I work at a community college in the visual arts dept. We are looking to upgrade our band saw, we have a older cast iron Rockwell that was seen better days. I have looked at the General GM390-M2 20” saw which I like. We have one of their Canadian made table saws and it has worked like a dream for over 20 years.
After talking with some of the machinery reps that the college has dealt with I was asked if I had considerd buying an Italian made Centauro band saw? I have been to their web site, which is Premier Machinery in <!—-> <!—->North America<!—->, and the specs look pretty good. They suggested model C0 600 or CO 700 which equals about a 23” or 27” saw with either a 3 or 4 hp motor.
I am not familiar with this company or it’s reputation. I have bought an Italian radial arm saw from Omga which we have used for over 15 yrs. and it is as solid as the day we bought it.
Does anyone have any experience with Centuro and in particular the CO line of band saw?
Thanks for your help.
Mikey2
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Replies
Mikey,
I'm not currently in the market for a BS but I've seen the Centauro at one of my dealers showrooms. It looks well made, but of course, without a test drive I'm not gonna say more than that. The Italian company is not that well-known perhaps because they don't make a wide line of stuff, but they have a good reputation.
David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e
Morning Mikey...
I cannot speak for the individual models you mentioned, but if you have have a Mini-Max bandsaw that has MM in front of it as the MM-16 for instance....... it is built and came from the Centuaro plant in Italy.
Mini-max E series originates in the Centauro plant also, but built ti Mini-Max specs and not the quality of the MM series. So.. depends on what customer base they have geared the models you mentioned for. You have full sized Chevy trucks and economy sizes geared for different purposes.. but in the 24" + class Centauro you mentioned, I highly suspect....
Let's just say "no frills" and built for industry standards when you get up to the 24" and beyond where there may be no "quittin time" as the beat goes on.. and on.. and on........
Hope that helps....
Sarge.. jt
Edited 6/15/2007 9:31 am ET by SARGEgrinder47
Sarge and Mikey,
Three years ago I looked into Band Saws for resawing and larger work than my little old 14" bandsaw was made for.
After comparing models, and equally important customer service, I bought the 20" MiniMax with their 4.8 hp. motor. (Since then, the 20" MiniMax design has been even more "Beefed Up" with a thicker/heavier frame and table tilt gearing and more like a Powermatic polished table surface...) Their miter guage slot is milled to fit American made miter guages, so no worries of finding metric sizes. I'd classify this model as an "Entry Level Industrial" machine....
The operation and parts manual for the 20" MiniMax is also the manual the MiniMax 24" model. As I went through the exploded view of the parts manual, even though the 24" is built bigger and heavier, I found that the 20" has the identically same wheel bearings and axle use in the 24" Centauro model.
There have been only two things I've had to address since owning my MiniMax. The first one was to request a replacement switch. When I bumped on-&-off the power the Amp draw caused the switch to malfunction. MiniMax replaced it quickly under warranty. The other thing I did was to build a hardwood base filled with gravel and sand to raise the table height. I'm 6'-1", so a 5" riser helped the comfort of operation. After changing and adding the mobile wheels and trolley to the new base, moving it for better resawing room is simple and a breeze.
Here's some other current buying data and a review of that saw.
http://toolseeker.com/WdWkMac/Bandsaw/MM20.asp?var1=MM20
No regrets for buying MiniMax/Centuaro,
Bill
Edited 6/15/2007 12:19 pm ET by BilljustBill
Afternoon Bill...
I also agree that not only is the 20" MM a scaled down version of the small industrial (24" is the baby boy in industrial and + is common), the 16" is also. The other un-named guys can tell you there's is a scaled down industrial also, but I would dis-agree if you take a look at the weights of cast iron wheels, etc. There's is more of a heavily re-enforced consumer model than it's factory origination industrial model, IMO.
Nice add-on with the base to cut down the vibration. And something you didn't point out is it also gives the lower case door clearance to open on the built-on mobile base without removing the rear wheel on the door opening side to avoid collision and only partially opening.
"Rose's have thorns and silver fountains mud" as Shakespeare said. A lot of folks don't realize that when you pay that much for a BS.. you still get some quirks that have to be worked out and that is true with all the heavy duty "Italian Stallions". The salesman just doesn't mention it for the most part.. ya find the quirks after it arrives. :>)
And as Paul Harvey says.. "that's the rest of the story"! ha.. ha... ha.. ha.. ha..
