Could some of you more advanced wood workers maybe guide this novice
wood worker in purchasing a band saw.
Is it possible to pick up something decent for around the 250-300
dollar range as I really don't want to put out more than that. I'm not
looking for a bench top as that would be to small for projects for my
needs.
Thank you

Paul

DUALLY DUALLY wrote:

Could some of you more advanced wood workers maybe guide this novice
wood worker in purchasing a band saw.
Is it possible to pick up something decent for around the 250-300
dollar range as I really don't want to put out more than that. I'm not
looking for a bench top as that would be to small for projects for my
needs.
Thank you

Paul


Paul, you are going to get a lot of advice, let me get mine in early. The
14" saw from Harbor Freight is a good saw and runs anywhere from $199.00 to
$239.00, depending on the sale. HF did have a riser for it, which
increased the throat depth from 6" to 12" for about $60.00, which is a very
worthwhile addon.

Regardless of the saw you get, there are certain things you will HAVE to do
to it, unless you buy high end. Those a

1) change out the guides for the blades, buy a set of "Cool Blocks" to
insert in the guide housing and your will be good to go.

2) Buy a good blade(s). I like the blades by Carter, but you will find a
lot of folks who swear by Timberwolf. The universal blade is a 3/8" 3 or 4
tooth blade. If you are going to resaw, get a 1/2" blade, the extra width
helps stableize the cut.

3) Align the saw. When you get your saw and begin that first long cut, you
will know that David Marks is a communist plant sent to undermine the
morale of the American woodworker. David, from the show on DIY, "Wood
Works," will slice 3/32" inch veneer from an 8" board. Not only once but
sheet after sheet. You on the other hand are lucky to get two 3/16"
pieces from a 1" thick board and that only after a lot of work at the
planer. The only "trick" to David's technique is he has the saw properly
aligned. Carter Tool company has a wonderful video on setting up your
bandsaw and aligning it. Buy it, and their blades, at

http://www.carterproducts.com/

4) If you are going to resaw, joint (on a jointer or router table) your
pieces.

5) Build a resaw fence, however fancy or plain, that is absolutely plumb on
its face.


One last word, as to the quality of the HF bandsaw, I just finished
a "tabernacle" for a local Episcopal church and needed some ash veneer for
the top panel and door. With the saw properly set up and the fence
properly aligned I cut 3/16" veneer (cut that thick because I wanted the
additional thickness to match the wall thickness), slice after slice and
had little work at the planer. In fact the final piece I cut was 3"32 and
it is stored with the rest of my veneer. The whole secret is in proper
setup - SO GET THE CARTER VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID.

DUALLY DUALLY wrote:
Could some of you more advanced wood workers maybe guide this novice
wood worker in purchasing a band saw.
Is it possible to pick up something decent for around the 250-300
dollar range as I really don't want to put out more than that. I'm
not looking for a bench top as that would be to small for projects
for my needs.
Thank you

Paul

This would be close except for shipping. Maybe you live close to one of
their distribution centers and could pick it up. Grizzly's stuff isn't top
of the line but is good and offers good value.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/14-Bandsaw-3-4-HP/G0580

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

dadiOH wrote:
DUALLY DUALLY wrote:
Could some of you more advanced wood workers maybe guide this
novice
wood worker in purchasing a band saw.
Is it possible to pick up something decent for around the 250-300
dollar range as I really don't want to put out more than that.
I'm
not looking for a bench top as that would be to small for projects
for my needs.
Thank you

Paul

This would be close except for shipping. Maybe you live close to
one
of their distribution centers and could pick it up. Grizzly's stuff
isn't top of the line but is good and offers good value.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/14-Bandsaw-3-4-HP/G0580

FWIW, Home Despot is listing a reconditioned Ridgid on their site for
280 bucks. If it's like the other Ridgid stuff I've owned it's
decent. Don't know what the shipping would be--seems to be free but I
suspect that I've overlooked something.

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

"DUALLY DUALLY" wrote in message
...
Could some of you more advanced wood workers maybe guide this novice
wood worker in purchasing a band saw.
Is it possible to pick up something decent for around the 250-300
dollar range as I really don't want to put out more than that. I'm not
looking for a bench top as that would be to small for projects for my
needs.
Thank you

Paul


Decent new, No.

Decent used, Maybe if you are lucky.

Decent and I mean just starting to get into the "decent" category you need
to spend double your range.

