A wooden bandsaw ... scary ...

[Molynoox]

Not arguing, it's just my opinion.
If this is the type of thing you find to be fun, that's great.
Oh wait, I'm repeating myself but you guys don't seem to listen.

There are many reasons, which I won't get into, why we no longer make these machines from wood. Whether or not you make it yourself, doesn't make it any more viable, if it did, we would see many more of them. as "hobbyists would be building them to save money.


I'm not sure who brought up "hobby" into this conversation but;
"an hourly rate below minimum wage"
If you're a "hobby" woodworker and don't keep track of time or materials, that may be true.
If you are skilled woodworker and sell things at a premium price, that's a whole different story.

What percentage of people on this forum sell things they make in their workshop and make a living from it vs those that do it as a hobby?

 

[Ed Weber]

What percentage of people on this forum sell things they make in their workshop and make a living from it vs those that do it as a hobby?

Maybe you should ask how many members think building their own machinery from wood is something they're interested in perusing.
You don't have to be a hobbyist to build your own shop tools/machines. I've built router tables and plenty of other things but they are things that aren't available in a retail store.

 

[Orraloon]

Did I not say, time equals money?
Most people can't devote a couple of weeks or a month of time to something like this. He is a content creator, he does this to get clicks, it's his job. This is not a practical build, it is frivolous as I said.


Just for fun, have at it.
I personally don't get the point of building something I know can and has already been built. It doesn't seem like fun to me.
What's next, a wooden jointer, a wooden table saw? These things already exist as the OP has shown.

I saw one of his other videos and he did build a wooden jointer.
My grandfathers carpenters shop had a wooden bandsaw and also a wooden saw bench. Both belt driven by a big single cylinder paraffin motor. Wooden workshop saws would have been fairly common up to the mid 20th centuary.
Regards
John

 

[Molynoox]

Maybe you should ask how many members think building their own machinery from wood is something they're interested in perusing.
You don't have to be a hobbyist to build your own shop tools/machines. I've built router tables and plenty of other things but they are things that aren't available in a retail store.

I'm not proposing that people build their own tools, it would be a very small number that have the skills, time and inclination to do so.

But I do enjoy MWs content - it's cool that he makes his own tools, just as an exercise in engineering, I'm pretty sure that's the point and it's not supposed to be a tutorial for others to follow and do the same. That mouse maze thing he built was brilliantly pointless and made me laugh.... and probably sums up his channel and his general mindset perfectly

 

[Dabop]

I've made my own tools, sometimes for a specific 'need' and sometimes just for the hell of it...

Also currently restoring an antique drill press...

Is it 'worthwhile???
Hell no- its a close to 100 year old machine thats never going to be anywhere near as accurate as the cheapest of the 'chinese imports'- but its fun to do...
And at the end of it I will have a reliable and solid benchdrill that I can both use, and enjoy the fact that I was the one to take it from a seized up 'garden ornament' into a functioning piece of equipment again...

The time and money I'm sinking into it- hell by the hours I have spent, even at 'minimum wage' I could have bought a workshop full of machinery...

But the fact is, I'm an old fart these days, with plenty of time on my hands, and it keeps me from boredom (and keeps my skills sharp)

Whats that worth in $$$???

 

[Fergie 307]

I've made my own tools, sometimes for a specific 'need' and sometimes just for the hell of it...

Also currently restoring an antique drill press...

Is it 'worthwhile???
Hell no- its a close to 100 year old machine thats never going to be anywhere near as accurate as the cheapest of the 'chinese imports'- but its fun to do...
And at the end of it I will have a reliable and solid benchdrill that I can both use, and enjoy the fact that I was the one to take it from a seized up 'garden ornament' into a functioning piece of equipment again...

The time and money I'm sinking into it- hell by the hours I have spent, even at 'minimum wage' I could have bought a workshop full of machinery...

But the fact is, I'm an old fart these days, with plenty of time on my hands, and it keeps me from boredom (and keeps my skills sharp)

Whats that worth in $$$???

