Replies

1. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Aug 01, 2006 06:39am | #1

   I took a look at the saw and here are my thoughts. The wheel rubbers are small for a 3" blade.  A 3" blade is a load on a wheel just bending around a wheel and that usually means loss of true HP before it makes it to the stock.

   My bottom line thoughts were the HP and blade size were not a match made in heaven and relates to a less than stellar performance in the trench. Too much money.. too little HP.. too big a blade!

   If I were going to spend the $2 K +, I would have a serious look at the Mini-Max 16 as I have not seen anything it won't handle this side of a saw-mill. For a bonus...  throw in well made and customer service any company should strive for and be proud of.

   I love my Hitachi SCMS and the customer service center here in Atlanta is great. But.. I would not call this particular saw well thought out in an over-all view of what I would look for in re-saw. I'm sure there are others that might see it from a different view.

   Good luck...

   SARGE..

2. 
   ring | Aug 01, 2006 07:28am | #2

   I've had this saw for years.  It's OK, but -

   I replaced the motor immediately.  I don't know which motor they're supplying nowadays but my original was entirely unsuitable.

   These 3" blades run about $100 each and they're not easy to find.  A well-tuned bandsaw with standard blade will do the resawing just as well.  I don't see any great advantage in the special blades for 99% of my work.

   The guide blocks are primitive (or at least were on my saw), but the normal upgrade options do not fit this saw.

   Think about it twice.

   DR

1. 
   citrouille | Aug 02, 2006 01:56am | #3

   Thanks,Good poins,
   I am checking out the Mini-Max as we "speak".C.

1. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Aug 02, 2006 04:36am | #4

   I got to play with one 4 years ago at the International Woodworking Show in Atlanta. It was IMO, the cream of the crop at that time. They have beefed it up to re-saw 12" and souped it up with a 4.8 HP motor I believe. They beefed up the frame rail from what was already one of the best to even sturdier than it was. This thing is just short of industrial strength and it just may be.

   I am in the market for a re-saw now. If I could justify it (I can't as about 1/2 that price fits my tool slush fund), I would purchase it for my shop. Even though I don't think I could get the max out of it, I would do it anyway. If I could find the older 16" with 10 re-saw, I would buy it. The problem is that it holds value and few would part with the one they have.

   From everything I have heard, their customer service is superb. At the show's, they will bend over backwards to answer a question (unlike the luke-warm attitude of another high end BS seller I en-countered), even if you tell them you are just window shopping. Everything about MM from the machine to the people that sell and service it impressed me.

   Settling for less.. but I'll get over it!  ha.. ha...

   SARGE..

3. 
   sapwood | Aug 02, 2006 05:34am | #5

   My second bandsaw was an old Delta or Rockwell 20 inch because I fell into a great deal. It has a two horse motor I believe. I use 1/2" blades on it, either the timberwolf or the highland hardware wood slicer. Both melt through just about anything. I can fit about 13" below the guide if I remove the blade guard to get that extra 1/2". It wasn't designed as a dedicated resaw machine, but it does swell.

   My point here is to encourage you to get as large a saw as possible. Look at throat width and depth. The narrow blades being made today are great so I don't think a saw needs loads of horsepower. My saw certainly doesn't. Sure, I have to feed slowly on really wide boards, but I don't resaw those everyday.

   My third bandsaw.........

4. 
   Jimma | Aug 02, 2006 10:12pm | #6

   I'm not a user of that 3-inch resaw machine, but I know two wholesale lumber dealers who use them day-in and day-out as dedicated resaw machines -- one is a major supplier in my area (Chipmunk Lumber) and the other is an importer of exotic wood (Amazon Hardwood). It's doughtful either of them try for precision, as both are production applications resawing from rough timbers, but their output is consistent and dependable and run stuff through at pretty amazing rates using the stock Stellite blades. I've thought about buying one myself if I get into a lot of that kind of work. You do lose a lot in the kerfs.

   
   

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   Edited 8/2/2006 3:16 pm ET by Jimma