ALDI 10" bandsaw is available online now for £150 if you're quick

[sploo]

I've been toying with the idea of getting a bandsaw, not because i NEED one but just for the experience, since I never had or used one. However I dont want to get one unless it would be used.
I am wondering for instance, how long would it take to saw an 8 ft length of 38mm softwood?
Would it do it as quickly as a 10 in table saw?

Totally depends on the power of the saws and the quality of the blades. However, based on my old 12" Record BS300 (750W, if I recall correctly), with a decent blade you'd rip 38mm pine as quickly as you could push it through the blade. Obviously the cut quality won't be as smooth as a good table saw, so would need planing afterwards.

From memory, I think you need something like 4x the power to cut material that's 2x as thick; so it's when you're trying to do deeper cuts (such as preparing veneers, or planking a log) that tends to push a bandsaw hard. 38mm should be pretty easy on even a small bandsaw.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

No. But for an amateur or occasional user a bandsaw is more versatile by a mile.

 

[alex_heney]

Looking at the Spec though described as a '10 inch bandsaw', I can't see where 10" comes into it.

Well almost all the bandsaws described as 8" have an 80mm cutting depth, so 120mm for a 10" is actually higher in proportion. I think that size is the wheel diameter.

 

[The Gray Man]

lso does anyone have any opinions on the drill press they are selling?

Their drill press is basically the same as the excellent Bosch - there was a post on YouTube about it recently. If I hadn't already got the Bosch, this would be one Scheppach tool I'd buy.

 

[harryc]

There seems to be a few clones of the Bosch pillar drill on the market.
Lidl are also doing one in their Parkside brand.

PS The scheppach and other clones don’t get great reviews seems like there is a issue with play in the bearings so the drill doesn’t cut straight, unless you are lucky

 

[NewbieRaf]

Here is a youtube vid of the bandsaw. Seems to be quite good

 

[sploo]

Well almost all the bandsaws described as 8" have an 80mm cutting depth, so 120mm for a 10" is actually higher in proportion. I think that size is the wheel diameter.

Yea - generally the inch size figure for a bandsaw refers to the (approximate) wheel diameter. That dictates the maximum cutting width. The cutting height could in theory be just about anything (dictated by the length of the blade). However, more height means more power requirement (no point in having a 30cm max cut height, but with only the motor power to rip 10cm thick stock).

I guess there are probably "sweet spot" sizes for wheel diameter + motor power + cutting height; though some old US made bandsaws use a split cast iron construction, and you can buy a riser block to raise the height of the upper wheel for a larger max cutting height (obviously requiring a longer blade).

 

[NDRiley]

I just put Aldi bandsaw into Google and this fearsome looking beast came up. I’ve never seen anything quite like it before I’m not at all sure what you would use it for, but I’m sure somebody on here will enlighten me.
View attachment 94074

That looks like the sort of portable bandsaw oak framers use to cut curves where the timbers are so large it’s easier to take the saw to the timber. Agreed though - terrifying

 

[Cabinetman]

Interesting, yes I can see that now. Not sure how much of a market there would be from the average Aldi customers, I dread to think what some of them are using it for. I would imagine there is a very good chance of cutting lumps out of yourself with it. At least it looks as if you have to use two hands to use it, so that just leaves feet!!

 

[sploo]

Interesting, yes I can see that now. Not sure how much of a market there would be from the average Aldi customers, I dread to think what some of them are using it for. I would imagine there is a very good chance of cutting lumps out of yourself with it. At least it looks as if you have to use two hands to use it, so that just leaves feet!!

The max speed of the metal cutting bandsaws isn't generally that high, and the exposed blade is relatively short. Add to that the fact the blade is twisted at 45 degrees to the wheels (to allow long metal stock to be cut) means it probably wouldn't be a particularly attractive tool for anything but cutting metal bars (when used handheld). I'm sure someone will manage to injure themselves with one, but I'd suspect a circular saw would be more dangerous, and a jigsaw possibly would have a higher risk of a wrist snapping "kick".

