Band Saw

[cork58]

I'm looking to buy a full size band saw. Anything I should be looking for? Lowes has a delta that looks O.K. but not sure it is what I want. I'll be doing some resawing for scrolling.

Thanks!

[MikeMcCoy]

You might want to put out a price range that you have as a target since it makes a world of difference in the recommendations you might get. Also resaw height that you are shooting for.

[LCHIEN]

You might want to put out a price range that you have as a target since it makes a world of difference in the recommendations you might get. Also resaw height that you are shooting for.

Agree with Mike on his comment.
for a serious woodworker on a reasonable budget but wanting a nice, complete ready to go 14" saw, the Grizzly G0555.
www.grizzlytools.com

given that you weren't very specific on your application and limits
that's a good intersection of price, capacity, power, quality and features (requiring little more than a good new Timberwolf or Woodslicer blade to go)

[JR]

Full size is a pretty vague term. You'd be surprised how full-figured a bandsaw can get - downright portly, in some cases.

Traditionally there's a big distinction starting with 14" bandsaws like the Grizzly LCHIEN linked to. With few exceptions that's the smalles size allowing the installation of a riser block, which increases the resaw capacity from 6" to 12". There are loads these to choose from, including Delta, Ridgid, Jet, et al. I believe there are three main categories:

1. Cheap, but serviceable. This would be the Harbor Freight 14" 4-speed. It can be found on sale at <$225. It's a bear to assemble, has no fence or frills, but works fine. Horrible customer service.
2. Local purchase and support - Delta from Lowe's (or Ridgid from HD). A good product with local service/parts and a good warranty. Theses products provide good service. TheRic just bought a Ridgid for $269 from HD using an infrequent discount.
3. All singing all dancing. Grizzly Ultimate. This is the one LCHIEN mentioned. It has all the bells and whistles. It has to be shipped from one of the three Grizzly warehouses, but their customer service is said to be good. $435.

There are also new saws in the "euro" format worth looking at. They don't allow for the installation of a riser block, so what you see is what you get. The owners of these seem to like them for their stability. Look at Sears to see a good selection of these in the 10", 12", 14" range.

Finally, there has been on this site a lot of dicussion lately about the advisability of getting the larger euro saws in the 16"-18" range. Unless you, too, are a tool snob, you should avoid the temptation to squander your entire tool budget on these industrial machines. IIRC, the Rikon 10-325 has been mentioned.

Good Luck,
JR

[Ken Massingale]

Full size is a pretty vague term. You'd be surprised how full-figured a bandsaw can get - downright portly, in some cases.

Traditionally there's a big distinction starting with 14" bandsaws like the Grizzly LCHIEN linked to. With few exceptions that's the smalles size allowing the installation of a riser block, which increases the resaw capacity from 6" to 12". There are loads these to choose from, including Delta, Ridgid, Jet, et al. I believe there are three main categories:

1. Cheap, but serviceable. This would be the Harbor Freight 14" 4-speed. It can be found on sale at <$225. It's a bear to assemble, has no fence or frills, but works fine. Horrible customer service.
2. Local purchase and support - Delta from Lowe's (or Ridgid from HD). A good product with local service/parts and a good warranty. Theses products provide good service. TheRic just bought a Ridgid for $269 from HD using an infrequent discount.
3. All singing all dancing. Grizzly Ultimate. This is the one LCHIEN mentioned. It has all the bells and whistles. It has to be shipped from one of the three Grizzly warehouses, but their customer service is said to be good. $435.

There are also new saws in the "euro" format worth looking at. They don't allow for the installation of a riser block, so what you see is what you get. The owners of these seem to like them for their stability. Look at Sears to see a good selection of these in the 10", 12", 14" range.

Finally, there has been on this site a lot of dicussion lately about the advisability of getting the larger euro saws in the 16"-18" range. Unless you, too, are a tool snob, you should avoid the temptation to squander your entire tool budget on these industrial machines. IIRC, the Rikon 10-325 has been mentioned.

Good Luck,
JR

Hey JR, I'm not a tool snob! ;-D

[JR]

Hey JR, I'm not a tool snob! ;-D

There will come a day when I will rue those words. Until then, I'm sticking by my HF 14" as the only practical alternative for a "hobbyist" (read: hack).

