Benchtop Bandsaw

[OxfordChris]

Morning all,

I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a Record Power BS250, and just wanted to see if there were any others I hadn't considered. I would very much prefer a benchtop, as I don't have a huge space, but can still mount it on a stand if required. These lovely stand mounted ones with a weight of 70+ Kgs would be great, but I just don't have the room for them right now.

The cheaper ones are not for me - I have to rip slabs of birch ply laminate, which are up to 75mm thick, into the rough shape of a rifle stock so they can be inlet and shaped. I would also use the bandsaw to more accurately cut out the cheek piece once the shaping is mostly done.

These blanks are 870mm x 270mm, and 65mm to 75mm deep. Anything with an 80mm max. cut depth will be hopelessly out of its depth (no pun intended) so I need something with a bit more oopmh.

As far as budget goes, start at zero and move upwards - slowly! So, apart from the RP 250, am I missing anything?

Cheers,
Chris.

 

[eribaMotters]

You are going to be pushing the limits of the saw at the thickness you propose cutting.
I bought a Startrite 352 over 10 years ago and got rid of the base. It sits on a small wooden cabinet base that offers great storage and the castor set allows me to wheel it out of the way. Going this route would allow you to get a saw that would easily cope with your needs and probably one would be easier to source 2nd hand.

Colin

 

[Jameshow]

Go bigger or go home. I have two 10x bandsaws and neither would come with that depth of cut.
14" 750w is where I'd want to be.

 

[OxfordChris]

So, when you say bigger, you mean...

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/makita-lb1200f-2-bandsaw-240v.137300/
Like BIGGER bigger, right?

 

[akirk]

the comments above about size are valid - just because a bandsaw has a physical space into which you can put wood doesn't mean that it will cope with any lump you put in that space - so, if in doubt, upping the capacity will only help...

If you need something in that size / format, then I would recommend the RP Sabre 250 which is basically the BS250 you were looking at but with a number of features brought in from the newer bigger sabre models - I have one and love it.