Shultzy
Established Member
oddsocks, thanks for the info. I've booked a demo at their Chesterfield showroom so I'll ask them about the fence. If there are any questions you would like me to put to Record feel free to pm me or post them.
Record BS350S bandsaw- first impressions and pics
- Thread starter oddsocks
- Start date
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Shultzy
Established Member
oddsocks, I went to the demo at Record's Chesterfield showroom on Thursday. They have a separate building for demo's as they have outgrown their existing premises. An excellent, one on one, demo which lasted 2 1/2 hours. The fence on the BS350 does fit on the right hand side of the blade for sloping cut. Tony, the demonstrator, showed me a lot tips for setting up and using the machines which I will write up and post later.
oddsocks
Established Member
Shultzy":1opo4l9g said:
Thanks Shultzy - I know Tony from the Stile and Bates show in April this year - he was demonstrating the lathe I bought. 2 1/2 hours is good! Did you leave with one (looks like you did if you are going to post later)?
My wheel kit has arrived now, so will post some more photos tomorrow when its fitted.
I had a call back from record to discuss the blanking plate over most of the dust extraction port- as I thought, its to do with new legislation but an individual can remove it /drill into it if wished.
Shultzy
Established Member
Dave, i ordered a 350s from Paskins show today, amongst one or two other purchases 
. I'll have to order some blades from Duredge as the record blades don't have a good reputation.
. I'll have to order some blades from Duredge as the record blades don't have a good reputation.
oddsocks
Established Member
Finally found the time to fit the wheel kit and as promised here are some photos.
Fitting was straightforward, the only thing that takes time to adjust is the locking tab - its not stated on the single sheet instruction but it needs to be fitted under the main frame to lock the unit so the legs are off the ground.
I also used a bessey clamp in expansion mode to keep the legs in the right position while everything was tightened up- the thin metal bars in the first photo are spacing bars and the instructions say remove when finished, but I've left them in as they don't foul the wheels and the holes were a lot easier to get over the axle rods (the instructions show a washer not the bar).
Now its fitted it's great - simple foot operation and it locks and can be moved around with one hand. foot on the catch to release.
Note the box specifically said wheel kit for BS350S so maybe the 250 and 300 kits are slightly different.
wheels active mode (the legs look as if they are on the ground but they are not - it only lifts a few mm):
The catch correctly fitted - it takes some time to adjust this
and from a different angle wheels down and locked)
Fitting was straightforward, the only thing that takes time to adjust is the locking tab - its not stated on the single sheet instruction but it needs to be fitted under the main frame to lock the unit so the legs are off the ground.
I also used a bessey clamp in expansion mode to keep the legs in the right position while everything was tightened up- the thin metal bars in the first photo are spacing bars and the instructions say remove when finished, but I've left them in as they don't foul the wheels and the holes were a lot easier to get over the axle rods (the instructions show a washer not the bar).
Now its fitted it's great - simple foot operation and it locks and can be moved around with one hand. foot on the catch to release.
Note the box specifically said wheel kit for BS350S so maybe the 250 and 300 kits are slightly different.
wheels active mode (the legs look as if they are on the ground but they are not - it only lifts a few mm):
The catch correctly fitted - it takes some time to adjust this
and from a different angle wheels down and locked)
Calpol
Established Member
After reading this thread I'm looking to buy one of these bandsaws! I had a thought on not being able to remove the fence without removing the blade though. What if you tilted the table to 45deg, would it give it enough room to slide off?
Never seen one in the flesh, just a suggestion though...
Never seen one in the flesh, just a suggestion though...
oddsocks
Established Member
Calpol":3derp6rq said:
I just tried it and you can remove the fence but there's not enough bar for it to lock on the right hand side - at least not how I've got it set up! We'll have to wait for some pics from Shultzy when he gets his as Record showed/told him how to do it.
At least if needed I can now use the full throat width - thanks for the idea
Shultzy
Established Member
oddsocks, the 350s table has two more holes in it to the right of the blade. This is where the fence is moved to when tilting the table. The fence will also need re-aligning so not a two minute job .
.
oddsocks
Established Member
speed":3v60zyqi said:
thats it - £399.95 at a record supported event. the winter deal price is £429.95
Hi all,
I bought one 2 weeks ago for £399 form Snainton's near Scarborough.I was going to buy a Scheppach Basato 4 but on examining the BS350S I could see that it was of better build quality, better wheeled base and had a much larger ( and better machined ) table.Whilst the Scheppach had slightly larger cutting capacities and a table which tilted left and right it was not worth the ( at least ) £150 extra. In fact I found Record slightly understate the saws max depth of cut .
