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Good Bandsaw for a Wood Turner

Joined
Jan 21, 2020
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Carlsbad, California
I've been turning for a couple years off and on, mostly spindles and a few bowls. I'm getting to the point where I want to do more bowls and am finding that a bandsaw would be very useful. Looking to buy one when I decide which one and was wondering if anyone could recommend one they have or would like to have.
Would like as much power as possible, obviously. 12 inch resaw capacity or so. Price preferred would be from 900 or less to abt 1100 or so on sale, as there are a lot of sales right now. Even a bench top would be fine.
Also if I can ask is there anything I don't want or need in the way of features or brands, etc. Thank you.
 
Joined
Jan 31, 2020
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Hoschton, GA
I've got a Jet 14" bandsaw with a 6" riser kit that has served me well. I've also heard good things about the Rikon bandsaws. Both of these would be in your price range. I don't have any problem roughing out 6" thick bowl blanks. Obviously, there are bigger and more powerful bandsaws out there. You just have to figure out how much you need.
 
Joined
Jan 21, 2020
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Carlsbad, California
Yes thank you, there are many, in fact too many, with many differing opinions. The Jet 14 inch was one I was considering. They make a couple with 12 inch resaw capacity I believe. Those were the ones I was considering. It would be easier if there was 1 or 2 choices and that was it. More choice more hesitation. Thx again
 

brian horais

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I've been turning for a couple years off and on, mostly spindles and a few bowls. I'm getting to the point where I want to do more bowls and am finding that a bandsaw would be very useful. Looking to buy one when I decide which one and was wondering if anyone could recommend one they have or would like to have.
Would like as much power as possible, obviously. 12 inch resaw capacity or so. Price preferred would be from 900 or less to abt 1100 or so on sale, as there are a lot of sales right now. Even a bench top would be fine.
Also if I can ask is there anything I don't want or need in the way of features or brands, etc. Thank you.
I have a Laguna 14/12 and have been very happy with it. I got the movable base accessory in case I need to change the saw's position. The bandsaw is very well made and has no problem cutting through 12 and even 13 inch thick log slices. I did some research and looked at the Rikon 14 inch, but chose the Laguna because it looked like it was higher quality. You can get it for less than $1100 on sale
 
Joined
Mar 17, 2019
Messages
150
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110
Location
Warrenton, Virginia
I really like my Rikon 10-325. It is a 14” bandsaw with a 12+” resaw capacity And 1.5 hp. It has done all I asked for bowls and re-saving for guitar work and didn’t break the bank. They have newer models now, but the one I have has been great
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2015
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Location
Springdale, Arkansas
A lot of the 14" saws have small tables which make it hard to balance a uneven heavy block of wood to cut. Delta 20" saws are light industrial with a larger table, 12"+ re-saw capacity, and can be found for less than a thousand. The downside is if they need new tires they are expensive.

Sawing bowl blanks for a beginning turners class.DSCF0313.JPG

Full disclosure, I have two. One for re-sawing and one for the curvy stuff. Who wants to change blades?
 
Joined
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La Grange, IL
One decision you should make early which will help narrow the field is whether or not you want to go with 240 volt or stay with 120V. That decision alone will eliminate 1/2 the choices one way or the other.

I can't imagine a bench top saw with a 12" resaw capacity.

Not every "feature" is going to be equally important to you, but here are some to be on the look out for: A brake; a larger table; two miter slots; a fence; resaw & throat sizes; blade tension release.
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
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Location
Eastern Washington
I've been exceptionally happy with my Rikon 70-326 which is in your price range. The fence is easy to adjust and use, blade changes are very quick with the quick adjust guides. I broke a part when I dropped it, Rikon sent me the piece at no charge, said they considered it a warranty issue. If I had to buy a band saw today I would not hesitate to buy the 70-326 again.
 

Roger Wiegand

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I get by with a 14" Delta with a riser block. I put a bigger motor on it years ago, but would much prefer to have something in the 20-24" range. The small table on the Delta (and most other saws of that size) is very limiting. I currently don't even try to prep logs on the bandsaw, just knock the corners off with a chainsaw and round them up on the lathe.
 

Dave Landers

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I have recently obtained a 20" Delta/Rockwell (from 1968) - love it. Did need new tires, and that added about $500 to the cost.

I also have a 14" Delta with the riser block, which served well for many many years. These (and Jet and other similar saws) are generally easy to find on the used market.

I upgraded the motor to 1HP when I added the riser, and "fixed" the small table by adding an extension.
IMG_5497.jpeg
That went a long way to making the saw more useful (and safe!) for handling bowl blanks.
 
