Looking to buy first & last bandsaw. Actually I've been looking for
quite a while now for an older Delta or Rockwell but I have not come
across anything within reasonable driving distance of where I live
(north MS). So, I'm going to splurge and buy a new one - looked on
Delta's website to see what is "current" and the only one they list
(oddly) is a 28-206 which is just a 14" 1HP jobber. (What is the deal
with that - are they coming out with new lineup?) I'd like at least a
1.5HP model, so what are other options? Considering Grizzly 514 or
555. Budget ~$850, no more than $1000 tops.
Ideas?

Check that, I meant the Grizzly 513, NOT the 514. Sorry for any
confusion with my pricing.

On Jan 10, 5:17*pm, " wrote:
Looking to buy first & last bandsaw. *Actually I've been looking for
quite a while now for an older Delta or Rockwell but I have not come
across anything within reasonable driving distance of where I live
(north MS). *So, I'm going to splurge and buy a new one - looked on
Delta's website to see what is "current" and the only one they list
(oddly) is a 28-206 which is just a 14" 1HP jobber. (What is the deal
with that - are they coming out with new lineup?) *I'd like at least a
1.5HP model, so what are other options? *Considering Grizzly 514 or
555. *Budget ~$850, no more than $1000 tops.
Ideas?

On Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:17:47 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

Looking to buy first & last bandsaw. Actually I've been looking for
quite a while now for an older Delta or Rockwell but I have not come
across anything within reasonable driving distance of where I live
(north MS). So, I'm going to splurge and buy a new one - looked on
Delta's website to see what is "current" and the only one they list
(oddly) is a 28-206 which is just a 14" 1HP jobber. (What is the deal
with that - are they coming out with new lineup?) I'd like at least a
1.5HP model, so what are other options? Considering Grizzly 514 or
555. Budget ~$850, no more than $1000 tops.
Ideas?


Well, it really depends on what you will be doing with it. I have a
Delta 14", and many times wished I had risers for it but when I was
buying I didn't think I needed it. I use the fence very little. When
tuned up, it gives a nice accurate cut.

First project would be some side (dining) chairs, so it needs to be
able to cut 8/4 ash or white oak with ease.

On Jan 10, 5:52*pm, Phisherman wrote:
Well, it really depends on what you will be doing with it. *I have a
Delta 14", and many times wished I had risers for it but when I was
buying I didn't think I needed it. *I use the fence very little. When
tuned up, it gives a nice accurate cut. *

On Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:17:47 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

Looking to buy first & last bandsaw. Actually I've been looking for
quite a while now for an older Delta or Rockwell but I have not come
across anything within reasonable driving distance of where I live
(north MS). So, I'm going to splurge and buy a new one - looked on
Delta's website to see what is "current" and the only one they list
(oddly) is a 28-206 which is just a 14" 1HP jobber. (What is the deal
with that - are they coming out with new lineup?) I'd like at least a
1.5HP model, so what are other options? Considering Grizzly 514 or
555. Budget ~$850, no more than $1000 tops.
Ideas?

Take a look at a Rikon 14" deluxe. 1.5 hp, 13" resaw, 2 speed, tension
release, 799 at Woodcraft.

FWIW, I decided to go with a Craftsman Pro which has 1 hp, 8 in resaw
capacity and no tension release but appears to be otherwise pretty much the
same saw and it cuts anything I throw at it--even resawed some 7" wide
lignum vitae a while back without any strain. At current prices I'd have
paid the extra for the Rikon to get the tension release, which can't be
easily retrofitted to the Craftsman, but the price differential at the time
was a lot higher.

On Jan 10, 6:17*pm, " wrote:
Looking to buy first & last bandsaw. *Actually I've been looking for
quite a while now for an older Delta or Rockwell but I have not come
across anything within reasonable driving distance of where I live
(north MS). *So, I'm going to splurge and buy a new one - looked on
Delta's website to see what is "current" and the only one they list
(oddly) is a 28-206 which is just a 14" 1HP jobber. (What is the deal
with that - are they coming out with new lineup?) *I'd like at least a
1.5HP model, so what are other options? *Considering Grizzly 514 or
555. *Budget ~$850, no more than $1000 tops.
Ideas?

