…My old cheap 1/3 hp bandsaw gave it up and I am looking for a replacement. I use a bandsaw for making fins and other woodwooking stuff… I looked at the Craftsman 12" and the Ryobi 10" both looked good enough for what I need a bandsaw for…Just wondering what shaper/builder are using…
Ben,
Try an find a good older 14" bandsaw. Older Delta’s are USA made. Powermatic. Where you can replace the motor if needed. They last forever though. eBay. They take 93.5" blades. For cutting composties you won’t find anything better than a “carbide grit” blade. Pricey, but if cutting composites they are the way to go. Paramount Saw near Los Angeles sells “Ren-Grit” blades for a 93.5" bandsaw at about $105 in a continuous or gulleted blade. Go for the 14" saw at least.
Glenn
PS. these grit blades work best if you can control the speed of your saw. Heat kills them as well as no less than a 23.5" diameter wheel is recommened if using the continuous blade version. So, small saws don’t cut it. Bandsaws with cooling too.
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…My old cheap 1/3 hp bandsaw gave it up and I am looking for a replacement. I use a bandsaw for making fins and other woodwooking stuff… I looked at the Craftsman 12" and the Ryobi 10" both looked good enough for what I need a bandsaw for…Just wondering what shaper/builder are using…
While I use it for virtually zero surfboard work, I have had a Grizzly 14" bandsaw for a dozen years now that I like: http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=G0580 is the latest version- though they have a 16" I like the looks of ( http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=G1073) and would go for if I was going to do it all again.
Mine ( the 14" ) has the Grizzly aftermarket ball-bearing guides ( http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=G4816 ) rather than guide blocks and I reccommend them - similar to the aftermarket guides sold by another company but only about $40 US. Adjustments on those thumbscrews are best accomplished with pliers, gently, or replace with Allen-head capscrews. Alloy wheels on it, nice heavy cast frame, Timberwolf/Suffolk Machinery blades, of course. I have the 6" extension riser, but never bothered to use it. ~6" depth of cut is all I have ever needed. Too easy to find somebody with a Wood Mizer sawmill to do resawing for me. I have a 3/4" x 3TPI blade in it at the moment, I go down to 3/8" x 6TPI or so for fine work.
On deck, needing a stand and a motor, and likely to be used for finer-blade work, 1/4" or so blades, is a 14" version of http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=2486 which can be picked up at yard sales sometimes for chump change - mine came out of the local dump. Heavy sucker, hinged doors ( a plus) and a nice cast table. Craftsman stuff may get a bad rap, but the older heavy iron woodworking gear they sold is still better than 90% of the new cheap tin sold today.
As an aside, the nicest 10" tablesaw I ever played with was a 10" Craftsman/King-Seeley cabinet model, looked like a scaled down Unisaw with smoother gears- you could turn all the wheels with one finger, double pulley drive, just sweet.
The Ubiquitous 14" Delta/Rockwell: http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=43 - they are everywhere, overpriced, but sometimes you can score. Likewise an older Walker Turner - the tables have an often-welded flaw in the design, don’t let that put you off one. They made the Walker Turners down to 12", which is kinda small in any event. Absolutely nothing wrong with a good older tool - often better than the welded-frame, pot metal junk sold these days.
And then there are the big muthas… the Olivers, Tannewitzes and the like. Addictive. You start calculating what will fit between your workshop ceiling joists and how to get three-phase power run in.
hope that’s of use…and bigawd, if I make the framing to one side of the stairs go up a bit, I can fit in that 36" saw…
doc…
I cut fins on a band saw for a long time. I wasted a lot of money on rim grit blades. If you want to cut glass panels just get a nice Mikita jig saw and use carborundum grit blades. You’ll get 20 times the life out of one little blade as a banc saw rim grit blade. Just don’t use the orbital option on the cut and a nice moderate speed. You can even hold you work instead of the saw just by putting the saw in a workmate blade up. It works like a charm. Now when it comes to high quality wood working that’s another story. A good band saw is a treasure.
Mahalo, Rich
Thanks guys… my limit tops out at $400… after reading about the Grizzly G0555. I think I just might get that one…
I probably don’t need a 14" bandsaw it might come in handy some day.
I can speak for my old Sears/Craftsman 12" bandsaw/sander that I bought in 1973 - still going strong. When we toured Sand’s Studio that’s what he had down stairs, still running. Great for WOOD work.
Shipman
I have the grizz 0555 and have been very happy with it. It has to be the best bang for the buck in the world of bandsaws.
7/10
Did someone say Walker-Turner?
Its a beast, all right. But yeah, get the heaviest cast-iron bandaw that you & two friends can move. Replace the motor & switch, the guide blocks & tires. This one’s a 14" but takes 96" blades that I have to get from someone who buys bulk blade & welds to length. The weight is everything. It never shakes or vibrates. The wheels take a couple turns to get up to speed but once they’re there, they act like flywheels and don’t slow down for anything. Bandsaws can be tough, sometimes if you hit a soft or hard spot in your wood the speed change can push the piece away from the fence or squeeze it in tighter & deflect the blade. You end up with sloppy cuts. Not so with this one.
