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Poolewood 3502 Bandsaw
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| Written by White House Workshop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, 22 September 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Description
Tools Model: 3502Manufacturer: Poolewood Price: £445 
User reviews
Average user rating from: 1 user(s)
To write a review please register or login. 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Poolewood 3502 Bandsaw, Wednesday, 22 September 2004 Written by White House Workshop
The unit arrived packed in 3 boxes on a pallet: one large box containing the bandsaw and rip fence, one box containing the stand with motor inside, and one box containing the 12” option. Although it was heavy, assembly was quickly and easily managed on my own in less than 30 minutes. The top and bottom doors are opened with an allen key (supplied). Not the easiest of fixings, but completely secure. I clip for the key would be a useful addition as I keep it in a hole in the side of the table right now. Band tension is adjusted with a large knob on the top of the unit and I think anyone under 5’5” would have to use a stool (I’m 6’ with long arms). Top pulley tilt is by a knob at the rear of the pivot bearing and is lockable. The 14” x 14” cast iron table adjusts from –10 to +45 degrees, and is very easy to adjust. Surface flatness is good. The aluminium insert around the blade fits flush and is firmly in place, although it’s only been in and out a few times to date. The blade guard is in two sections on my machine (one for the 6” version) and is moved up and down by hand after releasing a knob on a strong post at the back of the upper assembly. There are two guide blocks, upper and lower, each with side guides and rear thrust bearings. The upper bearing has a micro adjustment, and the lower bearing simply locks in place. The mitre gauge supplied with the saw is small yet functional, but the mitre slot takes a standard gauge so you can use a more robust unit if you wish. The rip fence is aluminium and locks front and rear with separate knobs on steel track rods. I found the locking mechanism a bit fiddly at first as I was used to a single knob on prior units, but I soon got used to it. The fence is accurate, but could do with being taller for resawing wide boards; I’m reluctant to start drilling holes in it to add an auxiliary board for the time being. The lower blade guard is a bit of a nuisance, as it has to be removed when you change blades, and I would be tempted to remove it completely if I was changing blades often. There’s a standard 4” dust collector outlet in the lower cover that works well, very little dust not being picked up. The 12” riser kit includes a channel for the ‘up’ side of the blade track and the longer unit supplied doesn’t fit tightly on its mounting posts, causing a metallic rattle when in use. A piece of rubber on its mounting posts soon fixed that. Changing speed means removing both motor covers, slackening the motor mount bolts and replacing the drive belt on to the other pulleys. A separate drive belt is supplied. I haven’t done this – yet! Poolewood offered me several options for delivery date so that it fit with my convenience. When I unpacked my saw there was one bolt missing from the rip fence guides. An email to Poolewood saw two replacement bolts arrive in the post the following morning. Great service! I have resawn 10” by 4/4 boards quite easily, although my ¾” blade has a slight kink at the weld point and I’m sure the cuts would be even better with a new blade. One time when I was resawing some old mahogany I think I’d have done better if I’d changed the speed, but the unit coped well. With the ¼” blade fine cuts and curves are no problem. I also have a 3/8” blade for general-purpose use. With the 12” riser kit and the 1HP motor the saw cost me £446.80 ex VAT, which I think is excellent value for money. The standard unit with ¾ HP motor and 6” cut is £339 ex VAT. Personally, I would always opt for a bigger motor, having worn a few out in the past! In summary, it’s a big unit, nice and stable, and quiet with just a couple of minor niggles. I’m looking forward to many years of satisfactory use.
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