Thread: Metabo BAS 317 Bandsaw

Hi Shedhand,
Looking forward to your story - recently decided not to buy a moderately costly Metabo sander as it was not made in Germany like my other great Metabo random orbital sander - so am wondering if your experience will substantiate my decision.
Paul

I have had a Metabo BAS317 for about 3 years now VERY Happy with same.
As for after sales service (Touch Wood) hav'nt required any.

Interested in seeing your problems with same,

Hi Shedhand

Just checking are you still going to post review ??

Im very interested to hear the problems you've had.

Regards
Brian

Sorry for the delay in the promised review. No internet where I am at the moment.
Anyway, here goes. In 2005 I bought my Metabo BAS317 from Glenford in Hobart (now defunct) off the floor (display item). I took it home and it was a while before I used it for the first time. When I did use it all the blades supplied with it broke one after the other in a matter of an hour or so. The Glenford guy reckoned it wasn't set up properly so I got the book and a few online setup guides to make sure i did it right.
When checking the User Manual I thought to make sure all the components were doing their job and discovered the lower thrust bearing was missing with the result that every time i tried to cut anything the blade was forced off the bottom wheel and off course broke. The second blade that broke took out the upper safety switch which deactivates the machine when the door is open. I fixed that and then began the argument with Metabo about the missing lower thrust bearing. The insisted that it was impossible that the thrust bearing would not have been shipped fitted to the lower roller guides. Anyway long story short after a while (i don't recall the amount of time this went on) Metabo sent me a new lower thrust bearing and half a dozen various size OEM blades. Once set up i started using the machine again but found that the table was not able to be locked into position without slop. Consequently, every cut required consant checking and vigilance of the table angle. Fast forward a couple of years and after only moderate use over the ensuing 5 years the racking knob and started to get very tight. I lubricated it with dri-lube constantly but the problem continued to worsen. As I was no longer able to get the upper guides to raise or lower I took the offending part off the machine and discovered that the NYLON rack was completely slagged out. Not only that, but at some stage the pinion had failed and was in two halves on its shaft. To top it all off when i was removing the roller guide assembly from the stuffed rack housing the flimsy alloy bracket, which is fixed to the racking housing channels, broke off. I contacted Metabo in Melbourne not in a very happy state as I use the bandsaw to cut the curve profiles for the deckchairs I make and to cut them with the jigsaw is very tedious. Anyway the helpful guy at Metabo directed me to a Launceston Service Agent so I could order the new replacement parts. The agent didn't know anything much about the BAS317 but got Metabo to fax him an exploded view of the machine with the relevent part numbers. I ordered the unit I needed and was told 2 weeks delivery. In the meantime I moved interstate and 4 weeks later half of the unit arrived. Still not able to use the machine. 3 weeks later the other part turned up but it wasn't the part i needed as it was still incomplete. In utter frustration I again rang Metabo in Melbourne and pleaded with the service dept guy to supply me the part direct even though they don't supply direct to the public. They relented and sent me the part that makes it all work. It was in my hands 2 days later. I'm now using the machine again albeit with not a great deal of satisfaction as it still not possible to lock the table down without slop.
A couple of points:
1. It mystifies me that manufacturers appoint service agents who know little or nothing about the product they are supposed to service.
2. It mystifies me why parts manuals are so arcane that the average punter will, 90% of the time, get/or not get - the parts they need.
3. It mystifies me that a major tool manufacturing company based in Melbourne can take a total of 8 weeks to send me parts that I was assured were in stock.
4. I also wonder at the attitude of a company which prides itself on quality can let itself down with such abysmal after sales service.

If I buy a tool from Bunnings and it dies on me, they replace it or refund the purchase price no questions asked.
If I buy a tool from Metabo and it dies/ is defective or is plain scrap metal I'm treated like an idiot.

One wonders whether the high price we pay for quality is really worth it.

Its on the market for what I can get for it. JET, here I come.
Questions, comments welcome.

Mike

I'll betcha that the missing lower thrust bearing had been ratted from the display stock to fix someone else's problem and then forgotten about in relation to the floor stock.

Sorry to hear of your problems.

You did, however, raise a very useful perspective in citing how Bunnings treat customer service. I always think that Bunnings is badly done by on the part of the people in online forums who I might call tool, or hardware, snobs who like to bag them probably because they are big and their market positioning is not at the elite end of the market.

I have no affiliation with Bunnings whatsoever other than being a too regular customer but I reckon that they are great. I am old enough to remember what your average hardware store was like before Bunnings came along in the eastern states. None of us would want to go back to that era of overpriced, limited range, pokey store displayed mechandise.


Sorry to veer your topic a bit off course temporarily but I think that your example of Bunnings' customer/warranty focus is a good one that should set the benchmark for all suppliers.



.

Hi Shedhand

It seems you've been put through the wringer re your BAS317.

