Bandsaw? Which one?

WoodChuckWoods said:
... I can get the 14" powermatic at my local store for $1000. I've never been able to put my hands on the grizzly so I have no idea what it is like. I have put my hands on the powermatic and it seems very well built. ...
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Just picked up the 14" Powermatic with the riser block at a local retailer. They had it on sale to $799.  So far I'am still in the tune-up process. So it is hard to comment on the saws performance. But so far I like what I got. The blade roller bearings guide system is easy to adjust. The roller bearing are one feature I really like over guide blocks. Also like the Carter tensioning system.  The riser block came pre-installed.  
 
Flair Woodworks said:
I'm looking at buying the same saw - the LT14SUV.  Have you had a chance to use it much?  What is your opinion of it after having used it?  Can the saw adequately tension a 1" blade?
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Unfortunately, all I can say about the saw so far is that it is HEAVY, and a bear to get unloaded from my pickup. I hope to put it together tomorrow and fire it up. As for tensioning a 1" blade, the Woodcraft store had a 1" carbide tipped blade on it that cut through a big chunk of rosewood as if it were balsa. The slice was about 3/32 thick, and just as uniform in thickness as could be. That pretty much sold me, although my other 4 criteria were important as well. I did not get the Carbide tipped blade - at $216 it was a bit much for my blood. On the other hand, Laguna has a 3 for 2 sale on the blades right now, and if it turned out that 3 of us needed the same blade, that would make the price more palatable! I'm going to order a few Wood Slicer blades from Highland Hardware tomorrow. I have had good success with those, they are reasonably priced, and have less kerf (better for book matching).

HTH,

Jim Ray
 
nickao said:
The 6" riser really only gives the saw the same capacity as the Grizzly. I find with the risers they are really add ons that the saw was not designed for. I would never buy a saw NEW based on putting on a riser. You add the riser if you have a saw and need the capacity in a pinch and can not afford a new  saw.
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For me the riser is a temporary thing that gives me some flexibility until I can get a true Re-sawing size band saw.  At that point I will remove the 6" riser form the smaller 14" band saw.
 
Unfortunately, all I can say about the saw so far is that it is HEAVY, and a bear to get unloaded from my pickup. I hope to put it together tomorrow and fire it up. As for tensioning a 1" blade, the Woodcraft store had a 1" carbide tipped blade on it that cut through a big chunk of rosewood as if it were balsa. The slice was about 3/32 thick, and just as uniform in thickness as could be. That pretty much sold me, although my other 4 criteria were important as well. I did not get the Carbide tipped blade - at $216 it was a bit much for my blood. On the other hand, Laguna has a 3 for 2 sale on the blades right now, and if it turned out that 3 of us needed the same blade, that would make the price more palatable! I'm going to order a few Wood Slicer blades from Highland Hardware tomorrow. I have had good success with those, they are reasonably priced, and have less kerf (better for book matching).

HTH,

Jim Ray
[/quote]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the response.  Please keep me updated with your thoughts on the saw - anything at all.  $216 seems steep for the Resaw King, considering I was quoted $1850 Canadian for the saw with a 1" Resaw King, $1699 Cdn without the blade.
 
Well, I cranked it up for the first time today after putting it all together. I had done as much disassembly as possible to help move it in my pickup. I unstrapped the motor from its position where the table would be, if it were installed. The cord was long enough to place it in the bed of the truck (after remodeling the crate a bit). I also removed the trunnion, which isn't that heavy, but every little bit helps. Everything went back together rather well. The only real problem I had was getting the machine off the pallet, but then I rigged up a come-along and hooked it to a floor joist and just lifted it off (carefully). I also cut the motor cord to shorten it, and added a male / female plug to make it easier to install the motor on the saw frame.

I bought a Laguna blade, 5/8" shear force, super thin, when I bought the saw and so that's what I used for the initial run. The saw was vibration free, just like the demo, and the guides were straight forward to set. Tracking was excellent. I free handed a 1/16th inch strip off a 1" thick stick of cherry, and was quite pleased with the cutting speed. I wasn't as pleased with the cut quality. I look forward to trying Highland Hardware's Wood Slicer blades. I find them to be extremely smooth. The Shear Force blade left a very repeatable pattern, as if a tooth or two was out of set. I tried touching a diamond hone to the blade, but it did not improve the cut quality.

So far, I am very pleased.

HTH,

Jim Ray
 
Why does this have to be such a hard decision. I like the idea of a bigger saw but I dunno what is more important quality or size? Will I notice the small extras on the powermatic? I think this is one of the hardest decisions I've e er had to make  ???
 
I walked into a local too retailer and noticed that they were a Powermatic dealer. Never knew they were there before. The I saw the discounted price on the Powermatic 14" band saw. I had been looking for a while.

So I knew the price was good and with in my budget. So that was it, I bought it.  Made a tough decision easy.
 
so im pulling the trigger and getting the powermatic with the riser block. i have now talked with 5 people who use the riser block and they all say that it cuts exactly the same with or without it. i realize that i probably wont be able to get away with this being the only bandsaw i ever get, but seeing how ive made it this long without one i should be able to make it several years with only this one. im going to pick it up now and ill let everyone know what i think after i get it put together. thanks for all the input.
 
Let me know how your set-up goes. I have had a tough time with the 90 degree table stop not always returning  an exact 90 degrees. When the table does not return to exactly 90 degrees the extension table does not line up. I must be doing something wrong. 