I am not sure what you want to use it for but you might be better suited in
buying a good quality jig saw instead in the $100-$200 range.

For me 2 years ago, decent was way in excess of $1,000 as a $1,000 top rated
band saw was "marginally" better than my 23 year old 1/2 hp Craftsman.

"Dr. Deb" wrote in message
...
DUALLY DUALLY wrote:

Could some of you more advanced wood workers maybe guide this novice
wood worker in purchasing a band saw.
Is it possible to pick up something decent for around the 250-300
dollar range as I really don't want to put out more than that. I'm not
looking for a bench top as that would be to small for projects for my
needs.
Thank you

Paul


Paul, you are going to get a lot of advice, let me get mine in early. The
14" saw from Harbor Freight is a good saw and runs anywhere from $199.00
to
$239.00, depending on the sale. HF did have a riser for it, which
increased the throat depth from 6" to 12" for about $60.00, which is a
very
worthwhile addon.

Regardless of the saw you get, there are certain things you will HAVE to
do
to it, unless you buy high end. Those a

1) change out the guides for the blades, buy a set of "Cool Blocks" to
insert in the guide housing and your will be good to go.

2) Buy a good blade(s). I like the blades by Carter, but you will find a
lot of folks who swear by Timberwolf. The universal blade is a 3/8" 3 or
4
tooth blade. If you are going to resaw, get a 1/2" blade, the extra width
helps stableize the cut.

3) Align the saw. When you get your saw and begin that first long cut,
you
will know that David Marks is a communist plant sent to undermine the
morale of the American woodworker. David, from the show on DIY, "Wood
Works," will slice 3/32" inch veneer from an 8" board. Not only once but
sheet after sheet. You on the other hand are lucky to get two 3/16"
pieces from a 1" thick board and that only after a lot of work at the
planer. The only "trick" to David's technique is he has the saw properly
aligned. Carter Tool company has a wonderful video on setting up your
bandsaw and aligning it. Buy it, and their blades, at

http://www.carterproducts.com/

4) If you are going to resaw, joint (on a jointer or router table) your
pieces.

5) Build a resaw fence, however fancy or plain, that is absolutely plumb
on
its face.


One last word, as to the quality of the HF bandsaw, I just finished
a "tabernacle" for a local Episcopal church and needed some ash veneer for
the top panel and door. With the saw properly set up and the fence
properly aligned I cut 3/16" veneer (cut that thick because I wanted the
additional thickness to match the wall thickness), slice after slice and
had little work at the planer. In fact the final piece I cut was 3"32 and
it is stored with the rest of my veneer. The whole secret is in proper
setup - SO GET THE CARTER VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID.

If you go HF be careful, I've seen HF tools that are the equal to anybodies
and I mean Jet, Delta, Powermatic etc. and a lot of the same HF tools that
are barely worth more then rusty scrap metal. HF is a gamble when it comes
to buying tools. They sem to have no quality control. I like Grizzly for
the price and HD seems to have a good rep but have never worked with one of
thier tools. A good blade and and either the Carter vidio or a good book on
band saws will help any band saw a lot. A good scroll saw is worth looking
at if you are going to do light thin stuff, my problem with them is that
the blades heat up in larger thicker stuff and give me problems. (light less
the 1 inch soft wood or less then 1/2 in hardwood)

On Sat, 2 Aug 2008 11:52:47 -0700, (DUALLY DUALLY)
wrote:

Could some of you more advanced wood workers maybe guide this novice
wood worker in purchasing a band saw.
Is it possible to pick up something decent for around the 250-300
dollar range as I really don't want to put out more than that. I'm not
looking for a bench top as that would be to small for projects for my
needs.
Thank you

Paul

Depends a lot where you live and/or some luck. You may get something
used but in good condition for that price if you keep looking. Keep
checking local newspapers, Craigslist, estate sales, etc. but you are
really limiting yourself at 300. Bandsaws can be a royal
pain-in-the-butt to tuneup, especially the more-cheaply made ones so
don't go there.

you will know that David Marks is a communist plant sent to undermine
the morale of the American woodworker. David, from the show on DIY,

Now, that's funny.

Don't be victim of label envy.

I am a casual woodworker, make lots of sawdust in the garage on
weekends. I bought a Rigid 14" to replace my dad's Craftsman 10". It
does everything I need it to do. I am not a production, do it for a
living woodworker, so I don't need a $1000 band saw.

