I'm looking for a bandsaw, mainly for wood. I'm unlikely ever to do
any resawing, and any furniture I make gets painted. But it seems
I've had a great many projects over the years requiring wood cut to
less than rectangular! And I also have need to cut other materials at
times--plastics, aluminum, sheet steel and angle iron.

So I'm attracted to a BS that can do both wood and metal. The one
I've found locally is a Wilton 14" (vertical) Model 8201K, with blade
speeds of 3300, 39, 57, 78, 107, 142, 196, 278 SFPM. Speed changes
are made via pulleys and gear case.

Here's a spec sheet on the Wilton:

http://tinyurl.com/4lsss

But there's quite a premium to be paid for that flexibility. It costs
$1,000. For that money I could buy a pretty nice Delta 5X or
Powermatic 14CS plus an inexpensive horizontal metal BS.

Having no prior experience with bandsaws (or feeds & speeds), I'm
wondering if a wood cutting BS can be used to contour cut light sheet
metal (with proper blade) if done slowly. (I've read Lonnie Byrd's
book, but found nothing about metal cutting there).

And is the Wilton machine a decent one? I've been lurking here for a
few months and seen no mention of it. Are there other multi-speed BSs
available?

I figure I have $1,000 to spend. (SWMBO said "Go ahead--you deserve
it.")

I'd sure appreciate any suggestions!

--John Wells

John,
Delta Industrial Model 28-348F is a good model. My brother-in-law has one
and he likes it. That's not exactly a precise recommendation but it is a
good saw and not to hard to change speeds and blades.

As for using a wood cutting saw for metal, nope. It runs to fast and the
blades generally have fewer teeth.

I prefer a single use bandsaw (I have a JET 16") for wood and a Delta 16"
for metal. I rarely use it for cutting metal except for curve cuts in sheet
metal. I prefer a cold cutting miter saw for simple cutoff work. You
mentioned angle iron, unless you have a decent horizontal bandsaw, its hard
to cut on the vertical saw as you are limited to length.

I would get a quality wood cutting bandsaw and a cold cutting miter saw for
the iron work. Your wood cutting saw will cut sheet aluminum and plastic
fine with the correct blades.

Dave



"John W. Wells" wrote in message
...
I'm looking for a bandsaw, mainly for wood. I'm unlikely ever to do
any resawing, and any furniture I make gets painted. But it seems
I've had a great many projects over the years requiring wood cut to
less than rectangular! And I also have need to cut other materials at
times--plastics, aluminum, sheet steel and angle iron.

So I'm attracted to a BS that can do both wood and metal. The one
I've found locally is a Wilton 14" (vertical) Model 8201K, with blade
speeds of 3300, 39, 57, 78, 107, 142, 196, 278 SFPM. Speed changes
are made via pulleys and gear case.

Here's a spec sheet on the Wilton:

http://tinyurl.com/4lsss

But there's quite a premium to be paid for that flexibility. It costs
$1,000. For that money I could buy a pretty nice Delta 5X or
Powermatic 14CS plus an inexpensive horizontal metal BS.

Having no prior experience with bandsaws (or feeds & speeds), I'm
wondering if a wood cutting BS can be used to contour cut light sheet
metal (with proper blade) if done slowly. (I've read Lonnie Byrd's
book, but found nothing about metal cutting there).

And is the Wilton machine a decent one? I've been lurking here for a
few months and seen no mention of it. Are there other multi-speed BSs
available?

I figure I have $1,000 to spend. (SWMBO said "Go ahead--you deserve
it.")

I'd sure appreciate any suggestions!

--John Wells

On Wed, 9 Feb 2005 15:18:56 -0800, "TeamCasa"
wrote:

John,
Delta Industrial Model 28-348F is a good model. My brother-in-law has one
and he likes it. That's not exactly a precise recommendation but it is a
good saw and not to hard to change speeds and blades.

I hadn't known Delta made a wood/metal saw. Looks like a good one,
but even more expensive. That gear box sure adds to the price!

As for using a wood cutting saw for metal, nope. It runs to fast and the
blades generally have fewer teeth.

I prefer a single use bandsaw (I have a JET 16") for wood and a Delta 16"
for metal. I rarely use it for cutting metal except for curve cuts in sheet
metal. I prefer a cold cutting miter saw for simple cutoff work. You
mentioned angle iron, unless you have a decent horizontal bandsaw, its hard
to cut on the vertical saw as you are limited to length.

I would get a quality wood cutting bandsaw and a cold cutting miter saw for
the iron work. Your wood cutting saw will cut sheet aluminum and plastic
fine with the correct blades.

Your "single use" suggestion is looking better to me. And since I
don't have immediate need for iron work, I'm thinking wood BS for now.
Thanks for your help!

--John

"John W. Wells" wrote in message
.. .
I'm looking for a bandsaw, mainly for wood. I'm unlikely ever to do
any resawing, and any furniture I make gets painted. But it seems
I've had a great many projects over the years requiring wood cut to
less than rectangular! And I also have need to cut other materials at
times--plastics, aluminum, sheet steel and angle iron.

So I'm attracted to a BS that can do both wood and metal. The one
I've found locally is a Wilton 14" (vertical) Model 8201K, with blade
speeds of 3300, 39, 57, 78, 107, 142, 196, 278 SFPM. Speed changes
are made via pulleys and gear case.

Here's a spec sheet on the Wilton:

http://tinyurl.com/4lsss

But there's quite a premium to be paid for that flexibility. It costs
$1,000. For that money I could buy a pretty nice Delta 5X or
Powermatic 14CS plus an inexpensive horizontal metal BS.

Having no prior experience with bandsaws (or feeds & speeds), I'm
wondering if a wood cutting BS can be used to contour cut light sheet
metal (with proper blade) if done slowly. (I've read Lonnie Byrd's
book, but found nothing about metal cutting there).

And is the Wilton machine a decent one? I've been lurking here for a
few months and seen no mention of it. Are there other multi-speed BSs
available?

I figure I have $1,000 to spend. (SWMBO said "Go ahead--you deserve
it.")

I'd sure appreciate any suggestions!

--John Wells