As i've said before up to this point in time i've not required any sort of after sales service for mine, 3 years + and still working as it did when i first set it up.
I would have no hesitation in recomending the Metabo BAS317 bandsaw THAT IS if they were all as good as mine.

It seems from your experiences that this is not the case but I also assume that this could also be the norm for most machinery there will be the good and the bad in them all.

Hope you have much better luck with the new Jet when you get it.

Regards
Brian

Hi, I've recently acquired a lightly-used metabo from a friend of mine, and I've noticed some similarities to the review posted by Shedhand. I'm in Ireland, hope you guys don't mind a post from outside Aus. I found this board while searching for a review of the saw.
First - the stock blades are indeed crap - I've put a new 3/4" 3-tpi on mine for full-height resawing and it works very well, and a 3/8" 3-tpi for general-purpose curved work which is fine too. I make electric guitar bodies so I do lots of curved cuts.
In relation to the missing lower thrust bearing - mine was missing too. This meant additional load on the upper thrust bearing, which had worn a groove, and which lead to occasional little sparks flying towards the working area because filings were being abraded from the bearings' face. All this fun was easily stopped with new thrust bearings and a set-up.
The cutting table on mine wobbled as well. Solution: tighten the two 13mm bolts from inside the lower wheel housing with a 13mm socket and extension, then re-tighten the nuts/knobs holding the tilt angle scale outside. Those bolts seem to be threaded through the housing wall, so that the outer nuts really only act as locknuts. This means that you can tighten those to death but the table will still wobble if the two inside bolts aren't tight to begin with.
Other matters - my saw had a groan from the bottom end - I traced it to the bearings on the lower wheel. The previous user didn't have a vacuum system and didn't seem to clear out sawdust very often, which may have contributed to the bearing failing. The inner bearing had failed. They are a stock size, cheaply available anywhere bearings are sold or on Ebay. There is no need to go through Metabo for replacements. They are easy to change - remove the wheel with a puller, knock out one bearing with a chisel and the other will be easier to push out. Drift in the new bearings and off you go.
Fence - since I re-saw a lot, I attached a piece of laminate to the fence to the full cutting height. I found it was greatly improved by adding a brace back to the frame. I tapped a M6 hole in the frame to attach the brace. I can now adjust the fence to an accurate 90 deg and it is stiff and rigid.

Hope this helps someone looking for info as I was.

JC

Thought I'd post this here so as to keep info pertaining to this model BAS 317 in one place. I'v had mine for about three years as well and would say that I'm moderately happy with mine, BUT......

I have the same gripe as mentioned above re the nylon rack driving the upper guide down. It fills with dust which clogs the gears which makes it immovable and necessitates disassembly and painstaking cleaning to remedy. My fix for this is to tape up the top opening and so far this has worked well.

Now for my problem at the moment. The saw gets little use....I make canoes and kayaks and paddles etc and the saw is as much a luxury as a necessity. A couple of days ago the on/off switch started to give problems turning on....I'd give the usual push and it wouldn't "take". A couple more pushes and I was away. Funnily enough it didn't fix itself and today it won't hang on at all. The local agent says I need to bring the whole saw in for them to identify the problem and order the switch if that indeed is the problem. I gave that some thought over a coffee. All the safety micro switches must be OK because the saw runs. So it must be the switch. I though it may be a dust issue so pulled it out and de-dusted what I could. No improvement. Rang the agent back to be told $55 + a minimum order fee + an air bag, or wait a week. I'm sort of OK with that except if I'm going to shell out for that am I going to be up for the same in another three years time? Surely a switch should last longer than that.

Have I got any options as far as anyone knows??? What sort of switch is this - it looks pretty tech. Is it feasible to do away with the micro switches and just fit a generic on/off switch??

I'll email [email protected] and see what they say....

Hi Still Smilin

I have replaced the switch in my Bandsaw BAS 317.
The switch is a standard switch I purchased 5 of them some 12 months ago from CarbTec. ( Just ducking out to shed to get part No} 1-KJD12-1OF/230V
That no is what is on the pack that I recieved. Just phone CarbaTec they actually told me which switch to get.
These switches actually fit 3 of my dust extractors and my wood lathe. (From memory I think they were about $15 ea + postage.
If you need any further info just let me know.
Regards
Brian

Hi Brian,

Just updating this thread until I get to the end..... Took that number to the local Carbatec shop but they mumbled something along the lines that it's obsolete?? But they were helpful and have a recommendation which I'll follow up on tomorrow. Aside from that, I do see that I can order what I want from the UK through ebay for $18 or so plus shipping (anyone else want one if I go that way??) - that p/n helps and the brand is KEDU.

And no response whatsoever from Metabo as yet....so I guess I'm becoming less infatuated with my Metabo gear.....it just means that I buy my thicknesser blades from somewhere else, I guess.....

Cheers - Peter