Which large Bandsaw would you recomend?

[Tom Lewis]

Hi, I am new to this forum and hope this is the right place to ask this question.
I am interested in buying a 18"to 21" bandsaw to cut out wood blanks for woodturning.
Does anyone have any advise as to which model and which brand to purchase? I have Grizzly, Delta, Jet, and Rikon catalogs. Has anyone had any experience with any of these?
Thanks for your help.

 

[C Edward Moore]

Leneave bandsaw

Tom,

I bought and recommend the 21" Northstate bandsaw that is carried by LeNeave in Charlotte, NC. This is a family owned business and I have found them to be honest and straightforward. The 21" I got has a 3 hp motor and two vents for sawdust. I showed a good friend who bought a well-known and pricey bandsaw and he said that he wishes he had gotten one like mine because his keeps getting clogged. I got a good deal from Leneave and would buy from them again. Just for fun, tell them Ed Moore sent you if you call them. 800-442-2302

Check out: Leneave

 

[Steve Worcester]

Personally, I am a big Laguna fan.

For woodturners, I would say, you want to buy as much resaw capacity and motor HP as you can afford.

What height logs are you looging to cut? Or mostly for rounding blanks? Do you have an idea of your budget?

 

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Tom

I just bought a Mini Max MM 20 in April. I had my eye on it for quite some time, and when my Jet 14" went belly up, I bought one. I had a few rough spots to iron out when I first got it home. The table was warped, and Mini Max paid to have it reground, and it was missing a few parts, but now that it is up and running, it is a real joy to use.

It has a resaw capacity of 15 3/4" and 19" from the blade to the column ( I guess the conversion from metric to Imperial loses an inch). It also sports a five HP motor - well, 4.8 HP, but five is easier to say, right? It came with a mobility kit (it weighs 750 lbs) and a selection of blades, including a Lennox carbide tipped Trimaster resaw blade, which in this case is either 1 1/4" wide or 1 1/2" wide, I forget which.

It was not cheap, but it easily slices though blanks that made the Jet gag and stall and with my teaching I cannot afford to have a bandsaw that can't, shall we say, cut it. I just got my cyclone hooked up to it yesterday, after finally deciding where it was going to stay in the shop, and while I did not get time to run much wood through it, it looks like there is going to be very little dust escaping from this one.

Bill

 

[Bob Hadley]

Try to get your hands on a copy of the 18-inch band saw comparison in Fine Woodworking, June 2004.

The saw I purchased, X-Caliber, is sold by my local ACRA machinery dealer. It is the same machine, made in the same factory, as the Craftsman and Lobo saws featured in the FW story.

Good or bad, that is often the case with stationary tools these days. The brand name means “imported by†not made by. Delta, Grizzly, General, et al, are basically marketing companies, who bid out their machine specs to various supplier factories in Taiwan or, more likely China (Laguna and other “Euro saws†excepted).

My suggestion is buy whatever is available from a local dealer that also can offer service. A one year warranty is not so hot if you have to crate up a 500 pound machine or wait weeks or months for parts to be shipped from some far-flung place.

BH

 

[mkart]

large bandsaw

Tom,
A few years ago I purchased the Jet 18" bansaw and have been unhappy ever since. It's 1 1/2 HP motor is not big enough to cut out large wet blanks without stalling often. I have just excepted the chainsaw as a better friend! I agree with buy as big as you can. Unless your in the same boat I was in, which was the Jet for $1,000. If thats the case save a little longer. You won't regret making a larger investment in this tool.
mkart

 

[Tom Lewis]

Thanks for the help and advice. Concerning what I will use it for, I plan to cut up large blanks for bowl turning. I have a 14 inch one HP bandsaw and it just is not big and powerful enough to do what I want to do. As far as price, I believe in the saying "Buy quality and only cry once."
The problem is I live in the South Eastern corner of New Mexico which is about as far away from dealers with showrooms as a person can get. Also, there are so many different companies and models to choose from. It really helps to get the benefit of others experiences.
I will check into the Le Neave, and I also like the Laguna and the Rikon band saws.
Thanks again.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Contrary (but not contrarian) View

Tom,

I have an 18" JET (blue) saw, but, not to argue its merits, I never use it to saw woodturning blanks in wet wood. Same would be so if I had a Big Saw with Heavy Power, etc., because I round all wet blanks with my chain saws. I view the use of a band saw to cut wet wood (other than slab-milling lumber) to be too dangerous. Changing wood densities, embeded objects, and any number of variations in machine setup and components make it too risky in my view.

