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  1. #1
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    Default Which band saw should I get?

    Not familiar with bandsaws at all and have only ever used one in high school years ago. What should I be looking at feature wise?

    Any thoughts on this?
    https://www.timbecon.com.au/sawing/b...s/18in-bandsaw

    Also, what is the best blade to get? Ideally would like it to last a long time so dont need to sharpen so much.

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  3. #2
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by qwertyu View Post
    Not familiar with bandsaws at all and have only ever used one in high school years ago. What should I be looking at feature wise?
    This is going to come down to what you want to make and what you want to use it for. We can draw a lot of assumptions, but they're only stabs in the dark. Do you want to make veneers? Do you want to resaw rough sawn timber into thinner boards, then joint and thickness them? If so, do you have a jointer & thicknesser, and what size are they? Do you just want to have one for workshop utility - that is, a tool to add to the general capabilities of your shop?

    These questions will help determine what to buy.

    Quote Originally Posted by qwertyu View Post
    Also, what is the best blade to get? Ideally would like it to last a long time so dont need to sharpen so much.
    See above, the blade will depend on what you want to do

  4. #3
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    Default

    The quick release is very handy for changing blades, the motor sounds good, everything else looks alright. You probably need more than one blade, which is called a bandsaw - big one say 20-30mm for straight cuts and heavy thick timber, medium say 10-15 mm for making turning blanks, curved furniture pieces, and a fine one 3mm (careful with these) for doing bandsawn boxes, carving blanks, delicate stuff.

  5. #4
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    Default

    Dont plan on cutting veneers. I dont have a jointer yet (looking at either an 8" or 12" - sucks that the price jump between the two is so large!) and have a thicknesser. It would be handy to be able to resaw stuff for sure.

    Other then that, only thing I can think of using it for is making circle cuts easily (rough cut) in say 30-45mm hardwood and just general cutting of smaller things (straight rough cutting) such as splines for picture frames.

    It sounds like I need a big and medium blade - any recommendations (actual brands + models or how many TPI should I get)? are there carbide blades? realistically i will be cutting more smaller things (with curves) then resawing things - is there such a thing as a combo blade?

  6. #5
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    Default

    That saw looks to be ok and will do all you want. I had a look at what H&F were offering at similar money and the specs were very similar.
    As to blades then its generally different blades for different jobs. Narrower blades cut tighter curves. For resawing then a wider blade and fewer teeth are the go. I use a 3 tpi 10mm blade as a general work blade and it does the bulk of what I want. Can cut curves and rip but only in a rough sort of way. I still need other blades for particular tasks. Blades are not all that expensive so the right one for the job is best. They also need to be sharp so learning to touch them up is worth your time.
    https://www.craftsy.com/woodworking/...bandsaw-blade/
    That's one way and you can also use a grinder. The net has plenty ways to sharpen one.
    Regards
    John

  7. #6
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    If your after an all rounder take a look at the laguna range the 14/12 or 14bx which i have had for years now they are a 14in bandsaw and a brake pedal on front stops really quick too i run 6 blades from a 3mm to 20mm resaw blade i found this bandsaw will do everything i need so check it out
    Regards
    Paul

  8. #7
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    Default

    If you can try to pick up a second hand one (like I did recently) that also might be a good option - at least it means you're only investing maybe 50% of the new price, so you can see how you will use it in your usual work.

    As for bands, yeah I have assumed that I will need multiple, for different jobs, and you'll probably want a relatively new one for things that you might want minimal finishing on. Small eg 3mm = good for sharp turning, big eg 20+mm = good to hold straight lines and resawing

  9. #8
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    The Carbatec BS-X3452C or BS-X3453C are good options, with some unique features that are better than the Launga bandsaws.

    Larger motor
    Larger capacity
    Better built

  10. #9
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    Default

    thanks guys.

    thoughts on this one?
    https://www.ledamachinery.com.au/led.../tets-prod-6/#

  11. #10
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    Do you have 15amp power supply?

    I still like the Carbatec option

  12. #11
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    I just realised that the Leda is 280mm high vs carbatec at 345 - I thought that the leda was 480. my bad

  13. #12
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    Oct 2016
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    Melbourne
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    Default

    A 18" bandsaw give you more choice of blades!

    I own a laguna 14bx it can only take up to 20mm blade according to the bandsaw blade maker.

  14. #13
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    Canberra
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by qwertyu View Post
    This is a saw that I have at the moment, bought it "as new" second hand. It is very solid, nice size, more than enough power for most resawing that I do. There is a quick blade release lever at the back, it has reasonable size table (the bigger the better for resawing in my opinion).

    I have a range of blades, but my most used blades are tungsten carbide tipped (TCT) resaw blade (25mm probably) from Henry Bros, and a 6 mm blade. The TCT cuts hardwood like butter, very nice for resawing. The 6mm is for cutting turning blanks and curves.

  15. #14
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    Default

    So probably a dumb question - when they say 18" band saw or 14" - what is this referring to? I notice that the carbatec 14" has larger capacity then the timbecon 18"

  16. #15
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    Canberra
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    Default

    This is the diameter of the wheels - it defines how wide a board you can cut. The "capacity" is often referred to the maximum resaw capacity, which depends also on the distance between the wheels. You can take small wheels, and put them far from each other and cut very thick boards.

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