Where's Leon?? :^)

On Jan 10, 6:17*pm, " wrote:
Looking to buy first & last bandsaw. *Actually I've been looking for
quite a while now for an older Delta or Rockwell but I have not come
across anything within reasonable driving distance of where I live
(north MS). *So, I'm going to splurge and buy a new one - looked on
Delta's website to see what is "current" and the only one they list
(oddly) is a 28-206 which is just a 14" 1HP jobber. (What is the deal
with that - are they coming out with new lineup?) *I'd like at least a
1.5HP model, so what are other options? *Considering Grizzly 514 or
555. *Budget ~$850, no more than $1000 tops.
Ideas?

Where's Leon?? :^)

(I forgot to change accounts)

On 1/10/2010 6:01 PM, GarageWoodworks wrote:
On Jan 10, 6:17 pm, wrote:
Looking to buy first& last bandsaw. Actually I've been looking for
quite a while now for an older Delta or Rockwell but I have not come
across anything within reasonable driving distance of where I live
(north MS). So, I'm going to splurge and buy a new one - looked on
Delta's website to see what is "current" and the only one they list
(oddly) is a 28-206 which is just a 14" 1HP jobber. (What is the deal
with that - are they coming out with new lineup?) I'd like at least a
1.5HP model, so what are other options? Considering Grizzly 514 or
555. Budget ~$850, no more than $1000 tops.
Ideas?

Where's Leon?? :^)

(I forgot to change accounts)

The guy's got to eat dinner some time. :-)

I could be wrong, but I doubt Laguna has a bandsaw in that price range.

--
See Nad. See Nad go. Go Nad!
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

" wrote in message
...
Looking to buy first & last bandsaw. Actually I've been looking for
quite a while now for an older Delta or Rockwell but I have not come
across anything within reasonable driving distance of where I live
(north MS). So, I'm going to splurge and buy a new one - looked on
Delta's website to see what is "current" and the only one they list
(oddly) is a 28-206 which is just a 14" 1HP jobber. (What is the deal
with that - are they coming out with new lineup?) I'd like at least a
1.5HP model, so what are other options? Considering Grizzly 514 or
555. Budget ~$850, no more than $1000 tops.
Ideas?


Heeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrsssss. Leon!
Just finished my bowl of soup....Steve... ;~)

Dukes..... you want your first and last..... hmmmmmmmmmm

You really need to decide what that really means..... Pretty simple really
but this is not as simple as you might think.

For about 20 years I owned but did not use very much a Craftsman 12" 1/2hp
BS. Under powered and a PIA to keep set up correctly.

About 3 years ago I decided I wanted a bigger more robust BS with more bells
and features. I jumped up to the highly recommended 18" Rikon. I read many
articles about it and heard great stories about it. I ordered it sight
unseen with the understanding that I could return it if unsatisfied, no
questions asked. Three weeks later I returned it, I had never done any
thing like that before.

The Rikon was an improvement but not nearly as big of an improvement as I
was looking for. Had I kept it, it would not have been my last. I wanted
my last one also.

Don't get me wrong here the Rikon is worth every penny but $1000 would not
buy a "new" BS that I would consider my last.

I wanted a BS that had plenty of power. I wanted a BS that would resaw with
ease. I wanted a BS that ran relatively quiet. I wanted a BS that did not
have to be readjusted 7 ways to Sunday every other time I used it. I
wanted a BS that was easily adjusted when adjustments or blade changes were
made.

I learned that for me my last band saw was going to have to be much better
than what a "new" $1000 saw had to offer.

Sooooo I started looking at the more expensive saws.....the saws that were
in my price range happened to be MiniMax and Laguna. Neither are
inexpensive.

