Thread: Picked up a Bandsaw for free. Now I need help!

See https://www.woodworkforums.com/f27/toolmac-14-bandsaw-162618

Originally Posted by Vorpal

Hey Guys,

So I guess my questions are:

- Do they all usually come with a fence? This didn't, but it may have been lost. Are they replaceable if so.
- Is the table around the wrong way? I thought the t-rail was suppose to be on the left of the blade.
- How do I work out what blade I need to get to replace it.
- Does anyone know someone in Melbourne that services old bandsaws?
- Is it a decent bandsaw by the looks of things?
- Did I do alright in scoring this, or should I look for another bandsaw?

Thanks everyone!

Ryan

- No they often do not come with a fence but you can buy after market fences easily enough - or even make one, there are hundreds of designs online.
- No the table is fine.
- Take the blade to your nearest saw works and tell them what type of work you want to do.
- I would "service" it yourself. If you own a bandsaw you need to learn to take care of it and set it up yourself. There aer many excellent setup videos and guides online. Mark Spagnolo did an excellent setup video as did Fine Woodworking (you may need a subscription for the FWW video though)
- It looks to be a perfectly serviceable unit for light to medium work. It is not high end bit it does not look to be junk.
- Depending on your requirements it would do perfectly fine. If you are a hobbyist with modest requirements then I think you scored a bargain.

John

I have a very comprehensive owners manual for that bandsaw.
It is yours if you want it.
PM me if you are interested.

Good score! Although it is a generic Taiwanese bandsaw, it should be possible to set it up to do good work. I was cutting 1mm veneers on mine. In my experience, as things go wrong (bearings etc.) replace them with better quality. You'll finish up with a reasonable bandsaw.

Many years ago, someone posted on here an excellent & comprehensive guide to setting up a bandsaw. A search may find it in the archives. I'd take up Bradford's offer of a copy of the manual.

As for blades, it depends on what you want to do, but a good general blade is a ½" 3TPI.

Mate, THE best set up information for a bandsaw is to see Alex Snodgrass on UTube. His information is spot on and easy to follow. He says that what you will see won't be in any manuals. He worked as a sayer on bandsaws for 18 years and what he shows you works!!!
There has been a number of us Forumites who have used Alex's information and we all have had great results

Lucky Bu**er! Whilst it may not be top shelf in the quality stakes, its a hell of a lot better than nothing. I wish I could drop on stuff as good as that for nicks!