Another bandsaw

[Anonymous]

Hi

I bought an EB bas250 bandsaw earlier this year and although it works fine I need to step up in size.

Looking at earlier threads on the subject I noticed the sheppach Basato3 had fairly good reviews ( apart from tricky table setup) and the EB315/316

Apparently there were also teething probs with the basato3.

Have they sorted them out ? and did anyone buy one, if yes, whats the verdict?

Anyways I need to resaw 4"-6" depth softwood and the eb250 cannot cope.

I understand I need something with about a 1hp motor.

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated. I have about £400 to spend + what I can get for my eb250 with two good blades.

Anyone interested in my eb250 ( very lightly used, as new) please PM me.

cheers

bilzee

 

[Alf]

Bilzee,

If you can I'd make that step up in size worth your while and get something larger still. The more you use a bandsaw, the more you wish you'd got the next size up in my experience. I'm currently happy with a 16" throat and 10" depth after many years of 12" and 6", but I just know I'll end up wanting to upgrade again. Save money; do it in fewer but bigger steps :wink:

That was a public information broadcast by the It's-not-just-greasing-the-hand-tool-slope-you-know party.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Anonymous]

Alf

..as ever its about funds and to a lesser degree space and also electrical set up.

My intention was to go for a meatier machine but a double step up unless I take the 'used' route appears to cost considerably more than the £400-£500 I can muster

Also these larger machines (1.5hp+) seem to need a higher amperage than the normal 13 amp.

Assuming I could dedicate a power source to the bandsaw its really the £900 upwards price tags that seem to go with these larger machines which make this idea so difficult.

Incidently I would really appreciate some details about posters own bandsaws rather like CYC's 'Forum users Table Saw' thread in tool reviews section.

In fact Ive started a thread there on that subject

cheers

Bilzee

 

[Alf]

Yeah, funds are always a drawback aren't they? I just wondered if maybe the step to 14" might be worth your while, rather than just 12"? Amazing what a difference 2" makes... (No jokes please) Something like the Kity or Jet 14" perhaps? Don't worry so much about the 1Hp motor. It's nice to have, but 0.75 is capable of quite a lot, especially if you have the right - sharp - blade and feed rate.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Anonymous]

After a preliminary search for a Bandsaw with a 200mm depth of cut I have come up with these

DW876 Bandsaw

Seemingly good spec, very reasonable price for a 200mm depth of cut, largish table ( not cast iron though) good size motor.

Whats the catch :lol:

Axminster 8" Bandsaw

Nice price which includes delivery. Small table and smaller motor (0.75hp) than dewalt. Very similar but much cheaper than the Jet model sold by rutlandsHere

Kity613

Pricier. Nice size table and motor, only 192 cut depth though.[/url]

 

[Gill]

Hi Bilzee

I've got a Kity 613 and it's one of the mainstays of my workshop. As you might have guessed from my previous postings, I don't use a tablesaw at all, preferring the bandsaw. I find it dependable and accurate, especially when cutting very thin pieces of timber, but I've never used any of the other machines so I can't really compare them. I just thought I'd mention that I'm happy with mine and I've never heard any other users say a bad word against them.

Whatever bandsaw you decide on, throw away the blade supplied with the machine and get one from a speciallist supplier such as Dure Edge.

Yours

Gill

 

[Alf]

Bilzee,

Out of those, if I was buying, it'd be the Axminster. It's the one I saw that convinced me that the Jet/Axminster bandsaw was the way to go. Very, very solid. Go for cast iron when you can, say I. As I understand it, the only difference between the Axminster and Jet is that Axminster have reduced the size of the table on theirs slightly, in order to meet the sub £500 price. They did have some of the old model with the larger table at the lower price at one stage, but I expect they're long gone by now. Still, no harm in asking maybe...? :wink:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Charley]

I'm currently looking for a bandsaw and the Axminster 8" is on the top of my list.

Alf/Gill/anyone else what type/size of bandsaw blades do you recommend to have?