Initial problems encountered:- 1) whilst the assembly manual was good it did not explain how to set up the pedal operated wheel kit for the leg stand which came as an extra in a separate box; 2)I had to dismantle and scrape and file the cast iron table trunnion base to get the table fully at 90 degrees to the blade in all directions, this took me about 20 mins; 3) push the rip fence to the left as far as it will go and it pivots off the end of the table. You have to make a block and attach it to the table to provide support if you wish to use the full capacity of the rip fence. 4) Also there is a gap between the scale and the fence which gives parallax problems so I had to stick a wooden block on the underside of the fence to accurately set it against the scale. 5) the rip fence is not 'rock solid' as claimed ,it is very rigid but you can flex it and the extrusion , on mine, has a 0.5mm bow on its vertical face. not critical but annoying. 5) the dust extraction even when connected to Record 's largest collector is poor. I have use some plastic plumbing pipe mounted close to the blade below the table and connected it to a portable shop vacuum cleaner and this is much more effective. 6) the mitre gauge was a loose fit but indenting the locating bar with a punch and fitting a home made the scale alignment marker improved this to an acceptable level of accuracy.
Despite these niggles it is a very good, strongly built machine and cuts straight and true . I cut some 1mm thick 100mm deep veneer strips from some oak and elm with no problems even using the blade supplied. Controls are well placed and all work well especially the quick release blade tensioner. If Record sorts out these niggles it would deserve 5 stars.
I bought one 2 weeks ago for £399 form Snainton's near Scarborough.I was going to buy a Scheppach Basato 4 but on examining the BS350S I could see that it was of better build quality, better wheeled base and had a much larger ( and better machined ) table.Whilst the Scheppach had slightly larger cutting capacities and a table which tilted left and right it was not worth the ( at least ) £150 extra. In fact I found Record slightly understate the saws max depth of cut .
Initial problems encountered:- 1) whilst the assembly manual was good it did not explain how to set up the pedal operated wheel kit for the leg stand which came as an extra in a separate box; 2)I had to dismantle and scrape and file the cast iron table trunnion base to get the table fully at 90 degrees to the blade in all directions, this took me about 20 mins; 3) push the rip fence to the left as far as it will go and it pivots off the end of the table. You have to make a block and attach it to the table to provide support if you wish to use the full capacity of the rip fence. 4) Also there is a gap between the scale and the fence which gives parallax problems so I had to stick a wooden block on the underside of the fence to accurately set it against the scale. 5) the rip fence is not 'rock solid' as claimed ,it is very rigid but you can flex it and the extrusion , on mine, has a 0.5mm bow on its vertical face. not critical but annoying. 5) the dust extraction even when connected to Record 's largest collector is poor. I have use some plastic plumbing pipe mounted close to the blade below the table and connected it to a portable shop vacuum cleaner and this is much more effective. 6) the mitre gauge was a loose fit but indenting the locating bar with a punch and fitting a home made the scale alignment marker improved this to an acceptable level of accuracy.
Despite these niggles it is a very good, strongly built machine and cuts straight and true . I cut some 1mm thick 100mm deep veneer strips from some oak and elm with no problems even using the blade supplied. Controls are well placed and all work well especially the quick release blade tensioner. If Record sorts out these niggles it would deserve 5 stars.
Hi Dave, I have the BS300 and the wheel kit is the same as yours, and like your goodself found that I had to release the tensioner before making the top adjustment, mine came with 3 spare blades and more importantly a dvd featuring Alan Holtham showing all one needs to know about setting up and usage of the unit, if I was you I,d give record a call and ask the for a copy of a dvd for your unit.
Regards Rich.
Regards Rich.
oddsocks
Established Member
Rich":vc571s25 said:
Rich -I've got the DVD (now). They didn't have any when I bought the saw (or, as it turned out had put the dvd and wheel kit on a different stock pallet), so when I wrote my initial reviews I didn't have either Record posted both to me about 5 days later. The dvd content is very good but (as reported on a different thread) the production quality could be better - the sound volume is not consistent across chapters. The dvd is worth it just to learn how to coil blades - I can now do it with my eyes shut even with a 3/4 inch blade.
Oddsocks - I have the original BS350 and upgraded the fence a year ago to the one prior to this new one which is similar. On that you can slacken two knobs that hold the fence in place and then slide it back on the mount enough to tilt it backwards without catching on the top box. Then it just slides on and off the bar - just a 1 minute job.
Cheers
Scratchy
Cheers
Scratchy
oddsocks
Established Member
scratchy,
I've just had a look at mine and it's a different design but can be removed by undoing the two allen bolts from underneath (either side of the fence rod) and sliding it off - it looks like design intent to be able to change the fence to a low profile option (lets the guides get closer to thinner timber). The fitting slot means the fence has to be completely removed, not pulled back. At least that would let the full throat be used.
As an aside, I keep all the allen keys needed for the various adjustments in the lower door compartment, held in place by a rare earth magnet so they are easy to find.