Even with large-gullet blades (3 tpi or less) kerfs can pack with cuttings, dust and pitch and jam. Moving from edge grain to end grain can often result in a drastic change in the cutting speed and cause an unprepared or relaxed operator to loose control of the blank as well as body parts. I have been present when an operator violated the primary rule of "never cut a log in the same direction it grew," i.e. with the end grain up and the blade running parallel to the grain. The fellow was lucky, indeed, when the blade jammed and snapped.

When I cut out a bowl blank, its easy and quick to cut an octagon and then zip off the points using a chainsaw. If I want to save a little time roughing, I can also mount the blank and then use an electric chain saw to lop off the excess on the lathe with the spindle locked for stability and no fumes to hassle with in the shop.

I know many turners use the bandsaw very well, and my opposite view is not meant to argue with their choice, only to pose a viable alternative.

Mark Mandell

 

[Hugh]

This is a question for Steve -
I have been looking at the Laguna saws - drooling. I want one. But which one. I have been looking at the 16" and the 18". Both have a 4.5 Baldor motor and resaw 16" & 18" respectively. Is the 18" saw enough or should I look at a larger one? I am cutting bowl blanks to pen blanks. Sorry Mark - I do cut with the grain - but I only do it when the work is supported i.e. flat on the table. I have been using a 1/2 hp Delta 14" bandsaw with a riser block. Not enough power. But I have been using it for 14 years or so. Any suggestions.
Thanks.
Hugh

 

[Matt Meadows]

DEFINITELY NOT the Grizzly. Now don't get me wrong, I use a Grizz 15" planer, 6" jointer, and 3 hp dust collector every day and they are pretty dern good. We have a 16" bandsaw and it's the biggest piece of hu4mvo3 I've ever used. Try, just try, to put a really thin narrow blade on it and balance it properly. We can't. But we bought it used (barely used, didn't even have a bit of sawdust in it) so we can't whine to the mfr.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Sorry Mark - I do cut with the grain - but I only do it when the work is supported i.e. flat on the table.

No need to apologize, Hugh. If you know the issue and accept the risk, it's your choice. My post was tyo allert folks to the danger, not make judgments. I'll point out that you can make the same cuts as normal quarter or flat rips with the grain running horizontally (end-grain facing you) and avoid the danger.

Mark

 

[Steve Worcester]

This is a question for Steve -
I have been looking at the Laguna saws - drooling. I want one. But which one. I have been looking at the 16" and the 18". Both have a 4.5 Baldor motor and resaw 16" & 18" respectively....
Thanks.
Hugh

I would saw of the two, buy the resaw you need. I think all of their saws now are the same resaw height as the wheel size. I had the 16HD for quite some time and then broke the bank on a 24". At the time, the 24" resaw was a custom, now the norm. Using the same Baldor 4.5HP motor, I have cut 24" logs on end.

I must say that 24" of exposed blade can be rather scary.

 

[hockenbery]

I have an older Laguna 16" with 12" re-saw it is now entering its 7 th year of service.

Every once in a while I would love to have the 16" re-saw on the newer one.

I've been quite satisfied with the Laguna saw. I'm not big production turner but it does cut something just about every day and it gets a work out cutting blanks for classes peroidically.

Hugh, how much re-saw do you need?
I don't often get a 36" diameter log that I want to get a 16" tall blank from but when I do I'd prefer a bigger bandsaw and not rounding it with the chainsaw. But this is my only option. I only do 2-3 of these pieces a year.

I do a 1/2 log of blanks that are 10-12" high and the 12" re-saw is great for them.

Regarding safety - With 2 exceptions the turners I know who have hurt themselve seroiusly have done so using a bandsaw.

happy turning
Al

 

[Tom Lewis]

Thanks again to all who have responded. I have learned something from each response.

 

[dkulze]

Gotta say, 24" of blade doesn't scare me, it makes me drool and moan. I have a personal weakness for wood and, if given the choice between never turning again and never rough milling wood from log again, I'd probably give up turning. A bandsaw with 24" throat capacity (coupled with a engine hoist and rails) would be an absolute dream of mine.

Any saw will chew ya up pretty good. If it's big enough to handle 24" though, at least you can see it coming from a ways off.

Dietrich.

 

[Hugh]

I think this is mostly a question for Mark - but anyone can answer.
I have been thinking about you saying that it is not safe to cut "the way a tree grows" - I have been doing it for a long time not thinking it is dangerous. I would make a crosscut with the chainsaw and get a flat edge(s) then take the round to the bandsaw and put it on end with the flat on the table to make my cut through the center and also a flat for the bottom. I figured that the wood was supported on the flat cut the whole time - it was OK. I run it through slowly as I wait for the shavings to clear and I clear out shavings from the saw after I am finished. I just got a load of Osage Orange wood and have been doing it again - thinking I am doing something wrong...What am I doing that is not safe? Sometimes if I push too fast the saw jams up, but I just stop pushing and usually it clears the cut itself.

