Last month, I attended the Woodworking Show in Vancouver, BC and came across a 15 inch General model 690-1 bandsaw being sold be House of Tools. It has an approximate 12″ capacity for resawing. Not the imported model, but the made in Canada model. The bandsaw had been used during the weekend by students at the show to show off their skills in woodworking. It was discounted from $2,895 to $2,000 (all in Cdn dollars) and came with a mobile stand, 2 extra bandsaw blades and was already wired for 220v outlet. After a sale’s pitch by the salesman regarding the value of the made in Canada model versus the imported model, I purchased it for free delivery the following week.
A comedy of errors occurred after the sale. Another salesman sold the same bandsaw again after the sold sign was displayed on the back of the machine. When I call the following week to ask for a time of delivery, the company told me that I had already picked it up the previous day. After the confusion was cleared up, the salesman was kind enough to deliver a brand new model with all the accessories that were included in the one I was supposed to receive. Talk about service! I guess their loss and my gain.
As I do not have much space in my workshop, the bandsaw will be used in place of a tablesaw. I have not started to use it yet, but does anyone know how these bandsaws have stood up and their performance.
Bill
Replies
I cannot attest to the reliabilityy of the machine you purchased but will say this. The quality of performance you get out of your machine will largely be determined by how well you can set it up and the quality of blades you use.
I have a Minimax 20" bandsaw and it is my main saw. I use it for almost all of my ripping instead of the table saw. It is just a lot safer in my mind. Eventhough the saw is purported to be a flawless performer out of the box. It had taken me about 6 months to really get the thing tuned up and runnung great.
If you can get a book on band saw tune up at the library and read it cover to cover, this will help.
Then it is just experience after that. You will probably be able to get that saw to perform very well. Enough so that you may not really want to mess with a big table saw. I use an old Delta contractors saw. And before that a Makita bench top saw.
Good luck with your purchase.
J.P.
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