Bandsaw Purchase

[peter]

I went to Carbatec to today to purchase the SW1401 Bandsaw. When I got there I was told they did not have any in stock and would not get any more until 3rd of August, anyway after a bit of talking I walked out of the shop with the BS1400 for $51 more than the list price of the SW1401.... Good deal I think.
Just wanted to share my excitement with everyone.


Peter.

[derekcohen]

Peter

I too have the BS1400. It is a fine bandsaw and you will not be disappointed. Frankly, it is a far better saw than the SW1401 that you were originally seeking. Look up Ridgid BS1400 for reviews (as it is badged in the USA). Ridgid have a website.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[peter]

Hi Derek,

I have finally found the time to assemble my BS1400. I switched it on for the first time yesterday and discovered a fair bit of vibration (the bandsaw had a definate wobble, like a spin dry cycle,). Unfortunately I had no time left so I will need to do some work on it next weekend but I thought I would ask you if you had any such problems with your BS1400. Also, how tight did you "screw down" the motor on the rubber bushes. Did you put them under much pressure or leave them pretty much undistorted. I am guessing that the bandsaw should run pretty much without any vibration in a noload situation, is this true?. Thanks for any advise you can give.

Regards,

Peter.

[derekcohen]

Peter

I assembled mine by the book. The belts are tight, probably as tight as most fanbelts. What I did was to leave a tiny fit of slack in the bolts holding down the motor, then lever the motor backward with a stout piece of jarrah, holding it there with one hand and tightening the bolts with the other. How tight are the bolts? I am not sure exactly, but the rubber bushings looked pretty squished. Incidentally, I ran the cables under the motor mounts.

But I don't think your problem lies there. Check to see if your wheels are coplanar (lie in the same plane) with a straight edge. They are unlikely to do so out of the box. They are quickly adjusted with the knob that lies below the tensioning knob. I suspect yours are out of allignment and the belt is not running true.

I don't get ANY vibration. In fact, it has not occurred to me until this moment that the thing should have vibration!

Let me know how you get on.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[peter]

G'Day Derek,

Thanks for the quick response. I too thought I set mine up as per the manual. I aligned the pulleys, tensioned the belt, checked the wheels, etc. I will check everything again on the weekend (unless I get time one night this week) but there is a definate vibration and I noticed that it was much more pronounced at start up and slowing down which may be something "out-of-round". I will let you know how I go.

Regards,

Peter.

[alf t]

I am rather intrigued why one would buy a SW1401 bandsaw at $500 plus acc. of riser, deluxe guides and a workable rip fence bringing it up to about $750. as well as the design being about 12 years old when one can purchase the BAS 350 at as low as $619 which has all of the fruit with it as well as a 1.5hp motor and can cut 200mm wood. Mine took about an hour and a half to set up and tune and the only thing wrong with it was the fact that it was so silent and smooth running when switched on that I was afraid of not noticing the band moving.

I am not deriding those who purchase the SW1400 on price alone but it would be interesting to hear why people stick to the old adage of cast against tubular steel after 12 years of progress.

Alf

[DavidW]

Looks like you got a good deal. Where did you get a BAS-350 for that price? Carbatech list it at $735 with a 3/4 - 1hp motor whatever that is supposed to mean.

[alf t]

Got it from Carbatec Perth David. The cattledog says , as you say,3/4 to 1hp but the motor on mine is 1.5hp and the sales fellow said it has been upgraded since the cat was printed....a pleasant surprise because i had a few doubt about it before i saw the upgrade in power. Timbercon advertised theirs as 1.5hp and it is made in the same factory I think. Mine was purchased at the Wood Show but if they can sell it at that price there they will probably negotiate price in Brissy. They would be making a profit at my price!!!!

Alf

PS After a week of use I still love it!

PPS despite what others may say you only get the info you seek from any of the Woody stores if you ask the right questions and research info before you go to the store.

Alf:)

[craigb]

You did do well. At the Sydney show, that saw was $699 and 3/4 h.p. according to the spec plate on the machine.

[Pete]

Peter,
I had a problem with a 14" bandsaw I purchased from Hare Forbes. The thing had more rattles than a millionaire's baby. Anyhow, I eventually traced the problem down to the motor. I removed the belt so that the only thing moving was the motor and the vibration remained.
I tried a heavy rubber spacer between the motor and the mounting area and this improved the vibrations a little.

In the end I took the motor back to Hare and Forbes who tested it and said it was OK. I insisted that they replace the sucker, which they did. Mounted it back in my machine and it runs as smooth as silk.

Hope this helps,
Peter

[peter]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the advice, I am going into Carba-Tec tomorrow with the wheels as I thought one (or both) of them may be out of balance however I may take the motor as well and get them to try it.


Thanks,

Peter.

[gatiep]

Alf,
A report back on those blades from the Brothers Henry in Sydney. I phoned Mark last week and he sugested 3 blades for use on my ordinary elcheapie 14" bandsaw. I found him very helpful and extremely friendly. I told him that I cut quite a lot of green wood as in logs chopped up by my chainsaw. He sugested a 3/4" 1.25 TPI blade....thats right 1 point 25 TPI. I really thought he was'nt serious and told him so. He said that they do this particular blade specially for the 14" for resawing thick ( green ) wood.
The blades arrived today and the first blade to go on was this 3/4" monster. Set the guides up and sliced thru a piece of green Sheoak at 5 1/2" like it was balsa. Then I did some dry Pear of same dimentions. Lastly I cut some dry Jarrah about 4" thick.
The blade cuts like a dream, ripping is a steal, crosscut is very good. The finish is very good.
For the first time I felt like my bandsaw is really made to saw wood.....! AND no click click click......fanbloodytastic!!!
The other blades he recommended are 3/8" x 4 TPI and 1/4" x 6 TPI. I havn't tried them yet cause I was enjoying sawing thick wood, green or dry, with ease so much I couldn't stop.
Thanks for the lead to the Brothers Henry.......This forum is surely very valuable and informative.
Thank you to Neil & Co ..... you guys are doing a great job!


( PS. Do not try and cut thin boards with the 3/4" blade, but hey slice 1 mm thick slices off that 4" slab as straight as a ruler)

[peter]

I finally got my bandsaw vibration problem sorted out. The top wheel was out of balance. Yes, I should have seen it soon but I started from the bottom up, doing a little bit here and there and loosing track of what I had and had not tested. Anyway I got stuck into fault finding again late last week and noticed that when the blade was removed the top wheel always settled in the same place (ie there was a mark on the wheel and it always ended up down the bottom when the wheel stopped spinning). I removed the wheel and noticed that it had been drilled out for balancing however I think they got it wrong. I went back to Carba-Tec where they were very friendly and helpful and swapped the wheel staight away with the parting comment that if this does not fix the problem they will replace the bandsaw.
Anyway, I put the new top wheel on and the vibration is gone.
Now I can do some serious cutting.......

Regards,

Peter.