Hello all,
I have done my best to read all the old threads on this, but given the amount of money, I was hoping to get some specific guidance before pulling the trigger.
I have a double garage workshop which I have been slowly growing since lockdown, and I am now at the stage where I am replacing first cheap tools with more expensive ones when I have convinced myself I am going to use them. As such I am looking to replace a parkside bandsaw (which was/is fantastic for the money) with something significantly more serious.
The main problem with the parkside saw is the depth of cut is about 3 1/4 inches, and I would like to do resawing of both logs and thick boards. The parkside saw also doesn't create the cleanest of cuts, so I have to do a fair bit of tidying up afterwards.
From the vaious bandsaw threads on the site, the names that keep coming up in this price range are: Laguna at the top end, Record Power and Axminster. Charnwood doesn't appear to make bandsaws this large unless I am looking in the wrong place. Am I missing any key players?
Here is what I have so far:
Am I missing any important key features in my table that would differentiate these saws?
I like the 5 year warranty of the Record Power saws. I think if I lived in America I would get a 2 year warranty on the Laguna. A 1 year warranty for something that costs that much doesn't feel great to me. Having said that ideally I don't want to ever have to call on the warranty as I assume returning something this large will be incredibly irritating, so build quality is a big selling point for me.
From more experienced woodworkers, how often does the difference between a 10 inch cut and a 12-13 inch depth cut come into play. I realise thats a how long is a piece of string question, but the Sabre-300 is looking like pretty good bang for my buck, I just don't want to be looking to upgrade again in 2 years time.
The Axminster one looks like a pretty good half way house in terms of depth of cut, warranty and price.
I know the guidance here is quite often to pick up something second hand and refurbish it, but I am not confident enough with tools to do that at the moment, especially for this amount of money.
Thank you for your help.
I have done my best to read all the old threads on this, but given the amount of money, I was hoping to get some specific guidance before pulling the trigger.
I have a double garage workshop which I have been slowly growing since lockdown, and I am now at the stage where I am replacing first cheap tools with more expensive ones when I have convinced myself I am going to use them. As such I am looking to replace a parkside bandsaw (which was/is fantastic for the money) with something significantly more serious.
The main problem with the parkside saw is the depth of cut is about 3 1/4 inches, and I would like to do resawing of both logs and thick boards. The parkside saw also doesn't create the cleanest of cuts, so I have to do a fair bit of tidying up afterwards.
From the vaious bandsaw threads on the site, the names that keep coming up in this price range are: Laguna at the top end, Record Power and Axminster. Charnwood doesn't appear to make bandsaws this large unless I am looking in the wrong place. Am I missing any key players?
Here is what I have so far:
| Brand | Make | Price inc Wheels & Delivery | Cutting Depth | Cutting Width | Table Size | Max Blade Width | Resaw bar | Warranty |
| Laguna | 14|12 | £1700 | 330 | 340 | 400X546 | 19 | Yes | 1 year |
| Record Power | Sabre-300 | £1000 | 254 | 292 | 400x480 | 19 | Yes | 5 year |
| Record Power | Sabre-350 | £1247 | 285 | 345 | 400x546 | 19 | Yes | 5 year |
| Record Power | Sabre-450 | £1783 | 320 | 445 | 400x658 | 35 | Yes | 5 year |
| Axminster | AP2920B | £1300 | 300 | 345 | 440x540 | 19 | No | 3 year |
Am I missing any important key features in my table that would differentiate these saws?
I like the 5 year warranty of the Record Power saws. I think if I lived in America I would get a 2 year warranty on the Laguna. A 1 year warranty for something that costs that much doesn't feel great to me. Having said that ideally I don't want to ever have to call on the warranty as I assume returning something this large will be incredibly irritating, so build quality is a big selling point for me.
From more experienced woodworkers, how often does the difference between a 10 inch cut and a 12-13 inch depth cut come into play. I realise thats a how long is a piece of string question, but the Sabre-300 is looking like pretty good bang for my buck, I just don't want to be looking to upgrade again in 2 years time.
The Axminster one looks like a pretty good half way house in terms of depth of cut, warranty and price.
I know the guidance here is quite often to pick up something second hand and refurbish it, but I am not confident enough with tools to do that at the moment, especially for this amount of money.
Thank you for your help.
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