Mine was partially assembled by the store and the 90 degrees stop was installed upside down.  I fix it and that change helped but has not eliminated the problem.  Next I thing I will take apart the trunnion and make sure it was put together correctly.
 
All put together now, works great, I think, since I've never used one before. But everything went together fine except the pulley cover came out of the package with a few scratches on it but the box was undamaged. Took me awhile to get the belt tracking right. I only made a few cuts before bed and it seemed to be pretty nice. One question though the table came with some kind of hard packing grease on it and I'm not sure the best way to clean it off? Any ways allnis good and Gpowers I had no trouble with getting everything to go back to 90 sorry I couldn't be more helpful but I don't know much about these saws yet.
 
Flair Woodworks said:
Hi Jim,

Thanks for the response.  Please keep me updated with your thoughts on the saw - anything at all.  $216 seems steep for the Resaw King, considering I was quoted $1850 Canadian for the saw with a 1" Resaw King, $1699 Cdn without the blade.
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Chris,

I've been running the same saw since June, very happy with it. Haven't used the 1" resaw blade yet, mostly just chunking out architectural brackets in 4x cedar with the silicon blades. Nice saw, plenty of power, I like the ceramic guides. The foot brake w/shutoff is a really nice feature. No complaints about the saw whatsoever.

As far as pricing goes I'd suggest calling them and hammering on the salesman. I got the saw, 4 silicon blades, the mobility kit and the Resaw King for $1600 US delivered all the way across the country. I didn't even have to do much whining and crying.... You just got to beat on them a little, same as we get beat on when we quote a job. Stuff runs downhill, right???  [wink] You might take a hit on import duties or whatever but $1700 Cdn for the saw alone sounds downright abusive since the saw is still listed on their website for the same price as when I bought mine....

Anyway, nice saw but not at the price they're quoting you considering the exchange rate.

HTH,
Bill

 
billg71 said:
As far as pricing goes I'd suggest calling them and hammering on the salesman. I got the saw, 4 silicon blades, the mobility kit and the Resaw King for $1600 US delivered all the way across the country. I didn't even have to do much whining and crying....
HTH,
Bill
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Wow, wish I'd heard from you before I'd bought mine. You got a great deal. That Resaw King was impressive, but not worth the money to me (at this time, but that may change).

Jim Ray
 
GPowers said:
In this video http://thewoodwhisperer.com/bandsaw-setup-tuneup/ Marc walks you through how to clean and protect the cast iron table top.
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I kinda find it funny that Marc mentions that it is hard to fold up the blade.  I learned about using your thumbs when I was a kid, and never needed to use a wall or anything -- just a flick of the wrists.  Folding the blade isn't the hard part.  Unfolding is what I always found more dangerous -- I would just stand back and let her fly...    [scared]    Maybe that's why he skipped over that part...  [scratch chin]
 
If you want to stay at $1000, Popular Woodworking reviewed and selected the Rikon 14". I have it and with a 1/2 blade do my resawing and other cuts no hassle. It is a good saw and has 13" resaw, but even though I bought it, if I had space (vertical - I am not kidding) and 220 all set to go , the Grizzly 17" models are the ones to have. Great fence and guides on all their saws, more money gets you more HP, cast iron parts and options like a brake (which I would love to have). Laguna's are amazing, BUT out of your price. In addition, count the number of threads out there on poor customer service. Maybe not their bandsaws, but it seems if you have a problem with them, you will have headaches and endless phone calls. Just realized you can get the 18" Rikon for $1000. That is something to think about too! I've used on and I really liked it.

You keep asking about the PowerMatic and it is a sharp looking little thing, but that is old technology and they have their quality and support issues too and the riser block is said to be a pain in the butt and never lines up the saw. Get a European style saw with a steel frame like the Grizzly, Rikon or Laguna. Or, if you find a nice restored 16" Walker Turner, then you are in heaven!
 
JimRay said:
Wow, wish I'd heard from you before I'd bought mine. You got a great deal. That Resaw King was impressive, but not worth the money to me (at this time, but that may change).

Jim Ray
Click to expand...
Jim,

Hey, it never hurts to ask, right? In the current economy we're all scrambling to maintain cash flow and the difference between selling something at a 30% profit and not selling it at a 100% profit is significant. Unless you're working for Festool....  [wink]

Next time, call and ask for a sales rep and moan a little, it might help. Tell him you bought the saw at full price and you need a break on some blades. And where else are you going to find 125" blades anyway?

Bill
 
Actually, you don't need to use 125" blades. I just got some Wood Slicers from an Atlanta based hardware store that you may know. The 3/4" Wood Slicer in 124" length worked perfectly, and gave a cut far superior to the 5/8" Shear Force blade I bought with the saw. Cutting Cherry was magical, and while it will take a bit of clean-up for a good looking book match panel, the saw cut was amazingly uniform. The nice thing is that the 124" blades are readily available, whereas the 125" blades are tough to find. The 1" shorter blade moves the upper wheel only 1/2" closer to the lower wheel, and there is more than enough adjustment available to compensate. That Laguna saw is unbelievably smooth running, and the dust collection really works. I'm dividing up about 1900 CFM between the two ports, and next to nothing escapes.

Jim
(If I need a carbide tipped blade, you can be sure that I will be doing some whining to the Laguna rep!)
 
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