I am in the market for a bandsaw and have been looking at scheppach,jet,axminster and startrite machines, what i would like to know is that the startrite 352 (secondhand) uses a 750w motor and the others use around 2 or 2.5 kw. Is the startrite powerful enough for ripping or is this an older more powerful type of measurement ,does that make sense? The reason i ask is that most people seem to rate the old 352 and i am worried about spending the money and not getting a big enough machine.Your collective thoughts would be much appreciated.
Bandsaw advice.
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paulm
IG paulm_outdoors
A kilowatt (kw) is 1000 watts, so the 2kw motor is roughly two and a half times more powerful than the 750 watt.
Depends what you mean by deep ripping really, by that do you mean say 4" thick softwood or 10" thick dry hardwoods or green logs ?
If the bigger stuff then I uprated the motor on my startrite from 1500w to 3000w to make the really heavy stuff easier. The smaller motor would get there eventually but it did struggle and was very slow.
On the other hand the 1500w motor was perfectly adequate on stuff up to 6" or so, so it all depends really !
Having said all that, 750w does sound a bit on the small side. Replacement motors can be had for around £100 if you wanted to upgrade an older machine as I did.
Cheers, Paul
Depends what you mean by deep ripping really, by that do you mean say 4" thick softwood or 10" thick dry hardwoods or green logs ?
If the bigger stuff then I uprated the motor on my startrite from 1500w to 3000w to make the really heavy stuff easier. The smaller motor would get there eventually but it did struggle and was very slow.
On the other hand the 1500w motor was perfectly adequate on stuff up to 6" or so, so it all depends really !
Having said all that, 750w does sound a bit on the small side. Replacement motors can be had for around £100 if you wanted to upgrade an older machine as I did.
Cheers, Paul
Thanks Paul, I need a single phase machine and many for sale seem to be 3 phase and although i have an inverter, changing the motor for a larger one is a great idea....do you know if i can use the same switch gear doing this, i figure i can just use 2 of the contacts for the live and neutral?
paulm
IG paulm_outdoors
If swapping a single phase for a larger single phase then the switchgear should be fine I think, but if swapping a 3 phase with a new single phase I don't know for sure.
Hopefully Bob (9 fingers) will be along to advise, but if not try a pm and I'm sure he will put you straight.
Cheers, Paul
Hopefully Bob (9 fingers) will be along to advise, but if not try a pm and I'm sure he will put you straight.
Cheers, Paul
Mr Ed
Established Member
I have the Axminster AP5300 which is excellent. It has good size capacity and has never seemed to be to be lacking in power. I looked at all the options you have mentioned 12 months ago and decided this was the best one. I can see no need to get into 3 phase - you can get all the power you need in a big single phase machine.
Ed
Ed
having just gone through this myself - going to pick up a startrite 502 tomorrow - I would definitely go with startrite. the new axminster bandsaws in particular look to be very poor quality. if you only use it for hobby purposes, the new record bs 400 might be worth a look at as there are quite a few similarities between the bs500 and the startrite saws - the fence arangement for example. only problem if you decide on a startrite 352 or 502, there aren't any new ones in the UK until mid march - I'm buying the display 502e from D&M tools :wink:
HTH,
Steve
HTH,
Steve
Mr Ed
Established Member
promhandicam":1curf4rv said:
Not sure which models you're referring to, but thats certainly not my experience with the one I have.
Ed
The AWHBS450N was on my list and I looked at it yesterday. the finish on it was poor and the quality of the guard over the blade on top of the top guide was appalling. Also the handle for the rip fence was very flimsy and didn't look as if it would last. of all the saws I looked at it was the worst in terms of quality
The advice I've had is that for re sawing, the startrite is able to take a higher tension on the blade compared to the other saws around £1000.
Steve
The advice I've had is that for re sawing, the startrite is able to take a higher tension on the blade compared to the other saws around £1000.
Steve
Mike Wingate
Established Member
I am the happy owner of a single phase Startrite 352. I have installed a new switchbox as the old one gave up after 12 years of my use. I am the second owner. Apart from the fence, it is a great saw and will do what you want.
One thing to remember is that 'kW'etc ratings are not absolutes which can necessarily be compared directly. The most obvious being input/output power, but there are all sorts of variations on the conditions under which the rated power can be delivered. Specsmanship is very very possible...
misterfish
Established Member
I also have a '352' and have had no problems with its cutting abilities. The important thing is to have a decent sharp blade. I've only had problems with bogging down when cutting a tight curve on a wet 6 x 6 for part of a gazebo and I can only blame myself as I couldn't be bothered to change to a narrow blade. All that happened was the thermal cutout cut in and stopped it dead. i waited a couple of minutes and it finished the cut without any problem. (The biggest problem was manouvering the 10ft long piece of wood)
There is currently a single phase 352 over on Essex on the 'bay.
Misterfish
There is currently a single phase 352 over on Essex on the 'bay.
Misterfish
I am watching the essex one, they seem to all go for good money and hold their value so i am thinking startrite 352 is the way ahead and pass it on in the unlikely event of not liking it.Then again that 502 does look nice...........!