Ultimately I ordered the Laguna, LT16-HD. 3 years later I can confidently
say that this saw is my last BS.

If you are relatively unfamiliar with band saws it will be hard to explain
why you want certain features and not others.

Why I chose the Laguna...

1. Buying the Rikon I thought I wanted roller bearing guides....In little
time I hated roller guides. The Laguna uses ceramic guides, 10 ceramic
guides. The upper guide has an upper and lower ceramic guide on each side
and a rear ceramic guide. The lower has the same set up. The blade can
touch the ceramic guides with out building up heat and this also keeps the
blade clean and free from debris. I found that roller guides would stamp
the debris on to the blade and made the blade dirty and very difficult to
clean. This created vibration and noise.

2. The Laguna is a beast. You can tension a 1-1/4 wide blade with little
effort and the saw holds it shape. WHAT?
One of the problems with less expensive saws is that they have to be fiddled
with to get them to cut properly. When you use larger blades you have to
tension them more. With cheaper saws the saw frames will distort slightly.
When they distort the blade tracks differently and you have to adjust the
upper wheel. Normally adjusting the upper wheel requires the readjustment
of the upper and lower thrust and side guides.... Going from a 1/4" blade
to the 1-1/4" blade requires no additional adjustment from the upper wheel,
on my particular model. Naturally you have to readjust the upper and lower
guides when changing blade sizes but the blades all tend to track correctly
with out having to fiddle with the upper wheel adjustment. I cannot
remember the last time I made an upper wheel adjustment.

3. My particular Laguna came with a 220 volt 4.5hp Baldor motor....
Resawing wide hard wood IS NOT a problem.

4. I normally keep a 1/2" blade in the Laguna and when I want to use the
saw I simply retention the blade, no other adjustments needed from that
point.

5. Basically I wanted a saw that was ready to go when I was.

Regardless of what you decide on, I would strongly advise you to go to the
Laguna web site and view the band saw videos on line. These videos are very
educational and will explain what you should look for in a bandsaw.

Here is what Laguna has to offer on bandsaws.
http://www.lagunatools.com/bandsaws

Here is their bandsaw video location, scroll down closer to the last bandsaw
videos.
http://www.lagunatools.com/company/video-bandsaw

One last thing, Laguna has a less expensive line of saws that are near your
upper limit. I am not so sure that one of those would be what I would
consider my last BS. I would suggest that if you want a "last band saw" you
should consider the HD line of saws. While these HD saws are indeed way
past your limit I found that for me $1000 on a saw that did not get me to
where I wanted to be was a bigger waste of money than the extra I spent on
the Laguna. With the Rikon I would have had a better saw than my old
Craftsman however I feel that I would not have used the saw unless I had no
other choice for making a cut. With the Laguna I look for reasons to use
the saw, it is that much more of a pleasure to operate and use rather than
constantly having to adjust. Keep in mind that as a blade warms up it will
stretch during use. This on many saws will require retensioning of the
blade, readjustment of the upper wheel, and often readjustments of the upper
and lower guides.... I only have to retention the blade on my saw.
If you want your last saw, save up for your last saw, don't let the $1000
you have now burn a hole in your pocket.

If you have any other questions please feel free to e-mail me...or ping me.

Having gone through all this you may be perfectly happy with a less
expensive saw.

On Jan 10, 10:46*pm, "Leon" wrote:
Why I chose the Laguna...

Thanks for the information. I'd certainly consider the Laguna models
you're referring to if I had that kind of budget (and 3phase power).
Barring any emergencies, I suppose I could save for a few more years
or so to get where I could buy that, but in the interim I have a list
of projects, but without a saw (and I've been waiting already as it
is). I don't dispute the capability of the saw, but at the same time,
if I went by this logic, for me, I'd have a house with 10,000 square
feet and 5 bathrooms for just 2 people, and I'd drive a Dodge 3500 to
pick up milk & eggs at the grocery store.... Of course there wouldn't
be any money left to buy anything other than milk & eggs, but that's
another story!

