Thread: Band Saws

Hey guys im looking to pick up a small 9" Band saw. Just not sure which one to go with. I read the reviews on these things and they are all over the place. 2 guys love it and say its the best and 2 other guys says its a piece of crap.

So i guess im asking what make of band saw are you using in your work shop for cutting wood, horn, bone, and a little bit of metal for wedges?

And for the scroll saw guys i have one and im just not a fan of them for this kinda stuff.

The biggest problem with Bandsaws in general is the setup, make sure you take the time to get the blade tracking right, actually read the instructions, and do a bit of research on the internet on tricks to getting them cutting right... DO NOT believe that it is tracking correctly until you check it yourself

The two that have caught my eye are the Ryobi (home depot) and the Rockwell (lowes)

I think that if you are just shaping scales, the small saw would be o.k. I usually buy wood that requires me to rip and split it down to scale size. The smaller saws tend ta "walk" when you are slicing/spliting. After using others saws, I bought a 12" saw and have no problems. I consider this size a bare minimum to work with. Most reccomend a 14" as minumum. Glen is right. Set up and keeping everything in proper adjustment is essential. I like having the ability to buy whatever wood size I find that I like to work with. Others may have different experience, however, this works for me.

My preference would be for the Ryobi, but as has already been said, go for at least the 12" model.I am a big fan of Ryobi power tools. For the price, I've found that they consistantly out perform the higher price consumer grade tools.

would look for vintage american made,a 14 in.delta rockwell can be had for cheap.
you can do a total rebuild on it for less than 60 bucks and have a machine that will last several lifetimes.

pixelfixed your totally right ive been looking through the various classifieds out there and found several CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. Ill defenitly be going this route.

Sheesh, I guess I have a little bit of an overkill then....I am running an 83" band saw.....lol Made by Atlas....haha OLD SCHOOL....but then again I just aquired a smaller band saw made by Ohio Forge or something like that.
I hit the jack pot....I got a Craftsman 1" belt/disc sander, Craftsman Scroll saw, and the Ohio Forge Band Saw for $60 cash...they are in pretty good shape to