Thread: bp 355 owners

Originally Posted by R3R

hi all

just bought a bp 355

but my dad tells me i might need to get electrician in to make 15 amp power connections

is this the case?!

I had a look on Hare and Forbes website and the BP 355 only has a 240V motor so you should be able to plug it into a normal socket.
What type of plug does it have?

Colin.

i just ordered it and it has not arrived but i assume typical 3 prong plug like on my hand held router

it is the first time i have ever bought a bandsaw but not the first time i have used one so it is kinda a new experience for me

will be quite an experience i am sure when i come to assemble it and all tht

so yeah ..i had assumed all along that it will work without additional power circuitry upgrades(house power wiring tht is) but i do not know for sure and hope some bp355 owners can chime and say yay or nay

Just looked it up and the BP355 comes with a 1500W, or 2 hp, motor. So a standard 240V 10 amp power point will be fine.

aye BigShed...that was wht i told me dad and then he pointed out that when we got the aircon there was some need for power circuit upgrade

and then i pointed out tht this is a bandsaw and not an aircon!

but it left me in some doubt

hence me thread

Depends what else you are running on powerpoints that are in series on the same circuit.

Bandsaw on its own will be fine off a 10A point, but maybe not if you have other machines running off other 10A points connected to that circuit (e.g. a large dusty).

Remember that most machines draw slightly more than rated current when starting up.

jus took delivery of this beast on fri

just put it all together and i can say it works fine from me typical household power socket

no need for fancy 3 phase power circuitry

however, i have some more questions...now tht i have just cut a test piece and things appear to be running smoothly wihtout any real work thrown at it...

1. the tracking of the blade on the top wheel can be adjusted using the tracking wheel at the top of machine but there dunt appear to be a similar tracking wheel for the bottom bandsaw wheel

i managed to get the blade tracking in the centre of top wheel using the tracking wheel adjustment while rotating freehand the bandsaw wheel

however the blade is tracking nearer to the rim (closest to door) on the bottom bandsaw wheel

is this important? will there be problems in future if bottom wheel has blade tracking off centre but top wheel has the tracking of blade right at centre ?

i did manage to do a test cut on some 2" tassie oak and no probs ...cut it like butter actually heh


2. is there any way of adjusting the top ball bearing guides closer together so that both are closer to the blade?

i can adjust the back roller blade tht supports the back of bandsaw blade but cant find how to adjust the 2 roller bearings on front side closer to blade

any ideas be much appreciated

and bandsaw much easier to put together to a working state than i anticipated too

scratch the ball bearing guide adjustment question

just discovered that the bearings have to be unscrewed to manually push in the black rod holding the screw for the bearing

quite a fidgety experience

sorry if I'm highjacking this thread a little but I was just wondering how you liked your saw?
I am planning on purchising the same model some time in the next few weeks and just wanted any thoughts on how it performs, ease of adjustment etc.

Also is the standard blade any good?

Thanks

i can't really say much about how it performs ...just yet

though i will be building something soon to put it through its paces...if only we get a stretch of good weather over here ...been raining a bit lately


it came with wheels/motor/blade/blade guide preassembled and the assembly required from me took a bit of time but not too difficult... a little ikea type stand which needs to be bolted together...putting on the various adjustment wheels...cleaning and bolting on the table...adjusting ball bearings guides...belt tracking ...blade tensioning

all quite clearly explained in easy to read manual with plenty of pics

i have yet to change the blade that came with it....with the spare starret i got....though i probably will ...just to find out about changing the blade

the guide post is not as rigid as i would like...espc when adjusted down (typically for cutting thin stock)

the ball bearings are a bit of a pain to adjust closer to the blade...see previous post

but i do like the rack and pinion on the table tilt and the quick release blade tension lever ...couple of features which swayed me towards this one over others

motor also surprisingly quiet and i will soon report on its performance when i resaw some 7" stock soon ...guide post pulls all the way to allow 9" resaw height btw

Thanks for your reply,

"the guide post is not as rigid as i would like...espc when adjusted down (typically for cutting thin stock)"

excuse my ignorence but what is a guide post?

the guide post is wht the manual calls the sliding thingamajig that holds the ball bearings and shields the blade above the table

for thin stock, this guide post is usually adjusted down

for wide resawing/ripping this guide post is usually adjusted all the way up

thanks,

i'll be watching this thread to see how it performs

any news - this is one of the models I am considering

...well...

i havn't really been working the machine

though it has sawn through(ripping a 30" lengthwise) some hard 1" stock rosewood (dalbergia) without any problems using the blade that came with it

the motor is not noisy at all ...and i managed to adjust the bearings quite close to the blade...helps with a straight cut

hopefully i get to resawing some 6 to 7" hard rosewood or maybe jarrah soon to see how it goes under a bit of load...will report results ...