Bandsaw advice

[steve355]

Hi

I really really could do with a bandsaw for chopping up 5” beech plane billets, and ideally some mild milling of deeper beech and other hardwoods. I’ve been trying to make do for a while but I think I have to take the plunge, even though I don’t really have space for one. I’ve never had a wood bandsaw before.

2 options I’m looking at, both second hand, both around the same price …

Metabo BAS 318 - 6.5” depth of cut, 900w motor, relatively new machine
Multico pro mex, 8” depth of cut I think, 750w motor, made around 1990

Which would the panel recommend?

Thanks
Steve

 

[Roland]

The advice I was given is to buy the largest and most powerful that you can afford. Over its lifetime you will use it for a lot more than your first project.

 

[Ollie78]

As above get the biggest one you can, I have a Scheppach about the size of the Metabo you mention and while its fine I need a bigger one.

 

[fleyh]

As others have mentioned, a bandsaw is the kind of tool you'll find yourself wishing you had bought in a larger size.

On the flip side, if you're aiming to stay in good shape, you could repeat my mistake. Despite modifying my bandsaw to allow for up to 5" tall stock (after removing all that "unnecessary" safety stuff), I still find myself regularly practicing hand saw ripping. It seems my stock always ends up just a bit taller than my bandsaw can handle.
On the bright side, I can now rip a 4-foot log with a handsaw in about an hour, a significant improvement from the entire day it took me the first time

 

[steve355]

As others have mentioned, a bandsaw is the kind of tool you'll find yourself wishing you had bought in a larger size.

On the flip side, if you're aiming to stay in good shape, you could repeat my mistake. Despite modifying my bandsaw to allow for up to 5" tall stock (after removing all that "unnecessary" safety stuff), I still find myself regularly practicing hand saw ripping. It seems my stock always ends up just a bit taller than my bandsaw can handle.
On the bright side, I can now rip a 4-foot log with a handsaw in about an hour, a significant improvement from the entire day it took me the first time

The thing is, that’s where I started. I was trying to cut these billets By hand, I made a mistake on Friday morning, and spent the rest of the morning fixing it. And it really ought to be a five minute job to make these cuts.

Here’s an example, these billets are about 5” x 3” x 10” long. I regularly want to make cuts like this….

The lengthwise cuts are easy enough to do on the table saw, by gradually increasing the blade height. I get reasonable results doing that. But the cuts at an angle, are not at all easy to do on the table saw, and frankly, the thing scares me half to death. It’s only a matter of time until I get some really nasty kickback or have an accident trying to do that. a bandsaw is the correct solution for trying to make those kind of cuts.

I know, I’m also going to want to mill logs up to maybe six or 8 inches thick. Ideally, I would be able to quartersaw beech trunks! But I think I need to accept that that isn’t a realistic proposition and I will have to buy them already prepared.

My biggest restriction is actually lack of space. My workshop is crammed full of all kinds of machines, which I mostly do use. I could potentially ditch my mortiser, I don’t use that much, but I know that if I get rid of it, the next week, I would be wishing I hadn’t.

So I have to work out some kind of compromise.

 

[Fitzroy]

My experience with the band-saw is it cuts amazingly when the blade is brand new, then as the blade looses the initial razor sharpness you have to push harder in the cut. Subsequently the tension in the blade is more important, so a heavier frame is beneficial. Additionally the motor has to work harder as there is more friction between blade and work-piece. The thicker the thing being cut, the more dense the wood, the more abrasive the wood, the more difficult the cut and the more pressure, tension and power required.

So for me motor power, and a stout frame are the important factors, so the 6.5" depth of cut 900w motor would be the choice from those two.

 

[Jacob]

Blades don't last long ripping on a bandsaw unless it's massive.
I use TS to cut kerfs from both sides and then take out the middle with the band saw.
Riving knife not poss with the TS of course, so everything cut to length first, before ripping. Needs a good blade, short false fence higher than the workpiece, accessible stop switch so you can switch off with your knee if necessary, without losing your 2 push-stick grip on the workpiece.

