Band Saw help

[Jack1064]

Im looking for a relatively cheap band saw, right now I have a nine inch Craftsman that takes a 59 1/4" blade that I can not get to cut straight, if you know how to get this one to cut straight let me know, or if you guys know of any good band saws for not much money let me know that too!
Thanks

[mpauly]

What kind of blade are you using? I too could not get the craftsman 9" BS to cut straight with the stock blade. Ordered some timberwolf blades from Suffolk Machinery and it's a world of difference. Straight cuts, faster feed rates and better surface to the cuts. Don't get me wrong, it's not going to transform the little 9"er into a re-saw setup, but definitely a worthy upgrade.

Michael

[jrnewhall]

I have the Euro style Craftsman 10" - looks a lot like the Rikon 10" except with a larger, flat table and a 5 7/8" re-saw. I got it for $100 on sale. I think it is normally around $130.

I think it is fantastic for the money but that could be because I did what Michael did. I called Suffolk and got 3 blades including a 1/2". That blade allowed my 1/3 hp motor to cut through 3" QS white oak and stay straight enough to be between 1/8" & 3/16" for 30 inches. I cut 8 strips to plane to 1/8" to veneer on the non-QS sides of the legs of a chair I am building to give me QS on all 4 sides. I also put the oak through at the full 5 7/8" to cut an angle on the arms of the chair. The cut was only about 7" long so not a test of straight cutting but the Timberwolf blade never slowed down and the cuts were right on my line. The blades aren't very expensive either - I'm guessing $10 - $12 for your saw.

~John

[Jack1064]

I actually ordered a timberwolf blade a few days ago, so we will see what happens