Craftsman 10 inch band saw reviews?

[docrowan]

Does anyone own this unit? I'm thinking about purchasing a benchtop size band saw and I saw some good reviews of the Ryobi 10 inch on this site, but it is no longer available at HD or anywhere on the web that I could find. Thought this might be the next best thing before having to step up to a 14 inch.

Thanks in advance.

[eezlock]

craftsman 10" bandsaw

I have the craftsman 10" bandsaw...Rikon type. It is an excellent machine,
well made and easy to adjust and does everything that I need and has never given a moments trouble so far. It has a good 2 1/4" dust port on the back
and wheel brushes to help keep the tires clean and dust free.
Another good feature is the cast iron table and a fence that locks down
securely when you need it. Overall, a very good saw ...especially for the price. Others I have looked at have too much plastic junk on them and I
don't like that! eezlock

[Stormbringer]

First off, search this site for the reviews. They are definitely out there for the 10", 12" and 14". I remember reading them and they were reasonably favorable.

Secondly. Go to Sears' site and go to the item and read the 32 reviews posted there for the 10-incher or just click here.

Keep in mind that, if I recall correctly, the 10" was actually marked down to $99 not long ago.

Good luck,
Greg

[mpc]

The $99 Bargain Alert thread with lots of feedback is still out there:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=28361

I bought one of these myself - first bandsaw - and it does work amazingly well. I guess decent bandsaws work better/easier than I ever imagined... Right after buying it though I stumbled onto "bandsaw boxes" and wished I'd picked up a larger bandsaw. I've since made a couple mods to mine to increase the resaw capacity from the stock 4 5/8 inches to 6 3/4 inches. The 1/3rd HP motor seems more than adequate; I resawed a 6 1/2 inch tall pine board - it was a 2x12 to start with, after ripping it to 6 1/2 wide I tried resawing a 1/4 inch off it... no sweat. So if the saw's resaw and throat capacities are large enough for your planned work I recommend it.

Now I need to find a source of good blades for it. It takes 70 1/2 inch blades which nobody local except Sears stocks - they sell a 3-pack with 3 different sized blades. The mid-sized one is useless; I haven't figured out what it's supposed to cut. The 1/8th blade works very well though; my practice bandsaw box cuts came out pretty good. About 1/3rd of the way through this practice one (more of that 2x12 actually... 3 planks glued up) I'm quite comfortable and reasonably skilled at making tight turns. The mid-size blade doesn't cut straight or cleanly at all, the two or three times I tested it I kept wondering if I'd installed it upside down or something - it's cutting rate was that miserable. I haven't used the larger blade yet. So far just the 1/8th inch blade and the 1/4inch blade that came with saw have met my needs.

mpc

[docrowan]

Thanks for the info and thanks for the link to the other thread. Looks like right now they're selling for 149.99, but since it was on sale for 99.99 back in March, I believe I'll try a little patience to see if I can pick one up for for that. I travel all across north Mississippi and western Tennessee for work anyway, I believe I can find a Sears outlet ready to dump one of these.

The hunt begins!

[mpc]

Update on blades:
After busting both of my 1/8th Sears blades, I bought a bandsaw blade brazing kit to fix them. Surprisingly easy... so I decided to try a 1/8th inch wide, 72 inch long Olson blade from the local Woodcraft. The bandsaw almost had enough adjustment range to tension that long blade. I snipped about an inch out of it and re-brazed it. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Those Sears blades are total trash compared to Olson blades. Somewhere I read/heard that Olson supplies Sears (which is why I bought them initially)... but I doubt it after trying a real Olson blade. I've since shortened a 3/16th and 1/4inch Olson and they work far far better. Anybody want some useless Sears bandsaw blades?

When resawing, I'd say the ridges/grooves are about 1/5th as deep with the Olson blades as I got with the Sears blades. And there are far fewer of them too. Sanding bandsaw boxes is going to go a lot faster now! I have one Timberwolf now ready for shortening and try-out. Anticipation...

A few other comments:
* I made my own table to replace the stock one; mine bolts to the factory holes and "sits" on the lower wheelhouse. It doesn't tip/tilt at all but it does sit over an inch lower than the stock table. This greatly increased the resaw capacity. I've also made my own upper blade guide assembly (out of aluminum, cool blocks, and a rear support bearing) to eek out another 3/4 inches of resaw. This got my saw to 6 3/4 resaw, enough for 6 to 6 1/2 inch deep bandsaw boxes (my goal). I've sliced through maple that thick and the 1/3rd HP motor seems to handle it just fine. Only once did I experience any bogging and that was because I was pushing the workpiece sideways without realizing it, binding the blade. I use 10 to 14 tpi blades too - high tooth count blades instead of the 3 to 5 tpi blades typically recommended for thick stock. Of course I don't expect fast cut rates with 1/3rd HP but I don't think I have to go extra-slow either. The saw keeps up with my natural feed rate cutting curves in bandsaw boxes.

