Richard S
Established Member
I think you might be a little light on the price of the Jet 18, it's closer to 1500 than 1200.
Jet JWBS-18Q Bandsaw
- Thread starter Random Orbital Bob
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Random Orbital Bob
Established Member
That's a special deal price Roger (ex demo model)
Bluekingfisher
Established Member
In case you haven't seen this or are in anyway interested. There is an 18" JET on ebay.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jet-JWBS-18Q- ... 35d2fd3741
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jet-JWBS-18Q- ... 35d2fd3741
Random Orbital Bob
Established Member
That's the deal I'm talking about....thanks for bringing it to the attention of the rest of the forum 
Bluekingfisher
Established Member
Best be quick then, you snooze you lose:wink:
carlb40
Established Member
Grahamshed
Established Member
Random Orbital Bob":2f649ykn said:That's the deal I'm talking about....thanks for bringing it to the attention of the rest of the forum
Ahh, just what I am after.......
Oh, go on then, I will let you have it
Scouse
Established Member
Random Orbital Bob":d5l63pfs said:
SIP over here, Rikon in the US.
I do appreciate the economic necessity of rebadging for many companies, and it doesn't mean it's a bad product, but the idea that a manufacturer has put their own time and effort into the design of a product, rather than taking one off the shelf and giving it a tweak put me off, and in the case of the bandsaw I was not disappointed. (I am also aware that Jet are not beyond a spot of badge engineering themselves...)
Random Orbital Bob
Established Member
Record Power do badge engineer their lighter class bandsaws. (The BS10, 12 and 250). They are the ones that SIP/Charnwood/Fox etc have clones of. From the 300 upwards they are unique to RP and an original design. Exactly like a Startrite or a Hammer etc. They are made in the Far East but then so is the Startrite 352 and 502 and also many of the Felder machines (and also Jet incidentally).
All these companies are taking advantage of far eastern labour costs for obvious reasons to compete but RP have shared in the capital cost of the tooling in the factories for the "unique to them" models ie the 300 and up. You can tell the RP range that aren't badge engineered because they have a chromed steel bar that the cast iron mounting for the fence runs on. All the clones have an aluminium extrusion. They also have cast iron band wheels not aluminium, substantially more robust guide assemblies and tensioning springs and about 40kilos more iron in the tables.
People really need to look closely at the components of the bandsaws they're buying before they part with their cash. The bigger BS range have copied a heck of a lot of design features from the Startrites. A real give-away is the weight......you can tell they're riddled with cast iron just by that one specification. They're also exporting a lot of machines now, Europe and the far east are big markets and there is talk of a very big distribution deal in the US. RP bandsaws are really one to watch , they're sometimes unfairly under-rated because of peoples negative experiences at the low end of the market ie with the clones. Once you get above that class with 300 and beyond they're excellent value for money. Really robust and capable of superb results. I had a budget of whatever I wanted pretty much (within reason) and I chose the 400 over the startrite 352. In terms of robustness there's almost nothing to choose between them. Also the 400's guide assemblies are much easier to get at and adjust than the 352.
All these companies are taking advantage of far eastern labour costs for obvious reasons to compete but RP have shared in the capital cost of the tooling in the factories for the "unique to them" models ie the 300 and up. You can tell the RP range that aren't badge engineered because they have a chromed steel bar that the cast iron mounting for the fence runs on. All the clones have an aluminium extrusion. They also have cast iron band wheels not aluminium, substantially more robust guide assemblies and tensioning springs and about 40kilos more iron in the tables.
People really need to look closely at the components of the bandsaws they're buying before they part with their cash. The bigger BS range have copied a heck of a lot of design features from the Startrites. A real give-away is the weight......you can tell they're riddled with cast iron just by that one specification. They're also exporting a lot of machines now, Europe and the far east are big markets and there is talk of a very big distribution deal in the US. RP bandsaws are really one to watch , they're sometimes unfairly under-rated because of peoples negative experiences at the low end of the market ie with the clones. Once you get above that class with 300 and beyond they're excellent value for money. Really robust and capable of superb results. I had a budget of whatever I wanted pretty much (within reason) and I chose the 400 over the startrite 352. In terms of robustness there's almost nothing to choose between them. Also the 400's guide assemblies are much easier to get at and adjust than the 352.
custard
Established Member
Random Orbital Bob":3hhaziim said:
That's interesting, I understand some of the Felder/Hammer bandsaws have the chassis sub structure made in Italy, but they're all Felder designs and apart from that, as far as I know, they're all made in the Austrian factory. Which bandsaw were you thinking of?
Scouse
Established Member
Random Orbital Bob":2ybh00v9 said:
I would suggest that your claim of an original RP design may be somewhat enthusiastic; if you look at the respective saws (the large ones in the BS400 range) beyond details which are easy to alter and bolt on (fences guides etc), the saws below are identical and clearly re-badged versions of the same saw.
http://www.recordpower.co.uk/product/pr ... yQPPM7fSSo
http://www.charnwood.net/shop/product/1 ... dsaw?cid=1
http://www.sipuk.co.uk/sip-16-professio ... -230v.html
As I said, it doesn't make for a bad saw, I just looked for something a bit more thoughtfully designed, albeit also produced in the far east (incidentally, I know this because it has a big sticker on saying 'Made in Taiwan'). Enjoy your BS400.
