What 14” bandsaw to buy?

[AdriK]

Hi all,

I’m planning to buy my first decent bandsaw. I’m looking at the 14” range. I want something that I can use for resawing, and for small bandsaw boxes too. My budget is around £700-£800 and the twist is that I want to take and use the saw to Hungary.
I was looking at the Dewalt DW876 purely because I have a lot of Dewalt tool and I’m happy with them and I can buy it in Hungary too to avoid the transport. However I did see couple of bad reviews stating that the blade guides and the fence are useless. And there are flimsily parts, which I would probably be a bit disappointed after spending about £800 on it.

The other bandsaw was the Record BS350S. It looks like a much stronger heavier and better bandsaw. However I have not much experience with this brand and although I can ship it to Hungary for quite cheap I’m worrying that if anything wrong with it I’ll have great difficulty to sort it from there.

any of you have some comments on these machines or recommendations?
Thanks

 

[RueFondary]

You may find the thread on £1000 bandsaws useful: £1000 Bandsaws (Again!) Axi vs SIP vs Sabre 350

If I were you, I'd stretch to the Record Sabre 350 which is still transportable, and just slightly above your stated budget

 

[AdriK]

Thanks RueFondary. I was always wandered what’s the difference between the RP BS350S and the 350 Sabre apart from the cabinet?
do you have any experience with the Dewalt is it true that the guide is rather rubbish?
I’ll look trough the mentioned thread.

 

[Fitzroy]

The extruded aluminium table would be a no no for me. I’ve had a few tools with those type of tables over the years and they flex badly under any kind of load.

The dewalt also looks like not a lot for the money, alu table, 750w motor output , 200mm depth of cut, 54kg. The record 350 has cast tables, 230mm depth of cut, 1.1kw motor output and is 100kg.

fitz.

 

[Ttrees]

Is shipping weight an issue?
You could cut the column in half if it was not.
Few plates in behind and on front would be sound I imagine?
What's the max size of box you have, or how is it getting transported?
If it were going in a car, you could take the seat out and fit a 20" machine without taking a grinder to it.
Tom

 

[sunnybob]

If you order it before the new year, axminsters shipping to europe is pretty good value,
But I saw a post recently where the price goes up if buying from hungary because the VAT rate is higher there, so bear tht in mind.

 

[Mark Karacsonyi]

I live in Hungary. Budapest actually. Sunnybob, is partially correct. Axminster will deliver to Hungary, free if the order is above - I think £50. After Brexit, it’s an unknown.

You should contact paliszander.hu for a quote on a bandsaw if you want to buy locally. Mine is the same as as a Axminster model, same price too.

I have been here for 15 years, if you want to chat more let me know.

 

[segovia]

I have the Record Power 350, bought about 8 years ago. It was the best of the bunch at the time but like everything else these days its components are mainly from China and not the best quality. I have easily stripped threads on the guide adjustment below the table and need to replace at some point in time. If I was to buy agin I would most likely look st Statrite

 

[segovia]

After years buying from Axminster I have come to the conclusion they are not very competitive, I can buy the same tools 10% - 15% cheaper elsewhere which makes me wonder if their own brand is value for money. I have spent 0000's at Axminster over 10 years and not a single penny loyalty discount. They are now my place of the last resort if I can't buy elsewhere.

 

[AJB Temple]

Hammer has been using castings from China and other parts globally sourced since at least 2007. Not sure about their premium Felder products.

 

[pcb1962]

After years buying from Axminster I have come to the conclusion they are not very competitive, I can buy the same tools 10% - 15% cheaper elsewhere which makes me wonder if their own brand is value for money.

You're paying for the above average after sales support that Axminster are known for.
The box shifters will be cheaper but they won't be interested in your problems once they have your money.

 

[RueFondary]

Regarding Axminster (and other suppliers), I've found that they are fairly quick when it comes to shipping (provided that you want is in stock, as otherwise it's a lottery, especially this year) and that they have a pretty extensive offering. Pricing will vary, but they tend to be a bit above the best.

The quality of their own products (Axminster or UJK branded) is quite variable but typically below the best brands (say Jessem, Veritas and the like).