Joined
Aug 14, 2007
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Eugene, OR
For sure, the biggest drawback for all bandsaws is that they have very small tables. This means that if you are going to prep bowl blanks on them, you have to be adept at handling big pieces of wood, or you have to build an infeed and outfeed table. The dust collection on every bandsaw I have seen is terrible, well for bowl blank prep anyway. They work fine for cabinet shop work where all the wood is dry, but not for wet wood. Look up my 'Bandsaw Dust Ports do not Suck' video.If you can cut your slabs pretty parallel, then all you really need the bandsaw to do is to cut circles. Look up my video "Chainsaw Chopsaw', which does a good job, but I need to 'new and improve' it. I have the Laguna 16HD which saves a lot of time in prepping blanks since it cuts 16 inches high, and I seldom turn bigger than 14 inch. It has a 4.5 hp Baldor motor and waltzes through anything I can put on it with a 1 1/4 wide blade with teeth at 3/4 inch apart. I moved and don't have the chainsaw chop saw set up again so use the big bandsaw a lot more, at present. Having the proper blade is as important as having the proper saw. I use only the Lennox bimetal blades. They cost a bit more, but have M42 hss teeth which will cut through nails without ruining them. They can be resharpened. I use a 1/2 inch wide blade, which will cut circles down to about 6 inch diameter. Being able to cut circles saves a lot of roughing time.

robo hippy
 

Mark Hepburn

Artist & Chef
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
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Houma, Louisiana
I've had my Grizzly 17" for years with no issues. It's 240V but so is my D.C. and had to have that in the shop anyway. I know there are varying opinions on Grizzly, but I have had several of their tools (along with Jet, Festool and Powermatic) and have never had an issue with a single one of them.
 
Joined
Mar 17, 2006
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Location
Canton, Connecticut
I bought the Grizzly G0513X2F about two years ago. I'm very pleased with the performance. It has a 17" throat, 12" resaw capacity, 2hp motor (220v), cast iron wheels, and a brake. The cast iron wheels have a lot of inertia when the machine is turned off, so I find the brake to be an excellent feature. Grizzly recently waived shipping charges on their machines. I don't know if that's still in effect.
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2020
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Location
Atkinson, New Hampshire
Hey Robo, I use exactly the same blades 1/2" Lennox bimetals and could not agree more. I sharpen them with a diamond burr on a Dremel tool with a little lapping fluid. I have a pair of blades that must be at least 6 years old. If you check the lead of the blade and know which direction to cut in you can cut extremely thick wood with a 1/2 inch blade. I have resawn planks 18 inches wide with a 1/2 " 3TPI blade.
No reason to buy a new saw. You can get great used saws for a song and a dance. Visit the machinery stores in your area and offer them 10% less than what they are asking. If they don't come down smile and walk. Power is very important in a band saw. Us turners like cutting thick stuff. You can easily stall a 1 HP motor with a blank 4" thick. IMHO 2 HP is the smallest I would go with. You might consider running a 220 volt line to the saw. The Grizzly machine mentioned above sounds like a great machine. Northfield Saws are the best but even a small one is going to run more than you want to spend unless you get lucky and run into one that needs a little TLC.
 
Joined
Feb 15, 2019
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Location
Aloha, Oregon
Great timing on this question. I want to step up to a bigger band saw so I could grow into it and have been comparing the Jet and Rikon. Great input here! Currently I have a small Ryobi bandsaw so I could cut down pen blanks. It was used and I think it had a very hard life as I keep having issues with it. I have told my wife that it will accidentally fall off my table real soon.
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2020
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Atkinson, New Hampshire
Eric,
Lower end machines would be more of a risk buying used but the heavy duty ones are much less risk. A really old machine might need new bearings but they are standard sizes and just press in. The most important wear sites are the tires and the guides. If they are in good shape and the wheels run true you are good to go. Wood working machinery loses value fast and you can get quite a nice one for between 1 and 2 grand. Even if it required some work you would still save huge amounts relative to a new saw of that type.
 
Joined
Sep 5, 2019
Messages
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Location
Martinsville, VA
Website
www.GrattanCreek.com
Just for reference and for others who are shopping for a saw and following this thread...

I bought a Grizzly G0555LX this last November on sale for about $700 including tax and shipping.
This is a 14" with 6" resaw and an available 6" rise kit.
This version of the saw has the cast iron wheels and a 1hp motor, which seems to be sufficient for the size of the saw.

If your purchasing decision is heavily weighted on budget as mine was, this might be your saw. However, expect to spend a bit more to get it to where it does what you need it to.
If I had a bigger budget I may have opted for a Jet or Rikon or maybe just a bigger Grizzly.
Given the same budget and needs, I would probably buy this one again.