* I relocated the lower guide assembly from between the wheelhouse and table to inside the wheelhouse (since my table sits on the wheelhouse...) with a simple wood spacer block. It's actually easier to adjust the blade guides this way - it's easier to reach the fasteners. However... recent experience has suggested this might have been a bad idea. Rikon/Craftsman use standard "ZZ" bearings (sealed on both sides with metal, not rubber, faces to keep out dust) and I found all 3 lower bearings pretty much jammed. Either my relocated assembly subjects the bearings to more dust and/or they have to be cleaned a lot more often than I expected. I replaced them last night and will keep a closer eye on them. For other folks with this bandsaw though I'd suggest checking/cleaning those bearings fairly often. I'd be interested to learn if other folks had them jam up or not.

* My saw ran fairly smooth and cut straight lines right out of the box - even with Sears blades. Tonight though I made a wood stick with 4 screws to do the "wheel coplanar check" described in the various bandsaw books. I found the wheels were offset about an 1/8th of an inch and that there was a little in/out play on the upper wheel. A thin copper washer fixed that slop, adjusting the lower wheel via the 4 pin bolts on the backside got the wheels coplanar. Adjusting blade tracking is even easier now - the "sweet spot" on the tracking control is much bigger than it was. The saw seems to run even smoother too. I haven't made any cuts yet to see if all this work will have real benefits or not... but I feel better knowing it's as right as it can get. Updates in a day or two. Maybe even pics in the completed projects forum.

mpc

[docrowan]

Hey MPC,

Where did you get your brazing kit? I saw HF had one on sale recently. Also, do you have a bench grinder to make your bevels, or some other method?

Thanks for the detailed post and info. Band saw is backburnered on my wish list for now, but I'll definitely be pulling this thread out when it moves up on the priority list.

[mpc]

I bought Woodcraft's little kit for about $35. Use the Woodcraft banner at the top of the page to link to their site, then search for "Deluxe Bandsaw Blade Brazing Kit" which is item 4491.
Basically it's a bent metal piece with spring loaded clamps to grab the blade ends, some silver solder (I think) plus flux, a plastic holder for "Cricket" butane cig lighters, and a small bandsaw blade grinding stone mounted on a stick. I don't use the lighter; I already had the Harbor Freight micro butane torch which works fine.

The procedure is simple:
* Use the stone to make sure the broken ends of the blade are square to the length of the blade. Just file it square.
* Then use the stone to grind a 45 degree bevel into each end of the blade so they overlap, giving a lot more surface area for the braze. Imagine taking two boards with 45 degree miter joints... instead of making a 90 degree angle, glue them so they lie flat. You've got more glue surface than just "end gluing" the boards.
* Slip the blade ends into the small square holders on the metal jig. The squares can rotate to fit different blade sizes - 1/8th inch, 1 inch, etc. There are also a few small screws in the jig below the holders that act as fences for the backside of the blade - to help you line things up. This is the hardest part of the job - the springyness of the blade fights you, snagging skin in the process.
* Once mounted, with the bevels lined up and overlapping, smear a little flux onto the blades and into the bevel.
* Light up the torch, heat the bevel, and apply a little of the solder. I believe it's plain old silver solder.
* Let the blade cool a minute or two. Remove from the jig.
* Lay the blade over a flat surface - I use the corner of a sacrificial board - with the braze/weld visible. Use the stone-on-a-stick to grind it flat to the rest of the blade. Flip the blade over and grind the other size.

That's it.

You could easily make your own. A metal vise holding cheapo aluminum 90 degree angle stock is enough of a jig... just cut out a small notch for the ends of the blade and torch flame. Then use those heavy-duty black metal clamp style paperclips to hold the blade. A fine file, old knife sharpening stone, etc. can be used for the grinding. Silver solder & flux are available at the Borg or Woodcraft. You can also buy the stone-on-a-stick from Woodcraft or other places; they're sold as accessories to help round the back edge of bandsaw blades. You could probably scrape together your own setup for about half the cost of Woodcraft's kit... it's up to you if the time/$ tradeoff is worth it. I find the kit handy enough... and don't relish digging out the beefy vise.

The "gotchas" to watch for:
1: whatever tabletop is underneath the jig will get hit with a lot of heat from the torch. Don't do this over your workbench without a sacrificial board underneath!

2: It's easy to bump the blade during the brazing/welding operation and end up with a slight angle at the braze. Must re-do the whole job. For the skinny blades I've used, regular wire cutter pliers snip the blades easily enough.

3: While handling the blade, it's advisable to wear gloves. And eye or face protection. When you have to twist it inside-out (to grind the other side) it'll fly in whatever direction it darn well pleases. Gloves & face protection are advisable whenever dealing with bandsaw blades - taking them out of the package, brazing/welding them, installing them into the saw, etc.

4: Bandsaw blades need to be un-kinked to run smooth. So after the brazing job, lay the blade on a flat surface and look for bends/kinks - anyplace where it isn't making a smooth, continuous arc and fix it. You'll probably pick up one or two during the brazing just from all the handling.

mpc