Bandsaw questions

**Pavlos** · 10th August 2009, 03:27 PM

Hi all. Forgive me if this message at times "stuffs up". I am a new subscriber. Green as grass I have been doing some research into bands saw & have found some of the comments very interesting. I have looked @ most of the band saws mentioned, except for the timbercon products (just to far away W.A & the Wood fast S.A). I have seen the Carbatec bands saws in the flesh or metal (the SBW-4300 in particular) & was disappointed at the way the machine was presented. They could not get the blade correctly tensioned & the quick release did not function properly. I also wanted to fire the "sucker up & get someone to run a piece of wood through it so I could ascertain how it would handle. Not possible? The aspect that I was quite unconvinced at was the height adjustment for the blade tensioning. I thought the way that the whole wheel assembly could move outwards when you grabbed it & pulled on it very suspect , as it was recommended in Fine Woodworker that this area should be rigid for wheel alignment. At looking at the Woodworking warehouse's TRUPRO430017", Hare & Forbes BP480 these machines appear to be the same machine rebadged. Again these machines appear to have the same wheel assembly as the Carbatec machines this therefore has made me re-think my budget & time of purchase.

I started this whole researching journey of band saw with the Powermatic PWBS14C but @ the price on offer thought I could get a more versatile & value for money machine? I have looked @ the hammer N4400 & can see that you do get a quality machine with very good back up; however, once you get the whole package together the cost is approximately $3000 . I would like to get as good a quality as I can for around the $2500 budget. I have started to make enquires about the Jet 16" JWBS @ around $2500 delivered from Adelaide from Macwood. Have even been looking at the Laguna LTSUV on the net & wishing that their products were here in Oz

So here comes the final questions,

Has anyone seen the Woodfast machines? How do they rate?
Has anyone got the Powermatic PWBS14C? How does it perform?
Has anyone tried to get one of the Laguna machines from the states? How has this been & are you happy?
Has anyone got the Jet 16"JWBS? How does it perform? Are you happy?

Thanks for any feedback
Pavlos

**robbygard** · 10th August 2009, 06:11 PM

i went through the same sort of thing afew months ago and ended up deciding that i would forget the extra money in a much shorter time than i would forget the lesser quality ... went for the hammer and have to say that it is well worth the extra ...

one small problem with the fence (which looks like it is should be entirely accurate) but which moves just a little on tightening up ... this can be easily corrected with a magnetic clamp (or i imagine some other sort of clamp)

everything else is as good as it appears

regards david

ps. i reckon hammer could easily fix that fence problem by running a square slot (like a keyway) to take the screw that tightens the fence ....

**AlexS** · 10th August 2009, 06:53 PM

What Robbygard said. The Hammer N4400 is an excellent machine and you will appreciate the quality long after you've forgotten the price.
The possible movement of the fence can be overcome by tightening the screws so that the washer bends. He's right about how it could be corrected.

**Pavlos** · 11th August 2009, 09:59 AM

Thanks to those who have responded to my query. I think I may push my time line back more & wait. It is frustrating when you want to purchase a machine & get sawing. However, it makes good sense to be a little more methodical especially when your purchase is rather substantial & for a long time. I do want this band saw to be able to re-rip & to become my first choice sawing machine, as my workshop (which is being modified as we speak) is rather tight. I don’t want to keep pulling out my old Triton & setting it up all the time & then packing it away. How have those who have got the Hammer machine found the Euro style blade guides? Have you used this machine with a 1/8th blade yet? How did it go?

**Pavlos** · 11th August 2009, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by Pavlos

Thanks to those who have responded to my query. I think I may push my time line back more & wait. It is frustrating when you want to purchase a machine & get sawing. However, it makes good sense to be a little more methodical especially when your purchase is rather substantial & for a long time. I do want this band saw to be able to re-rip & to become my first choice sawing machine, as my workshop (which is being modified as we speak) is rather tight. I don’t want to keep pulling out my old Triton & setting it up all the time & then packing it away. How have those who have got the Hammer machine found the Euro style blade guides? Have you used this machine with a 1/8th blade yet? How did it go?

“Hours spent in reconnaissance are very rarely wasted.” Napoleon

**Big Shed** · 11th August 2009, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by Pavlos

“Hours spent in reconnaissance are very rarely wasted.” Napoleon

Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there-Will Rogers

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