It seems to be a solid piece of equipment for the price and its bones are solid but it wasn't 100% out of the box.
The only real functional issue I have had with it is that the guide bearings were junk.
I ordered good bearings elsewhere right away and, sure enough, the original bearings spit their guts on the floor while I was waiting for the new ones to arrive. I didn't bother asking Grizzly for replacements.
If your needs call for solid guides, Grizzly has holders and guides. Buy their holders but don't bother with their solid guides. They melted within days for me. Cool Blocks have been holding up well for me so far. When these are done I may try ceramic guides.

Customer service and tech support have been very good to me so far when I had questions about the saw and ordered a rolling base for it.
 
Joined
Jan 21, 2020
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Location
Carlsbad, California
As always thank you all. As far as 120 or 220 never thought I’d need 220v to saw bowl blanks. Probably won’t do much else with it. But can go either way, just don’t want to overkill it. I don’t need the best or most powerful of anything, just need to accomplish my purpose. Rounding off 6-10 inch bowl blanks. Thx again everyone
 
Joined
Jan 3, 2021
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Location
Spartanburg, SC
Well, I'm late to this thread, but after watching videos and reading reviews for weeks, I got the Rikon 10-326 14" bandsaw from the Charlotte, NC Woodcraft on a 15% off sale. They had all of the popular models in this class in the store including the Laguna and Jet, but a couple of the shop employees who actually owned the Rikon talked me into it very convincingly. After wrestling it into my shop and assembly/setup and squaring everything to the blade, it has sliced almost effortlessly through the first couple of jobs I did on it, even with the stock blade, including a super-hard and gummy green red-tip bowl blank about 8" round by 6" deep that reminded me a little of lignum vitae.

So far I'm impressed by this seemingly high quality machine. I got a 3/4" TimberWolf 3 tpi re-saw blade while I was there, as I have a lot of green black walnut I need to resaw. I'd love to have gotten one of the carbide blades like the Resaw King, but I figured I better quit while I was ahead. Great saw for the money!
 

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Joined
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I have a 14 inch Rikon. I can run a 12 inch log through to cut the pith out and also turn allow my blanks round before I put them on the lathe. I have had it 2 or 3 years now and am very happy with it.
 

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odie

TOTW Team
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Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
30628-7907d95a29ec4c0b18a4030d23b35d8a.jpg
That table extension @Dave Landers made is a very good idea!

My bandsaw is a 16" Grizzly, 111" blade, that I purchased in the late 1980's. It replaced a Jet 14" bandsaw. I consider the Jet bandsaw a better made piece of equipment, but the Griz gets the job done to my needs.....I wanted a little more capacity. The castings are a little sub-par in a couple areas. I don't know if you can see it in the photo, but the stand wasn't quite up to the overall weight of the bandsaw, and I had to beef it up a little with some added angle iron. I think the overall quality of Grizzly equipment has improved since this bandsaw was made, so take that into consideration.
shop photos november 7 2020  (29).JPG
-----odie-----
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2021
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Location
Houston, TX
I can only advise not to do what I did by getting a new Jet 14". If you plan on breaking down green wood into blanks, the Jet side guides are a roller design which will pound the green fibers into the sides of the blade, eventually building up blade thickness and causing various problems. Even worse, any aftermarket guide replacements I have spoken to have said they are not compatible, so I'm stuck with it. For now, I just back them off and only cut straight on green stock. Before this discovery, a period of time was dedicated to solving noise problems. There were two causes, both from poor design. 1. The tension gauge (which is largely regarded as useless anyway), was rubbing into the back of the top wheel. 2. The ruler attached to the guide block assembly was rubbing against the top wheel depending on what height it was at.
 
Joined
Jan 8, 2021
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Wrentham, MA
I went for an older Walker Turner 16" saw. Got it for a song, but did have to rebuild and repaint it, but I'd not trade it for anything at this point. The difference between it and my 14" Delta is night and day. Very smooth, 12" resaw and heavy.

