DaWoodster
Established Member
The Record Power BS250 is top of the list at the moment, any other contenders?
Bandsaw £350 budget.
- Thread starter DaWoodster
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Cinimod
Established Member
Hi, I find my bs250 fine for what I do but it'll probably be under powered if you are doing anything too big. You might be better finding an bigger secondhand one if that's what you need. I'm sure more informed folks will let you know some names to lookout for.
But just make sure you set it up correctly and get a decent band from Tuffsaws..........dom
But just make sure you set it up correctly and get a decent band from Tuffsaws..........dom
decide what you want to make.
I think your budget should be doubled at least, or you will curse and go through a lot more money upgrading.
My first was £200, I spent a year bitterly regretting it. I now have £600 in my bandsaw, and its just a case of me learning enough to use it to its best.
I think your budget should be doubled at least, or you will curse and go through a lot more money upgrading.
My first was £200, I spent a year bitterly regretting it. I now have £600 in my bandsaw, and its just a case of me learning enough to use it to its best.
John15
Established Member
I have a BS250 to suit my small workshop. It's OK for ripping stuff up to 50mm and cutting dovetails but would struggle with larger pieces. As others have said, if you have the room and the cash I would recommend you go for a 300 or 350 machine.
John
John
as the guys have said above, think about what you need to do & buy the biggest capacity you can. i recently posted a thread about buying a band saw with a £700 budget with the BS350 my top choice, i got a lot of "buy used industrial machines" and a bit of "you cant get a good bandsaw for £700" .... then the last post Custard who's posts clearly come from a lot of experience stated he used a BS250 in a busy workshop and it was often because a queue to the industrial band saw, he said it got the job done.
i am upgrading from a smaller home hobby machine to putting a bigger machine in my day job workshop, the RP stuff always appeals a severything i have had from them is good quality & has the 5 year guarantee, after checking capacity of what i "might get tempted to do" with the bandsaw i have in the end spent some of my new table saw budget & gone for the BS400
i am upgrading from a smaller home hobby machine to putting a bigger machine in my day job workshop, the RP stuff always appeals a severything i have had from them is good quality & has the 5 year guarantee, after checking capacity of what i "might get tempted to do" with the bandsaw i have in the end spent some of my new table saw budget & gone for the BS400
custard
Established Member
You won't be disappointed with the 400, and if you are the Record customer support people will soon put that right!
The BS250 is a great little machine, within it's capacity limits, I've seen it cut many metres of excellent quality hardwood veneers, but only up to about 4" wide. If your woodwork is within those dimensions, and the budget's tight, then it's a great choice. If you're making timber framed houses then you might need to think about something bigger!
The BS250 is a great little machine, within it's capacity limits, I've seen it cut many metres of excellent quality hardwood veneers, but only up to about 4" wide. If your woodwork is within those dimensions, and the budget's tight, then it's a great choice. If you're making timber framed houses then you might need to think about something bigger!
YorkshireMartin
Established Member
The key to bandsaw performance is the setup. Sounds obvious I know, but I think a lot of people (not saying you do) expect them to work perfectly straight out of the crate. I think that would be rare.
The main thing is choosing a bandsaw that, as custard said, fits your needs, but also one that is *capable* of being set up correctly. So being of a good enough construction to adequately tension a blade, being made of good enough materials for the table to be made flat, a means of mounting a sturdy fence and so the list goes on.
If a bandsaw meets those criteria then it will do the job if you choose appropriately. The trouble is, a lot of the cheaper saws simply cannot be setup to perform no matter what you do with them (short of replacing half of the saw), because the tolerances at manufacturing and the QC are lacking.
That's the main reason why people recommend going for an older industrial or educational machine, because literally any of them, can be *made* to work, even if it takes a bit of effort.
In any case, and I know they get plugged a lot on here, but it's because they are good, but a copy of Steve Maskery's bandsaw DVD series would be an excellent purchase, even before the saw. It helps across the board and can perhaps help to identify the features an expert like Steve considers important.
If I'm teaching grandma to suck eggs I apologise.
PS. If at all possible, I'd pick-up a bandsaw rather than have it delivered and I'd have a good straight edge with me and have the vendor inspect (ideally demo) it before releasing it to me, especially a smaller model like the 250. Could save an awful lot of headaches.
The main thing is choosing a bandsaw that, as custard said, fits your needs, but also one that is *capable* of being set up correctly. So being of a good enough construction to adequately tension a blade, being made of good enough materials for the table to be made flat, a means of mounting a sturdy fence and so the list goes on.
If a bandsaw meets those criteria then it will do the job if you choose appropriately. The trouble is, a lot of the cheaper saws simply cannot be setup to perform no matter what you do with them (short of replacing half of the saw), because the tolerances at manufacturing and the QC are lacking.
That's the main reason why people recommend going for an older industrial or educational machine, because literally any of them, can be *made* to work, even if it takes a bit of effort.
In any case, and I know they get plugged a lot on here, but it's because they are good, but a copy of Steve Maskery's bandsaw DVD series would be an excellent purchase, even before the saw. It helps across the board and can perhaps help to identify the features an expert like Steve considers important.
If I'm teaching grandma to suck eggs I apologise.
PS. If at all possible, I'd pick-up a bandsaw rather than have it delivered and I'd have a good straight edge with me and have the vendor inspect (ideally demo) it before releasing it to me, especially a smaller model like the 250. Could save an awful lot of headaches.
Brian18741
Established Member
I have the BS250 and it's fine for small jobs. I picked mine up 2nd hand for €200 (almost half price) and with a new blade, I can't fault it but I do want something bigger eventually!
