hi, any advice on a band saw under £500?

[will 89]

hello guys. im wondering if anyone has any advice for me on buying a cheepish band saw at £500. this is the 1st bandsaw i've looked into buyinhg and am after some pointers. i've recently bought a scheppach 2600 thicknesser and a rojek pk315 saw-trying to start a little workshop!
my workshop is a relatively small double garage so size is definitely an issue. and the £500 budget comes from a part time job at b&q!
any advice would be much appreciated.
many thanks, will

 

[Blister]

I have just got a Axminster SBW3501B Band saw

and its a nice bit of kit , very rigid , nice guide and fence , easily set up and adjusted , de tension lever for when not in use , easy to tension for different size blades , I like it , and when my mate saw it , we were off to Axminsters for another one :shock:

£50 off at the moment as well

http://www.axminster.co.uk/images/produ ... 501B_l.jpg

 

[will 89]

cheers for the reply. any idea what sip are meant to be like? been looking at a few of theyre saws. seem to be heavily discounted with good features?

 

[MIGNAL]

You may also consider the Record BS350 that has some pretty good features to it. I don't have one so it's not from direct experience but at 400 notes it seems a pretty good buy. There's a brief review of it in the archives. The Axminster is also very well thought of.

 

[OLD]

I have the record and am happy with it, being on casters is very useful in a small shop. I replaced the blade with a dragon saws one.

 

[mr]

I'll vote for the Record BS300 X. Nice sturdy machine with a larger than usual cast iron table and solid fence. Not too hard to set up - even I managed it in an afternoon.

Cheers Mike

 

[speed]

i have the axminsters and very happy with it for the cash, ive done a sort of not very good review in my blog

worth getting a better blade too most factory fitted are poo

 

[Gary]

You may also consider the Record BS350 that has some pretty good features to it. I don't have one so it's not from direct experience but at 400 notes it seems a pretty good buy. There's a brief review of it in the archives. The Axminster is also very well thought of.

I'll second that, great machine.

 

[Rich]

Same as Mr, more than happy with my BS300X
Rich.

 

[gasmansteve]

Ditto with the others about the BS300-X excellent saw.
Steve

 

[Shultzy]

I have just bought the BS350 and after setting it up this weekend I've managed to cut a 1.5mm veneer from a 2"" piece of pine, not bad with the supplied blade. I wonder how thin I can cut it with a famous Dragon blade?

 

[MIGNAL]

Try that in 9 " Oak and see what happens :shock:

 

[iajon69]

I have just bought the BS350 and after setting it up this weekend I've managed to cut a 1.5mm veneer from a 2"" piece of pine, not bad with the supplied blade. I wonder how thin I can cut it with a famous Dragon blade?

I know that Nick Gibbs was cutting 0.5mm veneers from a 3" Oak board with one of our 3/4" blades

Ian (Dragon Saws)

 

[OPJ]

I looked at a couple of Record Power bandsaws in the flesh at Yandles yesterday. They do look to be very well made and the adustments (guides, etc.) do look very easy to make and have a fine adjustment.

If you contact Record Power, they should be able to send you a free Buyer's Guide DVD on Bandsaws. You can also buy a Masterclass DVD for £9.99, although it should come free with the saw.

Whatever size bandsaw you think you need, go for the next size up - trust me on this! :wink:

The only criticism I can remember, from what I've read previously, is that you may not be able to remove the fence without having to remove the blade first...? Does that sound right to people who own these saws?

 

[mr]

The only criticism I can remember, from what I've read previously, is that you may not be able to remove the fence without having to remove the blade first...? Does that sound right to people who own these saws?

Not so (have just popped out to double check) on the 300X the fence can be removed from the left hand side of the table though you do have to tilt the table to give it clearance.

Alarmingly though I have just spotted some browny reddy discolouration on my table - looks like the beginnings of rust.

Cheers Mike

 

[OPJ]

Pleased to hear the fence can be removed; sorry to hear you've spotted some rust - but at least you caught it early, they give these cast iron tables an incredibly smooth finish, unlike the Scheppach saws.

 

[Paul.J]

Record BS350 for me.So far very pleased with it
Paul.J.

 

[mr]

Pleased to hear the fence can be removed; sorry to hear you've spotted some rust - but at least you caught it early, they give these cast iron tables an incredibly smooth finish, unlike the Scheppach saws.

IT is a very smooth table. I've given the table a coat of 3 in 1 in an attempt to prevent it worsening - It's not going to be in use for a couple of weeks probably in any case. But I'll need to look into rust removal now I guess - its like a very fine reddish rash, been horribly damp round here the last few weeks - I knew I should have checked on things earlier.

Cheers Mike