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Dream band saw

I have a MiniMax 16 also, traded down from an old Crescent 36 for space reasons. The (Centauro) MM16 is a nice compact saw with a 16" resaw height, a 4.5 hp motor and a few niggling drawbacks. The stock door hinges require that the doors open well beyond 90* to change the blade so you can't back it up tight to a wall (I rejiggered the hinges) and the blades have to be threaded through a narrow slit between the doors. The table is rather small and the starter switch is notorious for failure (I replaced it with a generic magnetic starter). The stock Euro guides are adequate but nothing to write home about. Overall a good saw and it meets my needs, but if I could afford the room I would rather have my old cast iron behemoth with its Wright guides and huge table.

European saws generally have a small footprint and good resaw capacity. Vintage Delta and Powermatic 20"welded steel saws are similar but often have relatively light motors. I think 20" is the sweet spot for turners, and 12" a reasonable resaw capacity.
 
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For a smaller saw, I don't think I could be happier than with my Walker Turner 16" saw. Dream would be an older 30-36" saw, such as a crescent or yates american. Those are so appealing with their mass and class.
 
I'm pretty happy with the Jet 14 SFX. 120V, large table, two miter slots, good resaw capacity. Newer versions have improved lower guides. If I had a magic wand I'd add a brake.
 
I currently have an old (from the early 80’s) Craftsman 12” that was my Dad’s. As much as it is nostalgic, it doesn’t work very well. I will be replacing it with a Harvey Ambassador C14. With a 3HP, 230v motor, 14” resaw capacity and footbrake, that is all I need. I keep an eye on their website because they go on sale often.
 
Joel Daniels said:
I currently have an old (from the early 80’s) Craftsman 12” that was my Dad’s. As much as it is nostalgic, it doesn’t work very well. I will be replacing it with a Harvey Ambassador C14. With a 3HP, 230v motor, 14” resaw capacity and footbrake, that is all I need. I keep an eye on their website because they go on sale often.
Click to expand...
It’s on sale now…….
 
I don't think I have one single tool that I wouldn't change a bit.... I do have 2 bandsaws, a 14 inch Powermatic, and a Laguna 16HD. The PM only cuts 6 inches high, and I would change that to maybe 8 inches since I seldom cut bowl blanks any bigger/taller than that. It has a cast iron frame and 3/4 hp motor on 120 volt so it does everything I need for the 6 inch capacity. My big saw is a Laguna 16HD with a 4.5 hp. Baldor motor. It is a beast and will walk though just about anything. It does have a foot brake, which I think should be standard on all bandsaws. I don't think they make it any more. It did require a 30 amp 220 circuit though. 1 1/4 inch blade on it for cutting slabs.

robo hippy
 
I have a Laguna 18”. Foot brake alone was a significant upgrade from previous commodity Delta BS, foot brakes should be standard. 18” height is probably more than I need, 16” would suffice, but the wider throat is wonderful. A 1 1/4” blade sits on this most of the time. I wish I had enough space in my shop to also have another BS with a ~3/8” blade set up all of the time.
 
I have my original Delta 14" with a riser block. Bought it about 35 years ago. Love it. Put ceramic guides on it and made it better than "cool blocks".
Then I bought a Laguna 18" with a 4.5 Baldor motor many years ago. Love it too. Use this saw the most.
Would not upgrade either of them. Maybe put a 1 1/2hp motor on the Delta. Need to do that I think.
 
I have the Grizzly 14" G0555LANV aniverysary addition with the 1HP motor, later I added the riser kit to be able to cut up to 10" height.
It was affordable at the time and checked all the boxes.
Now later in life with more demanding needs , ex.. like cutting bowl blanks and milling my own cut wood, I do desire a larger saw with more cutting capacity and a larger motor.
But I am not chomping at the bit to get one. My Grizzly seems to cut just fine at the moment.
 

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Well, yes this one would do just fine

Bandsaw FB 40 Industrial Line | FELDER

The Industrial Duty line of FELDER bandsaws FB 40. Contact us now and receive a free and detailed quotation!
www.felder-group.com www.felder-group.com
 
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I have three that I like using. One is a Crescent 20” circa 19teens. It has only 7” of resaw height, but I keep a 1/4” blade on it for scroll work. My 20” Delta is my workhorse and a delight to use for cutting bowl and spindle blanks. The 36” Jones Superior is the big boy.
 
I've got a 30-ish year old Delta 14" with riser block. Served well for a long time, even better after I added an extension to make the table big enough to safely support a chunk of log. About 10 years ago, I also acquired a 20" Delta/Rockwell (1960's era IIRC).
Nice to have 2 saws - the 14" has a fine tooth blade, and the 20" a coarse blade for wet wood. Rarely have to change blades...
 
Grizzly G0513X2BF ... 2HP, 220V, 12" cut height, 16 1/4" left of blade, cast table, resaw fence, quick tension release, table tilt, 1/8" - 1" blades ..... scroll work to resawing ... love the brake ... sometimes wish it had 2 miter slots.
 
I have long wondered about the quick tension release things. I have never had one, and I never notice any "bumps" in my wheel as I cut. I never release the tension. Had the saw for 15 or so years.

robo hippy
 
I have a Rikon 347 and could not be more pleased. 19” of resaw and 4 hp will power through anything. Use mostly for turning logs into bowls and the 19” is more frequently needed than I would have thought. I modified the Festool router table slider to fit the saw so I can safely and easily cut logs and make rounds using a slider. ( Do not know why someone does not make a good less expensive BS table slider. ) Cannot turn saw on unless blade is tensioned and the brake turns saw off too. Bearing adjustment could be improved and dust pickup also. And the cost of the saw is reasonable.
 
I'd like to upgrade my Grizz 14" to a Harvey Alpha, but I don't need massive resaw capacity any longer (I gave my grandson my 17" resaw BS a couple years ago when I was downsizing, which was a mistake :-)
 
I just upgraded from a 10 year old Ryobi benchtop band saw to a used 14 inch delta bandsaw. I feel like I just went from a geo metro to a pickup truck. I'm amazed by what a difference a proper tensioner and adequate horsepower has made. There are newer saws, and there are better features, but I'm fine with this one for the foreseeable future.
 
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