Thread: Band Saw under 1k- BP-355 v Basato 4 or ?

Before you buy a Basato 4, understand that the guides it is fitted with (euro style) really limit your choice in better quality aftermarket guides such as coolblocks, etc. Most other saws in this range have the more standard ball bearing guides, which can easily be ugraded to coolblocks, ceramic guides, etc.

You'll need decent blades too of course - I get mine from Henry Bros up here in Sydney.

Yes the guides have me a little at a loss. I have used saws with the rollers, never thought too much about it.I've never used the euro style and thus not sure how bad/good they really are.

Apart from the Euro guides, the Basato 4 and BP-355 are fairly similar in capabilities.

When looking to buy I found the BP-355 a bit rough around the edges in terms of finish, but that doesn't affect its performance. You'll have fun assembling a Basato 4 (the Chinglish instructions are unusually crap....), but once put together and aligned it works well.

I suspect there are many more BP-355 than Basato 4 owners on the forums, so someone may be able to comment on the assembly/alignment of that machine.

I'm happy enough with the Basato 4, but the guides (and limited options to replace them) really are the only minor weak point with this machine.

Before you make a final decision, can I suggest that you have a look at the Carbatec BAS350. I used to own one of these before I purchased my current 17" bandsaw (also a Carbatec one). I found it to be a very capable machine and selected it over the H&F model at the time.

There are quite a few forumites who own one of these BAS350 machines and I think most if not al are quite happy with it.

Carbatec isn't that far from H&F

Carba-Tec 14" Bandsaw - Two Speed (BAS-350B) : CARBA-TEC

Edit:

This has just been listed in the market place and is not far from you, might pay you to hae a look?

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f221/b...nd-saw-140674/

Update,
I managed a good long look at the Basato 4 and BP355 side by side yesterday. Im just thinking out loud and looking over my mental notes. Recall I havent owned a band saw b4 and would not even rate myself as a woodworker so take these thoughts with that in mind.

At first I was very happy with the B4, It looked like it would do the job, adjustments looked easy enough, it looked solid where it needed to be. I wasnt sure why the table top was rough, any machine of this type I have used in the past has always had a slick working surface. The fence and guides were missing on the demo model so I cant comment on them. To me the comparison had basically come down to 3 things.

B4 had wheels: I have a small shop and need to move things to use em.
Blade Guides: euro v rollers. Dont understand the problem/diff for/against anyway.
Depth of cut; B4 is slightly bigger.

As time wore on and I pendulumed from one to the other a few things started to emerge.

Both units seemed stable enough but maybe the BP was a tad more on the B4.
The B4 adjustments did not look as beefy as the BP apart from the tilt mechanism. I pretty much convinced myself that niether would be stable at tilt with just the lock holding it ,, it would need the bolts done up tight too. this was semi confirmed when I tried to adjust the tilt on the B4,, no can do. This had been cutting wood (no doubt in shop demo, sawdust everywhere) and it had been bolted up tight...hmm I wonder why. Fine adjustment might get a semi decent compromise on this. I could tho see on both easy ways to really square this away.

The blade guides, ok the BP just has more metal. The guide at full length(closest to table) was less flexible than the B4. The ruler (metric and imperial) on the BP again was bigger. The guide adjuster was metal tooth on the BP and plastic(but looked strong enough) on the B4. B4 The guide is semi riveted into the tube like upper arm. While I could see(get at) most of the bits on the BP.
The guides themsleves. First I figured an hour in the metal shop and I could nock up a block that would convert the B4 to rollers, especially the top guide anyway. I dont like the rear support being a disk at 90deg to the blade. Theyre probably isnt allot of force on this but it just goes against all my engineering experience.
I could not see tho how the BP rollers could be adjusted to "pinch" the blade unless they are on an internal cam? To me the BP rollers just looked better and once again I could see an easy way to retro fit whatever I desired anyway.

Blade tension on the both looked fine but the tension indicator on the BP surely is a joke? I did like the two windows on the BP tho. You can see the blade on the drive wheel. I like to see things work

Table: I noticed the B4 had larger slots for the fence and guides and that they were simple U shaped guides where as the BP was smaller but a C type. I have used C types b4 and I like the fact you can "pinch lock" things in place on the table using this type.

So all in all I came out slightly swayed toward the BP-355 if anything. Tho I wish it had wheels..a job Im sure i can fit up. Its cutting depth is slightly smaller but then murphy would suggest its always going to be 2mm too small no matter what size I purchased

As suggested tho I will check out the BAS 350B now that I am a little more knowledgeable on these woodshop beasts.

That sounds just like the way I went when I looked at both those machines over a year ago. I opted for the BP355 for the reasons you mentioned. I am very happy with it too.
At least you have looked at both machines yourself and worked out the pros and cons. Posts like this are good at pointing out things to look for but in the end you make the choice. From memory when I was looking the carbatec 14'' was only 1&1/2HP. This is likley to be enough for most things but after years with a low power machine I put "grunt" as a desireable feature.
Good luck with the hunt.
Regards
John

I was going to comment on that too.

When I was going through basically the same comparison, I restricted the choice to 2hp machines. I knew I'd be wanting to resaw some fairly substantial hardwood, so the BAS-350 was ruled out at that point.

I know the motor ratings of these chinese machines have to be taken with a goodly pinch of salt at the best of times, but I've found the Basato 4 to have plenty of grunt even for substantial resawing.

To be honest, if I had the choice again with the benefit of experience, I'd probably choose the BP-355 over the Basato 4 by just a smidgin. As you say, both machines have deficiencies, its just a case of working out which can be most easily improved using the tooling/machinery you have available to you. The blade guide system will pay a big part in overall cut quality, and in this regard the BP-355 is better out of the box (and more easily tweaked/improved) than the Basato 4.

Add in the fact that the BP-355 is cheaper.......

Don't H&F have their sale in early November? If you can wait, they usually drop the price of these bandsaws a bit