Thread: what make of bandsaw

Hi LDW and welcome to the site,
I just got the BP355 before christmas and am quite happy with it. You will still have some change out of you'r thousand too. At the time I looked at the Sheppach also but there did not appear to be anything extra on it to justify the extra dollars. We did a thread on this in Nov-Dec 09 and the merits of both machines were mulled over.
Regards
John

Hi,

Apparently there is a new jet bandsaw - 14" which has a full 12" of resaw. I am not sure how much they are going to be available for, but from my experience with my 14" jet, you would not be disappointed.

There is also the option of a Jet 14" with a riser block, something I do not have experience with - but I know of others that do. My 14" jet delux was purchased for $990. The riser is an extra $100. You could probably get the non-delux for cheaper???

The only reason I am suggesting it, is because the finish and overall quality of the jet bandsaw is extremely impressive. I bought some non-jet tools, and the difference is quite obvious. Don't get me wrong - I am happy with my other tools, but the jet ones are extra special.

I know some folks think the Jet is overrated, I am not one of them!

Cheers
Jason

pellcorp - there is indeed a new super-duper JET 14" bandsaw. It has been available in the US for ages (>12 months), gets great reviews...........but JET Australia seem to have decided that we aren't going to get it here.

JET Tools -

There are a couple of old threads about this - a few people even chased it up with JET to no avail.

I'm guessing they have stock of the old models they want to clear.......

Hi have end up geting a basato 4 got the shop model as it was the only one left and I would had to wait for the hafco one. But a I am happy with it got it for 950 inc in the end. The saw did take a bit of seting up but is now running sweet
Cheers for the info regards other threads

Thank Nick

tap it don't wack it

Basato4 or BP355?? Not many people seem to have the Scheppach, but I can't see anything wrong with it.

love da wood - I'd be interested in any feedback on your recent purchase !

I guess at least both bandsaws are H&F, so I may be due a trip to check them out. From what you are saying they no longer have either in stock, so it might take a while......

When I looked in october I had the Basato 4 In mind to start with. I was intrested in feedback from anyone who had used one but drew a blank. Looking at both machines on the floor I could not see any real differences apart from the look. The sheppach has flat blade guides while the BP355 has bearings being the only obvious difference. I could not see $300ish difference in the two machines. The basato had a great write up and when seen well sort of gave the impression it was over promoted. The 355 looked to be able to do all the other saw could and the cost difference made the choice for me. Could say the 355 was under promoted. I will be interested to hear how the basato 4 goes from a user.
Regards
John

Mr Brush,
H&F will let you know a rough time for new stock arrivals. If they have it in the cattledog they will get it for you

Thanks orraloon - I'll give them a call and try to find that brief period when they have BOTH the BP355 and Scheppach in stock at the same time for comparison purposes.

At the moment I'm leaning towards the BP355, as several forumites seem to be happy with it. I'll try the BP355 with the original bearings guides, and if not happy they can always be changed out for better ceramic guides or something.

Certainly the BP355 seems to be better regarded than anything from Carbatec in the same price range.

Hi
mr bush and orraloon

Yes The basto 4 is working well now set it is set up. I diid read some where on here of a guy who had to file down the guides to get more ajustment mine are ok but thay are on ther max any more and I would have to file as well. but apart from that all is good the wheels on the base are a great idea if you need to move the saw around the shop and also means that you do not have to buy a tool trolly. which also raise the working highet but saying that if thay had the bp355 in I may have got that as finsh does seem to be slightly better. but has a slightly smaller cuting highet but i needed the saw asap and both were on my short list. the carbatec ones are just that more pricey but for what? nothing seems to stand out to me when I was looking at them. one other thing about the basato 4 is the two speed this is not a switch but is done by moving the drive belt on the pullys all by hand i can see this being alot of time and hasel if done often.

hope this sheds a bit more light on things ldw

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

I'll try the BP355 with the original bearings guides, and if not happy they can always be changed out for better ceramic guides or something.

My understanding is that the bearing guides are the "holy grail" of bandsaw guides. Anything less would be a downgrade. I am interested to know if my info is incorrect. I currently have block guides in my jet delux and at some point I have been advised to upgrade to bearing guides. For now I don't think I understand enough about the tool to notice the difference

pellcorp - you may be right. I'll have to read up a bit more on the different guide systems. I might be a bit biased towards ceramic guides because I used to work in an area of electronics that used a lot of ceramic components, so I'm very familiar with the wonderful properties of alumina and zirconia substrates

I think the issue with bearing guides is the range of quality out there. Some of the cheaper saws have pretty ordinary unsealed bearings, and I know several posters have been happy with just changing the bearings out for better quality sealed ones.

Like you, at this stage I think I'd be happy if it just went round and round and the blade didn't wobbly about excessively.

love da wood - thanks for the comments on the Scheppach

Just like you, I haven't seen many comments from forumites on the Basato 4, which struck me as a bit odd. If you were to believe the blurb on the H&F website, everyone would be buying this machine !

As I said, I'll try to get a look at both machines before buying. Over the years I've looked at several Scheppach products, but have always ended up buying something else. They always seem perfectly functional, but its the detailed finish that has been lacking (to keep the price down). I'm not sure, but is the BP355 out of Taiwan rather than mainland China?

It always amuses me that we now consider 'Made in Taiwan' to be a big plus when buying machines, especially when compared to the Chinese stuff.............

Cheers

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Just like you, I haven't seen many comments from forumites on the Basato 4, which struck me as a bit odd.

Grumpy John has one and from speaking to him and comments here on the forum he thinks it's great and I agree with him after looking at his.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/sho...ato#post880213
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/jet...to#post1013145
Show us ya shed! - Page 52 - Woodwork Forums

Have also transported a Basato 6 for the sawmill I do work for and that is a beauty as well.

I own a JET16 and have been pretty happy with it. Gary Pye sells JET and has also developed his own brand that look pretty dam good. They are similar to the JET, but seem to have more features. His web site here only has a few at this stage, but I know there are more coming, there is quite a big range on display at his shop on the Gold Coast.

Pellcorp,
Blade guides just guide the blade and there are various schools of thought on the subject. Block guides or flat faced do a good job if they are set right and the faces are square. On my old saw I replaced the metal blocks with hardwood ones and improved the performance of the saw. It ran quieter and cooler. I just had to frequently square the faces of the blocks on the disc sander. I had been looking for teflon cool blocks when I read a tune your bandasw article on wood blocks. I used scrap offcuts My present saw has bearings and they do work well but I expext as they get worn this will show in the quality of the cut. Be interesting to see how long thay last and the cost to replace. I have now worked both and would not say one or other is superior. Both have good and less good points.
Regards
John