old cast steel v new bandsaw for re sawing?

**elver** · 21st June 2013, 03:02 PM

All,

my little 14" saw just cant quite cope with resawing aussie hardwoods. I've trued, fiddled, balanced, used different blades and all sorts of other shennanigans, but just cant get it to rip hardwood thicker than say 50mm with and kind of accuracy for more than a few metres.

The main issue is the frame flexes visbly ( like 2 to 3mm backwards and into the column side) when you tension it enough even with thin 6mm blades. This means that when you change guide hieghts the bearings move out of whack to the blade, depening on the tension. The net result is blade rubbing on rollers most of the time and wonky cuts / squealing bearings after a bit.

My thought is that I need a decent saw suited for resawing. After the flexy frame saw experience, I'm leaning towards an old cast machine that might need some restoration, but the shear weight of theses things means all sorts of logistical problems.
The alternative is a decent modern folded steel saw suited to resawing, say a Laguna or Hammer Perhaps?

What I do: I resaw old hardwood (dry) from recycled building materials to make furniture, and also need to domaccurate saw cuts for making kayak paddles from softwoods. I'd like to be able to do a lot more resawing of wide hardwood boards, like 200mm plus thickness. I asume this means i need a machine that can take a blade bigger than 30mm or so, and a motor of 3hp or so too.

So telll me: should I go old and heavy or new and pricey?

**steamingbill** · 21st June 2013, 05:15 PM

Hello,

A Carbatec salesman showed me a Jet Bandsaw a few weeks ago with a triangular steel main pillar on the frame.

Said that this type of frame minimised movement.

Might be worth a look.

Think it was a Jet.

**elver** · 21st June 2013, 08:50 PM

yes the salesman said this one was top quality and the frame would not flex either.... . I think if I go modern folded steel, I'll be looking for european made.

**bosox** · 22nd June 2013, 06:37 AM

I'd suggest take a look on Laguna band saws. They have real good built wood cutting saws.

**elver** · 22nd June 2013, 09:34 AM

ok, plus 1 for laguna.

but are they better than old cast machines?

**hiroller** · 22nd June 2013, 07:17 PM

Hi,

Better is a relative term.
I recently bought a Laguna LT14SUV.
I wanted a small footprint bandsaw of decent quality that could resaw hardwood.
It fits the bill and comes with a warranty - albeit, at a price.
Is it value for money? Not sure but it came with a level of certainty and I set it up myself in an afternoon.
The alternative is to buy a big old iron bandsaw.
This comes with size, strengths and character but some uncertainty.
I found a great looking LS Barker 27in bandsaw online a little while back for $200. Would loved to have got it but referred it to another member.
It is large, very heavy, needs a full service, repairs and will take time - albeit a very rewarding time.
If I had the space, time, and equipment I would have leapt at it.
I don't, so I got something that allows me to get on with cutting wood.
Hope that helps you make a decision. Good luck.

**elver** · 23rd June 2013, 12:09 AM

Hiroller, that describes the decision process really well.
When the quality is there and the saw can cut hardwoods well, and there just aren't big steel saws near me to buy, new may be better.

**elanjacobs** · 23rd June 2013, 02:18 PM

Unlike many other machines, the basic design of bandsaws hasn't really changed much in the past hundred-odd years; just bolt a fence to an old one and you've got the same functionality.
I'd be going for an old cast iron beast; might need a bit of work, but there aren't that many things that need to be done - align the wheels (new bearings maybe), drive belts and blade guides.

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