 

[Anonymous]

Alf

.. do you think the smaller motor say in the axminster 8" (0.75hp) is sufficient to resaw 4"- 6" softwood assuming decent blade and feed rate ( not funerial I hope :lol: )?

The bigger motor and table of the dewalt is attractive, but have had no feedback anywhere about the machine

Gill

Thanks for the info on the Kity 613. Do you think it will cope with what I want to do?

Yep, I picked up that tip on dure edge when I got the little EB250. Definitely improves the machine

Cheers

Billzee

 

[Gill]

Hi Bilzee

I've never tried cutting softwood with my Kity but it'll certainly manage about 4" of hardwood (slowly!) so I presume 6" of softwood should be within its capabilities. I once had some silver birch logs to size. They varied in width but were towards the upper limit that you've mentioned.

Of course, if you intend to use your bandsaw in a resaw mode then it'd be wise to go for as wide a blade as possible. If you want to use it more as a big fretsaw then go for something more narrow. I know you've already traded with Dure Edge, so why not ask their advice? You'll probably find the rep will ask you how you intend to use their blades and suggest the most appropriate one for the bandsaw and the purpose.

Yours

Gill

 

[Alf]

Charley,

I agree with Gill on choosing; throw yourself upon the mercy of the Dure Edge guy and he can advise on what to get depending on what you want to do. F'rinstance I wanted a re-saw blade and a more general purpose do-everything-else-more-or-less blade; he suggested a 3/4" 3 tpi and either a 6 or 8 tpi 1/2". I went with 8 tpi 'cos it was newly offered so I fancied to be a bit of a guinea pig :wink: I've actually got round to comparing Axminster's prices with Dure Edge at last, and in the examples I have the Jet JWBS16 size blades work out on a par with the pre-VAT APTC price. Interestingly the Basato 5-2 size are cheaper from Dure Edge. Go figure :?

Bilzee,

My Elu has a 0.75Hp motor, and it managed 6" softwood okay-ish. However I didn't have the right blade and 6" is its maximum capicity under the guides. It generally seems to be that you should assume all these machines will really only be happy with tasks slightly below their maximum spec. This seems to be so, as 5" stuff the Elu breezes through in comparison. I'm surprised there's nothing about the DeWalt anywhere; it's been around for a while now hasn't it? Odd.

Gill,

Interesting that you thought, as I did, that for re-sawing get the widest possible blade. Yet, as you see, I was recommended to go for a 3/4" despite the machine being theoretically able to take a 1.5" blade. But then I suppose we're back to the difference between what will fit on the wheel/between the guides and what the spring will satisfactorily tension. No wonder people get confused about bandsaws (especially me!)

Cheers, Alf

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Excuse me Alf, but isn't the bandsaw a (cough, cough) ****power tool****. :wink:

Cheers
Neil

 

[Gill]

Hi Alf

I went for wide resaw blade simply because Dure Edge recommended it and they had much more experience than I did ! I must admit, it's done a nice job. However, I was told that different machines perform better in different modes with different types of blades :!: , so as you say, it's quite possible that I'd be guided towards a 1.5" blade for my machine whereas you'd be advised to go for a 3/4" blade for yours. It's a pity we can't compare results, but Cornwall's a long way from Worcester!

Yours

Gill

 

[Alf]

Golly, Gill. I didn't realise the Kity could even take a 1.5" blade! Wowsers; must have a helluva spring.

Neil, the bandsaw is often referred to as a "Neanderbuddy" 'cos as sure as Stanley made planes, re-sawing by hand is hard work. :shock:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Anonymous]

Alf/Bilzee/Gill

I've got a Kity 613 too, and have been pretty happy with it.

The under-table guides don't have a thrust bearing. This means the back of the blade is unsupported when you're cutting, and I don't like that as it allows the blade to wobble around a bit (at least that's what I think). It also means there's a risk it could come off the back of the wheel if you pushed way too hard, but I've not come anywhere near that so I'm not so sure.