 

[Roland]

My biggest restriction is actually lack of space. My workshop is crammed full of all kinds of machines, which I mostly do use.

Could you put it on castors?

 

[steve355]

My experience with the band-saw is it cuts amazingly when the blade is brand new, then as the blade looses the initial razor sharpness you have to push harder in the cut. Subsequently the tension in the blade is more important, so a heavier frame is beneficial. Additionally the motor has to work harder as there is more friction between blade and work-piece. The thicker the thing being cut, the more dense the wood, the more abrasive the wood, the more difficult the cut and the more pressure, tension and power required.

So for me motor power, and a stout frame are the important factors, so the 6.5" depth of cut 900w motor would be the choice from those two.

That’s interesting, of the two I’m tending towards that one, partly for the extra power and also it has a wheel mechanism for moving it - a bit.

But also, being a relatively new machine, it may not require constant fettling to keep it working. I’ve fixed a lot of old machines in my time, and often they are much better quality, but right now I want one that works.

 

[Ttrees]

It seems you're new to reading bandsaw threads, as the last paragraph you wrote
assumes that every bandsaw is fully adjustable, when infact none are, bar very few larger older ones, with motors which can be rotated to align with the upper wheel.

The contemporary ethos/design of all, is designing something which will pay for themselves, and to have you coming back for something or other, "jobs for the boys" is an apt term,
i.e not making things simple if looking for a new motor,
Generally most Italian designs making it more difficult for anything but genuine parts like Centauro's T&G tires, or the rest having vulcanized tires, whats dressed on the wheels, purposely non accurate faces of the wheels, but machined with such a setup to make it seem as such,
along with the general rhetoric of ignorance,
i.e look up bandsaw setup, and all you will get is blade tracking tutorials.
with serious dissuasion regarding the suggestion of wheel alignment, or the importance of such.
Well it ain't hard to damage things if not doing things properly,
but the lack of tutorials in this regard, is very evident.

Not to knock the Italian designs, (the blueprint of all modern well built machines)
infact, it's testament to the build quality of the components, like the wheels mainly...
which compared to some brands of machinery, a much different scenario.
The difference being, that the same Italians will be still around in a decade's time
as will the machines be,
but the manufacturers who've not copied the Italian recipe concerning the wheels,
likely might not still be around by the looks of things, as the same with the machines,
No bothers if you can simply re-brand, and make another batch of unservicable machines.
Things are certainly going downhill in that regards.

Study the Italian recipe I suggest, just to see what you're missing.

If someone had the will, I'm sure one could design a trunnion which allows the table to
be tilted 90 degrees to the norm
Not much space it would take up then.
Here's an older Italian ACM SNAC 440mm, though some of the similar sized older green Minimax s45 might even have a slightly smaller footprint again.
Wouldn't be worth doing this malarkey with anything smaller IMO.

Just an idea to ponder perhaps.
All the best
Tom

 

[Orraloon]

Blades don't last long ripping on a bandsaw unless it's massive.
I use TS to cut kerfs from both sides and then take out the middle with the band saw.
Riving knife not poss with the TS of course, so everything cut to length first, before ripping. Needs a good blade, short false fence higher than the workpiece, accessible stop switch so you can switch off with your knee if necessary, without losing your 2 push-stick grip on the workpiece.

I have been forced to that approach as well. With a new or just sharpened blade in the bandsaw I can rip the full 10'' depth of cut but the blade soon looses its performance and the cut will then start to wander. Cut a few rips all going good then the next one gets #u&&3r#d up. A blade you think is sharp because it happly rips 4 or 5'' can let you down when you try 6 or 8''. These days I play safe and kerf on the tablesaw before doing big rips on the bandsaw. The tablesaw kerfs I make about 1'' and never more than 1.5'' . You need a flat face to run on the TS fence and 2 squared edges. A bigger saw that can take stonking big rip blades with TCT tips would be nice to have if the tooth fairy ever leaves a few grand under the pillow.
Regards
John

 

[Ttrees]

Affordable carbide tipped blades are on the horizon!