Anyone familiar with Ryobi Band Saws?

[durango dude]

I really could use a band saw -

The other day - I was working on a 1" piece of walnut with my scroll saw - tried to turn the wood - and the blade grabbed the wood ---- and pounded it on my hand! Man --- I never thought my scroll saw could do much damage!

Any way - this is being offered on CL by a neighbor of mine - and I'm thinking about it.

http://westslope.craigslist.org/tls/3032360201.html

[Bill in Buena Park]

Looks like a BS903, and I have one of those. Decent little saw for small work with decent dust collection via shop vac (would have preferred the BS1001SV, but those were out of production when I went to buy one). The price is questionable - you can by brand new at HD for $119.

[sweensdv]

$50-$60 tops.

[cwsmith]

I'm not sure if it's a BS902 or 903. I bought the 902 back in around 2004 or 2005 when it first came out and I've been very happy with it, at least in the limited capacity that I use it.

(I thought the 903 had a table that extended from the front, but I could be wrong. The 902 came with a rudimentary clamp on fence... pretty basic though.)

In anycase, brand new it's about $119, and of course would have a 2- or 3-year warranty (that varies by Ryobi product, I think).

The 902 has old-style steel blocks (blade guides) with a roller bearing for "thrust" limiting, while the 903 uses roller bearings all around.

My 902 is really appreciated, and though I don't use it a lot (I don't like "curves" in the stuff that I build), but where I do, it has proven faultless.

The only "problem" that I see is that when you enact the blade tension release lever, the blade will fall off the wheels. That's really sort of a "nothing"; but to remedy that, I use four of those little plastic spring clamps to hold blade in position, before I release the tension. That way, everything stays in place. I keep the side door open, when the unit is not in operation (you can't close it when those clamps are in place, anyway).

The unit is practically vibration free (nickle test), and it is very efficient and versatile in it's abilities. Also, it's the safest cutting tool that I own... with "reason" of course.

I hope this helps,

CWS

[herb fellows]

I had a similar Sears model. IMHO, this is one of those tools that it pays to buy better quality.
I adjusted the thing to death and still didn't get anything close to a straight line with it. More frustrating than productive.

Ymmv, of course, but that was my experience with it.

As others mentioned, the price is out of line also.

[greenacres2]

For similar money I was able to pick up a Ridgid 14", then added a riser block. Several 14" models share many parts, and might add enough flexibility to be a better move. Good luck.
Earl

[LCHIEN]

I would not personally buy a bandsaw this small unless I had a very specific small task(s) to do with it and then the price is probably too high.

I have found I want to do four things with a bandsaw:
1. Resaw - thick boards to thinner boards
2. Rip -
3. Cut curves
4. Cut notches and stuff into the sides of boards.

resawing requires enough height - usually 6" would be my minimum but if you have logs and bigger boards, that is why people are always seeking risers for their 14" bandsaws which usually have a 6" capacity to start.

Ripping is a more general case of resawing.

Cutting curves, the 9" arm width (probably in reality only 8-1/2") limits the ability to rotate any parts being cut - 9" is a lot less than the probable 16" of your scrollsaw...

Cutting notches - in my case I have a 12" BS and the arm gets in the way frequently of making cuts in the long side of pieces. I have to flip and cut from the backside, then I can get to the center of pieces about 23 inches ling this way.

so capacity and cutting power are the things you need in a bandsaw. Consider if you have any need for bigger items. A 14" BS is usually the sweet spot between capacity, power and cost for most serious woodworkers.

BTW, doesn't your scrollsaw have a spring pressure arm to hold down the work? And you probably need to choose a blade with shorter front to back length if its jamming in a turn- tradeoff is that it'll be easier to break - ... similarly going to a 1/8" or 1/16th in blade is required for bandsaws making tight turns. the scrollsaw blades are thinner than BS blades so a F/B length would have to be MUCH smaller than 1/8 or 1/16th to be able to turn tight corners. Sounds like a technique blade selection problem to me. And don't forget, BS cannot cut inside circles/cutouts.

Good luck.

[mpc]

The Sears Craftsman 10 inch bandsaw (the one that looks like a mini-Rikon style bandsaw) is a wonderful little saw for the price. That's what I started with... and even though I've since upgraded to the Rikon 10-325 (14 inch bandsaw with extra height capacity) I still have & use the Craftsman for many jobs. It used to go on sale for $99 or so; lately though the lowest it goes is around 140-150. At that price it's still a good buy. If you are patient you could probably find a decent used classic style (aka "Delta" style) 12 or 14 inch bandsaw.

My dad has one of the small 9 inch Ryobi bandsaws and it works well - accurate, seems to be able to tension the blades enough, etc. Just limited in total capacity by its physical size as others noted. Those limits, for the type of stuff I do, are too limiting. If you are thinking of it as a scrollsaw substitute I would recommend against that idea - Loring's advice is spot-on.

mpc

[durango dude]

BTW, doesn't your scrollsaw have a spring pressure arm to hold down the work?

BUSTED......... (yes - --- and I failed to set it up!)

Will skip on the Ryobi BS - and keep an eye on CL, looking for something a little better.