A
Anonymous
Guest
Sicar mid-range model. As explained elsewhere I don't really get on with bandsaws but this one's pretty good. No slot for mitre fence though and tilting is a puppy.
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Just upgraded from 16" Taiwanese cast iron job to Axminster's Plus model with the 53cm wheels. Seems good value for money. Fence, lower guides, and table needed some brass shimstock to align. Table a bit wobbly (only 4mm punched steel trunnions) probably curable with amateur engineering. Well balanced wheels and motor spoiled by crappy V belt (replaced, now all virtually vibration free) Dust extraction not perfect. 32mm blade will fit, just; 25mm best regarded as max blade size if you'll ever want to change it....Will tension 25mm blade to reccomended 15,000psi. The motor has plenty of power for deep cuts, which the saw does well.
londonsteve2
Established Member
I have a 14" SIP my first bandsaw and i luvs it
woodshavings
Established Member
Record BS350 
trsleigh
Established Member
Record BS350
Subsequently upgraded to BS350X; bigger table & sturdier fence.
Subsequently upgraded to BS350X; bigger table & sturdier fence.
I've taken delivery of my BS350x from D&M and in general I'm happy with it but there are a few niggles and questions.
As I'm going to be using it mainly for re-sawing I swapped out the fitted blade and installed the supplied 3/4" inch blade. On the supplied DVD it shows the presenter tensioning the blade by turning the tensioning knob with one hand. I'm not a small bloke but it took all I had with both hands just to take out the visible bow in the blade, let alone get it to the required tension. The tension indicator was worse than useless, the small pin that acts on the indicator itself was bent. In the end I had to remove the tension indicator and by fiddling with the two locknuts on the tensioner thread managed to get the blade at lest straight but I have no idea whether the tension is correct or not.
Also on the dvd the presenter stressed the importance of good quality (i.e Record) blades. If the two ends weren't welded square then the blade would vibrate back and forth affecting the finish of the cut. The implication being that record blades do not do this. Guess what, mine does exactly that.
As others have mentioned the face of the fence is not square. I'll have to add a piece of wood or MDF to make it so.
As is I've manged to saw a pretty good 2mm veneer from a 5" piece of ash but will be swapping the blade for a Dragon one ASAP.
My question is: Is it normal to require a large amount of force to tension a 3/4" blade or is there an issue with my machine?
Robin
As I'm going to be using it mainly for re-sawing I swapped out the fitted blade and installed the supplied 3/4" inch blade. On the supplied DVD it shows the presenter tensioning the blade by turning the tensioning knob with one hand. I'm not a small bloke but it took all I had with both hands just to take out the visible bow in the blade, let alone get it to the required tension. The tension indicator was worse than useless, the small pin that acts on the indicator itself was bent. In the end I had to remove the tension indicator and by fiddling with the two locknuts on the tensioner thread managed to get the blade at lest straight but I have no idea whether the tension is correct or not.
Also on the dvd the presenter stressed the importance of good quality (i.e Record) blades. If the two ends weren't welded square then the blade would vibrate back and forth affecting the finish of the cut. The implication being that record blades do not do this. Guess what, mine does exactly that.
As others have mentioned the face of the fence is not square. I'll have to add a piece of wood or MDF to make it so.
As is I've manged to saw a pretty good 2mm veneer from a 5" piece of ash but will be swapping the blade for a Dragon one ASAP.
My question is: Is it normal to require a large amount of force to tension a 3/4" blade or is there an issue with my machine?
Robin
DaveL
Established Member
I have a smaller band saw than yours, so have never tried to use a 3/4" blade.
The wider the blade the higher the tension required as the cross section of the blade has increased. Some of the smaller saws have enough clearance to fit a wide blade however the frame and adjuster are not up to the job of tensioning the blade. In this case a narrower blade correctly tensioned will give a better cut.
The wider the blade the higher the tension required as the cross section of the blade has increased. Some of the smaller saws have enough clearance to fit a wide blade however the frame and adjuster are not up to the job of tensioning the blade. In this case a narrower blade correctly tensioned will give a better cut.
gidon
Established Member
Record BS350.
