Mike Wingate
Established Member
It all depends what you are used to. At college, not many students were allowed to use the bandsaw, despite the training (theory and watching the technician). I was allowed to use it under supervision and picked up good habits and an understanding of the tool and had to maintain it as a quid pro quo for using it. At the Distributor that I worked for in the summer holidays before teaching, the bandsaw was only used for cutting frozen chicken At school we had and still have a Startright S2, over 40 years old now. A terrific machine. When we moved house, my cellar workshop moved into my 2 car garage. I spent 8 months looking for a decent bandsaw. I nearly bought a big Elecra Beckum. My mate Nic later bought it. Aluminium noisy table and a frame that twisted. I hung on, testing machines at a variety of emporiums. I had a phone call from a firm in Stockport, who dealt in secondhand machinery. I visited the place and had a look at another couple of saws. Buying my Startrite 352. single phase. Used but not by much looking at the dust and bearings. £800 12 years ago. I don't much like the fence that I have bolted a piece of MDF to, but the rest is great.