My grandfather bought this from Havens Tool more than 50 years ago. Every time I use it I get to remember being a grom in his furniture shop. All he let me cut with it was frozen meat 
My bandsaw is 10" and I wish that I had purchased the 14" model. It would be way better for resawing.
I’ve got a 16” Meber saw made in Italy that can re-saw up to 9”, but for the small scale work any size will work. Adjustments are key with bandsaws. Good rubbers, aliened wheels, ball bearing guilds or cool blocks, and most important proper tensioning. I see the 14”Rockwell all the time in the Classified Adds for low cost. I have used the Grizzly saw too. Hard to beat for the money, but there are a lot of better saws. I really like the site that Doc turned us onto
http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/1_2_blades.asp
new saw guilds and re-saw video http://www.lagunatools.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=16&HS=1
http://www.lagunatools.com/bandsaws.htm
Yep- saw one similar, though gray, in a welder’s shop. I’m a big fan of great big old bandsaws, as big as can be supported by a garage floor. And I know where there’s a 36" beauty just gathering dust… me and two friends, one with a flatbed and one with a backhoe and chains, perhaps…
By the way, check out the Timberwolf blades at http://www.timberwolf1.com/ - formerly sufflok machinery or something - all the blades are pretty much custom, a 96" isn’t gonna be a bother to get from 'em at all, and the price is the same as for the 93 1/2" jobs my saws use. I really like 'em a lot, you run 'em at lower upper wheel tension and they seem to hold up 3x as long as standard ‘tool store’ blades like the Starrets. I have used the 1/2" and 3/8" quite a lot and been very pleased with quality of cut and speed of cut.
hope that’s of use
doc… love those walker turners…
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[url]["http://www.timberwolf1.com/"]http://www.timberwolf1.com/[/url]doc… love those walker turners…
Thanks, Doc! I’ll keep the link for when the time comes. I’m ok for blades now, from 3/4" 4tpi & 6 tpi for resawing to 1/2" 9 tpi for crosscutting, 5/8 & 3/8" 14 tpi for fiberglass - straight & scroll cuts and a 1/4" 10 tpi for scroll cuts in wood. Or thereabouts. They’re not that bad, even locally, I think around $15 per. I know a guy…
I’d love to see some shots of your workshop. If I could raid two swaylocks workshops, they’d probably be yours & Jensen’s.
I’d love to have one of those super professional resawing bandsaws…I’d be cutting down all the trees in my neighorhood to make myself a log cabin shaping room with fansy wood everything.
Someone locally is selling a 14" Rockwell bandsaw…I guess that it is probably old?. it’s probably only 3/4 hp. can you still get parts for Rockwell ?..Delta parts fit?
I really want the Grizzly G0555 but I am going wait to see what is availible used
Hey, Shipman -
First, the parts for the older 14" Rockwell are the same as the new Delta 14" and , for that matter, the old Delta 14". The basic design has been around a long while- the Griz is a close copy of the Delta/Milwaukee/Rockwell. I could be wrong, but I think the design dates from pre-WWII - yep http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=51
Also, 3/4 HP is plenty, if you have decent blades and it’s tuned nicely or even adequately. My Griz does fine in 4" white oak with just 3/4 horse. You could build a 60’ schooner with one if you had to. Sawn frames and all. The Old Man and I did dragger work with one.
And if it isn’t tuned, well, it’s not hard to do. Worst case, you may find things a bit loose, mebbe a flat spot in the bearings and tires from being left tensioned too long - $50 fix. Don’t worry about missing or very worn guide blocks. Though be on the lookout for cracked castings, or welded cracks/breaks, missing table. . Those are a deal-killer.
My call- if it’s $250 or under and it works, score it. Then, save up for a Wood-Mizer bandsaw mill. My local sawyer uses one and it’s sweet.
Hope that’s of use
doc…
Yeah, you’re well set for blades for the time being. Me, I’m not, and I have to get around to ordering some…
My shop- well, lets say it’s kind of in changeover mode right now. Wood projects to summer repair stuff and eventually redoing some boat stuff for me, dammit… may even get around to fixing the catboat in the loft, after all, it’s only been there these last 22 years.
Plus it’s spread over the ex-garage, the cellar ( canvas work and winter glue-up area) , the living room ( 'puter and electronics assembly/disassembly ) and outside ( rude woodworking) .
On the other hand - you might get a chuckle out of the latest shop additions: http://nausetshellfish.250free.com/kits/index.html .
never dull, is it…
doc…
I resaw 10" purple heart and quilted maple with the 3/4 horse grizzly and a 3/4" timberwolf blade… damn fine combo
7/10