JR

[Ken Massingale]

There will come a day when I will rue those words. Until then, I'm sticking by my HF 14" as the only practical alternative for a "hobbyist" (read: hack).

JR

Nah, I had a HF BS for years, still have HF stuff and way too much Craftsman stuff to begin to qualify as a tool snob. Besudes, the wife bought the Rikon, not me. But I'm sooooo glad she did!

[MikeMcCoy]

Nah, I had a HF BS for years, still have HF stuff and way too much Craftsman stuff to begin to qualify as a tool snob. Besudes, the wife bought the Rikon, not me. But I'm sooooo glad she did!

So now you're calling your wife the tool snob.

[Ken Massingale]

So now you're calling your wife the tool snob.

Oh Nooooo! She just knows a good thing when she see's it. That's how she got me!

[drumpriest]

Not mentioned as of yet is the 14" craftsman euro style band saw. 8" resaw with a 1hp motor. Won a recent "best buy" award in competition with the Rikon, which won "best overall". Got mine for about 380$, and I've been happy with it.

[cork58]

Bandsaw

Price is always a factor but I always buy something that will serve me for a long time. I was thinking of something in the 16 to 18 inch area. I really appreciate all the posts today! You guys are really great! I am really a hobbist till I retire in 3 yrs. Then who knows what I'll do? I like the wood and have a 30 X 40 new shop.

Thanks, Paul

[cork58]

Bandsaw

Wow! That Gris G0555 is great, but only 14". I'll have to check to see if it will be enought.

Thanks, Paul

[lrr]

I'm looking to buy a full size band saw. Anything I should be looking for? Lowes has a delta that looks O.K. but not sure it is what I want. I'll be doing some resawing for scrolling.

Thanks!

I bought a Powermatic 14" in February when they had the $100 rebate. Saw came with free 6" riser kit. I think Rockler has them on sale now -- I seem to remember seeing a 10 or 15&#37; off on power tools. And I specifically did NOT read it, since I've spent WAY too much lately. I just cannot afford to save any more money for awhile!

The Carter Quick Release, and the 1.5 HP motor really make this a nice saw to use. However, in the high-end price range, you'll find plenty of good products to choose from.

Good luck selecting -- I found choosing a bandsaw to be one of the tougher decisions I've made. But my advice is, spend as much as you possibly can, and get something you'll be proud to own, and happy you selected. I'm done buying cheap tools -- I'd rather do without.

[movnup]

I was in a contractor tool store today talking to the manager about bandsaws as I have been reading closely the forum comments and also online / magazine reviews looking hard at the 14" as the best "all around" size for a hobbyist. They had a large assortment and sell Delta X, Jet, Powermatic, to name a few with floor models starting at $440 going up to $3200 for 18inchers. Something interesting he said was that all of the models up to the $1500 range that he stocked were made by the same exact company (CNC Machine In Asia ???) but had slightly different feature sets and paint schemes / branding. We talked about the Griz (which he wasn't wowed with as he felt that was even lower quality than the imports he had on the floor). I also asked about the Rikon and he was aware of the differnt European versions available and felt they were better quality and that there hasn't seen a "good" american brand band saw in many years.

Needless to say he didn't sell me anything but I thought it was interesting of how he beat up on the brands that he sold at the lower ($1000 for a saw is not cheap to me) price points. The last question that I asked was shipping out my recently passed away Dad's 20 year old Delta 14 inch. He lit up on that and said that even if shipping is $500 to the west coast from the midwest that it was still a bargain!!!

Just one old timers opinion that sold professional model tools for a living that I thought would add to the discussion mix ....

Late Additon to Post: The Craftsman euro version in the 12, 14, & 18 inch are manufactured by Rikon in support of drumpriests post and rated very well. I personally have never been a Craftsman fan but may be worth a new look.

[drumpriest]

I must post this 2-3 times a week. I'm not a FAN of Craftsman, but they don't make their tools. If the tool is made by a good company and is a good tool, and just happens to have the word Craftsman on it, I don't care.

It seems just plain silly to me to not look at a tool simply because it has been rebranded. On the other hand, some people's complaints are more about quality of service, and I get that. Though like any other large chain, that is surely different from store to store.

There are many fine band saws out there. I try and buy "bang for the buck" myself, but never at the expense of it being a good tool.

I await people calling me a "tool snob" due to my PM2000, but if you could get it at the price I did, you'd have bought it too. ;-)