Thread: Looking ofr recommendations for a small bandsaw for resaw purpose

Both the Carbatech and Ryobi saw use a 1/2 HP motor so would not expect them to perform that differently.
I reckon you will need at least a 1HP machine to resaw 100mm unless you are happy with doing it at a snails pace.
Assuming a sharp band, a rough rule of thumb is about 1HP per 100 mm in Aussie hardwoods will give an acceptable cutting speed.

I agree with BobL. You need the power to make the cut. My previous saw was a 3/4hp and I then put a 1hp motor in it. Slightly better but frustration eventually made me sell it and get a 2hp saw. I would advise not less than a 14'' with as much grunt as the budget will get you. It may seem more than you want to pay now but perhaps better than having to upgrade yet another time. As for space then put it on a wheeled base. I also have a 2 car garage and all my machines are on wheels. When required I can make space for a car.
Regards
John

Unfortunately, you also need to check whether the specification is referring to real hp or "Chinese hp"......

I have a (supposedly) 2hp Scheppach bandsaw (Chinese made), and there's no way it's actually a 2hp motor. Gutless as.

Maybe I should rephrase the question.

What can I get on a budget new or second hand that will allow me to resaw timber of around 100m for under $1000


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Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Unfortunately, you also need to check whether the specification is referring to real hp or "Chinese hp"......

I have a (supposedly) 2hp Scheppach bandsaw (Chinese made), and there's no way it's actually a 2hp motor. Gutless as.

I've seen this claim many times but I must have tested about 30 motors for their HP output ratings (from 1/4 to 4HP) and found even the cheapest motors always met their specified rating at their specified draw current.
What I have also seen is the better quality ones sometimes exceeded their ratings by as much as 20%

Originally Posted by Ranger

Maybe I should rephrase the question.

What can I get on a budget new or second hand that will allow me to resaw timber of around 100m for under $1000


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At the bottom end of reasonable units for the small workshop, this is the current version of my band saw.

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/W955

Mine was manufactured in 2006, I picked it up for a very good price, eventually replacing the rubber tyres that drive the metal band with urethane ones. Now it is a very good band saw. That is, I accept the limitations of my equipment and work accordingly.

In the real world, this unit will easily cut 200mm high material; there is a slope towards the housing which does reduce material size from where the blade is.

Although the machine will take larger saw bands, I would suggest a maximum of 12.7mm (½") blades be used. I myself cut up raw timber from tree limbs etc, for turning using a 3 TPI 12.7mm blade.

These units do come up second hand, more so these days as currently there are some quite good new machines in the market and people are upgrading as their requirements can be better met with better machines.

There is an equivalent Carbatec unit but I don't believe it as good as the Hare and Forbes unit.

https://www.carbatec.com.au/machiner...m-blade-length


If you do peruse the Carbatec site, then look at the last letter of the official model number. If the letter is H, that is for Hobby, C Commercial and so on, with pricing and machine build and specifications generally commensurate with their model number end letter.

Mick.

I would have though that given the CT model is 13kg (16%) heaver than the H&F model that would presumably mean more metal in the construction.
The rest is similar:
Both have a 1.5.HP motor,
CT has 200 V 225 mm cut depth,
CT has 345 V 340 mm throat,
CT has 550 x 400 V 545 x 515 mm table.

Good point there Bob.

Last year my Men's Shed wished to upgrade the band saw. We started out by looking at what we had and maybe a direct replacement. We had the model before, of the Carbatec unit I gave a link to. We also looked higher up the food chain and concluded that after these base models, what you were getting was essentially a bigger unit built approximately to the same standards. We went further up the food chain, it was there that real differences started to happen.

In short, the Hare and Forbes unit I have is better than the Carbatec unit my Shed has; they are very comparable units. Physically looking at the Hare and Forbes (H&F) unit I linked to as well as physically looking at the Carbatec unit I linked to, the three of us from the Shed agreed that we would take the H&F unit instead of the Carbatec unit. It is a hard decision, however, with closer scrutiny, small details emerged.

The affixed LED light of the H&F unit is certainly a very user friendly thing to have.

The tilt mechanism of the table on the H&F unit was easier to use and although we only moved them in the showrooms, all agreed the H&F was better.

The mitre slot on the Carbatec unit is a non industry standard, while the H&F unit is a standard slot and has a place to hold the mitre gauge on the side.

The H&F unit has a push stick and some Allan keys, both of which have places on the unit to store them. I don't know if the Carbatec unit has any tools, but I don't remember there being anywhere one could store them on the unit.

The Carbatec unit has, by far, the better on/off switch. They both do the same job, but the Carbatech switch is the way to go.

The H&F unit has a lever to release and re-apply band tension, the Carbatec unit has a wheel and while that isn't or shouldn't be a big thing, it really is more accurate to un-tension and re-tension a blade to the same tension using a lever.

As to what my shed bought, we sort of went right up the food chain and bought a Laguna unit; but that is a completely different kettle of fish to what we are discussing.

Mick.

Looks like I'll be going and visiting both stores and having a look at both units

Thanks for the input guys!

Originally Posted by Optimark

As to what my shed bought, we sort of went right up the food chain and bought a Laguna unit; but that is a completely different kettle of fish to what we are discussing.

Mick.

Where did you source the Laguna from?

Originally Posted by cava

Where did you source the Laguna from?

Bit of a mystery when you look at Gregory's Machinery site, but the Victorian distributor of their Laguna products is Machinery Maintenance Victoria

https://mmvic.com.au/?gclid=EAIaIQob...SAAEgKZu_D_BwE

They are in Dorset Road Bayswater. When we visited I made sure they had the unit we were looking at in the showroom. Their Laguna bandsaws sort of walk out the door, one has to work in a visit when they have one in stock.

Funnily enough, I attended the Melbourne wood working show last year with the express intention of finding out as much as I could about their Laguna band saws, with the benefit of being able to walk a few metres to view Jet bandsaws, then a bit further to see Timbecon bandsaws. The idea being to do a lot of the preliminary legwork for the Men's Shed with a group of three to look at the serious contenders on the shortlist down the track.

The fella who knew pretty much everything about bandsaws was busy showing someone something on a laptop. While I waited I sidled over to their Revo 18/36 wood lathe just for a look to keep me occupied. The more I looked the more interesting it became, then I was asked if I was interested by someone and I mentioned words to the effect I was interested, but what was in front of me hadn't tempted me that much; it just looked too big.

Every question I asked, was answered efficiently and with obvious knowledge of the machine and it seemed, knowledge of wood turning. The more I asked and the more the answers came back, along with actually showing the innards and tricks it can do, the more impressed I became. It was beyond my self imposed price limit, but by the time I had seen everything and felt everything, my self imposed price limit was starting to look rubbery.

Mick.