Bandsaw and Pillr drill on a budget

[Petey83]

Know these threads have been done before but I wanted to put it in my words

I am after a bandsaw and a Pillr drill to add to the PT I have ordered as the foundation of my workshop. I am happy to shop second hand but aside from not knowing what to look for I have the issue of not being able to go that far to collect.

In terms of new I know my budget will be firmly in the made in China bracket but wanted to know what people rate and what to really avoid. I'm a hobbyist so something now that is decent can always be replaced in time with something better.

Budget for the pair is circa £600

 

[curtisrider]

What sorts of things do you intend to do? Do you need the capacity of a floor standing pillar drill or could you make do with a bench top one? Equally with the table saw, what do you intend to do? If it's large sheets many will advise a track saw instead.

 

[MattRoberts]

And by tablesaw, he means bandsaw

 

[Petey83]

What sorts of things do you intend to do? Do you need the capacity of a floor standing pillar drill or could you make do with a bench top one? Equally with the table saw, what do you intend to do? If it's large sheets many will advise a track saw instead.

The pillar drill is one I'm not sure of as never owned one before but my thinking is drilling of euro hinges and similar small applications like jig making etc

The saw is a band saw not a table saw - already have a TS55 for sheet and a dewalt site table saw but the bandsaw I am thinking will be for some re sawing and then find r the sort of delicate applications on small bits I'm not comfy able doing on the table saw. Also would like to be able to cut curved shapes for things like chair / table legs.

 

[heimlaga]

I am pretty sure you can find something secondhand.

I paid 250 euros (not even pounds) for a very solid and well made Valmet benchtop drill press. It har 8 speeds and Morse2 quill and v-belt drive and is is too heavy for two men to carry.
All bearings sang The Lament of the Empty Grease Gun in chorus but once I have the new bearings in place and two damaged grub screws and the rotten cable shifted out the drill press will be ready to go. I got the last bits apart today and the new bearings are ordered.

Keep your eyes open and you will find a deal like this. Surely not a Valmet as they were never exported but there are plenty of other good makes and models to choose from.
Meddings is a well known British brand with good reputation though I have never seen one in person.

 

[MattRoberts]

From the sound of your needs, I'd spend the money on a decent bandsaw and get a cheap and cheerful drill press. If you're looking to resaw, you need a decent motor and as large a cutting depth as possible, such as a second hand record power BS350

 

[Fitzroy]

I see lots of pillar drills on gumtree, £50 will get you a second hand Clark or other Far East made, 150-200 will see you a nice old uk bench top, fobco star, Startrite etc. If you have time to wait you'll get one much cheaper than that. I picked up a fobco star for £50 and a Graphton for £70. A bandsaw i see far fewer of, I think you'll have to spend more of your budget on, It's the one tool I'll be buying when the new workshop is done and expect to spend 300+ to get something similar to what you describe.

F.

 

[marcros]

if you bide your time, you have plenty of budget to buy a decent bandsaw and bench drill- far better than you could buy new with 3x your budget. do some searching for what bandsaw on the forum and there are loads of threads.

 

[Petey83]

I was looking at the Record BS350 but it's a tad to much so started looking at the BS300 so if anyone has experience of this id love to hear.

I'm happy to bide my time and now I have a. Idea of Pillar drill brands to loom for I can dos search but as has been observed bandsaws are far fewer and ultimately harder to go hmgo collect so would have to be close by.

If I go down the second hand route any common / obvious issues to look out for ?

 

[sunnybob]

Dont go small on the bandsaw. I did and wasted a year trying to make it work properly and cut what I wanted before I outed it for a bigger one.

I now have the axminster 350, and although I often curse it, its usually my fault when it doesnt work and its fantastic when it does work.

The pillar drill wont get anywhere near as much use as the bandsaw.
Spend all your budget on a bandsaw and then start saving again for a drill press.

 

[curtisrider]

How I read that as table saw I don't know. I can only echo what the others have said, prioritise the band saw as smaller ones are incredibly feeble and you will only regret it. I have a Woodwise 14" jobby and I thought it would be really good but in fact its underpowered for anything other than sheet material.

Cheaper pillar drills are generally fine, I have an old Meddings, a cheapy Rexon (£100) and a cheapy Lidl Parkside thing (£40). The Meddings is great but very big and heavy making it a bit of a space waster, the Rexon is a really good compromise for space and power, and the Parkside feels and looks cheap but does an amicable job on the lighter stuff.

 

[pcb1962]

I was looking at the Record BS350 but it's a tad to much so started looking at the BS300 so if anyone has experience of this id love to hear.

I've had a BS300E for years, perfectly happy with it once I'd fitted blades from Tuffsaws and done the setup the Snodgrass way (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU). Not found it underpowered at all, it's done everything I've asked of it without complaining.

 

[user22161]

The pillar drill is one I'm not sure of as never owned one before but my thinking is drilling of euro hinges and similar small applications like jig making etc.

Think ahead. I used to have a very large Clarke one but sold it off when moving house and a few years later replaced with a new 450W floor standing Fox. Accurate enough and OK for small jobs but very under powered and stalls the motor easily with larger (30mm+) Forstener bits. Will sell off when I find something more powerful second hand.

 

[Petey83]

Think I need to really get my head round the bandsaws main use - will I do much re sawing.....

The BS359 does seem the obviously all round choice but it's over budget new and second hand presents the collection issues