Bandsaw for the beginner

[Bm101]

I have an Inca as Marcros suggests. They are small but much loved for a reason. Proper bit of kit. After searching for a good while I got mine for about a hundred quid. Best buy in my shed. It changed everything about how I 'work' in my shed.
It's so well made its a doddle to set up. I had mine humming the first time I used it. Down to the machine not my skills. It's intuitive. Crownless tyres help. Fit a better class of blade from tuffsaws etc and it just does everything I want. A big saw would be nice of course but the inca punches well above its weight for its small footprint. The only issues are stock size limitation, finding one near you used, and as they are no longer made parts can be expensivebut being a bandsaw they are not complex machines so....
We tend to plan on space as floor size but if you are limited for height in your shed you can tuck an inca away on a wheeled trolley under the eaves etc. It's light enough that if really pushed you could lug it about easil by hand and tuck it away under a bench etc.
If you do go for an Inca there's lots of threads on here. Take a look under advanced search options.
Cheers
Chris

Ps. Here's my one.
new-old-inca-t100481.html?hilit=New%20old%20inca

 

[Myfordman]

As usual I don't totally agree with Sunnybob but stretching your budget till it hurts a bit will soon be forgotten but go for a big name older machine at the 60% of new pricepoint as per Sunnybob above or better.
Bandsaws are not complicated machines and changing bearings etc is easy. You need as rigid a machine as possible that won't flex under blade tension made of thick welded steel sheet or castings. Think hard about whether you will want to cut steel ever, and if so go for a machine that has a wide range of speeds. e.g. 3000 FPM for wood, 200 FPM for steel. The latter means stepped pulleys and a gear box.
Type of blade guide can be as contentious as sharpening threads round here (!) but I like ball bearing guides for max versatility.

 

[BrodieB]

Great replies and advice! Thanks!

 

[Bm101]

Looks very clean and appears to be owned by someone with their head screwed on. Newish diy zero clearance insert, tidy garage etc.. just clues but worth looking for on online sales imo.
It's got a lot of bids already. Mine was a hundred quid because I was lucky no one else bid. Wasn't so lucky the previous 10 times I bid. Sometimes you just have to have a collection of agreeable coincidences adding up in your favour. Same when I got my meddings drill. It's a question of luck and patience to get a good old machine with the virtues of favourable condition, prices and location.
I'd remove the link personally. This site is visited anonymously by far more than ever post.

While Myfords advice above is excellent as always.... one note of caution.
I'm mostly small projects stuff plus the house. The inca does me. I also know I'm in the woodworking for the long term now. A good job cos it takes me ages to get anything done! Careful of spending big money if you are not sure this is a long term investment of time money and energy for you.
Sorry if I'm teaching the sucking of eggs.
Good luck!

 

[BrodieB]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate you taking the tim to share your thoughts. No eggs here! I work for the ambulance service and something that lacks in my day to day job is open knowledge sharing and questioning without judgement. It’s great to see there’s still some people who are willing to share their experience for the benefits of others without detriment to confidence or enthusiasm.

 

[Bm101]

You might be looking at your industry with an opened eye but from the outside. Thanks. For everything.
It's not perfect but it's fully appreciated. Proper job.

 

[BrodieB]

Thanks buddy

 

[Trevanion]

Type of blade guide can be as contentious as sharpening threads round here (!)

Guilty as charged! :lol: I guess I’m the Jacob of blade guides. I won’t get into it now though as I really don’t want to muddy the really excellent advice being put down here.

As for bandsaws, there really aren’t that many that are of excellent build quality that also fit on the bench, the only ones that spring to my mind are secondhand ones like the Incas which Chris suggested, Willow made some nice bandsaws and I think Startrite also had a decent bench model at some point. However, there are plenty that are more than good enough for most work like the Axminster hobby offerings or even the Aldi Workzone/Scheppach saw which gets decent reviews for a saw that’s around £100.

 

[Maca]

I went for the Metabo BAS261 which was a great little saw. I didn't buy it to do bandsaw boxes but I tried them and really like making them but found the saw was limiting so I upgraded to a second hand Charnwood B350. Nothing wrong with the Metabo except the tension mechanism did break once which was fixed under warranty.

