What bandsaw do I need?

[dvddvd]

I've never used or thought I'd need a bandsaw before. I was making some guitar necks on my CNC machine and needed to cut some 5mm x 60mm strips of hardwood.
I struggled on my small tablesaw so someone suggested a bandsaw would be ideal

.I managed to find and buy a Record Power BS300 from market place and loved it...its quiet, don't feel you are going to lose a finger but always thought something was missing..so I've decided to " buy something better"

So what's better? I don't want to buy something that will just be the same but newer.

I have got my eye on a Laguna 14BX.
How much better would it be?

On the Record BS300 I feel power is missing a bit and sometimes it starts to drift. Even though the blade is tensioned correctly there seems to be a bit of play and the guides don't hold the blade tightly Square.

I'd love to be able to cut veneers but when I try on the Record, sometimes it cuts beautifully and sometimes not.

I have a brand new tuffsaw blade fitted.

So will it be light and day difference between a Record Power BS300 (£699) and a Laguna 14bx (£1800)?

thanks

p.s Anybody selling one?

 

[thetyreman]

yes the difference will be huge, but you will still have to set up the thing, setting it up properly is important, snodgrass has some good videos on it.

 

[dvddvd]

Thanks, I have spent hours setting up and tweeking the Record. I'll look into the Laguna more...is there any other I should look at? Would prefer second hand but not seen a Laguna 14bx for sale used.

 

[sams93]

I think that you would probably find that the problems you are experiencing could be addressed with some more work to tune up your existing bandsaw.

I have a small 3 wheeled machine CBS355, now that it's adjusted properly, and using an appropriate blade (I also use tuffsaws and could not be more pleased with the blades and more importantly the advice that I get off Ian). Obviously a blade designed for cutting veneers is going to be a completely different to a blade for cutting small bits. Using appropriate blades WILL make a light and day difference. I also found the fence on mine was not sufficient for working with larger pieces so did replace it. I can cut 140mm thick oak on it, it's slow going but it actually works fine.

If the blades are regularly contacting the guides as you describe, then it sounds likely that it is not tensioned correctly. I find with my small machine that I get better results using a hobby gauge blade thickness, rather than the thicker (tuffsaw premium) as the saw is able to actually tension the blade properly.


Obviously a bigger saw will make lighter work of things, and you will have a wider range of blades that you can use. Don't write off your current saw too soon though, remember even a new machine will require set-up as well, with a bit more work on your current machine you might find that it can do what you want.

EDIT - I didn't read originally that you actually have spent some time setting your machine up so I don't mean to be condescending when I say about spending time on your current one. Also having said all I have just said, I did recently buy a much larger saw (broken) and repair it for not dissimilar reasons to what you describe (I wanted to be able to do larger resaws, cut larger veneers, cut with larger throat capacity, and have the option of using a wider variety of blades). I am pleased with my new larger saw, but the process of messing around with it and setting it up etc, and doing the same with my previous saw, has really reinforced to me just how important all that is!

 

[Roland]

… will it be light and day difference between a Record Power BS300 (£699) and a Laguna 14bx (£1800)?

There’s a pretty big difference. The 14BX has a 13” cut depth, which is big enough for a one piece Telecaster body blank. It can take wider blades than the BS300, which allows you to cut thinner panels such as guitar tops. Those are the two things I bought mine for, in addition to bowl blanks for turning. So far the thinnest I’ve need to cut is 10mm. I haven’t tried it on veneers yet. As @sams93 says, decent blades make the job much easier.

The other feature which swayed me is the foot brake which cuts the power and stops the blade dead.

 

[Fitzroy]

Biggest difference in my opinion is motor power, I had a startrite 352 with a 750w motor and just moved to a slighlty larger saw but with a 1.5kw motor. On timber over 4" thick the peformance is night and day.

The other thing is correct blade selection, you cannot expect one blade to do everything on a bandsaw, cutting with too many teeth per inch will cause you problems of drifting etc. If you are swapping from 3/4" material to 2" material you should be changing blade or you are asking for a difficult cut.

 

[thikone]

On the Record BS300 I feel power is missing a bit and sometimes it starts to drift. Even though the blade is tensioned correctly there seems to be a bit of play and the guides don't hold the blade tightly Square.