Random Orbital Bob
Established Member
custard":2gg6zh7d said:
Hi Custard, you know I can't recall where I read this now you're needling me on the detail but....it may have been an article in one of the trade mags trying to "debunk" the whole far East versus European saws issue. The manufacturers like to claim their machines were "made in Europe" due to the cache of build quality that label connotes but to compete in the actual economics of the market place they're forced to outsource the manufacturing to cheaper labour markets. Some go to greater lengths than others to disguise the extent of their European base because its an excellent way of justifying a premium price. I think it might be that Hammer assemble the bandsaws in Austria from components manufactured in the far East and shipped there. But to be honest, I can't remember the source so its accuracy cant be verified in any case. Its funny you should mention sub frames made in Italy as during my research to buy my own saw replacement, Italy comes out as the single most prestigious location to have your bandsaw built. They seem to have an amazing reputation (Minimax for example) for quality bandsaw design and quality...at a cost of course.
Random Orbital Bob
Established Member
Scouse":1j3lkmvl said:
Interesting. My contention that the design was RP's was information I was given direct from RP staff! Looking at the Charnwood and SIP its clear the frame looks the same. But its not just the fence and the guides that are different, its also the bandwheels and the extraction (and the motor by looks of it). It looks to me like each brand is using the same frame and then altering everything from that point forward to customise it for their needs. Not clear if the tables are different. Well that's not what I expected to be honest, not given my conversation with RP. Having said that, the differences that I see is that the RP has upgraded the bandwheels to cast iron, the guides, the fence and possibly the table, motor, tensioning assembly and the extraction. So perhaps when they say their design is unique that's what they're referring to? As I mentioned before I'm entirely reconciled to the quality of the machine because its based on previous experiences of its baby brother. So perhaps when a manufacturer says their machine is unique what they actually mean is the pallet its shipped on is a different colour to everyone elses!!!
skronk
Established Member
Random Orbital Bob":20rqw2pw said:
Are you really that confident you'll get a pallet ???? :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
Random Orbital Bob
Established Member
lol
Scouse
Established Member
Random Orbital Bob":2a61hcgh said:
I think that's the case. I did think long and hard about the BS400 when I bought my saw a year or so ago, and performance wise it was a close run thing between the RP and the Jet; for me the Jet just had that something you can't quite put your finger on.
I guess all other things being equal, the fence, guides and wheels etc are the bits that make the saw rather than the frame, so saying 'badge engineered' might be a bit unkind.
Random Orbital Bob
Established Member
I really liked the Jet too and that shop soiled 18" machine from Axy was very tempting. What put me off were two things: One was the tension spring which was amazingly thin compared to both the BS and startrite machines and also I really wanted 13 amp for portability as I may need to move short term and I do tend to move it round the workshop too depending on whats going on in there at the time. But as a rule I rate Jet a lot. It was a toss up between the Jet and the startrite 12" planer/thicknesser last year too The other issue was price because I got mine in a show deal whereas that 18" shop soiled one was £1300 so a fair difference in drinking vouchers. The 16" was £1259 from Axy and yet only had 10" under the guides and for log blank cutting I need a minimum of 12" (20 wouldn't go amiss). That meant an 18" throat depth and that puts them new at £1500 or £1300 for that shop soiled Axy one. That's just too dear.
The spring had me baffled because it looks superficially way way under spec'd for the machines performance data. There must be something going on there that I'm missing because they clearly do perform and their customers love them. But all the comparable saws on my shortlist including the Hammer had more visually obviously large tensioning springs and associated bolts.
It'll be interesting to see whether this saw see's me out or not. I suspect the 3 phase 2nd hand monsters might get a future look in some day....never say never........Who says the age of the dinosaurs is over
The other issue was price because I got mine in a show deal whereas that 18" shop soiled one was £1300 so a fair difference in drinking vouchers. The 16" was £1259 from Axy and yet only had 10" under the guides and for log blank cutting I need a minimum of 12" (20 wouldn't go amiss). That meant an 18" throat depth and that puts them new at £1500 or £1300 for that shop soiled Axy one. That's just too dear.The spring had me baffled because it looks superficially way way under spec'd for the machines performance data. There must be something going on there that I'm missing because they clearly do perform and their customers love them. But all the comparable saws on my shortlist including the Hammer had more visually obviously large tensioning springs and associated bolts.
It'll be interesting to see whether this saw see's me out or not. I suspect the 3 phase 2nd hand monsters might get a future look in some day....never say never........Who says the age of the dinosaurs is over
Bluekingfisher
Established Member
I had cause to use the new 30mm " Ripper"bandsaw blade from axminster for my Jet 18" saw today.
If you have concern for spring tension, then forget it. It re sawed 8" of oak no probs at all. Infact the I had to apply very little pressure to cut it. The end result is a relatively smooth cut despite only having 1tpi.
David
If you have concern for spring tension, then forget it. It re sawed 8" of oak no probs at all. Infact the I had to apply very little pressure to cut it. The end result is a relatively smooth cut despite only having 1tpi.
David
Baldhead
Established Member
Bob
You have a PM
Baldhead
You have a PM
Baldhead