As for blade size the widest blade it can take is 1". I use Dure-Edge 3/4" or even 1/2" blades for resawing and have been very happy with both. I am generally resawing 6"-7" hardwoods (oak, meranti, beech) and it goes through any of them very well as long as the blade is sharp and well tensioned. I made a new fence for resawing with it, as the supplied one is too short for tall work and can't be adjusted for blade drift. With my fence I have resawn 7" thick timber to within a 1mm tolerance in thickness both across the cut and for the length of the cut (around 1 metre).

The other thing I'm not keen on is the way the table's held to the frame. It feels a bit flimsy, and when you're throwing 6" thick lumps of oak onto the table I have a suspicion that it moves a little off from 90 degrees to the blade. One day I want to upgrade to a machine with 12" depth of cut, as Alf says, you'll always want more.

Cheers,

AG

 

[Anonymous]

Well folks, I have taken a gamble and plumped for the dewalt. It has a big motor 1100w, a large table, and 200mm depth .......and its

CHEAP. :lol:

Now I've talked to the guy @ Dure-edge ( very helpful) and he says he has had no dodgy reports about the machine, feels the lack of a cast iron table should not be a problem. The company are pretty reputable and dewalt originally priced the machine @ £800 odd. I have also seen it retailing @ over £600 still.

All of that won't amount to a 'hill of beans' if its no good but I'll let you know when I get it ( 5-7 days for dispatch)

cheers

billzee

Edit: One bit of bad news, its out of stock and they have already debited my card. They have given me 7 days for possible despatch or if I want my card recredited, up to 7 days for that to happen . Over a barrel springs to mind. :x

I hate companies who do this. It should be made law IMO that they do NOT debit your card untill despatch. The company is www.powertoolsuk.co.uk

Edit 2: TBF, after getting on to powertoolsuk the re-crediting of my card was done immediately.

 

[Gill]

As for blade size the widest blade it can take is 1"

Whoops ! I've just checked and you're quite right - there was me thinking it was 1.5".

Oh well, since you went for the DW, Bilzee, I suppose my faux pas doesn't really matter. I hope you have many happy hours producing sawdust with it.

Yours

Gill

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Gill

Have just cancelled it.

See edit of last post.

Thinking again

 

[Anonymous]

Bilzee,

Sorry to hear you're at the mercy of a dodgy supplier. Seems to me that there are too many of them about. I wonder if that's how they're able to offer the best deals - just hold nothing in stock and order it when you get an order yourself? I don't think I've heard anybody comment badly about D&M, so they might be worth a call?

Otherwise the Alexanders Palace show is in February and you might get yourself a deal there on something - there are often good bargains to be made.

I'm not sure how strongly I'd recommend the Kity - I've heard that they're not in great shape as a company, at least in the UK (could be rumour and conjecture, therefore it's alleged!).

In addition I've never used any other bandsaw, so it's very difficult for me to offer any kind of objective views on it.


Gill - the thing about blade width comes down to getting enough tension on the blade. I know Scrit's written on this several times over the last couple of years, and there was an article in FWW too. The Kity is unusual in being specified with blades up to 1" for such a small bandsaw. I've found that a 3/4" from Dure Edge gave me such great results I'll not bother trying a 1". The big thing that's missing is a tension meter, so it's impossible to tell whether or not you've got enough tension on a given blade. I go by feel to a large degree now, which is not at all scientific but does give me the results I need. At some point I'm going to have an experiment at making a simple tension meter for the bandsaw using a dial indicator and some simple clamps, but it's not a priority at the moment.

Cheers,

AG

 

[Anonymous]

AG

I'm sure these companies cut their own throats when they do this. I would have been prepared to wait if they hadn't debited my card.

Also, now I have signals view ( pants :lol: ) of the dewalt I am thinking of chucking the the good lady out and the pooches ( 2 german shepherds and a terrier) and purchasing the Startrite 301e ( £679) :shock:

At least I will have a decent machine

............. or is someone gonna criticise startrite, otherwise for cheapness maybe the record 14" :? LOL