PlacidCasual":c28lwudt said:
Thx for the advice, I’ll read a few times and cogitate.
The Record Power band saw I looked at was the 300. I thought some of the construction lacked details the Axminster had but the guide adjustment looked marginally better the bearings themselves looked marginally less so. But that is just a first glance impression of an engineer. Of the two I’d go Axminster interesting to hear people suggest the Record Ill have to look again.
Remember that both Axminster AND Record Power source their machines from Chinese factories. In my view there are differences but frankly, they're little to do with build quality because the Chinese origin is common to both. If build quality (with the eye of an engineer) is what you really desire then a European sourced machine is where you might like to focus your search. What IS different about record Power and Axy is two fold:
1) RP now own Startrite and come from a Yorkshire/Sheffield heritage. With that co-ownership comes a provenence and understanding of which features are important in good bandsaw design. Cast iron features strongly in the designs of RP machines which is a stability and vibration absorption measure they've crossed over from the Startrite universe which is aimed at the industrial strength market. Band wheels, table, trunnions and the fence assembly are all areas where the RP machines have benefitted from design ideology inherent in the more robust/expensive Startrite range. the difference is that a) they're made in China and b) not all features have crossed the bridge.
But RP have co-invested in tooling in these Chinese manufacturing facilities so there is more vested interest than just painting and badging a pure import.
2) RP offer a 5 year warranty versus the Axy 3 year equivalent (which until recently was only a year). RP are clearly the more serious player in the bandsaw market. They are more steeped in the historical dominance (Startrite) and they put more financial energy into ensuring the machine designs are fit for purpose. They also, put their money where their mouthes are and back that risk with a 5 year warranty. That means investment in parts inventory, trained service engineers etc...ad nauseam. Bottom line, they're serious about this market and that seriousness is reflected in the features of their offerings and the associated services.
An unknown about RP that gets little attention is they continue to service their products long after the warranty has actually expired! In fact, my experience has been that, as long as they can source the parts, your RP product is really guaranteed for life! They just dont like to broadcast that. My experience with Axy is a bit more cut and dried than that....they ask for the receipt. RP have never done that to me....just an old fashioned, if we sold it, we stand by it kind of Yorkshire attitude which I rather like.
