Charnwood W730 Bandsaw Band Saw

[bighillman]

Hi. I need a band saw that can cut 8" beams. I've been looking at the Charnwood W730 Bandsaw Band Saw. Has anyone got one of these? What's it like?

 

[loftyhermes]

Andy King has reviewed it in issue 265 of Good Woodworking out next Friday

 

[bighillman]

Great, thanks.

 

[jaywhoopee]

I've had one for a few months but I've only just got round to setting it up and putting a decent blade in it.

When I was doing my research I thought it was an unbeatable spec for the price, but equally I wouldn't expect it to perform as well at maximum capacity as an equivalently specced (on paper) saw that cost twice as much.

I don't have an 8" beam to cut with it, but once I've finished setting it up I'll stick a variety of what I have through and report back how it goes.

 

[bighillman]

Thank you very much. Look forward to hearing how you get on.

 

[jaywhoopee]

Well, I'm not completely finished, as although I've got the blade square to the table in one dimension, it's still slightly off front to back, but it was good enough to do a test for you.

I just put the biggest lump of wood I had, an offcut of Beech roughly 8" x 2" up on its edge (so effectively 8" depth of cut, albeit only for a short distance) and even with the supplied blade (which I think is about 4 TPI) it went through it easily.

I'll stick some pictures up on my blog in a bit.

 

[bighillman]

Very kind of you to go to so much trouble. Thanks. I think I'll go for one of those. Look forward to the pictures.

 

[marcros]

is it a one off project on the beams or a regular requirement?

 

[bighillman]

I'll be using it regularly but not always beams. I use a chainsaw saw mill and to reduce the waste, I'd like to mill a lot of the timber using a thin blade. The first job is to make some feather edge weatherboarding from larch. Then I'll be making some curved braces from 3*5. I do some timber framing with large sized pieces and I wanted it for that as well as intricate cabinet making and other smaller projects.

 

[bighillman]

Just clicked on your website link and noticed you do the beekeeping. I want to start that myself and I thought I'd try the Warre natural method. I'm going to make my own hives. Any suggestion on species of timber? Thought I'd leave it unplaned on the inside.

 

[marcros]

i have to admit that i know next to nothing about the Warre, and what little I do know, I wouldn't recommend for a beginner. The "natural" beekeeping methods are another debate, but IMHO have some major shortcomings.

Anyhow, Western Red Cedar is traditional for beehives, due to its low density, and weather resistance. I cant seem to get any at a sensible price near me, but if you can, it would be ideal. It gives you the advantage of not needing to apply any preservative to the hive, which goes with the Warre/natural principle. I have used softwood in the past for the odd box, but i don't really like investing too much time into making something that wont last particularly well outside even when treated. If the Warre is of simple construction, then you could weigh up the effort of making vs replacing a softwood box every few years- it may well pay off. Weight is less of an issue with Warre- it isn't suited to moving locations regularly.

If you are starting out, then the traditional framed hives are not too difficult to make, but weigh up the timber cost against buying one. I wouldn't bother making frames, unless you are set up to do so. feel free to pm me, or put a message on the forum if you get stuck. Plans are available for free download on the Scottish Beekeepers Association website.

 

[marcros]

I'll be using it regularly but not always beams. I use a chainsaw saw mill and to reduce the waste, I'd like to mill a lot of the timber using a thin blade. The first job is to make some feather edge weatherboarding from larch. Then I'll be making some curved braces from 3*5. I do some timber framing with large sized pieces and I wanted it for that as well as intricate cabinet making and other smaller projects.

Personally, I would have a look for a larger model if it is a regular task, and you can stretch the budget to it. I have just bought a second hand axminster 4300 something or other for a little more that the charnwood is new and it would eat stuff like this, all day every day. The startrite 352 gets almost universally favourable reviews too, but seem to be getting quite expensive on the used market. However, if you can stretch to something like those, you wont be upgrading again!

If you have a chainsaw mill, sooner or later you will want to use that extra capacity that the larger models offer. I fear that the charnwood will have you wanting to upgrade in a couple of years at most.

 

[bighillman]

Thanks for the advice on both matters. I will look into the other band saw alternatives. The Warre hives are simple to make and they don't use frames but I'll take your advice on the beginners point. Thanks.

 

[jaywhoopee]

Andy King has reviewed it in issue 265 of Good Woodworking out next Friday

I've got a digital subscription to The Woodworker and it also appeared in there, but it doesn't seem to be in the print version.

You can get both magazines bundled together for £3.75 though so it doesn't make a lot of odds

 

[krisdl]

I wonder if I could ask what the outcome of the review was please, I just tried to get a copy of this magazine locally and I cannot find a copy because it's too late I guess.

Edit: I found a copy in the end but jaywhoopee's review on his blog ended up being far more useful.

 

[jaywhoopee]

Hi Krisdl,

It's a 2 page review by Andy King, with quite a lot of photos and some good points. You get full online access to all back issues if you take out an online subscription to the magazine which you can get from www.getwoodworking.com.

He mentions cutting some 8 inch oak with a little bit of drift, although he blames the 5TPI blade for at least some of this.

He also mentions that although the saw is rated "light trade" by the manufacturer he would rate it more as a machine for a "decent keen amateur".

He liked the capacity and the fact that it has 2 speeds and didn't like the rather light construction ("built to a price") and the fact that he couldn't get the thumbscrews on the guides to stay tightened (not a problem I've encountered).

There are several posts here on my blog about the W730 which you may find useful.

I've recently found the lower speed useful for cutting perspex, so I no longer underestimate this feature

Hope this helps

John