I am looking to set up a little workshop (it really is small!!) and
although I would have loved to have a 16 or 18" bandsaw in there, I
just dont think there is the room... Hence I am looking for a really
good quality 14" machine with about 8 inches depth of cut. I love the
look of the MiniMax bandsaws but they are just too large. Any
suggestions would be very welcome.

I am also looking to get a planer thicknesser - again the size of the
machine in critical. I need something that has a reasonable capacity
but with limited floor space. I have about 1.5k total to spend on the
two machines...

I look forward to your suggestions,

Cheers,

Reuben

Hello Reuben,
Are you looking at new or used? And, where do you live? There is a
post of a 14 inch Delta Rockwell wood & metal cutting bandsaw on eBay
that a pick up only. That saw and riser kit will give you more than 8
inch cut and it is small enough that you can get it into any space you
want by yourself. I have no experience with larger machines but I am
very happy with my Delta 14 and riser addition.
One other comment; As I have been looking at auctions and catalogues,
it appears to me that there are countless spare parts and accessories
for the Delta and its clones so getting and older Delta does not
minimize its usefullness or longevity.


Marc (and I have no affiliation with this eBay
seller either but I like watching what's out there)


wrote:
I am looking to set up a little workshop (it really is small!!) and
although I would have loved to have a 16 or 18" bandsaw in there, I
just dont think there is the room... Hence I am looking for a really
good quality 14" machine with about 8 inches depth of cut. I love the
look of the MiniMax bandsaws but they are just too large. Any
suggestions would be very welcome.

I am also looking to get a planer thicknesser - again the size of the
machine in critical. I need something that has a reasonable capacity
but with limited floor space. I have about 1.5k total to spend on the
two machines...

I look forward to your suggestions,

Cheers,

Reuben

On Tue, 26 Dec 2006 01:04:08 -0800, reubenwilcock wrote:

I am looking to set up a little workshop (it really is small!!) and
although I would have loved to have a 16 or 18" bandsaw in there, I just
dont think there is the room... Hence I am looking for a really good
quality 14" machine with about 8 inches depth of cut. I love the look of
the MiniMax bandsaws but they are just too large. Any suggestions would
be very welcome.

First, strong suggestion--if you haven't already done so read "The Bandsaw
Book" by Lonnie Bird and "Bandsaw Handbook" by Mark Duginske. Lot of
useful information there that you should have in your head before buying a
saw.

Take a look at the 14" Rikon Deluxe
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=20041. 13 inch depth of
cut and if it works anything at all like my Craftsman that seems to be on
the same frame then it will do anything you ask of it. The Rikon has
tension release and some other features that the Craftsman (8 inch depth
of cut) lacks that make it well worth the extra cost. On the other hand,
if you're on a budget the Craftsman works fine for under 500 bucks--I've
gotten 1/16 inch slices out of it that were flat to 1/32 and it doesn't
bog down on 8 inch lignum vitae. The Rikon has 50 percent more power and
a little over 50% more cutting depth so it should also be fine in that
regard.

Note that both have roller guides--if you're looking primarily for scroll
cutting then these aren't the best choice, for resawing though they're
very nice.

If you're on a really tight budget the Ridgid is definitely good value but
you have to do your homework on accessories as Ridgid charges the Earth
for them (the riser block for example is almost half the price of the saw,
where for other brands it's 50 bucks or so and some for other brands work
fine on the Ridgid, but you have to do your homework to know which ones).
This machine has block guides and would be a better choice for scroll work
and may be marginal on power for resaw with the riser block.

Also carefully consider a used saw--the 14" Delta in any of its variants is
an old standby that works fine.

One consideration is blade length--the Craftsman and the Rikon Deluxe use
nonstandard blade lengths (99-3/4 and 111 inch respectively)--this isn't a
problem per se as any purveyor of quality bandsaw blades will custom weld
them for you at no additional charge, but you may be able to find
prepackaged standard length blades at a deep discount. If both saws
become popular prepackaged blades should become available from the major
manufacturers eventually but right now the only prepackaged blades are
from Sears for the Craftsman and Woodcraft for the Rikon (and oddly, both
are made by Olson) and neither are discounted, although the Craftsman set
of 3 blades is very reasonably priced. The Delta/Ridgid/Grizzly/etc
with and without the riser blocks use blades that are available prepackaged.

