Slartibartfass
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Is 2HP enough?
Minimum HP requirement for bandsaw to cut 4-8 inch hardwood
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Slartibartfass said:
Are you resawing the wood; so slicing of a thickness that is 4"-8" high? That would be a fairly common use of a 14" bandsaw depending on its capacity. Mine, for example is a Rikon with an 11" (can't remember exactly) capacity. It has a 1 1/2 HP 110V motor. I would use it to make the 8" resaw cut without question. For this work, the most important thing that has been communicated to me about bandsaws is that you must have a sharp blade and the saw must be setup properly, meaning the guides, etc. set properly. Carter has a great booklet (or DVD) I think which outlines the set of steps for setup. I followed it exactly and it was the first time I had ever been able to resaw with no blade wander and the slice was almost perfect in thickness.
On the other hand, if you are talking about doing a crosscut of 4"-8" hardwood, that should be no problem as long as the capacity of your saw allows an 8" clearance.
Hope I didn't misunderstand your question.
Slartibartfass
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Thx for asking. Yeah I was asking about resaw capabilities. Sounds like the Grizzly 2hp saw I am looking at should be sufficient.
Jesse Cloud
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I agree with the above, especially that blade sharpness and saw tuning can make a low powered saw much more effective.
I have a 2 HP saw and cut 10-12 inch resaws occasionally, but I always start with a fresh blade and take the time to tune it well.
If I were doing this on a daily basis, though, I would probably go for a saw powerful enough to just slice thru, regardless of blade or tuning.
You might need to make a good tall "resaw fence" to keep the wood parallel to the blade and thus get slices of consistent thickness.
I have a 2 HP saw and cut 10-12 inch resaws occasionally, but I always start with a fresh blade and take the time to tune it well.
If I were doing this on a daily basis, though, I would probably go for a saw powerful enough to just slice thru, regardless of blade or tuning.
You might need to make a good tall "resaw fence" to keep the wood parallel to the blade and thus get slices of consistent thickness.
I can't imagine a 2HP not working well though. If price is no object, go with an 18" bandsaw. There are some great ones out there. I am happy with my Rikon Deluxe 14" but the fence is not good. The wisdom is that, when you use a blade for resawing just use it for that. Don't use it for cutting curves as it tends to ruin the set of the teeth. People resaw with 3/8" blades and have great success as long as the blade sharp and the saw is setup properly. I use a 1/2" blade from Carter but there are other blades just as good I'm sure. So, blade and setup is more important than extreme power, plus dedicating a blade to resawing.
Wooden Skye
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I have a 14" grizzly with riser block which will allow me a 12" resaw capacity. I think my saw is 1 hp, and never really had a problem provided my setup was good. The best thing I did was buy a wood slicer blade from highland woodworking.
I have an old 16" Reliant clunker with, I think, 1.5 motor. I have 1/2" Timberwolf blade.
It takes a while, but i can resaw up to 10" in ash or walnut if i have lots of time and patience.
with white oak, I don't go more than 6". I tried some Brazilian Walnut and gave up. I was trying to do 6" on that but it was taking forever. It might have been possible with a fresh blade. I ran it thru my planer and found that much quicker, but did not end up with two slices.
The saw is supposed to go thru 12" resaw, but that is just too much for that saw
Tinker
It takes a while, but i can resaw up to 10" in ash or walnut if i have lots of time and patience.
with white oak, I don't go more than 6". I tried some Brazilian Walnut and gave up. I was trying to do 6" on that but it was taking forever. It might have been possible with a fresh blade. I ran it thru my planer and found that much quicker, but did not end up with two slices.
The saw is supposed to go thru 12" resaw, but that is just too much for that saw
Tinker
Slartibartfass
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Maybe suped question but does it make a difference to have a 2hp 110v version vs a 2hp 220 volt one? Or is this just a pur amp difference with no issue on performance? Never was good with this physics stuff....
Slartibartfass
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I am looking at the following saws currently:
Grizzly 3HP: http://www.grizzly.com/products/19-3-HP-Extreme-Series-Bandsaw-with-Motor-Brake/G0514X2B
Grizzly 2HP: http://www.grizzly.com/products/17-2-HP-Extreme-Series-Bandsaw-with-Cast-Iron-Trunnion-Foot-Brake/G0513X2BF
Does anyone use these and can share his [2cents] ?
Grizzly 3HP: http://www.grizzly.com/products/19-3-HP-Extreme-Series-Bandsaw-with-Motor-Brake/G0514X2B
Grizzly 2HP: http://www.grizzly.com/products/17-2-HP-Extreme-Series-Bandsaw-with-Cast-Iron-Trunnion-Foot-Brake/G0513X2BF
Does anyone use these and can share his [2cents] ?
I have the second Grizzly you're looking at. Haven't had any other saw so can't compare to much, but I love it. Haven't done much resawing, but did slice a true 2x8 piece of hard maple with no problem using a timber wolf blade from suffolk machinery. Saw has excellent dust collection as well in my opinion.
Slartibartfass
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Corey thx good to know. I was leaning to that saw as well.
WarnerConstCo.
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Tannewitz. Any one.
