Perform P1400B Bandsaw...Hardwood Test, Max Cutting Depth

[PeteG]

Axminster and DPD, what a marriage After finding out the Ferrex BS from Aldi is out of stock, and their customer service unable to say when or if it's coming back, I called Axminster. After a right good chat with one of the chaps I've known for a few years, I decided that whilst the Perform might not have the depth of cut I would have liked, and the motor is a little smaller in comparison to the Ferrex, it could just be the perfect saw

I placed the order yesterday afternoon along with a second blade, and with in 24 hours it was at my door. I haven't opened it yet, it's off our lass so I'll wait for permission first Hopefully, I'll only have to wait a couple more hours...More to follow, very soon!

 

[banjerbill]

This is very similar, if not the same, as the Axy hobby bandsaw I have had for years. It was unusable for a long time ( the cut drifted even when freehanding). I fitted a Tuffsaw blade and it transformed it. No problems at all now. Bill

 

[PeteG]

This is very similar, if not the same, as the Axy hobby bandsaw I have had for years. It was unusable for a long time ( the cut drifted even when freehanding). I fitted a Tuffsaw blade and it transformed it. No problems at all now. Bill

Hello Bill I believe they are very similar if not one of the same, except the Perform has plastic doors, and the Axminster has steel ones? After an hour or so playing I have to say it's quite an impressive little machine, and for £119.00 a real bargain.

So I pick our lass up from work as usual, home, kettle on, crumpets in the toaster, permission to open the box granted, then off in to the shed I go I thought I'd get away without cooking tea but it wasn't to be, so play time was cut short :shock:

It didn't start off according to plan, and it's never a good sign when broken pieces of plastic are falling out of the box whilst your trying to remove your pride and joy. There was no damage to the inner or outer box so I can only assume the fan cover which looked as though someone had given it a damn good thrashing, was broken when the saw was packed. A quick to Axminster and a replacement is in the post.

I checked the fan for damage, thankfully all seemed well, and whilst I had the chap from Axminster on the line, I switched the saw on and off. Again, all seemed OK.

I'll start with the bottom guides. Once the table is in place I found it impossible to adjust the bottom roller bearing, there's just no way of getting your hand in with an Allen key. You can see where the grub screw is to the left of the bearing and just above the holding bolt. Loosening this bolt allows the bracket that holds the guides to move in all directions, so once your happy the bracket is in the right position, it's a case of eye balling it for square whilst holding it and re-tightening the bolt (Hope that makes sense)...I used a feeler gauge to set the rear bearing, 1 mm from the back of the blade, and 0.5 mm for the brass side pins.

The table. I'm quite impressed with the quality of this, it's looks very well finished and I couldn't find a sharp edge anywhere. The fence rail is held in place with four bolts, I might be tempted to cut this in two so I don't have to remove it when ever I change blades. The plastic insert was level with the surface of the table, and a very snug fit. I don't have a sliding angle gauge so couldn't test the mitre slot but visually, it's looks very clean and free of any poor casting.

Once in place and with it's rear foot, the fence is rock solid and easily removable when not required.

A view general shots.

 

[PeteG]

On to the first cut I had a piece of planed and squared pine ready around 68 mm by 28 mm or thereabouts. I eye balled the centre, locked the fence in place and slowly began to make the cut, bearing in mind the saw isn't bolted down yet. I used the supplied 6 mm 6 tpi blade, no doubt this'll be replaced at some point but for now, it's usable. I bought a 9.5 mm 14 tpi but I'll keep this safe for the movement until I've used the saw a few times...

The trusty old Lidl shop vac fits the dust port perfectly, not sure dust extraction was brilliant but the vac might need emptying to improve suction.

 

[PeteG]

That's it for now. I'll have a bit longer in the morning to make a few more cuts and there's a couple more piccies I want to take. I'm quite impressed so far, it runs a lot quieter than I expected with no noticeable vibration and as mentioned, it hasn't been bolted down yet.

 

[PeteG]

I managed to make a few test cuts over the weekend. Just playing cutting up 12 mm ply, 18 mm MDF and some Oak around 50 mm. Today I decided to give it a real workout, more below. There was another piccy I wanted to take of the blade tensioning bolt and housing, every part is made of metal and looks as thought it's built to last. Time will tell.

