Which benchtop bandsaw

[LyNx]

I would like to purchase a bandsaw very soon but it's been over 3 months so far looking at a few. I want to put this to a small vote. I don't have the budget so a benchtop is all i can get at the moment, so no comments about size and "wait for a bigger model" please :? .

I have picked these three due to the height of cut, cast iron beds and a good name (tell me if i'm wrong).

Please let me know what you think, so i can order one of these damn things and get on with pushing the next item to purchase

Andy

 

[Adam]

Have you thought about buying second hand? Trawl the friday ad and second hand tool dealers. You'll get a lot more grunt for the money. I bought a little tiny desktop model at a car boot for £20 or so - and its truly awful. They really can't do a lot of "normal" bandsaw tasks as they are underpowered.

Adam

 

[LyNx]

I have been looking but i need one pretty soon and space is a real issue, thats why the "off the shelf" and "benchtop" seem to be right up my street.

Another reason for the benchtop is, if i ever need to re-saw anything big, then i can bring it into work.

Do you have any links to second hand dealers, anyone???

:? :? :?

Andy

 

[kiwibob]

I have also been doing some research on buying my first bandsaw, and had the Record 250 high on my list. But, then I found some slightly negative reports regarding the warranty. Although it is 5 years, it doesn't cover "consumables" like belts, bearings etc. There are 6 ballbearing blade guides on this machine and apparently it is common for them to seize up due to the ingress of sawdust. They are NOT covered by the warranty, and are around £6 each (ie £36 for a set), possibly cheaper from other sources.

Apart from that, I believe they are very good machines.

I eventually bought a second hand Axminster BS350 bandsaw from a member of this forum, and am very happy with it.

Another thing with buying second hand is that you will probably get some extra blades if the seller is going to a larger model

Hope this helps in your decision

KB

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum Kiwibob!

Adam

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Kiwibob

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil

 

[kiwibob]

Thanks for your welcome.
Like most forum newbies I expected to be seeking advice, rather than giving, so I was pleased that I was able to start off with my small contribution.

KB

 

[dedee]

Do you have any links to second hand dealers, anyone???

Other folks around here I believe have used both of these in the past.

http://www.gandmtools.co.uk/

and

http://www.homeandworkshopmachinery.co.uk


Andy

 

[LyNx]

Thanks for the links, have been looking over these.

2 votes for the SCHEPPACH BASATO1, you voters, have you this model to comment first hand.

Andy

 

[Adam]

Thanks for the links, have been looking

I'm sure there must be some similar places close to you?

A quick search on Friday Ad threw up three hits...

RECORD 3 wheel bandsaw. Tilting
table 300mm throat, Jig saw attachment. good condition. £50.0, Mi...

09:15
£50
make an offer

Record Bandsaw, incl blades, exc
con, £50. 0783...

08/01/2006


SMALL BANDSAW 240v new blade
plus spare blade good condition £30 0116 2774648...

Admittedly unlikely to be your area this week but doesn't take long.... How about exchange and Mart etc...

This one at www.preloved.co.uk Price: £ 145 ovno
Advert type: Private
Location: Largs, Ayrshire, UK
Last Updated: More than 21 days ago
Member: Jim

Click here to respond to this advert
D.I.Y 6"throat cast table single phase good condition

Or lathes.co.uk...

For Sale: MEBER SR 500 Bandsaw with 45-degree tilting cast-iron table. Heavily-built (245 Kg) machine with 1-phase electrics. Light amateur use only and in perfect order. £375 Photographs here Phone: 020-8360-5556 evenings

Adam

 

[LyNx]

Adam, I've been looking over these as well, most have gone already

I know one will pop up pretty soon and i'll have to be quick to snap it up.

Andy

 

[Corset]

This is quite an interesting subject for me as i am thinking of buying a benchtop bandsaw. I have space in my works workshop to build a bench and few smaller tools but certainly not for a larger bandsaw. Therefore i was looking at the fox model at Rutlands, or the Jet Benchtop. With the postage cost from ebay its just not worth buying them second hand unless you can collect. Any thoughts on these or the models listed above would be appreciated.
corset

 

[Unlucky Alf]

Corset,

I don’t have the Fox benchtop model but I have had its bigger brother (the F28-200) for a couple of years now. I bought the saw sight-unseen based on a dealers recommendation, I try not to do business with this guy anymore. I would have to guess that the machine which it was cloned from was decent because the general quality of the casting is very good and the motor is well up to the job, however it is let down by all of the economies which have, presumably, been made. I don’t have time to do a proper review at the moment but this quick summary should give you some idea.

The guard lowering system uses a combination of a metal post and a plastic cog, needless to say the teeth were all stripped from the plastic within about a month.

The roller bearings at the rear of the blade seized after about a year of light use.

In order to adjust the lower blade guides the table must be removed altogether, neither tilting the table or removing the throat plate provides sufficient unobstructed access with an allen key. As you can imagine this makes blade changing a major hassle rather than just an inconvenience.

The mitre guide is very cheaply made and very sloppy and the fence goes out of true as soon as you try to tighten it.

The icing on the cake was the fact that the specified replacement blades (2208mm) are too big for the saw, the largest blades which can be tensioned are 2190mm.

I have considered buying an after-market fence and new guide system and fabricating my own guard (the one supplied isn’t deep enough to accommodate the largest blade sizes) as this could be made into a good machine but I’ll probably just end up setting this machine up with a narrow blade and buy a larger “quality” saw for more demanding tasks.

I wouldn't want anyone to get the idea that the Fox range is all junk though as it also includes some very good low cost machines such as the F14-655 mortiser, which offers a lot for your money and I have been extremely happy with. Like many “manufacturers” these days it is very hard to quantify the quality of a particular marque as it all depends on which chaiwanese clone they buy in and put their stickers on. The best advice would be to make sure that you try before you buy but if thats not possible, and the budget will stretch to the Scheppach Basato then I would go for that as it’s probably the only machine that isn’t a rebadged clone and they have an excellent reputation for quality and customer service.

Simon

 

[LyNx]

Well, i got me a bandsaw...and i'm well happy with the result.

Tell me it's a good bargin at £125 and £40 for the mortiser :?

Just a small amount for rust on the cast bed and on the mortisers main bar.

Andy

 

[DaveL]

Well that looks like a good deal to me. That is a 316? Much better that a small bench top saw, I have a 315 and it has proved to be very useful.

 

[Unlucky Alf]

Tell me it's a good bargin at £125 and £40 for the mortiser :?

It was, well done. Did you find a small ad or were they from the bay?

Simon

 

[LyNx]

Dave, it is the 316. Forgot the damn front fence but he'll put it in the post for me.

Is it a good model for the money then? just got to find a manual

Andy

 

[LyNx]

One was on the 'bay of E' and the other was sat ready for an offer.

Andy

 

[Unlucky Alf]

just got to find a manual

You can download the manual from here

http://fc.zindel.de/_ebeckum/_com/_en/_en02hoba.html

Simon

 

[CYC]

Nice buy Lynx.

I have the morticer which I bought a while back for a lot more
If you are tight for space here is what I did with my pillar drill and morticer:

I placed the 2 tools back to back on a mobile and sturdy cabinet I made myself. 2 of the 4 heavy casters have breaks and it works really well. I use the drill more often so I have it facing out with the drawers and when I need to mortice I roll out the cabinet to use the tool.
Hope this is helpful :wink:

Ho, one thing which I ended up changing on the morticer. The yellow plastic handle which tightens the hold-down frame to the column was not strong enough and ended up broke. I had to drill through it to get it out and replace it with a metal one like on a vice. It's stronger and easier to thighten now