Thread: Bandsaw resaw capacity dilemma.

Powermatic 18" bandsaw has an 18" resaw capacity - not cheap though

Originally Posted by TP1

Powermatic 18" bandsaw has an 18" resaw capacity - not cheap though

WOW. That sure is one nice looking bandsaw. Pity it costs $6000. I'm leaning more towards $2500.

Ron Mack Machinery sell a 21" bandsaw with a 350mm resaw capacity. see ROMAC SBW Series Vertical Bandsaws

It's the SBW 5300CE. Funny thing is that almost everyone else sells the same model bandsaw, but theirs only cuts to 300mm. Problem is, the BS is in Perth, and I'm not, so I have no way of checking it out before spending my money. I think the price was only $2100, but that was probably plus GST.

Does anyone have one of these machines?

Hi Clamps..i have the next size up Ronmac..but its 3 phase.

Originally Posted by sinjin

Hi Clamps..i have the next size up Ronmac..but its 3 phase.

Hi Sinjin,

The SBE 5300CE unfortunately only has a 300mm cutting capacity despite what the website says. Must go bigger.

What is the resaw capacity of your machine, and which model is it?

Thanks

Hey there Sinjin
Long time no read.
Apart from the 300mm limitation that obviously bothers you, how do you find this machine i.e quality. ease of use and setting, quality of fences etc etc.
I will mostly resaw with it with a few curvy jobs as well, but nothing fiddly or fine
Skippy

Hi Clamps, sorry i have taken so long to get back..have sent u a pm.
My machine has more than 300 DOC more like 410mm and i think you could get it too 450 without a huge amount of work.. As to the general quality of the machine i think its ok.
However i have heard this machine is now made in China and the quality has dropped. I have been told u can option the Tiawanese machine but you will pay etc. I know the Chinese machine is a fair bit lighter than the machine i have.
The pic (showing) i took while standing on my stair case so its deceptive as to its real height.
Still trying different blade types to see what suits me. I have ripped 250mm deep hardwood with no real effort and it tracked no probs. Slight vibration through the machine but nothing serious. I also have it on wheels so if it was bolted firmly to the ground i guess it would be better. But for cleaning etc its a breeze to move it around. And as i have the steering wheels at the switch end of the machines its sits solid and doesn't move even when the brakes are off.
Bottom trunion for tilting the table etc is solid and one piece machined casting it also has a gear rack for tilting. Rise and fall didn't go out of square when you raise or lowered the arm. it does have an electric brake which i reall don't like..
Bearing guides top and bottom are fine and easily adjusted.
Fence is good but could be better and the table although big could be larger as well for a machine of this size.
All these pre fab type machines are average compared to the old cast iron machines but then again your not paying anywhere near the price of a cast machine either.
For a bit of fun i cut a .5mm piece 160 deep without any drama but it was a new blade as well. But my advice to look at as many as you can.
I know if you look at the Grizzly site they have about 3 different machines of this size and there most heavy duty machine weighs nearly a 500kg and their lightest machine about 160kg for the same capacity machine. Mass is always good at dampening resonance. And although not 100% sure i think its is a Grizzly machine re-badged

If I understand your problen correctly, you need another 75 mm height capacity from your Hammer N4400?

I went out to my shop this morning and measured on my N4400. The blade guide mechanism takes around 155 mm saw height and the table tilting trunnion thingy takes around 55 mm. It is possible that you can gain enough resaw height by tinkering with your Hammer N4400. Laguna has a ceramic blade guide that could help you. If you don´t need to tilt the table, you can easily gain around 50 mm by removing the trunnion.

Originally Posted by mattiasp

If I understand your problen correctly, you need another 75 mm height capacity from your Hammer N4400?

I went out to my shop this morning and measured on my N4400. The blade guide mechanism takes around 155 mm saw height and the table tilting trunnion thingy takes around 55 mm. It is possible that you can gain enough resaw height by tinkering with your Hammer N4400. Laguna has a ceramic blade guide that could help you. If you don´t need to tilt the table, you can easily gain around 50 mm by removing the trunnion.

I like the way you think.

I no longer have the N4400. I swapped it for a 21" Carba-tec mainly for the wider capacity. Although I did pick up an extra 25mm in height. I could easily pick up another 50mm if I replace the standard cast iron table with a non-tiltable plywood table with a tall resaw fence.

As a side note, I find euro-style guides much easier and quicker to adjust because they are tool free.

I have a Carbatec 19", standard is 300mm depth of cut, I wanted more depth so I repositioned the top guide setup further up into the upper wheel housing which allows me about 410mm depth of cut, I now can wind the guide wheels right up into the housing at which point I run out of rack on the square bar. If u look at Sinjin's machine you can see the same 4 bolts (and by the look of it it comes out of the same factory)

I used the existing top holes as the bottom holes and drilled a new set of top holes, also have to redrill for the handwheel shaft, you can see the vacant btm holes in the this pic.
Attachment 154588

You also have to be prepared to cut out some of the housing and modify the guard, the original was a two piece arrangement which had a sliding part to it, not sure now how that could be modified atm (working from memory here) my guard utilized part of the existing but is now one piece that is a bit simpler.

The OH&S people might not like it out there in industry, if something goes wrong/insurance/legal/blame/sue/blah/blah/warranty.......but it is something that u need to be aware of if u do modify any machinery and who is gonna use it and the circumstances in which it is to be used.

Pete