Cheers

What, you don't like scrambled eggs?

Jim in Milwaukee

wrote:

partial snip:

Of course there wouldn't
be any money left to buy anything other than milk & eggs, but that's
another story!

On Jan 11, 7:34*am, Jim in Milwaukee wrote:
What, you don't like scrambled eggs?

How do you make them without electricity or gas?

On Jan 11, 7:40*am, " wrote:
On Jan 11, 7:34*am, Jim in Milwaukee wrote:

What, you don't like scrambled eggs?

How do you make them without electricity or gas?

http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Eggs_&_Cheese

" wrote in message
...
On Jan 10, 10:46 pm, "Leon" wrote:
Why I chose the Laguna...

Thanks for the information. I'd certainly consider the Laguna models
you're referring to if I had that kind of budget (and 3phase power).
Barring any emergencies, I suppose I could save for a few more years
or so to get where I could buy that, but in the interim I have a list
of projects, but without a saw (and I've been waiting already as it
is). I don't dispute the capability of the saw, but at the same time,
if I went by this logic, for me, I'd have a house with 10,000 square
feet and 5 bathrooms for just 2 people, and I'd drive a Dodge 3500 to
pick up milk & eggs at the grocery store.... Of course there wouldn't
be any money left to buy anything other than milk & eggs, but that's
another story!

Cheers

These saws do not require 3 phase power.

Capability of the saw was not the main point I was trying to indicate. The
$1000 saws will do what the Laguna saws will do but you will probably find
that you spend as much time tweaking the saw each time you use it as you do
using it. Maybe not, you may be happy with what the saw is capable of
producing. Band saws have a lot of adjustments that all need to work in
concert with each other to deliver a good cut. The better built the saw the
less the adjustment in one area will affect adjustments in other areas. I
have been doing serious wood working for a bout 30 years now, started when I
was 23. I have been down the road of getting the tool that was adequate but
through trial and error and experience learned that the tool that is the
easiest to use and does what it is suppose to do is the one that you are
going to value and actually use the most.

I do not know your financial situation and will not pretend to know what is
best for you. But, you did indicate that you wanted your first and last BS.
IMHO $1000 saws are not going to be your last unless your experience with
them is so bad that you give up on them all together. And while a new saw
gives that "new car" satisfaction and you don't think you will mind making
adjustments, more often than not the new does eventually wear off and the
adjustments become an irritant. Imagine having to readjust your TS rip
fence every time you changed blades or started a new project. Even this is
necessary with most less expensive BS's. If you look at an earlier post by
GarageWoodwork he was commenting that his $1000 saw was not giving him the
results he was looking for when resawing 6" wide cherry. He seems to think
the fence is the problem. Out of the box so to speak my Laguna was giving
me oak veneers that you could see through, with no fence adjustment at all.

Additionally every one seems to have an opinion as to which "brand" is the
best blade to use for this or that. Oddly with my Rikon I had the worst
problems with the top brand blades. The free blade that came with the saw
actually worked the best as did the blade that I had made at a local shop.
It was a crap shoot every time I tried a new blade as to whether it would
perform decently or even track correctly. So far in the last 3 years it has
not mattered which blade I put on the Laguna, the freebies that came with
it, the Timberwolf's that I purchased myself, or the Laguna ResawKing blade,
they all track correctly and with out any need to ever readjust the top
wheel tilt between blade changes.

$1000 is a lot of money to spend on a piece of equipment that you would not
use an equal amount to other tools costing that amount.

Again IMHO you might be better served to look for a good used older Delta
BS, something 7-8 years or older and not put out the money on a more
expensive new saw with features that you may not like. Test the waters with
a less expensive saw and learn what will make the saw do what you want it to
do. Unfortunately BS's unlike most all other shop equipment do require much
more user input to keep them cutting optimally. The less you have to make
those adjustments the more you will enjoy the saw in the long run. You will
actually find other uses for your BS....LOL... I now use my BS to cut up
fire wood that is too large to put in the fire place. And oddly I learned
that older fire wood is a great source for cultivating your own exotic
spalted veneers.

