Thread: 14" Bandsaw Comparisons

Originally Posted by Lignum

3 slabs of VB

Ughh - I don't know how anyone can drink that stuff! Give me a Coopers or something german (except becks!) anyday

Originally Posted by pellcorp

Ughh - I don't know how anyone can drink that stuff! Give me a Coopers or something german (except becks!) anyday

Nancy boy

This is the one that I am currently looking to buy. I will wait until the Perth Woodshow, however. It has a 2 HP motor and seems to give very good bang for your buck. There have been some good reports about the BP-355 on this forum

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/Pr...tockCode=W4224

Jase, you NEED one of these

Originally Posted by Lignum

Dont bother. Unless you are a wood turner its a waste of money. 14'' bandsaws arnt rigid enough to take the extra 6" ]

Even if the JET is cast Iron? Which it is, unlike most other 14"

Originally Posted by pellcorp

Even if the JET is cast Iron? Which it is, unlike most other 14"

Makes no difference. The tension on a blade/frame is staggering. On some bandsaws you can see the frame bend.

Not meaning to contradict Lignum, but I've not seen the frame on my Jet bend ever, no matter what tension I wind on. It certainly isn't a folded steel body, which often struggle to cope with high loads. (Not that I am disagreeing with Lignum that there is significant tensile loads involved, only that the cast iron body of the Jet seems up to the task)

I've used the extra 6" plenty of times to know I would have cursed if I hadn't added it. Doing so at the start (if you are going to at all) is important, because once you do any blades you have previously invested in are rendered useless (being 12" too short).

I've used that 12" resaw when making veneers, splitting boards for boxes (buying a board that is 8" wide then resawing it for box sides for example) - just because you have 12" capacity doesn't mean that is the only dimension you use - 6" is too little, 12" may be too much in most situations, but it means you can do 7", 8" etc that you would not otherwise be able. I have probably only gone to the full 12" a couple of times, but I have needed 8" or so often.

But each to their own!

See you tomorrow Lignum (Festool Domino Course at Ideal Tools)

Wouldn't your old blades be 24" too short ?

The cast iron doesn't flex as much when you load it up as the rhs frames do, but when it breaks it does so suddenly and with a crack rather than a buckle.

Originally Posted by damian

Wouldn't your old blades be 24" too short ?

6" + 6" = 12" (You only need to add on the amount the bandsaw is increased in height (x2), not the complete resaw capacity! )

And yeah - if it failed, it would do so catastrophically, but given the thickness of the cast, the tensioner cannot produce enough force to break the casting - you'd strip the thread on the tensioning bolt first.

Originally Posted by Stuart

Not meaning to contradict Lignum, but I've not seen the frame on my Jet bend ever, no matter what tension I wind on.

Thats good if theirs no problem I wonder how much interest in a 2" riser their would be

Originally Posted by Stuart

See you tomorrow Lignum (Festool Domino Course at Ideal Tools)

Will be fun. And i have a "new" Domi trick to reveal for the first time

I'd suggest a 2.5" riser - giving the capacity of 8" resaw, with a little bit of clearance. Might be a good compromise between bandsaw strength, and capacity.

It'd probably cost the same or thereabouts, so it would be a performace decision, rather than a capacity one.

As to new Domi tricks - I haven't seen any tricks, so it will be all new (don't actually own one (yet....))

Originally Posted by Stuart

I'd suggest a 2.5" riser - giving the capacity of 8" resaw, with a little bit of clearance. Might be a good compromise between bandsaw strength, and capacity.

I might have missed something here, but a BAS350 ($799) (or a Hafco BP16A for $100 more) has a resaw capacity of 205mm out of the box, so why add a riser to a bandsaw if you can get that out of the box. That would have to be stronger, not to mention cheaper?

I have always regarded risers on bandsaws as cheap compromise, if you need a bigger cutting height get a bigger bandsaw.

[QUOTE=Stuart;998242]6" + 6" = 12" (You only need to add on the amount the bandsaw is increased in height (x2), not the complete resaw capacity! )

[QUOTE]

Oh yeah, brain fade, and here I was thinking you'd had one. Sorry, long week

The riser thing is interesting. Some people hate them, some people are very happy with them. I guess it depends on expectations.

Some people seem to prefer the cast iron frames over teh rhs ones, whihc are common on most of the hobby saws up to very large sizes. Not suggesting the rhs isn't strong enough, but as always people have different ideas and priorities...

I think it's nice we have choices...2c

If you are currently tempted by Jet, then make a few enquiries with some importers such as GPW or 'Jet Australia' (I think its a front for the Woodman Group) as to when the new Jet 14" models will be available - they now make a cast frame 14" bandsaw with 12 resaw capacity - the frame is one piece made from the start to have 12" capacity, no add-on bits.

Then there is also a new 14" with 12" resaw with a fabricated frame that has a triangular cross-section that they have been advertising in the US press (FWW etc), apparently part of a new line of Jet bandsaws.