Not bad value but awful guides - if I could find some replacements they would improve the saw no end. Tensioning thread ripped withing a couple of days - Robin - prolly trying to tension a 3/4" blade! Record sent a replacement but I made my own from stainless steel stud and attached a larger wooden tensioning knob. Works better now and hasn't ripped again. Robin - I would concentrate on looking down the blade and tensioning it so it's straight. That should be good enough with a nice sharp blade. But I've found I'm better off with a 3tpi 1/2 blade for resawing. (And I had the same issue with my Record blade that came with the machine - complained and they sent me a pack of 3 new ones.)
Cheers
Gidon
Not bad value but awful guides - if I could find some replacements they would improve the saw no end. Tensioning thread ripped withing a couple of days - Robin - prolly trying to tension a 3/4" blade! Record sent a replacement but I made my own from stainless steel stud and attached a larger wooden tensioning knob. Works better now and hasn't ripped again
. Robin - I would concentrate on looking down the blade and tensioning it so it's straight. That should be good enough with a nice sharp blade. But I've found I'm better off with a 3tpi 1/2 blade for resawing. (And I had the same issue with my Record blade that came with the machine - complained and they sent me a pack of 3 new ones.)Cheers
Gidon
stevel
Established Member
Axminster Small band saw. Fitted new fence (Axminster upgrade). Works fine within its capacity.
woodbloke
Established Member
INCA Euro 260 for me. Wish I had a b/s a little bigger sometimes for resawing purposes but this one will take a 5/8" blade so its not too bad. Main thing is it's very, very accurate...Got it from Axminster some years ago now and it was fairly pricy as I recollect - Rob
Just sold an ancient but very competent Kity 612 as i wanted something smaller and with some way of controlling the dust,bought the small axminster model with the cabinet,seems to do the job for me ok and as it was on special a couple of weeks ago it was only £115. Don`t know how they can sell a machine for so little and still make a profit. Just goes to show how much we get ripped off when buying trainers for the son.
Fizzy
Established Member
Just bought the Record BS300 bandsaw and got 5 blades with it for £350.00 only used as a shop demo for 1 day for a show that Record had organised
for £350.00 only used as a shop demo for 1 day for a show that Record had organised
9fingers
Established Member
Startrite 18-s-1. A refurbishment project. I've changed all bearings and just got it running. Very solid machine and doing well for the jobs tried so far.
Anyone else running one of these?
Bob
Anyone else running one of these?
Bob
DaveyPez
Member
I've had a Record power BS350 for six months now, got it from Tewkesbury Saw Co. Blade tensioning was a mystery till I gave it no mercy - fine now. Re-sawed 5" English Oak which ate the 3/4" blade that was thrown in on purchase with four others. Tewkesbury then supplied me with a 1" blade for £17 which coped with a lot more of the same Oak - no probs.
Overall - a good machine.
Overall - a good machine.
RinkyDinky
Established Member
Metabo BS317, superb!
OPJ
Established Member
I've had an SIP 12" Bandsaw since October 2006 and, aside from a few tensioning issues with regards to 5/8" blades, I'm very happy with it.
I still yearn for the day when I can afford to buy and store something much bigger and better which won't have the usual irritating little 'niggles' which seem to come packaged with every hobby-rated machine. But with a bit time and care, and a few jigs, I reckon can make it even better!
One thing I'd like to do is to add an extraction port to collect from the lower blade guides (supplied as standard on most larger machines!). I'm thinking of a small dust hood, some MDF and rare earth magnets to hold it all in place... :wink:
I still yearn for the day when I can afford to buy and store something much bigger and better which won't have the usual irritating little 'niggles' which seem to come packaged with every hobby-rated machine. But with a bit time and care, and a few jigs, I reckon can make it even better!
One thing I'd like to do is to add an extraction port to collect from the lower blade guides (supplied as standard on most larger machines!). I'm thinking of a small dust hood, some MDF and rare earth magnets to hold it all in place... :wink:
patrick anderson
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- 11 Jun 2007
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