I get exactly the same satisfaction from restoring watches and clocks.
Many may have never run in my lifetime, and can be in a sorry state. The feeling when they come back to life and start ticking away is hard to explain, but the feeling never wears off.

 

[BucksDad]

Nobody better post a John Heisz video or Paoson woodworking video for Ed to watch

 

[Molynoox]

Nobody better post a John Heisz video or Paoson woodworking video for Ed to watch

Never seen paoson before, looks great though, going to lose a few hours there later today I guess....

 

[Doug B]

I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if the blade broke

I though the same Robert when I saw this metal version that had eventually had Perspex covers made to make blade breakages more safe.

 

[Inspector]

The make vs buy arguments can be made about hand tools too. Lots of people make planes, chisels, etc, even though there are a multitude of store bought available. The decision ultimately comes down to the individual.

When I was a teenager reading all the Popular Mechanics magazines available and later woodworking magazines there were adds by a company (I think the name was Gilmore or something starting with a G) that sold hardware kits to make woodworking machines of wood. They had bandsaw kits among them. They supplied the bearing/shaft assemblies, trunnions etc. They disappeared with the import Asian made machines taking over most of the tool market. I don't ever recall seeing any pictures of completed machines though.

Pete

 

[MikeJhn]

Not quite the same, but I tie my own fishing fly's, the satisfaction of catching a salmonid on a fly you have tied is very exhilarating and I would imagine the satisfaction of making something with a machine you have made would give the same/similar satisfaction.

 

[Amplidyne]

In 1974-6 when I was stationed in Malta GC there was one in a chair-making shop in Naxxar, IIRC, belt driven from a little I/C engine.

Wasn't it the late Jim Kingshott, who wrote various articles for "The Woodworker" back in the 80s / 90s, as well as a book about sharpening, who said that the first place he worked as an apprentice was rural, and had a huge ancient table saw driven by an equally old ICE via flat belt?

 

[Fergie 307]

Fred Dibnah had a fairly large steam driven stone cutting circular saw.
I dare say like most of his kit it was Victorian era. Dirty great blade, no guards of any kind. Scary but great.

 

[mr_offcut]

I'm in the market for one, so I've researched it a bit. Sorry if it's a bit long. I used startpage and the first result for '20" bandsaw' (that wasn't about MWs wooden one) was this;
https://lagunatools.com/industrial/...btiBIkumQI7eUrnD9Vs1tqLlYMbq99ZltDzAa8eCaNaYN

$6,099. That's 4,787 GBP. Now If you needed to setup a commercial workshop it's probably worth the investment. However most hobbyist (or even small shops) don't have anywhere near 4k. So new market is out of the question. Second hand market or build, are your only options. You may be able to find a cheap Chinese saw, but cheap+Chinese=trash.

Looking for a 20" band saw on the second hand market allows you to find good quality stuff from wadkin, oliver, [your favroite]. BUT unless you get one in reasonably good condition you may end up having to employ a machenist (or learn yourself) to repair it. IMHO a vintage restoration is likely to take longer than building Matthias Wandel's wooden bandsaw. Especially if you buy the plans. Basically SH 500 gets you a saw and 50 gets you a saw that needs a lot of work.

I intentionally have not looked very hard and found this nice Wilson and Startrite saws for 550 and 380. Thats nearly a 10th of new.
Wilson: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/116298806923
Startrite: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/267058227442

Parts can sometimes be nearly as much as the second hand saw. If you need a bigger saw you have to buy (and possibly sell old) another one. Also that Wilson looks heavy, moving it incurs cost, and a hernia. The good thing about a wooden one is that you can replace every part immediately (well except for the time to make it). You can modify it and make it into what you want. MWs workshop was in a basement so access was limited.

I have a pile of wood for free that could probably build most of it. A spare motor is kicking about, I probably have some bearings. If you take the cost of the wood out there's not much to buy.

IMHO two professional joiners with a full set of tools could build this and have it cutting wood in a couple of days. It doesn't look much harder than a router table with a custom router lift. And there are plans. If you're paying them 4k GBP over 2 days, that's 1k per employee per day*. Or spend 4k on the saw.

*Any job vacancies going at that rate?