I am also looking to get a planer thicknesser - again the size of the
machine in critical. I need something that has a reasonable capacity but
with limited floor space. I have about 1.5k total to spend on the two
machines...

I look forward to your suggestions,

The 13" Delta works fine as long as you remember to support the ends of
boards longer than the extensions. I have absolutely no complaints about
mine. It's also a good match for the cut depth of the Rikon. It's also
light enough that you can store it on a shelf when you aren't using
it--one of the magazines this month published a neat set of plans for a
cart for it that doubles as an outfeed table for a table saw and stores
under the wing of the saw when not in use.

With a $1.5K budget the Rikon Deluxe bandsaw and the Delta 22-580 should
have you set up with plenty left over for blades, spare knives, dust hood,
etc.

One consideration--check the current draw on any saw you buy and make sure
you can give it enough juice. Band saws take a lot of current at startup
for some reason and if you don't have good wiring they'll let you know
right quick. If there is no outlet close to where you intend to place the
saw (i.e. close enough that you won't need an extension cord) then plan on
putting one there and preferably on a 20 amp circuit.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am looking to set up a little workshop (it really is small!!) and
although I would have loved to have a 16 or 18" bandsaw in there, I
just dont think there is the room... Hence I am looking for a really
good quality 14" machine with about 8 inches depth of cut. I love the
look of the MiniMax bandsaws but they are just too large. Any
suggestions would be very welcome.

I am also looking to get a planer thicknesser - again the size of the
machine in critical. I need something that has a reasonable capacity
but with limited floor space. I have about 1.5k total to spend on the
two machines...

I look forward to your suggestions,

Cheers,

Reuben


You might want to do some measuring. My Laguna LT16HD has about the same
sized foot print as my old Craftsman 12" BS although a bit taller.

Same goes for my planer. I currently have a 15" Delta on a mobile base and
its foot print is marginally larger than the 13" portables.

On 26 Dec 2006 01:04:08 -0800, wrote:

I am looking to set up a little workshop (it really is small!!) and
although I would have loved to have a 16 or 18" bandsaw in there, I
just dont think there is the room... Hence I am looking for a really
good quality 14" machine with about 8 inches depth of cut. I love the
look of the MiniMax bandsaws but they are just too large. Any
suggestions would be very welcome.

I am also looking to get a planer thicknesser - again the size of the
machine in critical. I need something that has a reasonable capacity
but with limited floor space. I have about 1.5k total to spend on the
two machines...

I look forward to your suggestions,

Cheers,

Reuben


I'm buying all my machinery at Grizzly.
www.grizzly.com

I am looking for a really good quality 14" machine
with about 8 inches depth of cut.

I have been researching this myself lately, and looked at Delta's, Ridgid,
and Craftsman saw's in local stores. After comparing several models and
reading lots of reviews online, I just ordered a Grizzly G0555 14" bandsaw
and got the riser block so I'll be able to cut wood up to 12" thick.

I'll be picking up the saw later this week, so I don't have any first hand
experience yet. But you can find lots of reviews online (search for G0555
on Amazon for starters).

For the money ($469 delivered before Dec 31st), the Grizzly seemed to have
the most power, best construction, a quick tension release, and used
standard length blades.

Grizzly Web Site:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0555

Anthony

I have the Laguna 14LT. It has a pretty small footprint. However, it's
a bit expensive compared to other 14" bandsaws -- I think worth the
money, though. If you have a small workshop, Laguna offers a mechanism
so you can roll the bandsaw around - a nice feature for those of us
that have to re-arrange the "furniture" to make room for stuff.
(However, you can also buy trolleys (or whatever they're called) for
other saws, too.





On Dec 26, 3:04 am, wrote:
I am looking to set up a little workshop (it really is small!!) and
although I would have loved to have a 16 or 18" bandsaw in there, I
just dont think there is the room... Hence I am looking for a really
good quality 14" machine with about 8 inches depth of cut. I love the
look of the MiniMax bandsaws but they are just too large. Any
suggestions would be very welcome.

I am also looking to get a planer thicknesser - again the size of the
machine in critical. I need something that has a reasonable capacity
but with limited floor space. I have about 1.5k total to spend on the
two machines...

I look forward to your suggestions,

Cheers,

Reuben

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am looking to set up a little workshop (it really is small!!) and
although I would have loved to have a 16 or 18" bandsaw in there, I
just dont think there is the room... Hence I am looking for a really
good quality 14" machine with about 8 inches depth of cut. I love the
look of the MiniMax bandsaws but they are just too large. Any
suggestions would be very welcome.