For Steve - I hope Laguna is going to be at the symposium so I can check out the different sizes of bandsaws. I want this one to be the last one I buy.

 

[Mark Mandell]

I think this is mostly a question for Mark - but anyone can answer.
I have been thinking about you saying that it is not safe to cut "the way a tree grows" - I have been doing it for a long time not thinking it is dangerous. I would make a crosscut with the chainsaw and get a flat edge(s) then take the round to the bandsaw and put it on end with the flat on the table to make my cut through the center and also a flat for the bottom. I figured that the wood was supported on the flat cut the whole time - it was OK. I run it through slowly as I wait for the shavings to clear and I clear out shavings from the saw after I am finished. I just got a load of Osage Orange wood and have been doing it again - thinking I am doing something wrong...What am I doing that is not safe? Sometimes if I push too fast the saw jams up, but I just stop pushing and usually it clears the cut itself.

Hugh,

When you cut parallel with the grain (with the end grain down and sliding on the table surface and the teeth entering the end grain on the top surface) it's like doing a rip cut with your chainsaw, the teeth rip the long fibers rather than cutting them into short little segments and the long curls and streamers pack into the blade's gullets. This is especially true of wet wood. The debris packs into the teeth and gullets, takes away the advantage of the blade's "set", and increases friction and heat a great deal because there is much more fiber being pulled by the blade than when cross cutting. A hot blade results in reduced beam strength and tension and the blade becomes much less controlled and more subject to not only jamming, but also to kinking and snapping. Breaking a bandsaw blade when you've got 6 to 12" of blade exposed outside the guard is way more dangerous to you than having a blade snap when your guides are only an inch above the table.

Since you're looking for a larger saw with much more power, consider that while a smaller saw with a 3/4 or 1 hp motor may jam and stall the motor, do the same thing on a 3-5 hp machine with more beef all around, and now the blade is the weakest part of the situation. You won't stall the big motor like you did on the old saw, so something's gotta give. Usually the blade. You, with all 10 in close proximity, may well find why butchers use band saws all the time; great meat and bone saw.

Perhaps we can meet up at the convention and I can explain it further.

Mark

 

[Steve Worcester]

I saw the same way, but i do use blades with more set than most. Once you get to a larger width blade (1"+) you can use Suffolks pallet blades. You can request wider set and a tooth/in that will easily clear. You also have to figure that we are cutting mostly "softer" hardwoods. Soft maples, sycamore, etc. I would be a bit leery cutting up a Jarrah or something of more considerable density.

 

[Elizabeth Woodturner]

Bandsaw

Hi, I am new to this forum and hope this is the right place to ask this question.
I am interested in buying a 18"to 21" bandsaw to cut out wood blanks for woodturning.
Does anyone have any advise as to which model and which brand to purchase? I have Grizzly, Delta, Jet, and Rikon catalogs. Has anyone had any experience with any of these?
Thanks for your help.

Don't buy a Laguna. I bought one and I didn't like it. I had 4 band saws. 2 really old - probably from the 20's, also had a Centauro. I bought the Laguna to replace a 21" that was so old it didn't have a name on it. We rebuilt the old bandsaw and it became our favorite. Get an old saw and rebuild it if you have to. We didn't get around to rebuilding the other old bansaw before Cal/Osha came to inspect. I still have the moitor and the 2 pullys (7.5 hp) Anyone need a motor?

 

[Elizabeth Woodturner]

Bandsaw

I think this is mostly a question for Mark - but anyone can answer.
I have been thinking about you saying that it is not safe to cut "the way a tree grows" - I have been doing it for a long time not thinking it is dangerous. I would make a crosscut with the chainsaw and get a flat edge(s) then take the round to the bandsaw and put it on end with the flat on the table to make my cut through the center and also a flat for the bottom. I figured that the wood was supported on the flat cut the whole time - it was OK. I run it through slowly as I wait for the shavings to clear and I clear out shavings from the saw after I am finished. I just got a load of Osage Orange wood and have been doing it again - thinking I am doing something wrong...What am I doing that is not safe? Sometimes if I push too fast the saw jams up, but I just stop pushing and usually it clears the cut itself.

For Steve - I hope Laguna is going to be at the symposium so I can check out the different sizes of bandsaws. I want this one to be the last one I buy.

I just saw a post with someone talking about a bandsaw with an attachment to move it around the shop floor DO NOT DO THIS. Take it from me that a bandsalw has to be fixed to the floor - especially when you're cutting large pieces (IT MOVES - YOU GET HURT - BEEN THERE - DONE THAT). Not having a bandsaw fixed to the floor is a $4,200 fine from Cal/Osha - there must be sufficient reason for them to insist that bandsaws have to be fixed to the floor!