Thread: Best re-sawing bandsaw on the market

Crocy and others,

When I first built my shed, I had to upgrade the transformer and the sparky incorrectly advised me to run a single phase 50amp line to the shed, not 3 phase. So I have had to pass up on some good 2nd hand gear. Still unsure about which brand but Gabbett Machinery (Minimax) have given me good service in the past.

Originally Posted by jefferson

Crocy and others,

When I first built my shed, I had to upgrade the transformer and the sparky incorrectly advised me to run a single phase 50amp line to the shed, not 3 phase. So I have had to pass up on some good 2nd hand gear. Still unsure about which brand but Gabbett Machinery (Minimax) have given me good service in the past.

Yep not a problem these days considering how affordable VSD's are to run 3 phase machinery from your power point.
rgds,
Crocy.

Originally Posted by Old Croc

Yep not a problem these days considering how affordable VSD's are to run 3 phase machinery from your power point.
rgds,
Crocy.

Or get your hands on a rotary phase converter. VFD's are good but it means you need one for each machine. If you wire in an RPC then you can run quite a few machines with quite a small overhead cost.

I have always been of the opinion that if you see yourself staying in the place for a while bite the bullet and install 3 phase - lathough not an option if you live 10 km from the mains.

Paul.

Originally Posted by jefferson

Troops,

I've already got a 19 inch Carbatec BS that works (sometimes) with a 3/8 inch skip tooth blade. Great for cutting circles ie woodturning.

But, like some other posters, I haven't decided on the new machine. I have two mates with very disappointing results on a Hammer BS that I hope to avoid.

I'm inclined to spend the $5K and get a Minima. Anything better out there?

by reputation this beast is the "best" for resawing

I have used the hitachi re-saw at a guitar factory I used to work at and hands down the best. Clean cut only down side try folding that blade is death sentence

Originally Posted by jefferson

Troops,

I've already got a 19 inch Carbatec BS that works (sometimes) with a 3/8 inch skip tooth blade. Great for cutting circles ie woodturning.

But, like some other posters, I haven't decided on the new machine. I have two mates with very disappointing results on a Hammer BS that I hope to avoid.

I'm inclined to spend the $5K and get a Minima. Anything better out there?

Hi Jefferson,
several friends had the same cutout issue and found it was the thermal overload that needed to be reset to a higher running temp.as the motor heated up after prolonged use. I have also had a faulty door switch cause the same issue. In my own case I went from a Carbatec unit to a Hafco BP-500 that like others have mentioned needed quite a bit of setup with a new Kreg guide,extra dust port etc. Now runs just fine and is used with a 1Tpi special blades for breaking down small logs. The 3Hp motor copes well. I also have a Hammer N4400 with a 4Hp motor that has been in daily use for the past eighteen months and works just fine for finer work and some re-sawing. The key points I have learned over the last ten years or so is to make sure you get very good quality blades and set them up correctly. (I use Henry Bros in Sydney) Also need to keep them sharp with good set especially when re-sawing old redgum . I also have access to a resharpening machine and have found with good quality blades we can do this 5-6 times without any issues so far.
Cheers,
Paintman

Originally Posted by Old Croc

Jeff, have you considered finding an old cast iron machine and modernize it? I have a huge Robinson that was designed to cut 150mm deep. It now cuts 550 mm, runs at twice the speed, has delrin roller blade guides and runs a 32 mm bi-metal blade. Its up to you, but there is a lot of complaints of modern saws on this and other forums. Just my $0.20 worth,
Rgds,
Crocy.

Jeff,
I bought an old Jeffwood 27" band saw some time back. It will cut 12" deep. It is all cast iron and was made in Brisbane. The tyres were in good shape and I replaced all the bearings, including the blade roller guides, for $53.00. It is also fully guarded. I replaced the 3ph motor with a 1ph motor. It is bloody heavy too. Dust extraction is nil and will need some thought and engineering, eventually. It did not have a mitre groove or a fence. The mitre groove, I can live without but I did engineer a good solid fence.
Crocy's idea is a good one. These machines are around but you will need to be patient.

Jim

Thanks, Jim.

I've been breaking my boards down on the local woodworking club's H & F bandsaw which is fine on most breeds of wood. 100mm cuts, but slowly, slowly.

Not sure about a 2nd hand machine. I'm not any good at all on re-furbishing etc.