Thread: HAFCO BP310 - ANY RECCOMMENDATIONS or PROBLEMS?

A 14 '' machine will only have a slightly larger footprint but a lot more cutting capacity. Horsepower is also important. My old 14'' saw was one horsepower and 6'' depth of cut and struggled to cut that 6'' depth. Current machine is 2HP and chews through anything up to its 10'' depth of cut. With the right sharp blade of course. Its the BP 355.
Regards
John

Rob,

I’ve no experience with this saw but but a couple of thoughts.

1. The max cutting height is small at 164mm
2. I couldn’t immediately find of the wheels are case iron or aluminium.

just for interest you might like to look at Timbecon’s 10 inch heavy duty bandsaw which has cast iron wheels, a 240mm cutting depth and ceramic blade guides. More expensive but worth a look if you haven’t seen it.

Regards,

Brian

As you are in Melbourne it would make sense to check out Timbecon as well. I noticed that they have the 14'' at not a whole lot more expensive than 12''.

https://www.timbecon.com.au/sherwood...andard-bandsaw

https://www.timbecon.com.au/sherwood...andard-bandsaw

Check out the footprint of both machines.
Regards
John

Thanks John and Brian for your suggestions.

The Sherwood 12 inch saw looks identical to the Hafco, except for the colour!

I will study the Timbercon and Sherwood tomorrow.

regards, Rob

Following up comments by John and Brian, I have confirmed:

The Hafco and Sherwood 14 inch saws cost only $240 more than the BP310 12 inch model, and give 60 mm more cutting height.

The Sherwood SBS350 is 9 kg lighter than BP360, so the frame could be less rigid?

The price of BP355 and the Sherwood heavy duty 10 inch saw are too far over my budget at around $1600

The extra footprint of the 14 inch machine can be reduced slightly and stability retained by adding 15 kg weight to the base at front and 10 kg weight at back (motor side). The size of weights needed would be different for other models/weights and must not be copied without calculating the effect on static equilibrium

So I am inclined to go for the BP360

Thanks again for your input

Regards, Rob

Rob,
Looks like you have given it plenty of research so enjoy your new machine. Get good quality blades for it as the blades supplied on most new saws can only be described as average at best. Not sure where the good blades are in Melbourne but some of the local members can likely point you in the right direction.
Regards
John

+1 for replacing the supplied blade with a third party one. Made a huuuge difference with our Sherwood saw,

Rob - hope you enjoy the saw. Maybe you’d consider giving us some feedback once you’ve been using the saw for a couple of months?

Thanks,

Brian

McDivens in Altona for quality blades but others may suggest suppliers on the other side of town if you live over that way


McDiven Saws P/L specializes in all types of bandsaws

Thanks for your suggestions and info, John, Brian and Tom.

I was planning to buy a second blade with different TPI to what is supplied, and maybe narrower.
The saw comes with a 16mm ¨carbon steel¨blade, but I haven´t found out what teeth setup.
Further investigation needed.

When I have have had some practice and learned the basics, I will let you know how the saw performs.

Regards, Rob

While you are waiting on the new saw have a look at this and his other video clips.
Band Saw Clinic with Alex Snodgrass - YouTube
Regards
John

Thanks John.
Alex makes the setup look not too complicated, but I have yet to try it!

I am looking for blade specialists on the Eastern side of Melbourne, if anyone knows of one. If not, I will try McDiven Saws in Altona, as Tom suggested.

Regards, Rob