Bandsaw recommendations

[david.tamlaght]

The mortiser is only for occassional repairs to furniture and the like .nothing big and i ve no intention of starting to make doors or windows .
I'm in NI and very little 2nd hand 240v stuff comes up and transport costs over the sea would no doubt add quite a bit to one from mainland UK.
Next time i'm Belfast direction ,i'll call and have a look at the 350 in the local record dealership as i ve sort of settled on that one in my head now.
I spoke to them on the phone and they said there were two different 350 models .a sabre and the S .
thanks for the pointers

 

[Ttrees]

This might be worth a look, though it's three phase, likely dual voltage 240v option which is required for vfd, it may have a small motor, so questionable as to swap out,
and an odd wheel size, and no fence seemingly.
Probably worth at most 600.

I'd want nicer for the money.
.

 

[david.tamlaght]

OK,i,ve more or less made my mind up to go an extra bit on the budget and get a record 350 sabre 1249 plus a wheel kit.spoke to a supplier today and going on sat to get a look at one although they only have the 450 in stock in the showroom but will be more or less similar ,just bigger.
also spoke to them about a planner /thicknesser PT107 .
anyone got any experience of that model pros /conns .i think its in the region of 1500 quid so don't want a bit of junk at that price

 

[mikej460]

I'm afraid that when you ask for recommendations on bandsaws you will get a dozen or more different answers as they are very personal things. My budget was tight and like you worried about 2nd hand so I bought a Lumberjack 12" this one Lumberjack 12" Floorstanding Professional Bandsaw with Induction Motor

The price has risen considerably as I only paid £429

14" version is here Lumberjack 14" Floorstanding Professional Bandsaw with Induction Motor

They are a good basic saw, the blade is rubbish, so I replaced it with a Tuff Saws and set it up after watching a couple of very good YouTube videos. I posted a 1st impressions thread here
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/thread...-unpacking-assembly-first-impressions.128066/
It's not without its limitations like most in this price bracket but it performs well and can rip 6" green oak like butter. The dust collection drawer performs extremely well if you don't have a dust extractor.

 

[Spectric]

spoke to them about a planner /thicknesser PT107 .

Read some of my previous post on the PT107, I brought one with insufficient knowledge about them and subsequently had to fork out £260 on aftermarket blade carriers because I could not set the blades good enough. In hindsight I would have looked for a machine with Tersa knives, I don't like helical or spiral cutter blocks which seem to be the current craze. I also have a BS400 which has been a good purchase once fitted with Tuff blades.

 

[baldkev]

One consideration is new or second hand. Many of us on here have gone the second hand route to get more bandsaw for your money. However this obviously involves some risk regards the condition of the machine and your ability to fix any gremlins you have.

I went the second hand route and have a Startrite 352 which I've found a good machine, easy to set up with no drift (a subject that divides opinion from what I've seen in my research on setting up bandsaws). I have recently found the limits of this machine, it does not like cutting 10" thick oak sleepers, but with a 1HP motor I'm not too surprised and shouldn't grumble.

Mine is also a three phase machine that I fitted an inverter on to, this gave me more choice of machines but with the hassle of messing with the electrics, something I am comfortable with but others would not be. I picked mine up for £300 locally after a long wait (9 months of surfing gumtree) for a machine in my price range and within driving distance.

My first bandsaw was an ELU3401, a small machine ok for small tasks but struggled with anything over 2" thick.

£300????? Thats a steal!!! I think i paid 650 for mine? And i thought it was a good deal

 

[david.tamlaght]

i went today and placed my order for the sabre 350 +wheel kit/pt 107 planner/ts250c table saw /db25b bench drill and some blades and stuff .
the gentleman uses some of the stuff himself and pretty happy and knowledgable about all the kit.
over £4k all in
need to get this workshop finished and wired now before it all arrives .

 

[Bojam]

i went today and placed my order for the sabre 350 +wheel kit/pt 107 planner/ts250c table saw /db25b bench drill and some blades and stuff .
the gentleman uses some of the stuff himself and pretty happy and knowledgable about all the kit.
over £4k all in
need to get this workshop finished and wired now before it all arrives .

Happy days What blade set up does the PT107 have? Standard 2/3 knives or is there an option for Tersa or a spiral cutterblock? How long do you have to wait for delivery?

 

[david.tamlaght]

Happy days What blade set up does the PT107 have? Standard 2/3 knives or is there an option for Tersa or a spiral cutterblock? How long do you have to wait for delivery?

Don't know exactly.A review i read last week mentioned 3 blades and the writer changed them for a telsa block and cutters 260 quid ....och....said he couldn't get the blades set properly on the standard block .i asked about the machine today and the man said he uses that same one himself and no issues .i think delivery time frame is around ten days from record to store but i'll get my setup at the start of nov to avail of the specials coming on .
sadly the pt107 is not on the discounted list.its 1499.99