Overall, I think service is better with some of the smaller suppliers (woodworkersworkshop) or Finetools (although the aftersales service of the latter can be very 'germanic' in it's efficiency)

 

[Apps]

I have no knowledge of taking or buying equipment abroad, however having purchased a bandsaw from Axminster I can only say I had nothing but constant issues with it. Now I might have been unlucky and simply got a Friday afternoon machine (Does China do Friday afternoons??)

I have to say Axminster Tools were very good at trying to solve the problems infact I was surprised how far they went, but in the end I have returned the machine for a refund as it just keeps jamming (tension remains locked on despite screw being fully unwound). Again I am no engineer but looking at the build and design quality I am hardly surprised at the issues I have had.

I have decided to stretch my budget to the £1000 mark as it appears at this point the bandsaws generally appear to have substantially better looking construction and peoples comments appear more positive of the different machine, well heres hoping at least.

 

[Linus]

Caveat emptor

Re 14" bandsaws I was looking around back in June and was leaning towards buying the Record BS350 at £750. Then I found the Charnwood B350 which seemed remarkably close in spec with the advantage(?) of using a 1" blade over the Record 3/4" and about £100 notes cheaper. I went for the Charnwood and must say I was very pleased when I set it up and ran it. Having struggled with an old Axi hobby with a 5" limit on cut height (which it manfully strived to do), the new beast sailed through 8" oak like a dream. Then......after 4 weeks usage, the rear thrust bearings were screaming in protest. Despite having set it up in accordance with the (vague, for a good reason it appears) instructions for bearing adjustments, I found that one rear bearing seized and the other was about to. Cutting a long story short, I contacted Yandles who referred to Charnwood. In several phone conversations with Charnwood I informed them that the slide on the blade guide, which also holds the upper bearings, has up to 2.5mm fore and aft play when extended fully which means that it is almost impossible to set the rear thrust bearing to the recommended 0.5mm gap to the blade. Either the blade will be running permanently on the bearing or the blade will not make contact as the gap will be too wide. The guy at Charnwood agreed that that was the same on their showroom machine and that he would speak to the boss about the design. Politics seemed to have won out and the end result from Charnwood is that is how all their machines in that range are designed and so are all similar models from competitors! Therefore there is nothing further to add. I asked for that to be put in writing, which was agreed, and we are now in late September and I have yet to hear from either Yandles or Charnwood since. I have spent more time on the phone to Yandles and Charnwood than I have using the bandsaw. Oh, Charnwood did send me two replacement bearings straight away but if I am going to have to change them every 30 days after the one year warranty runs out????? Such a shame that a seemingly good machine is spoilt by a simple design flaw.

Moral of the story, make sure you see the machine before you buy.

 

[pcb1962]

Then I found the Charnwood B350 which seemed remarkably close in spec with the advantage(?) of using a 1" blade over the Record 3/4" and about £100 notes cheaper.

You might be able to fit a 1" blade on the Charnwood but there's no way that the frame is rigid enough to tension that blade properly.

 

[Ttrees]

I agree, if you need an inch blade then you are looking for a different saw.
Best looking for something secondhand that will honestly tension a 1" blade, and then you can put decent tension on a 3/4" blade comfortably.
That would be a 200kg machine, the scales is a good indicator in regards to frame strength.
For what it's worth, if looking for second hand saw for ripping/ resawing primarily,
Even with nothing but a single thrust guide, a 3/4" blade tensioned, will have enough beam strength to cut well without deflection, so don't think that missing or damaged parts of some guides is the be all and end all of things.

It wouldn't be the worst thing either, to fit inferior guides to, as they might not get abused quite as much as a 14" saw would, and be alright for the occasional bit of curve cutting you might do with a smaller blade.

Tom

 

[Linus]

Thanks Ttrees/pcb 1962. Please be aware that I am not trying to hijack Adrik's post. I was merely trying to point out the pitfalls of purchasing without scrutinising the actual product, and the response from manufacturers (or label sticker onners) when design faults are highlighted. In my case, the blade size is academic as the accurate adjustment of the rear thrust bearing is not possible regardless of blade size fitted. In my opinion this renders the machine not suitable for accurate use without a lot of faffing and readjustment every time the height of cut is altered.

 

[Terrytpot]

slightly north of the price range sits this offering from Grovewood machines and other suppliers too...