To see how it coped with the advertised maximum depth of cut, 80 mm, I decided to have a go at a Reindeer in hardwood. And I had the perfect piece of 80 mm Beech all ready and waiting.

You might be able to squeeze another couple of millimetres of timber under there but as you can see, there isn't much room to see what you're doing. I had a clip on LED attached to the "A" frame in the garage which was a big help, but still not ideal.

I'm still using the supplied 6 mm 6tpi supplied blade, which in truth, isn't too bad, but the ideal blade to cut around the curves in one go would probably be a 3 mm. Cutting in between the antlers the blade/motor stopped soon after I began to turn the wood. I made quite a few of these in the past on the Record BS350 in much bigger chunks of Oak, making the cut in one go with a lot less sanding to do afterwards.

I was pleasantly surprised how well it coped cutting hardwood at it's maximum depth of cut, and with a quality blade in place, life can only be easier. The little 230 Watt direct drive motor never skipped a beat, as long as the curves weren't too aggressive, and although I switched the saw off a few times whilst re-taping, the motor never felt anything more than warm to the touch.

A comparison in size to one made from Oak on the BS350 a few years ago, and yes, it's still waiting to be finished

I did finish the one from today though, and after sanding gave it a coat of sanding sealer

Personally I think the Perform is a cracking little bandsaw. In use it doesn't feel like you're using a budget saw, the table as mentioned before is really well cast and the fence locks solidly to it. I can't say how it would cope if you were cutting hardwood to maximum depth of cut on a regular basis, but I reckon for the odd bit of re-sawing and general use it'll be prefect, at least for me anyway

 

[thetyreman]

seems good for the money pete, where did you get plans for that reindeer? I like that, have seen snodgrass making one insanely fast in one of his videos he makes it look easy.

 

[PeteG]

seems good for the money pete, where did you get plans for that reindeer? I like that, have seen snodgrass making one insanely fast in one of his videos he makes it look easy.

I can't remember where the plan came from, it was one a found a few years ago for the scroll saw, but if you PM me your email address I'll send it over They don't take too long once you've made a few, I can't remember which blade I used on the BS350, it had a few teeth to cut down on the amount of sanding .

 

[Pedropete]

Got mine set up this afternoon and it’s quite impressive for a £120 machine. The pillar top-cap was broken (replacement on the way) and the lower guide-assembly shroud got removed within five minutes as it impedes setting the thrust bearing and guide pins, but that aside it’s very good. And you weren’t kidding about how quiet it is!

As you say, the stock blade is half decent too; may have a crack at some reindeer for a giggle to see if it can cope. The £20 Axminster ‘Craft’ mitre guide is less impressive, but just about useable so will stick with it.

If you’re looking for a small saw with a solid table at a sensible price I’d get one while they’re still available.

 

[Robbo3]

seems good for the money pete, where did you get plans for that reindeer? I like that, have seen snodgrass making one insanely fast in one of his videos he makes it look easy.

Pedantry to the fore - it's a moose.
Matthias Wandel
- https://woodgears.ca/reindeer/plans.html
here's the article
- https://woodgears.ca/reindeer/index.html

 

[PeteG]

Got mine set up this afternoon and it’s quite impressive for a £120 machine. The pillar top-cap was broken (replacement on the way) and the lower guide-assembly shroud got removed within five minutes as it impedes setting the thrust bearing and guide pins, but that aside it’s very good. And you weren’t kidding about how quiet it is!

As you say, the stock blade is half decent too; may have a crack at some reindeer for a giggle to see if it can cope. The £20 Axminster ‘Craft’ mitre guide is less impressive, but just about useable so will stick with it.

If you’re looking for a small saw with a solid table at a sensible price I’d get one while they’re still available.

Got mine set up this afternoon and it’s quite impressive for a £120 machine. The pillar top-cap was broken (replacement on the way) and the lower guide-assembly shroud got removed within five minutes as it impedes setting the thrust bearing and guide pins, but that aside it’s very good. And you weren’t kidding about how quiet it is!

As you say, the stock blade is half decent too; may have a crack at some reindeer for a giggle to see if it can cope. The £20 Axminster ‘Craft’ mitre guide is less impressive, but just about useable so will stick with it.

