bandsaw

[Madog]

Hi folks , iam thinking about buying my first bandsaw . I like the look of the scheppach bassa 3 and will be using it mainly for smaller projects like making axe handles wooden wedges and sawing up bigger bits of wood. what's peoples view/experience with this saw

Cheers

Rod

 

[Junah]

I'll be interested to see the answers, as I am also about to buy my first bandsaw, having a 16 amp socket fitted this weekend, is it worth having a more powerful machine and spending a bit more?

 

[Madog]

I'll be interested to see the answers, as I am also about to buy my first bandsaw, having a 16 amp socket fitted this weekend, is it worth having a more powerful machine and spending a bit more?

what you thinking about getting out of interest

 

[Phil Pascoe]

As with lathes, you can do small work on large ones but you can't do large work on small ones. Buy the largest - HP as well as capacity - you've space and budget for.

 

[deema]

I’ve just helped a friend by repairing the motor pulley on this model of bandsaw last week. The motor is in my opinion extremely poor quality, single capacitor for start and run and made as cheaply as possible. Bearings were no name small and I wouldn’t expect them to be very durable. The pulley was in my opinion made of cheese. Incredibly thin, and I could simply break the bits with my fingers it was that thin / poor quality metal.

The saw was not very old and hadn’t been used much.

 

[Junah]

I'll be interested to see the answers, as I am also about to buy my first bandsaw, having a 16 amp socket fitted this weekend, is it worth having a more powerful machine and spending a bit more?

I've been looking at the Axminster trade range and Laguna but everywhere seems to be short of stock, I'd probably want to add an extractor that could also be used with my router table.

 

[Spectric]

I’ve just helped a friend by repairing the motor pulley on this model of bandsaw last week. The motor is in my opinion extremely poor quality, single capacitor for start and run and made as cheaply as possible. Bearings were no name small and I wouldn’t expect them to be very durable.

Unfortunately with so many machines coming out the same factory just rebranded and in different colours this is becoming the norm, but whilst people are buying them they have no reason to change. Every machine I have brought has had to have some work done to make it usable, nothing was A1 straight out the box. As I mentioned in another post, our Kitchen aid food mixer is better built than my woodworking machinery, and if I had the space and a three phase supply I would without hessitation buy good old Iron machines from decades ago the likes of which will never see production again.

 

[Madog]

I’ve just helped a friend by repairing the motor pulley on this model of bandsaw last week. The motor is in my opinion extremely poor quality, single capacitor for start and run and made as cheaply as possible. Bearings were no name small and I wouldn’t expect them to be very durable. The pulley was in my opinion made of cheese. Incredibly thin, and I could simply break the bits with my fingers it was that thin / poor quality metal. View attachment 101249
The saw was not very old and hadn’t been used much.

 

[Madog]

cheers are you talking axminster or scheppach here?

 

[Junah]

what you thinking about getting out of interest

I would also consider Hammer or Felder but they seem to keep their prices a secret, anyone know the prices for them?

 

[deema]

The motor and pulley is out of a Scheppach Bassa 3

 

[deema]

I have as my own machine a Felder F540, it is however not in my opinion built to reflect the price. The table has warped over time, so wasn’t properly stress relieve, the top wheel has no mechanism to pull it backwards towards the case when adjusting tracking. The steel used in the boxing is very thin gauge. However, it will properly tension up the maximum blade size. If I were to buy new again I would look at one of the other premium industrial saws because if these problems.

The best bandsaw I’ve ever owned / worked on is the Startrite 14S1 or S5. I had the S5. Blade change was the easiest of any saw I’ve had. It could properly tension a blade, and was properly built of decent gauge steel with good castings. The fence system is the best I’ve come across as it has a micro adjust which was brilliant. With the S5 you could use it for metalwork as well as wood work. If it had had enough capacity for my needs I would never have sold it. They don’t seem to command the same prices as say a Startrite 352, but IMO they are much better, as they were I believe orientated towards industry where as the 352 was focused on schools.

 

[Ollie78]

I have a basato 3 vario which I am assuming is very similar.
It is ok but I would not buy another one.
It has some flaws with the guides and all the fittings are a little cheap and nasty.
I dislike the fence design and bottom guide access is annoying.
It works adequately and has not broken down, it is best with a thin blade.

When I get a new one I will get a bigger machine and will get either ceramic or better bearing style guides.

Ollie

 

[HAKAMA]

Hello, Be very careful what you buy as regardless of the name on the machine most hand/machine tools are made in China by dubious labour and is junk. Most of my hand tools are many years old and still do the job. I also have a very old Clark wood lathe and a Clark bandsaw and a Delta scroll saw. These were not made in China but I think most of Clark now is. It is difficult to get home grown tools now but it can still be done and it is worth it to do some research as to where your proposed buy is coming from and to pay a bit more for something that will last for years. I would not buy machine tools with electronic speed control as pulley systems are far easier repaired but my scroll saw does have electronic control as it was the best saw I could afford at the time.

 

[Madog]

Hello, Be very careful what you buy as regardless of the name on the machine most hand/machine tools are made in China by dubious labour and is junk. Most of my hand tools are many years old and still do the job. I also have a very old Clark wood lathe and a Clark bandsaw and a Delta scroll saw. These were not made in China but I think most of Clark now is. It is difficult to get home grown tools now but it can still be done and it is worth it to do some research as to where your proposed buy is coming from and to pay a bit more for something that will last for years. I would not buy machine tools with electronic speed control as pulley systems are far easier repaired but my scroll saw does have electronic control as it was the best saw I could afford at the time.

cheers

 

[--Tom--]

Having a small startrite bandsaw for metal, I wouldn’t hesitate to go with a bigger one for wood, as mentioned above everything is very nicely made.

if Going the second hand route the tires and the guides are the main areas I’d check for wear/damage