw, Or you can make your own miter box. and just get a good thin blade saw
Here is Mirco-marks saws and miterboxes The Miter-Rite is good for only 5/8" thick, but scroll down to see what they have.
Lee valley Veritas molded spine saws will work with a home made box.
Here is the saws
This saw has been brought up before for trimming tubes. I have used it for cutting wood and plastic. 3/4"thick max. for real hard wood you just have to go slow.
:clown:
 
Rikon's new 10" saw is really nice with a good fence. I just saw it at Woodcraft and tried it and it works really nice. I have a Rikon 14" so don't need another saw., but if I did I would probably buy it.
 
I have the 9 in craftsman band saw it is a older model. The only thing I use it for is quick cuts where precision is not a factor. I have the bandsaw tune up book and read it and applied what I could to my saw still no real joy. The main issues I have are the blade changes take several more hands than I have, the blades are too narrow and tend to turn or twist in the middle of a cut. The blade blocks are set tight to the blade with out dragging but the blade is so thin it has a mind of its own. I do not like the knob tensioner and it is underpowered for all but balsa. Yea I use it but only to cut wood when I cant find my hammer!!!!
 
I have a the newest version of the Craftsman 10" saw and i am actually pretty happy with it. I process a lot of my own burls, and if you replace the blade with a quality blade, it cuts fairly well. The size is a hinderance to me, but for small stuff like pen blanks and what not, it works great. I have cut numerous slabs of 6" thick burl and if i take my time, it cuts straight and leave a fair finish. Eventually i will buy a larger(17" and up) saw, but for the time being, It works.

Mike
 
watch_art said:
Pucker factor is what I'd like to avoid. :)
Click to expand...

That's exactly why I bought a bench top band saw. I once sliced off the tip of a finger while cooking, so I'm more than a little sensitive to the issue. [Amazingly, the finger healed up symmetrically rounded and perfectly normal looking, unless compared to the longer finger on my other hand.] Yeah, I know the meat department in almost every supermarket uses a band saw to effortlessly slice through meat and bone, but to me the band saw just seems less unsafe than other powered saws, assuming generally accepted safety rules are followed. The band saw's blade guide (when appropriately lowered to just above the work piece) is a very effective blade safety guard, and the dangerous kick back potential associated with high RPM round saw blades is avoided, as well as much of the noise.

Justturnin said:
I have never owned a smaller Benchtop BS but I would think for just cutting blanks any will do but do yourself a favor and drop a little extra chedar on a nice blade. I swear the blade is 75% of a saws performance.
Click to expand...

I believe that some of the less expensive saws (and not just band saws) which are marketed to price-driven consumers might be better received and more accurately reviewed if sold with a high quality ground carbon steel blade. But, tool manufacturing companies seem to have evolved into imported tool marketing companies steered by number crunchers who have little or no relevant user experience with their products, or just don't care. The same thing happened with audio equipment 50 years ago, but at least most consumers back then knew to replace the crappy needle/stylus on their new Japanese "transistor" stereo before even playing the first album. Neighborhood record shops loved the aftermarket sales opportunity.

While researching band saws, I learned (but wasn't surprised) that folks can be pretty passionate about their band saw blades. So, I'll tread carefully here, and try to be more factual than opinioned. Based upon what I read, I decided to call Louis Iturra at Iturra Design (904-642-2802) to help me select my first band saw blades (okay, I also wanted a free copy of his narrative 246 page "catalog" ). If you don't know of Louis Iturra, he's a guy a lot of folks go to for parts (Iturra Design's & other popular after market brands) and for advice when restoring, repairing, or tuning up a band saw. He also has the production grade blade welder & grinder to properly assemble custom Lenox, Starrett, and Bladerunner(TM) band saw blades of various compositions. Unlike some others, I found no comments online complaining of Iturra's blade/weld quality or service. The Bladerunner is Iturra's brand name for resaw blades purportedly made from the same proprietary, re-purposed, food service blade stock (Atlanta SharpTech?) as Highland Woodworking's Wood Slicer® blade (3-4 variable TPI, 0.022 thick). Iturra's Lenox and Starrett blade prices appear about average, maybe slightly less than others I looked at, except for the 70 1/2", 1/2" wide Bladerunner. The 1/2" Bladerunner was $14.10 ($2.40/ft), compared with $29.99 for Highland's Wood Slicer®; this difference could be even more significant as this blade type reportedly dulls somewhat quickly in regular use. I have not yet tried this blade. Additionally, Iturra's blades are priced to the fraction of an inch, rather than rounded up to the next size price break. The bad news..... for whatever reason, Iturra has no web site, so you must call to place an order. On the other hand, I called twice in the early morning and enjoyed speaking to Louis personally. He's nice guy, a great resource, and like others have reported, he talked me out of buying additional stuff from him until I had some experience with my initial blade choices on my saw. Wow. As for those band saw blades made from Swedish silicon steel, I share Mr. Iturra's published strong skepticism, but thinner blades work well on saws with smaller diameter wheels, so despite some poor weld quality reviews I'll likely try a couple of the Suffolk blades to see for myself.
 
Using a delta 8 or 9 inch benchtop, never remember especially when i buy blades... Anyway, that saw is probably the worst tool in the shop. I'd like to have a nice 14" but alas, space and funding. As long as I dont need a straight cut it works fine. When I break my last blade, I'll cut on the miter saw but yeah, +1 on the pucker....
 
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