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Edited 6/15/2007 4:06 pm ET by SARGEgrinder47
Good to hear from you, Sarge,
When I got the MiniMax Band Saw home and all the inside & out packing oil "ragged-off", on the wheels themselves, I saw that the cast hubs seemed off center.... Boy, that visual almost threw me for a bunch of worrying.
But, when I got the saw wired and up and running, the wheels were smooth as glass as far as vibration. Centauro balanced them like they were to be part of the Space Station....
Here's an internal shot of that riser I built. The frame was made from 30 year seasoned hardwood 3"X3" pallet runners. From side metal sheet pallets, I was given lots of them home the two summers I worked at a Holiday Trailer Mfg. company between college years. Gluing Beech, Pecan, and White Oak ,the thick frame is also lag bolted on the ends.
Regards,
Bill
Bill
Morning Bill...
I used to have an old cat (shop foreman) before he passed about a year ago that would have loved that sand box. :>)
Clever idea and I have to like the fact you used pallet wood instead of it getting tossed. I recover the pallet base runners from pallets at my part time work also when I find keepers. You never know what if will come in handy for and I used some recently in conjunction with a country kitchen table I built from white oak. It is para-wood (Indonesian rubber tree) that is found often in pallets coming from the Orient.
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
After one year are you still happy with the saw?
I am considering either the Laguna or the mini-max.
The mini-max is priced better and weighs more, which may make for less vibration.
Did you consider the Laguna as an alternate?
Thanks
Minimax is an hour and a half from me, so any concern about parts replacement or other things helped me make the decision to go with them.
Now that Laguna is using a Baldor motor is a big plus, but the fact that they seem to make many customers mad due to quality control issues, and vocal lack of customer care following the purchase. Like car salesman, it seems that there is a lot of turnover in their sales dept. Their equipment and replacement parts come in oceanic shipping containers, so you may have to wait a month or more to get a part and there maybe nobody there that remembers who you are... I've not had that problem with MiniMax.
I haven't pushed the Minmax by any extent, but so far so good.
Bill
Yes that is one concern with the motor. I see that Laguna has a 6HP. Baldor.
What comes in the Minimax?
I have seen on other blogs people complaining about Laguna's customer service, it could be a big concern.
Thank you for your reply.
They rate their motor horse power in watts... but my 20" model has an American rating of 4.8 hp. I don't know what Hp they have on the newest models. Several years ago, when Dallas had their yearly Woodworking show, the next model improvement was a heavier metal used in the back/neck spine, also it was more refined on the table finish. It almost looked like Powermatic Mod. 66 table saw top's mirror finish.
Good luck with your purchase... Bill
wd:I have a Laguna LT 16 HD. It's a great saw and with the ReSaw King blade makes cuts similar in quality to a table saw. This means that you can rip to width on the bandsaw. I ordered the driftmaster fence at IWF, which is due any day now.I have had had excellent support. After sending my blade back for sharpening, it didn't work as well so they replaced it immediately - no questions asked.The internet provides a powerful megaphone for the disgruntled and unhappy and there is always another side to the story that you don't hear.Hastings
Hastings,
You hit the nail on the head there! Besides, I'm sure Laguna folks read these forums and if they have a brain in their head they will at least look at the complaints to see if their "system" could use tweeking. They are in a very competitive business.
To the original question; I've had a MM 16 made by Centaur for several years now and have only good things to say about it and the MM customer service.
Regards,
Mack"Close enough for government work=measured with a micrometer, marked with chalk and cut with an axe"
Hastings,
Thanks for taking the time to reply. Your post will be helpful in making my decision.
If anyone out their has a LT24 could you send some feed back?
Thanks again for all your replies.
WD40
When you pick your new machine, don't junk the Rockwell. There will be plenty of folks willing to take it off your hands and put it back in business. Those machines never die.
Pete
Mikey2,
I owned a CO 700 (28") for 21 years and had no complaints except for the guide system. It was the old european style with bushings that eventually started seizing. The other thing to watch is that the guides will allow you to run narrow blades if that is your desire. I used mine for everything from resaw to intricate detail cuts and had to be creative to keep the narrow blades tracking because the guides wouldn't allow me to run the blade over the top of the crown in the tires. If they have improved the guides then I don't think you would go wrong.
For interest I only just sold the saw 2 weeks ago. I just couldn't spare the space that it took any longer and it isn't something that is easy to make mobile.
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