 

[Cabinetman]

Hi Sploo, I haven’t actually seen one in the flesh so you’re probably right, now jigsaws! Kenny Everett's sketches as Reg Prescott, utterly unmissable.

 

[thetyreman]

Does anyone have a bandsaw with a similar capacity to this? I would be interested to know what it’s capable of. I’m tempted by the Aldi bandsaw at that price but is it realistic to expect it to be able to re-saw hardwood stock into thinner boards for example?

I have done just that lots of times with this very bandsaw, as long as you don't go wider than 3/8" blades it copes just fine, I have used it with purpleheart to make a krenov handplane which is much harder than oak, ripped through 3 x 3 purpleheart no problems with a tuffsaw blade.

 

[sploo]

I have done just that lots of times with this very bandsaw, as long as you don't go wider than 3/8" blades it copes just fine, I have used it with purpleheart to make a krenov handplane which is much harder than oak, ripped through 3 x 3 purpleheart no problems with a tuffsaw blade.

Two very good points you make there: the quality of the blade matters (Tuffsaws are very good - I've used Ian's blades for years). Also, the max blade width rating on many saws is often optimistic (the saw may well not be able to tension a wide blade sufficiently - so it's probably not a bad idea to choose a blade that's one size down; i.e. 3/8" if it claims 1/2" max).

From memory, my (old version) Record BS300 is supposedly able to handle 3/4", but the max it'll realistically run is 5/8". When using an M42 blade (apparently harder to tension) I've had really good results with a 1/2" blade - indeed a 3 TPI 1/2" M42 blade is the one that sits in the saw most of the time; as it'll cut through just about anything (excluding thin/delicate stock).

 

[billw]

... (no point in having a 30cm max cut height, but with only the motor power to rip 10cm thick stock)...

What is this "cm" unit you speak of?

 

[sploo]

What is this "cm" unit you speak of?

Ah. I apologise.

It's 0.00198838781515946870277578938996 of a rod, or 0.04970969537898671756939473474907 of a link.

Or 1.18 barleycorns.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It's the work of the devil, designed to confuse.

 

[NDRiley]

I have done just that lots of times with this very bandsaw, as long as you don't go wider than 3/8" blades it copes just fine, I have used it with purpleheart to make a krenov handplane which is much harder than oak, ripped through 3 x 3 purpleheart no problems with a tuffsaw blade.

Thanks for the intel tyreman - much appreciated.

 

[Stevebod]

....b£gger.....all sold out... ....

 

[sploo]

....b£gger.....all sold out... ....

That sucks. Sorry to hear.

FWIW I bought one of the metal bandsaws (Scheppach 240V Portable Band Saw). For anyone considering it; impressions so far are positive.

The main complaints from reviews I've seen have been the poor vise locking mechanism; it's not great, but so far it seems OK. There's knurling on the main rod on the vise, which I think helps (I didn't spot that one some video reviews I saw).

If mounted vertically (on a DIY mount) some reviewers noted the wheels/blade are exposed towards the user; but this version has sliding plastic covers on the wheels. So - so far - I think it was a good purchase.

 

[PerryGunn]

I bought one of the latest batch of Aldi bandsaws and, unless you're very lucky with a second-hand purchase, I doubt if you can beat it for the money.

The stock blade was a bit 'meh!' so replaced it with one from Tuff Saws (I bought a couple so thanks for the advice Ian). It'll just about cope with a thin 12mm blade but it takes a fair amount of fiddling with the setup - next time I'll drop back to 10mm.

The one thing I really hated was the awful stiff plastic mains cable as it just doesn't coil or lay flat - sounds trivial but it's really irritating in a small workshop where you need to keep everything as tidy as possible - so I've replaced it with 3m of decent flexible rubber-sheathed cable.