Replies

1. 
   ron61 | Nov 22, 2003 05:13am | #1

   Cant go wrong with a Delta -you will need to spend a bit more money to get a good saw

   Who Ever Has The Biggest Pile Of Tools When You Die Wins

2. 
   Dustmight | Nov 22, 2003 03:41pm | #2

   IMHO about the best bang for the buck is the new Grizzly 14".

3. 
   BG | Nov 22, 2003 04:59pm | #3

   Bill,

   I bought the bandsaw book last year and studied it thoroughly.  I have not bought a bandsaw yet but I bought the book because I have heard too many complaints from bandsaw users on here....I wanted to avoid at least some of the issues.

   One complaint that has been expressed many times is insufficient power and resawing capacity. The two kinds of resawing that dominates is for veneers and resawing for draw sides and the like.  Since most rough lumber is 8" or less it would seem that would be a minimum for capacity.  Used at capacity, it seems a minimum of 1.5 horse power is desired...and 2 hp desirable.

   Another element of the resawing issue is quality of cut.  There is appears, as it does in TS, the more cast iron the better.

   While it's more expensive than you have budgeted, I was looking seriously at the Grizzly 16" with the cast iron wheels.  I was also looking at the Jet 16-18" models, bought locally so I could have support from local staff with alignment issues, drift, and all those finickhy things about bandsaws.   
4. 
   RMillard | Nov 22, 2003 09:07pm | #4

   I did little if any research before buying my Jet, open stand 14 inch bandsaw, but I could not be happier with it. I have used it nearly everyday for almost 6 years, so it is a durable saw. The only problems I had with, are the underpowered tension spring, which I replaced with an Ittura heavy duty spring. The other problem is this saw an I suspect all similar ones in its class, can?t really tension a ½ inch wide blade. Once I stayed away from ½ inch wide blades, I got true, predictable results.

   The only problem is this saw is just a bit more than your budget.

   Rob Millard

5. 
   forestgirl | Nov 22, 2003 11:27pm | #5

   Bill, in the $400 price range, I'd suggest the Grizzly G0555.  I have the preceeding model, the 1019Z, and it resaws just fine with a good (Timberwolf) blade and has plenty of power.  The two things I don't like about it have been rectified on the G0555 -- the blade guides and the fence.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)