Advice on bandsaws

[filsgreen]

Hi, I need advice on whether to bin my present bandsaw and get a better on, or persevere and buy a better blade. At present I have this cheapo one



Which at the moment I can't get to cut straight through 2" Ash. When I do i get a burning smell and the cut is wonky. Now chances are it is probably me and not the machine. I Did buy five various size blades from Screwfix at the same time, so should I try one of them or just get in touch with Ian at Dragon blades?

It's doing my head in as I have 25mm Ash that I need to resaw to 12mm. Any help will be most appreciated.

Thanks

Phil

 

[MikeG.]

Well, before you do ebay it, you ought to try it with a decent blade. Unfortunately,when you do put a good blade in it, you will get a hint of what a bandsaw is capable of and will want a new one anyway........so, lets face it, you're going to be buying a new machine come what may!!

A good blade will make all the difference to any machine. My 14" machine with a new Dragon blade ripped through 6 inches of ash today as easy as pie......and dead straight too. £150 on eBay. My advice would be to go for at least a 14" machine...........once you have tried a new blade in your old one!!

Mike

 

[paulm]

Try Ian first, should only cost around £10 to £15 I guess for a decent blade, then if that doesn't work you can upgrade to a better machine in the sales !

Only thing is, I think they are closed now till 5th Jan or thereabouts.....

Cheers, Paul

 

[Tom K]

Phil, your bandsaw sucks, my shopvac doesn't cut well either

Regards Tom

 

[Anonymous]

Hi there

first off what bandsaw are you using? if its a small basic saw and you are attempting to rip or cross cut hardwoods with a blade, the motor will be under a certain amount of strain. secondly the issue of the state of the blade should be aconcern for you. this can be two issues on the blade. first is the set of the blade. are the blade guide wheels and thrust bearing set correctly away from the teeth ideally 1mm behind the gullet starting point. this will stop the teeth being hit by the guides causing damage and distorting the blade to death. secondly a good thing to check is the back wall of the blade. the best thing to do is to use a fine or mid grade metal file and with the bandsaw running present the file to the back of the blade and round off the back just a bit. this stops burn marks on the wood.

now then... this is a mine field of info lol which will no doubt have a plethora of responses.

if you're ripping and cross cutting on the bandsaw and handling hardwoods and thick stock etc or performing demanding work, I'd consider upgrading to a more powerful bandsaw which can offer more capacity, solid top ideally made of cast iron as apposed to sheets steel etc so that you get better support and accuracy. a higher horsepower motor, larger balanced wheels ideally made of cast iron etc.

check out a few companies I deal with and have experience with.

the felder hammer range of bandsaws orfelder bandsaws (more professional and semi pro saws but are worth the money)
Record Power / startrite bandsaws
Metabo (elektra beckum) bandsaws

a good word of caution. certain manufacturers of cheap bandsaws produce saws which are inferior and can prove dangerous in the long run. avoid makes such as Perform from Axminster, axminster basic range, SIP woodworking products and certain others including Ryobi bandsaws who have a nasty habbit of producing saws with serious flaws

hope this is of use to you and good luck

lew

 

[filsgreen]

Phil, your bandsaw sucks, my shopvac doesn't cut well either

Regards Tom

:lol: :lol:

Thanks for your quick response guys. Your more or less telling me what I already know, the old adage buy cheap buy twice springs to mind. Mike, I can't even Ebay it as postage to the UK would be more than what the bandsaw is probably worth! Chisel, I think it may be worth a quick punt with a blade from Dragon, as it may work.

Cheers

Phil

 

[Smudger]

Phil, I've got the same bandsaw. Seemed like a good idea at the time...

I could never get it to cut straight until I bought a new (wider) blade (Axminster) - it still isn't great, but it's a lot better.

 

[filsgreen]

Seemed like a good idea to me **** because I didn't want to wait and save for a better model, hopefully a good blade will salvage it.

Phil

 

[Gitface]

Hi Phil

I've got the same one as you although a different manufacture (mines blue) anyway I was also having problems with it and ended up getting a blade fro Ian at dragon saws, made a whole world of diffrence.

Also there was a lot of faffing about getting the this to run smothly, I've commented on it in this thread Click Me

And also this one Click Me

After messing afound I'm a lot happier with the thing.

Mark............

 

[Derek Willis.]

Any decent blade fitted in your bandsaw, be it a de-luxe model ar a cheapo, will cut, if you have a blunt blade you will never cut straight.
A mistake I make very often, over many years, I might add, is that I cut m.d.f. on my bandsaw, this ruins the blades whatever they are, do that and you will not cut straight.
Be warned!!!
Derek.

 

[Smudger]

I had trouble getting the blade tension right, but the new blade seemed to sort that out too.
I bought the Axminster blade as a 'sort it or chuck it' gamble. I would go for Dragon next time. At least now (with ½" blade) it keeps to the fence.

I had 2 Ferm bandsaws for about the same price, and they were much better, though. I've still got one in France, the other one died for no obvious reason.