Advice for setting up the saw is remove the table first. I thought I was being clever by fitting it but after continued failure I resorted to removing the table and it makes things much easier. Also, this sounds obvious but spin the wheels with your hand before switching it on. The blade can rotate for quite some time before falling off so do it for a while...and watch your fingers, I caught mine a few time.

And finally, there is a limit to how small a blade the saw can take. I ordered a 1/4" blade but it wouldn't stay on. 3/8" one I could fit in a minute and be off and running but the 1/4" I battled with for an hour then gave up.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

I had similar issues when I started as a hobby - do I buy new or second hand, what manufacturer etc.

I came to the conclusion that although I had reasonable practical and DIY skills and knowledge that new would be best as I really did not know what I was looking for in a second hand machine, nor how to judge whether it was good or bad.

I also came to the conclusion that I wanted a well known make - either a Record or Axminster machine. There are a number of very similar "clones" but at least in chosing these two I could be reasonably confident of good spares back up, telephone support, and if later I needed to upgrade they would be straightforward to sell for a reasonable % of their original cost.

With much greater knowledge and the passing of a few years I would now consider a etter quality s/h machine - but I have no regrets of my original choices which included hobby level bandsaw, lathe, pillar drill, etc.

 

[OrangeFive]

Having never used a tabletop/bench bandsaw will they cut a gentle curve in say 2” thick oak? Sorry if it’s a silly question but I’ve only ever used floor standing large bandsaws.

 

[marcros]

Having never used a tabletop/bench bandsaw will they cut a gentle curve in say 2” thick oak? Sorry if it’s a silly question but I’ve only ever used floor standing large bandsaws.

yes but the right blade is critical. it will do so with the right blade, it may do so with the stock blade.

 

[OrangeFive]

That’s good to hear. I may treat myself at some point then

 

[marcros]

before you do, pop back and ask about the specific model that you are looking at- almost certainly somebody will have one or will have used one.

 

[sunnybob]

Having never used a tabletop/bench bandsaw will they cut a gentle curve in say 2” thick oak? Sorry if it’s a silly question but I’ve only ever used floor standing large bandsaws.

Depends... each bandsaw will be quoted with its depth of cut and width of throat. There are small bandsaws out there that will not cut 2" of anything, so you need to be model specific to ask for advice.

 

[OrangeFive]

Thanks. To be honest I’m not looking at any specific model yet. I’m open to recommendations please

 

[sunnybob]

I've only owned 2 bandsaws. a FOX 170 (OH boy, what a mistak'a to mak'a. A year of my hobby wasted trying to get it to pretend it was a real bandsaw) and the axminster 350N thats in my workshop now.
Unless you are totally screwed for space (and budget) get a bigger one. If youre looking to cut 2" oak on a regular basis, a bench top is not for you.

 

[OrangeFive]

It won’t be regular. Probably 6 pieces a week max.

 

[johnbaz]

Hi

I've had loads of hobbyist three wheel bandsaws, The Clarke 12" was about the best, I also had an Aldi two wheel that went back as it was useless!

I also had a small Record three wheel which was also rubbish so that went, I gave another one away along with a bench drill that needed some tools too!

I 'won' a Startrite two wheel that fab!, It has strange sized blades that I could only find in the U.S. but found a seller on fleabay that would make three up to the buyers size for £30 some years ago, I still have the first blade on and it cuts smashing although I don't use it a lot!

The iron table was rusty when I bought it so I cleaned it off but in my damp garage it went rusty again!, I oiled it this time!!

Paid £50 for the saw, Two lads loaded it in to my car, Of course when I arrived home both my lads were out so I stripped the base off, That was easy to carry but the saw almost broke my back!!

I need to clear that garage out so I have room to use the tools!, There's an MG Midget that was supposed to be coming out this year to get up on blocks for welding, It didn't happen for various reasons!

John

 

[KingAether]

Sorry if you've said against second-hand already somewhere above but if you are ok for a little patience you could pick up a Kity 613, a very well regarded machine, for about half of your budget!
Also as above if you can find a startrite for the right price you can't go wrong, the band-it 12 normally for around your budget