Band saw
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Tagged: Band saw
- This topic has 26 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 10 months ago by Mick Mercer.
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28 May 2014 at 2:41 pm #57642
I am thinking of buying a band saw to help with dimensioning stock. Basically I have a fair bit of rough oak of various widths and depths from about half inch to one and half inch. I do not have a big budget nor much space and I do not want to use ebay because I do not know what to look for.
Does anyone have experience of small work top band saws for cutting pieces to size?
Any advice or suggested products would be most welcome.Mick
28 May 2014 at 3:00 pm #57643hi Mick bench top band saws are not known for their accuracy and very much depend on budget and where in the world you are sorry i can’t be more help
Hi Mick,
I got myself a small band saw a couple of years ago.
It’s something like this: http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-hobby-series-awhbs250n-bandsaw (it’s the same saw but Axminster now call it there hobby range).
It works fine as long as I don’t want to cut anything thicker than about 4″. To be honest, I’m starting to find it to be a bit of a limitation and am looking to sell it and go bigger. A larger machine wont really take up any more floor space than this smaller one.The fact that you’re talking about dimensioning timber suggests you’ll get along better with something a bit bigger. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with buying via ebay for this sort of thing; you can always stipulate that you reserve the right to view it before you hand over any cash.
28 May 2014 at 4:29 pm #57652Thank you for the replies, I shall take this advice and learn a bit more and check out ebay. Really appreciate you taking the time to help me.
Mick
Mick,
Here ya go–
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Startrite-352-Three-Phase-Bandsaw/321412962873?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222003%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D22313%26meid%3D7225520672219775548%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D9701%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D121351131320&rt=nc
Get your sparky to hook it up 🙂
(Gee I love saying that)
Static converter for the 3 phase.
Best,
Craig28 May 2014 at 10:19 pm #57659I could be completely wrong here, but the one that Craig gives the link for on eBay looks very similar to the one Paul uses at his workshop/school in north Wales. I’m sure that was a startrite and a similar colour. Seemed to work great for dimensioning the wood for the projects we did. You could ask him what he thinks of it (assuming it’s the same).
I think the best advise I can give is to make a realistic assessment of what you need the saw to do. If your going to be dimensioning 8/4 oak in 6 to 10 foot lengths you will curse every dollar you wasted on a table top “craft” saw. If your going to do a bunch of curvy or circluar cuts on semi-finished project material a small table top unit is the way to go.
Go to a high dollar manufacturer and see what the specs are for a premium 16 inch full size saw, blade size, motor size, weigh etc.. Then search the other manuactures and see how close you can get to that premium saw. If you can’t get there on your budget don’t waste the money. Start a local search by asking friends. You would be suprised how many people have tools that they never use and don’t think about selling.29 May 2014 at 10:27 am #57664Bandsaws are incredibly useful tools. I’m on my second – the first was an 18″ saw (Record Power BS450 – not made any more) that I got a great deal on but found too big, so downsized to a 15″ (Scheppach Basato 4). If you’re going to use it for dimensioning components from large pieces, I’d suggest a 14″ or larger saw, unless you really are never going to be cutting anything thicker than 1 1/2″, in which case a smaller model will be fine.
If you’re really ok with limiting yourself to small cuts, Record Power machines are pretty decent. Startrite are now owned by Record Power, I think. I’d put a wager on you wanting to upgrade to a larger model shortly after getting the saw though! They are tremendously versatile. If you were making Paul’s scoops, you could use the saw to remove all the waste, doing only the gouging of the mouth, and shaping by hand. If you were making a run of them, you could batch them and I reckon you could rough out a scoop in two or three minutes if you had good templates and got the process perfected. You could then spend as much time as you wanted on the fun part – shaping by hand!
eBay can be a bit of a lottery and I’d strongly advise going to see a saw before buying it. You can sometimes get a deal with the seller as well if there aren’t any bids already.
The problem with getting a larger saw and using it to do big cuts is dust collection. Resawing, or even ripping long pieces of 2″ thick stock, produces a staggering amount of dust. I had a large collector but had to downsize that too because it was a similar size to the saw itself. It doesn’t move as much air but still works ok. I also have an air filter that I run while using the saw, and a while after, to remove the really fine particles from the air. I have my work computer in my shop so have to keep the place pretty clean, and wrap the machine in a large bin bag and tape it up to stop dust getting into the fans.
Once you factor in dust collection, blades, hearing/breathing protection, van hire if you get a bigger saw, etc, you can run up a pretty decent bill. A simple shopvac type collector will run you £100. Decent blades aren’t cheap (tuffsaws.co.uk are a great source) for a 14″ or larger saw. Moving larger bandsaws is hard work – they’re heavy and tall.