With some minor tweeking of the guides and alignments, mine was good to
go out of the box.

I also went to the Home Depot website and registered as moving to a new
house and they sent me a 10% off coupon.



DUALLY DUALLY wrote:
Could some of you more advanced wood workers maybe guide this novice
wood worker in purchasing a band saw.
Is it possible to pick up something decent for around the 250-300
dollar range as I really don't want to put out more than that. I'm not
looking for a bench top as that would be to small for projects for my
needs.
Thank you

Paul

You do not state your projects. Your depth requiremente will determine how
close you can come to $300 for a new saw.

The replies have assumed a 14in bandsaw would fit your needs. The HF 14in
$329.99 and Grizzly 14in $325.99 are almost the same price.

I bought a Grizzly 15in as my first saw. I then found at times I wanted
greater depth, and so purchased a Grizzly 17in, which I am still using.

In my view, I would choose Grizzly over HF any day. A big difference is
that Grizzly have meaningful technical support and the expectation of being
able to purchase replacement parts over time.

HF gives me the impression that it is "supplier of the day" and who knows
whether the supplier will have any tech support, or whether replacement
parts will be available in the future.

Whichever path you choose, buy soon. The fuel price increases will soon hit
the imported equipment market. Expect to see some significant price
increases.

Other replies have discussed the value of tuning, decent guides, decent
blades, which will be needed for whichever model you purchase.

Dave Paine



"DUALLY DUALLY" wrote in message
...
Could some of you more advanced wood workers maybe guide this novice
wood worker in purchasing a band saw.
Is it possible to pick up something decent for around the 250-300
dollar range as I really don't want to put out more than that. I'm not
looking for a bench top as that would be to small for projects for my
needs.
Thank you

Paul

mapdude wrote:
Don't be victim of label envy.

Love it. If you want a cheap good label machine, I might suggest Harbor
Fright and PhotoShop. However, be selective in which labels you choose
to impress your non-wooddorking buds. Delta will evoke the "arrrrrr yup
I recernize that. Good 'murcan stuff." Festool gets you "never heard
of it. Fester!? Har har har!! He bought a fester!"

drips of wisdom from jo4hn's john,
Beauregard Stonewall Gronk

On Aug 2, 11:52 am, (DUALLY DUALLY) wrote:
...... band saw. Is it possible to pick up something decent for around the 250-300
dollar range ....




It is possible. what you'll have to do is hunt at yard sales, read the
want ads in your local paper, lurk craigslist, go to business
liquidation auctions.... It'll take time, but eventually you'll score
a band saw that someone once paid thousands of dollars for for a
couple of hundred bucks. It'll need some work, and if you don't know
what you're looking at you might take home one that needs more work
than it's worth. Or you just might take home one in perfect condition,
with a dozen rolls of band, a blade welder, a tension gauge, a mobile
base, a dozen jigs and other accessories I haven't thought of, all for
the opening bid of $50, just because nobody else bid on it.

in the meantime, buy what you can comfortably afford, be it a griz or
whatever and get it set up and cutting. it will be a good learning
process. Even for that first saw, do shop for used. If you don't feel
competent to assess the condition of a used saw by yourself, take a
friend with more experience than yourself along.

On Aug 2, 1:52*pm, (DUALLY DUALLY) wrote:
Could some of you more advanced wood workers maybe guide this novice
wood worker in purchasing a band saw.
* *Is it possible to pick up something decent for around the 250-300
dollar range as I really don't want to put out more than that. *

Buy used. Run a "saw wanted" ad in the local paper that specifies what
you are looking for-- a 14" woodworking bandsaw. Lots of guys have
shops full of equipment collecting dust for various reasons. I ran
such an add just before Christmas two years ago and got offers of five
saws that all suited my needs and price range (plus some other
oddities). I ended up buying a Jet JWBS-14CS closed-based saw with the
Carter guide set and some other extras (mobile base, etc.) for $250
cash. It was two years old and had been used only for one thing,
cutting wheels for some toys the old gent made for a church project.
Retail on that setup now is about $800 and he paid more than that in
2004 and included all the receipts with the saw. I had similar offers
for Griz and Delta saws but none with this many extras.

I was also offered a 24" industrial saw with a 5hp 3-phase motor for
$200, though it was too large to move without a crane (or so it
seemed).I wouldn't bother with Craigslist-- run an add in the old-
fasioned newspaper in the "tools" section. That's where all the old
duffers still look.

-kiwanda