Is there a way to rotate this without saving to my computer first? Iphone photo is oriented correctly on phone. Grrrrrrr

BS_WT.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jan 3, 2021
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Spartanburg, SC
For sure, the biggest drawback for all bandsaws is that they have very small tables. This means that if you are going to prep bowl blanks on them, you have to be adept at handling big pieces of wood, or you have to build an infeed and outfeed table. The dust collection on every bandsaw I have seen is terrible, well for bowl blank prep anyway. They work fine for cabinet shop work where all the wood is dry, but not for wet wood. Look up my 'Bandsaw Dust Ports do not Suck' video.If you can cut your slabs pretty parallel, then all you really need the bandsaw to do is to cut circles. Look up my video "Chainsaw Chopsaw', which does a good job, but I need to 'new and improve' it. I have the Laguna 16HD which saves a lot of time in prepping blanks since it cuts 16 inches high, and I seldom turn bigger than 14 inch. It has a 4.5 hp Baldor motor and waltzes through anything I can put on it with a 1 1/4 wide blade with teeth at 3/4 inch apart. I moved and don't have the chainsaw chop saw set up again so use the big bandsaw a lot more, at present. Having the proper blade is as important as having the proper saw. I use only the Lennox bimetal blades. They cost a bit more, but have M42 hss teeth which will cut through nails without ruining them. They can be resharpened. I use a 1/2 inch wide blade, which will cut circles down to about 6 inch diameter. Being able to cut circles saves a lot of roughing time.

robo hippy
I have been watching some of your videos on various topics like prepping bowl blanks, and this makes a lot of sense to me. If I were to get the Lennox bimetal blade in 111"x1/2" for my new Rikon bandsaw, what blade thickness should I get? TPI? For what it's worth, I would be sawing a lot of big green black walnut logs.

And as it's bi-metal, does that mean that I would also be able to change the pulley to half-speed and cut metal? Thanks in advance for any advice to you or Michael Stein who also says he uses them.
 
Joined
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And as it's bi-metal, does that mean that I would also be able to change the pulley to half-speed and cut metal? Thanks in advance for any advice to you or Michael Stein who also says he uses them.
Umm no, Bi-Metal means the blade is made of two different metals with different rate of expansion characteristics under heat load (Such as teeth are one metal and the driving band is another) or something to that effect.. (My knowledge of bi-metal is limited to its use in thermostat switches and circuit breakers and automotive flashers, and other mechanical stuff like that) - as for blade teeth for green wood, probably want to get 3 or 4 TPI blade - others would be able to advise better as to thickness/width of blade (and if I remember right, also something about the hook/gullet of the teeth.. but I won't be worrying much about it until I get an actual bandsaw besides the little 9 inch homeowner bandsaw I have to work with)
 
Joined
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Bozeman, MT
I can only advise not to do what I did by getting a new Jet 14". If you plan on breaking down green wood into blanks, the Jet side guides are a roller design which will pound the green fibers into the sides of the blade, eventually building up blade thickness and causing various problems.
This is common cutting green wood on any band saw.
A. Spray the blade with Pam or WD40 prior to cutting
B. Clean the gunk off the blade when you're done cutting (may need more pam). You can do this by holding a hard piece of wood behind the gullet and against the side of the blade or sometimes by cross cutting something dry. Some people use metal items for this but I'm not that coordinated.
C. Every few years, replace the bearing guides. Fortunately for me, mine use standard in-line skate/skateboard bearings, so they're cheap and easy to find.
 
Joined
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A metal cutting blade and a wood cutting blade have vastly different tooth/teeth set and design. As for blade thickness, I like the thicker ones, but don't remember the numbers. If you intend to rip a number of slabs, you may want a different blade. My big saw is 1 1/4 with teeth about 3/4 inch apart. Not good for rounding blanks, but it walks through any wood I have put on it.

I did the Pam thing, and WD 40/40, and Glide coat. I had minimal results with them. I haven't tried Ken Rizza's Slick Stick, which is supposed to be good for cleaning CBN wheels as well.

robo hippy
 
Joined
Feb 6, 2010
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Brandon, MS
Late to the party but my Grizzly GO555 has meet all my expectations and more after I changed to Carter guides. Even with a dull blade I can get moderately good resaw cuts. I use blades recommended by my local supplier Fersco . I think it is 3 tpi and cuts great and at less than $10 a blade who could complain. I do believe this saw is a little under powered and would love to have at least another 1/2 hp.
 
Joined
Feb 12, 2018
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Millington, TN
While you’re waiting for a bandsaw to be in stock then keep an eye out for a used bandsaw in decent shape. I got my Jet 18” for $450 at an auction. Bigger wheels, motor and table are really nice especially if you plan on cutting/turning any big stuff.

As for the grime from cutting green wood, I turn off the lathe and remove grime with an air powered grinder (cheap one fromTractor Supply) and wire wheel. I run the wire wheel in the same direction as the teeth point to avoid dulling the cutting edge. Then I wipe on some paste wax before using it next time.

323278B9-C1ED-470B-85EB-C4A17581FE7C.jpeg
 
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