I guess my main point is that you’ll find the tool so useful you’ll want a larger one, and that’s when they become quite an investment. It’s worthwhile though. I picked up a couple of pine joists at the weekend (pic attached) – around 9m of 220x75mm, for £50 plus diesel and three hours in the car to collect. I’m not sure what I’ll use them for yet (or when I’ll get the time!) but I’m stocked up for a while and won’t think twice about cutting components out on the bandsaw. Bar stools, boxes, tables, scoops… plenty of useable timber on these! I’ll do all the crosscuts by hand, then all rips on the bandsaw. Without the bandsaw, I’d be much more apprehensive about it and probably wouldn’t have bought the joists!
Hope this somehow helps! Let me know if you’ve got any questions.
George.
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.29 May 2014 at 1:22 pm #57672george how do you keep your shop so tidy, i wouldn’t have the space to put that timber never mind be able to dimension it .
29 May 2014 at 3:38 pm #57675I hate that it’s so tidy! It’s only because I haven’t been able to spend much time at the bench lately. Had a huge clear-out a few weeks ago as well so when I do get the opportunity I don’t have to spend time clearing stuff off the bench/floor. Baby is now four months old, so getting some time here and there.
George.
3 June 2014 at 8:15 am #57822Again, thanks for all the replies. I have been looking on ebay and found Electra beckon 315 and 450 band saws for sale at erasable prices. Does anyone know what this make is like?
Thanks
Mick27 June 2014 at 7:55 am #58915After much research and considerable thought as well as hours spent on ebay looking at bandsaws I have concluded that I am better off buying a new saw! I am aware that much advice suggests better value second hand and and more saw for your money but I know so little about these tools that I just do not know what I am looking for in terms of second hand issues.
If one is considering using the saw for mostly the projects detailed in the master class series as well as maybe cutting some larger pieces down for stock – what size saw is required?I am not looking at logs; but maybe maximum some 3 x 6 lengths that I can get from recycle yard and cut them down or projects
I am looking at the following makes
metabo
record
charnwood
does anyone have any advice please. I am thinking in terms of approx 400 pounds but can go higher if it is necessary to do so. I also consider that these items do go well on ebay so if I do get a saw that is too small then I can probably get half the money back from an ebay sale, not ideal but I am willing to take that risk.
Any thoughts?
mick27 June 2014 at 3:07 pm #58922Hi Mick,
I didn’t see your reply earlier this month but the Elektra Beckum saws are generally fine – they’re branded OEM saws (probably Chinese or German) but are fairly well regarded.
You’re making a safe decision in getting a new machine for your first one. It’ll save much frustration with badly looked after used ones. I’m on my second saw now and if I get another one it’ll be brand new unless I can get one from a school, university or workshop!
If you’re going to be dimensioning components from 3×6, I imagine you’ll want to be able to resaw close to 6″ wide boards. You’ll need a max depth of cut of at least 6″ and a motor powerful enough to saw through that much stock – 1HP at least.
The Record Power BS12 looks like it’ll be suitable but the table is kinda small. For a 12″ saw though, if you can put up with a less than rock-solid construction (which you only really get with stationary 14″ and larger saws) you could be ok. Do your crosscuts by hand, rip to width, then resaw to thickness so you’re always resawing the least amount of material possible. I’ve not used a Metabo or Charnwood saw so can’t vouch for their quality.
You’ll likely find that you want to upgrade to a larger saw after a while but a small saw like this will at least get your feet wet so you’re more familiar with the machines.
George.
Hi Mick,
There is also the do it yourself option.
I was in the same dilemma about 6 months ago, and even worse, living in Belgium, is not easy to find a bandsaw at a decent price.
So I made one following the plans I purchased from woodgears.ca. It’s not completely finished but I’m very happy how it works already. I never used another bandsaw so I cannot say how it compares with a commercial one.
Nicolae
Nicolae28 June 2014 at 7:20 am #58927thanks George, yourep,ies have been very informative and helpful, Nicollae the idea of making a bandsaw is intriguing but sounds beyond me at the moment; please post when it is finished and let us see it.
I had some very useful conversations with a man at record who put me on to a local dealer in Lytham St Annes who I called. he was incredibly helpful (and the prices were the cheapest I found) and suggested Schepach and record as the best options as he did sell all of the makes. He also suggested paying a little more for the better quality machine if it was affordable as it was better value for money. http://www.bivenmachinerysales.co.uk
So i shall take a ride out there on Monday and have more chats and look at the machines but am thinking of the record BS 300 E at 575 pounds. this has been a difficult decision and has taken me months to get to this point. Many forums suggest buying second hand to get more for the money but with no knowledge of saws I think I could have come unstuck. I will let you know how Monday goes and the final decision.
Thanks for all the time spent helping me get to this pointMick
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