Good Luck with your hunt!

Sorry, I missed the Laguna model number in your post the first time I
read it this morning. My mistake! I will check this out, thanks!

On Jan 11, 9:59*am, "Leon" wrote:
" wrote in message

These saws do not require 3 phase power.
Good Luck with your hunt!

On Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:37:15 -0800, wrote:

Thanks for the information. I'd certainly consider the Laguna models
you're referring to if I had that kind of budget (and 3phase power).

Leon is advising the "last" bandsaw you'll ever need. Of course, that
depends on your needs. I'm strictly a hobby woodworker. I use my
bandsaw about once a week. But I do small boxes and turnings, so I
wanted good resaw and log cutting abilities. On a limited budget.

I wound up with the Rikon 14" deluxe. It has two speeds and the low
speed has sufficient torque that I've cut up 12" walnut logs on it using
a sled. It has a 13" resaw capability, even more than the 18" model.
I've also cut 1/16" veneer, although 1/8" is a lot easier.

Leon mentions problems with roller guides. I only saw those when I was
cutting green wood. After I cleaned off the blade I sprayed it with one
of those dry lubricants and never had the problem again.

The Woodcraft store where I worked part time has sold a *lot* of these
saws. I can only recall one coming back and I don't remember the reason.

Take a look at:

http://www.toolcrib.com/blog/2008/12...ws-grizzly-vs-
rikon-vs-powermatic-vs-laguna-and-more

The Rikon came in 2nd only to a Grizzly model. But the Grizzly only had
a 6" resaw capability.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

On Jan 11, 11:55*am, Larry Blanchard wrote:
On Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:37:15 -0800, wrote:
Thanks for the information. *I'd certainly consider the Laguna models
you're referring to if I had that kind of budget (and 3phase power).

Leon is advising the "last" bandsaw you'll ever need. *Of course, that
depends on your needs. *I'm strictly a hobby woodworker. *I use my
bandsaw about once a week. *But I do small boxes and turnings, so I
wanted good resaw and log cutting abilities. *On a limited budget.

I wound up with the Rikon 14" deluxe. *It has two speeds and the low
speed has sufficient torque that I've cut up 12" walnut logs on it using
a sled. *It has a 13" resaw capability, even more than the 18" model. *
I've also cut 1/16" veneer, although 1/8" is a lot easier.

Leon mentions problems with roller guides. *I only saw those when I was
cutting green wood. *After I cleaned off the blade I sprayed it with one
of those dry lubricants and never had the problem again.

The Woodcraft store where I worked part time has sold a *lot* of these
saws. *I can only recall one coming back and I don't remember the reason.

On Jan 10, 5:17*pm, " wrote:
Looking to buy first & last bandsaw. *Actually I've been looking for
quite a while now for an older Delta or Rockwell but I have not come
across anything within reasonable driving distance of where I live
(north MS). *So, I'm going to splurge and buy a new one - looked on
Delta's website to see what is "current" and the only one they list
(oddly) is a 28-206 which is just a 14" 1HP jobber. (What is the deal
with that - are they coming out with new lineup?) *I'd like at least a
1.5HP model, so what are other options? *Considering Grizzly 514 or
555. *Budget ~$850, no more than $1000 tops.
Ideas?

I bought an 18" Jet about seven years ago using similar criteria
(first and last). Can't testify regarding last yet (because I'm still
breathing), but I have been quite happy. I saw quite a bit of 8/4
hardwood for custom rocking horses and other projects and the large
table is a plus for that. It has plenty of power for 8/4. I have
resawn thicker but admittedly resawing use is limited.

A couple of minor cons:
1) The lower rollers are a pain to adjust, but easier with experience
2) It uses an odd-length blade that seems to be proprietary to that
saw. But if you have a local source for custom fabricated blades you
might get them made cheaper than retail anyway.