I am also looking to get a planer thicknesser - again the size of the
machine in critical. I need something that has a reasonable capacity
but with limited floor space. I have about 1.5k total to spend on the
two machines...

I just bought a 14" Delta and regret it. Nothing wrong with the machine,
just that for a few hundred more I could have gotten a larger and more
powerful one.
The larger ones aren't that much bigger.

If you are short on space, you probably want a table top planer. They don't
compare to the full size ones, but are much smaller and actually do work.

I would suggest putting $1000 into a large BS and $500 into a small planer.

Normally I recommend buying used equipment, and would certainly get a large
used BS if available.
But large BS are never available used, and used planers are usually beat to
hell. So in this instance I would buy new.

I have a 14" . I want an MM20

Thanks for all the replies - really very useful.

There were a couple ot things I wanted to make clearer: I am in the UK
and hence the budget is probably double what you guys thought as my
'1.5k' was UK pounds, not US dollars. Being in the UK also poses
another problem, which is that there doesnt seem to be as big a
selection of bandsaws over here - many of the makes you were all kindly
mentioning dont seem to be readily available over here, which is a
shame. I guess I can get them sent over but it would probably be
expensive to do that.

The grizzlys look like impressive value for money but im not too sure
about the build quality - the Lagunas (and Rikon) seem more high
quality (I could be wrong?). I guess I'm looking for a bandsaw in the
region of $1000, and there seem to be a lot of good looking offerings
for that price. Its difficult to know whats best - welded steel frames
or cast iron? I think that with a mobiilty kit I could probably fit in
a slightly larger machine than I previously thought - the footprint of
the 16 inch machines seems to be about the same as some 14" machines so
perhaps I should go for the bigger capacity.

Regarding planers - I am now a little confused about the difference
between planers and planer thicknessers. Can anyone clear this up for
me (and explain the advantages of each).

Thanks again for the help!

Reuben


J. Clarke wrote:
On Tue, 26 Dec 2006 01:04:08 -0800, reubenwilcock wrote:

I am looking to set up a little workshop (it really is small!!) and
although I would have loved to have a 16 or 18" bandsaw in there, I just
dont think there is the room... Hence I am looking for a really good
quality 14" machine with about 8 inches depth of cut. I love the look of
the MiniMax bandsaws but they are just too large. Any suggestions would
be very welcome.

First, strong suggestion--if you haven't already done so read "The Bandsaw
Book" by Lonnie Bird and "Bandsaw Handbook" by Mark Duginske. Lot of
useful information there that you should have in your head before buying a
saw.

Take a look at the 14" Rikon Deluxe
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=20041. 13 inch depth of
cut and if it works anything at all like my Craftsman that seems to be on
the same frame then it will do anything you ask of it. The Rikon has
tension release and some other features that the Craftsman (8 inch depth
of cut) lacks that make it well worth the extra cost. On the other hand,
if you're on a budget the Craftsman works fine for under 500 bucks--I've
gotten 1/16 inch slices out of it that were flat to 1/32 and it doesn't
bog down on 8 inch lignum vitae. The Rikon has 50 percent more power and
a little over 50% more cutting depth so it should also be fine in that
regard.

Note that both have roller guides--if you're looking primarily for scroll
cutting then these aren't the best choice, for resawing though they're
very nice.

If you're on a really tight budget the Ridgid is definitely good value but
you have to do your homework on accessories as Ridgid charges the Earth
for them (the riser block for example is almost half the price of the saw,
where for other brands it's 50 bucks or so and some for other brands work
fine on the Ridgid, but you have to do your homework to know which ones).
This machine has block guides and would be a better choice for scroll work
and may be marginal on power for resaw with the riser block.

Also carefully consider a used saw--the 14" Delta in any of its variants is
an old standby that works fine.

One consideration is blade length--the Craftsman and the Rikon Deluxe use
nonstandard blade lengths (99-3/4 and 111 inch respectively)--this isn't a
problem per se as any purveyor of quality bandsaw blades will custom weld
them for you at no additional charge, but you may be able to find
prepackaged standard length blades at a deep discount. If both saws
become popular prepackaged blades should become available from the major
manufacturers eventually but right now the only prepackaged blades are
from Sears for the Craftsman and Woodcraft for the Rikon (and oddly, both
are made by Olson) and neither are discounted, although the Craftsman set
of 3 blades is very reasonably priced. The Delta/Ridgid/Grizzly/etc
with and without the riser blocks use blades that are available prepackaged.