If you’re looking for a small saw with a solid table at a sensible price I’d get one while they’re still available.

Sorry Pete, I meant to check earlier if you'rs had arrived. That shroud just blocks everything doesn't it, I left mine off once removed. I received a lovely metal fan cover replacement, sadly far too small, the correct one arrived yesterday so all is well. I asked one of the chaps at Axminster yesterday about 3 mm blades, thankfully you can have them made to order. I think a 3 mm blade on this saw would be brilliant, especially for the Reindeer Glad you're as happy with yours Pete

 

[PeteG]

seems good for the money pete, where did you get plans for that reindeer? I like that, have seen snodgrass making one insanely fast in one of his videos he makes it look easy.

Pedantry to the fore - it's a moose.
Matthias Wandel
- https://woodgears.ca/reindeer/plans.html
here's the article
- https://woodgears.ca/reindeer/index.html

Moose or Reindeer Robbo, folk love em, and they make cracking pressies, although I prefer to give them a good sanding

 

[Pedropete]

Sorry Pete, I meant to check earlier if you'rs had arrived. That shroud just blocks everything doesn't it, I left mine off once removed. I received a lovely metal fan cover replacement, sadly far too small, the correct one arrived yesterday so all is well. I asked one of the chaps at Axminster yesterday about 3 mm blades, thankfully you can have them made to order. I think a 3 mm blade on this saw would be brilliant, especially for the Reindeer Glad you're as happy with yours Pete

Yep, can see why the shroud’s there but you’d have to be a bit of a wally to go rummaging around under a machine that’s running. They’ve just dropped the price on them by £12 too, so even better value now. Definitely fancy a 3mm blade for some detailed work - primary use for now though is short rips and cross cuts so be interesting to see whether it can actually take a 1/2’ blade - as they claim - without folding in half.

Worth noting that when eyeballing things for squareness, the RHS edge of the table on mine is not parallel to the mitre slot or square to front edge. The mitre slot is square to the front edge though, so all good. Just looks a bit odd if you’ve squared the fence up and then slide it over to the far right hand side.

Other things that were noticeable during setup are that the trunnion has a fair bit of flex (possibly too much for a table this heavy?), so check you're not weighting the table too much or it may move out of whack with the blade. Also, the guide pin bores are slightly oversize, meaning the pins like to pitch slightly in the bore on tightening, making it tricky to keep the pin-faces flat to the blade. The top guide assembly carrier/carriage(?) can also shift slightly so try not to bash it around too much.

All that said, it's a (now) £108 saw with a cast iron top and it cuts really nicely, so take it for what it is... cheap and pretty good for the money.

 

[flh801978]

Don’t be tempted to cut your fence rail so you dont have to remove it when changing blades as it hold the tables coplaner as you can see the holes are slotted so you only have to loosen the bolts to get it off..
Ian

 

[PeteG]

They’ve just dropped the price on them by £12 too, so even better value now.

I thought it might go up not down...If I had the cash I'd buy another just to save changing blades

 

[Horsee1]

The animals look great!

 

[PeteG]

The animals look great!

Appreciated Horsee1 Having a Dremel makes sanding easier, although it can take longer to sand than it did to cut out...

 

[Pedropete]

Now down to £89.96! Bit narked as they swore blind they were as cheap as they’d ever be when I ordered but still a great saw for the money. A steal for someone.

 

[robgul]

Just stumbled on this thread - I bought my Perform 1400 on 12 December 2019 - didn't actually use it until April as I was busy, we moved house and then had a long holiday.

The fitted blade is fine but I shall probably order a narrower and wider one (I'd really like a scroll saw but very limited need and the thin blade on the bandsaw will have to suffice!)

I'm new to bandsaws but am delighted with it for what I need to do - some limitation on the throat capacity but for the odd instance I can use a jigsaw.

At the end of January I spent 3 days at Axminster - 2 days on the router course, 1 day on the bandsaw course - both excellent and good value with just a handful of people per instructor. They did almost admit that the Axminster Craft 1400 is pretty much a badge-engineered Perform 1400!

My saw is mounted on a platform on wheels with the table the same height as my MFT and other bench - wheel it up to the bench, lock the wheels - wheel it back to its parking place when not in use - and the dust extraction hose connects to my ductwork/vac.