Might look at Grizzly too. They have some similar machines.

RonB

"RonB" wrote in message
...

2) It uses an odd-length blade that seems to be proprietary to that
saw. But if you have a local source for custom fabricated blades you
might get them made cheaper than retail anyway.

Might look at Grizzly too. They have some similar machines.

RonB


Odd length blades are not really a big problem as I have learned although I
cannot buy locally unless I have one made locally. My saw uses a 150"
blade. Timber will make any length blade you desire in a wide variety of
styles. Like their premade blades they charge by the inch and I was never
charged more per inch for a custom length than for a stock blade. And
their service and knowledge is pretty good. They do want you to be happy
with their product.

When my Rikon BS was on order I ordered blades from Timberwolf for it. I
was able to immediately start using those blades when I got the saw.
Unfortunately I had tracking problems that could never be resolved even with
calls to Timberwolf first and later to Rikon. Timberwolf asked me to cut
one of the problem blades to see if it would lay out straight which it did
and was suppose to do. Long story short they replaced that blade free of
charge and after returning the Rikon and buying the Laguna they took the
shorter unused blades back in exchange for the longer blades for the Laguna.
I only had to pay for shipping and the difference in the price for the extra
16 or so inches on each blade.

On Jan 11, 10:22*am, "Leon" wrote:
"RonB" wrote in message


Odd length blades are not really a big problem as I have learned although I
cannot buy locally unless I have one made locally. *

Yeah. I'm still adjusting to a new environment. When we lived in the
city we had a couple of sources for custom made blades and I could
usually get them in a day or so. We recently moved to SE Kansas and I
haven't scoped out local sources yet.

RonB

On 01/10/2010 05:17 PM, wrote:
Looking to buy first & last bandsaw. Actually I've been looking for
quite a while now for an older Delta or Rockwell but I have not come
across anything within reasonable driving distance of where I live
(north MS). So, I'm going to splurge and buy a new one - looked on
Delta's website to see what is "current" and the only one they list
(oddly) is a 28-206 which is just a 14" 1HP jobber. (What is the deal
with that - are they coming out with new lineup?) I'd like at least a
1.5HP model, so what are other options? Considering Grizzly 514 or
555. Budget ~$850, no more than $1000 tops.
Ideas?

The 513 is likely a decent saw. For a bit more you can get the
heavy-duty version, which has a larger table, cast iron wheels, and an
upgraded fence. The guides are slightly different as well...not sure if
they're actually an improvement or just different. For another $100 you
can get the foot brake, which is nice if there might be others around
since it lets you stop the blade quickly.

I've got a Steel City 18". It's roughly equivalent to the G0513X2B but
with a smaller table and crappier fence.

It has no trouble tensioning a 1" blade, it holds its adjustments
reasonably well, and I use the foot brake a lot. On the downside, the
fence isn't great, and the blade guard needed some modification--from
the factory it's difficult to install large blades without removing the
guard. I've resawn 8" of dry hard maple without difficulties, and it
went through almost 12" of green birch for turning blanks with ease.

Chris

" wrote in message
...
Looking to buy first & last bandsaw. Actually I've been looking for
quite a while now for an older Delta or Rockwell but I have not come
across anything within reasonable driving distance of where I live
(north MS). So, I'm going to splurge and buy a new one - looked on
Delta's website to see what is "current" and the only one they list
(oddly) is a 28-206 which is just a 14" 1HP jobber. (What is the deal
with that - are they coming out with new lineup?) I'd like at least a
1.5HP model, so what are other options? Considering Grizzly 514 or
555. Budget ~$850, no more than $1000 tops.
Ideas?


I have the Grizzly G0555 with the riser and it's handled everything I've
thrown at it with ease. Regular cuts, scroll cuts, resaw. Most I've ever
resawn was almost 10" red oak - no problems.

Vic