Blade plays a huge role in how a band saw cuts. My first band saw was BS250. It has 1/2 HP motor and many people say it is too little and you can cut maybe 50 mm thick hardwood with it only. However, with proper blade it is powerful enough to cut 120 mm beech in my experience. Might stop in the middle of the cut if the piece moves and pinches the blade, but so what - it is improper technique rather. Same goes for drift, maybe don't push it as hard.

Recently I bought a bigger one, bigger to extreme, as big as it can possibly fit in my space - Felder FB-510. Guess what! I still use BS250 a lot, as it is more convenient for small stuff and quieter. And I have plenty of blades for it from TuffSaw. I use mainly the one with thinner kerf, with one tooth unset out of three, 3 or 4 TPI.

As for FB-510 - I don't really have much experience with it. It is huge and has 3kW motor - that makes me hesitant to fire it up in residential building... But has 410 mm vertical capacity. I hope I will need it some day!

 

[Ttrees]

A very clean complete 20" Centauro for a grand is wot id be lookin for.
It's prob the heaviest modernish 20" machine you'd find.
A VFD would make it friendly

 

[Bob008]

yes the difference will be huge, but you will still have to set up the thing, setting it up properly is important, snodgrass has some good videos on it.

I’ve got the Laguna 14bx and it’s well built and a great saw I’ve changed from a startrite 352 and it’s light years ahead in performance and very easy to set up

 

[Bungster]

I have a Record BS 400 and now I have it set up properly I'm very happy with it. I use Wood Slicer resaw blades that I order from Highland Woodworking in the US and it has no trouble at all with our Eucalyptus hardwoods and even Buloke (with the required amount of patience.) I replaced the upper blade guide with one from Shark Bandsaw Blades over in your neck of the woods and it hums along nicely. I'm fairly new to woodworking after taking it up on retirement and am learning and tweaking as I go along.

 

[Terrytpot]

Just saw this on fb..

 

[AndyMc]

Curious to know why you're leaning more towards the Laguna rather than the Record Power Sabre 450? I'm about to make a similar call, but think the larger table, wider blade option and the electromagnetic brake of the 450 might be worth having

 

[recipio]

The Hammer NS4400 is a clear winner for me with it's 4 HP single phase motor. Power is everything when resawing timber.

 

[AndyMc]

Yes, the N4400 is a nice option if you can power it. It is however a bit more expensive than the Laguna or Sabre 450, especially once you've added on the guides, etc.

 

[SLM]

Yes, the N4400 is a nice option if you can power it. It is however a bit more expensive than the Laguna or Sabre 450, especially once you've added on the guides, etc.

This is my understanding, also

 

[recipio]

Yes, the aluminium guides are ridiculously expensive. I've been looking for them on ebay for years but no chance. I just use a roller stand for long pieces.

 

[Spectric]

I replaced the upper blade guide with one from Shark Bandsaw Blades over in your neck of the woods

Cannot find any info on that one but there is this one

http://www.altsawsandspares.co.uk/recordpower.html
The other option is to use the later Record Guide from the Sabre, @MikeK did an article on fitting them.

 

[dvddvd]

Curious to know why you're leaning more towards the Laguna rather than the Record Power Sabre 450? I'm about to make a similar call, but think the larger table, wider blade option and the electromagnetic brake of the 450 might be worth having

Hi thanks for your reply
.I normally only cut random pieces so when I saw the foot brake on the laguna it grabbed my interest...I normally only cut for 30 secs then wait for blade to stop then cut something else so it seemed sense to have a brake.
I didn't realise the SB450 had an electrical brake, which seems better than stood on one leg!

I may have to have a good look at the Sabre 450...seems better than the laguna.

Also I didn't realise how small the table was on the laguna was, its smaller than my Record BS300 which is 500mm x 550mm so going to a laguna would be downgrade in table size...going to have a good look tonight at the BS450, also £100 cheaper....thanks

Curious to know why you're leaning more towards the Laguna rather than the Record Power Sabre 450? I'm about to make a similar call, but think the larger table, wider blade option and the electromagnetic brake of the 450 might be worth having

 

[Bungster]

Cannot find any info on that one but there is this one

recordpower

That's the one! The invoice had the Shark Bandsaw Blade name and logo on it.