I am also looking to get a planer thicknesser - again the size of the
machine in critical. I need something that has a reasonable capacity but
with limited floor space. I have about 1.5k total to spend on the two
machines...

I look forward to your suggestions,

The 13" Delta works fine as long as you remember to support the ends of
boards longer than the extensions. I have absolutely no complaints about
mine. It's also a good match for the cut depth of the Rikon. It's also
light enough that you can store it on a shelf when you aren't using
it--one of the magazines this month published a neat set of plans for a
cart for it that doubles as an outfeed table for a table saw and stores
under the wing of the saw when not in use.

With a $1.5K budget the Rikon Deluxe bandsaw and the Delta 22-580 should
have you set up with plenty left over for blades, spare knives, dust hood,
etc.

One consideration--check the current draw on any saw you buy and make sure
you can give it enough juice. Band saws take a lot of current at startup
for some reason and if you don't have good wiring they'll let you know
right quick. If there is no outlet close to where you intend to place the
saw (i.e. close enough that you won't need an extension cord) then plan on
putting one there and preferably on a 20 amp circuit.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

wrote:

: Regarding planers - I am now a little confused about the difference
: between planers and planer thicknessers. Can anyone clear this up for
: me (and explain the advantages of each).



That's an American/English English difference in terminology. In the US
(and probably Canada), a planer is a tool used to make boards a consistent
thickness. It feeds a board between a surface and a cutting head
(often 12" across), with rollers pressing the board against the
surface (so as to ensure a constant thickness).


Same tool is called a thicknesser in England.


To make thgings a bit more complicated, there are a number of machines
made in Europe (including Britain) which combine this function along with
a flattening function (by converting the tool from one configuration to another).
This is a jointer-thicknesser. In the US, these are typically separate tools.
The planer is the US is smaller (about the size of a large breadbox), the jointer
larger (with flat cast-iron beds about 48 inches or longer).

The Euro combo model is in between in size.


-- Andy Barss

On Wed, 27 Dec 2006 02:41:26 -0800, reubenwilcock wrote:

. . .

The grizzlys look like impressive value for money but im not too sure
about the build quality - the Lagunas (and Rikon) seem more high quality
(I could be wrong?). I guess I'm looking for a bandsaw in the region of
$1000, and there seem to be a lot of good looking offerings for that
price. Its difficult to know whats best - welded steel frames or cast
iron? I think that with a mobiilty kit I could probably fit in a slightly
larger machine than I previously thought - the footprint of the 16 inch
machines seems to be about the same as some 14" machines so perhaps I
should go for the bigger capacity.

. . .

There is very little difference in design among the cast iron framed 14"
bandsaws. The RIGID and Delta in the US are nearly identical. Steel
framed saws are another story.

I would recommed looking at the Powermatic given your budget is Pounds.
The 14" saw can be had for under $1K US if you shop around. It's a very
nice product. Until they get their quality control process back under
control I would avoid Delta.

Duster

Reuben...

I also have a very small shop area, and a limited budget. I went with
a Jet JWBS-14DX with the 1¼ HP upgraded motor, 4" dust port, and the
6" riser. Its a very nice saw, certainly not commercial... but more
than adequate for me.

Don't know about the availability of Jet in the UK, but there are
parts galore and accessories for this saw here in the USA, and I'd
think the only real difference is the motors/current.

Everyone will tell you to spend more, buy bigger, and whatever... but
be realistic about what you really need and where you might best spend
your money. And BTW, there's nothing wrong with a comparable Delta or
Grizzly either.


Mike


On 26 Dec 2006 01:04:08 -0800, wrote:

I am looking to set up a little workshop (it really is small!!) and
although I would have loved to have a 16 or 18" bandsaw in there, I
just dont think there is the room... Hence I am looking for a really
good quality 14" machine with about 8 inches depth of cut. I love the
look of the MiniMax bandsaws but they are just too large. Any
suggestions would be very welcome.

I am also looking to get a planer thicknesser - again the size of the
machine in critical. I need something that has a reasonable capacity
but with limited floor space. I have about 1.5k total to spend on the
two machines...

I look forward to your suggestions,

Cheers,

Reuben