I've just had a look at mine and it's a different design but can be removed by undoing the two allen bolts from underneath (either side of the fence rod) and sliding it off - it looks like design intent to be able to change the fence to a low profile option (lets the guides get closer to thinner timber). The fitting slot means the fence has to be completely removed, not pulled back. At least that would let the full throat be used.
As an aside, I keep all the allen keys needed for the various adjustments in the lower door compartment, held in place by a rare earth magnet so they are easy to find.
Hi all,
first post here and hope you don't mind me digging up an old thread but this was one of the reviews that convinced me to buy a 350S and I had a couple of questions and review notes of my own.
I picked up mine from Mackay's in Cambridge earlier this year and have only just got round to setting it up in my garage. My bandsaw experience runs to a single training session on a cheap and flimsy bench top saw in my local community hackspace. I decided on the 350 as I wanted the ability to resaw some decent sized boards. Initial impressions are good. The machine is really well built and the frame and base are stable and reasuringly heavy. However, I have a couple of questions about setting up the saw.
Of all the video's and pictures I've seen on the web, the Record is the only one I've seen that uses roller guides rather than blocks or more traditional bearings. I'm not a huge fan of this as there is enough play in the bearing that the top of the disk makes contact with the blade before the bottom and there's no adjustment here either.
Secondly, the guide assembly itself isn't built with a high enough precision that it maintains it's X position as you raise or lower it. I've attached two pictures showing the roller guides at the top and bottom of their range. I set up the guides at the bottom and by the time I've raised them to the top, the left roller guide is pushing the blade out of centre and the right hand guide has at least a 1/16" gap. When I set them up I had less than 1/32" each side.
My third gripe is the quality of the trunion. It's not sturdy enough to prevent deflection of the table when the table top screw hits the casing to stop at 90 degrees. What I mean here is that once the table returns to its horizontal, you can stil turn the trunion adjustment knob a little and can watch the table twist out of alignment. I suspect this is caused by the fact the screw isn't in line with the trunion so you can effectively place a torque across the table twisting it. Not a biggie but something to be aware of if you're looking for absolute accuracy.
Other than those issues the instruction manual is pretty much useless and it took me a long time to figure out how to put the table and base together. Not even the parts list is correct with upgrades/changes having been made over the years and no modifications to the manual. There are even pictures within the manual that contradict each other. I feel this is pretty bad given that there were issues with the manual in this original review from 2007.
Anyway, my one question is regarding my second point. Would you expect to have to re-adjust the roller guides as you raise and lower the guide assembly? I realise that if I really was moving from ripping a an inch thick board to re-sawing an 8" one I'd probably have to change blades and re-adjust anyway, but I don't think I could get the setup spot on for one depth of cut and have it work for another depth.
Thanks, Shareef.
first post here and hope you don't mind me digging up an old thread but this was one of the reviews that convinced me to buy a 350S and I had a couple of questions and review notes of my own.
I picked up mine from Mackay's in Cambridge earlier this year and have only just got round to setting it up in my garage. My bandsaw experience runs to a single training session on a cheap and flimsy bench top saw in my local community hackspace. I decided on the 350 as I wanted the ability to resaw some decent sized boards. Initial impressions are good. The machine is really well built and the frame and base are stable and reasuringly heavy. However, I have a couple of questions about setting up the saw.
Of all the video's and pictures I've seen on the web, the Record is the only one I've seen that uses roller guides rather than blocks or more traditional bearings. I'm not a huge fan of this as there is enough play in the bearing that the top of the disk makes contact with the blade before the bottom and there's no adjustment here either.
Secondly, the guide assembly itself isn't built with a high enough precision that it maintains it's X position as you raise or lower it. I've attached two pictures showing the roller guides at the top and bottom of their range. I set up the guides at the bottom and by the time I've raised them to the top, the left roller guide is pushing the blade out of centre and the right hand guide has at least a 1/16" gap. When I set them up I had less than 1/32" each side.
My third gripe is the quality of the trunion. It's not sturdy enough to prevent deflection of the table when the table top screw hits the casing to stop at 90 degrees. What I mean here is that once the table returns to its horizontal, you can stil turn the trunion adjustment knob a little and can watch the table twist out of alignment. I suspect this is caused by the fact the screw isn't in line with the trunion so you can effectively place a torque across the table twisting it. Not a biggie but something to be aware of if you're looking for absolute accuracy.
Other than those issues the instruction manual is pretty much useless and it took me a long time to figure out how to put the table and base together. Not even the parts list is correct with upgrades/changes having been made over the years and no modifications to the manual. There are even pictures within the manual that contradict each other. I feel this is pretty bad given that there were issues with the manual in this original review from 2007.
Anyway, my one question is regarding my second point. Would you expect to have to re-adjust the roller guides as you raise and lower the guide assembly? I realise that if I really was moving from ripping a an inch thick board to re-sawing an 8" one I'd probably have to change blades and re-adjust anyway, but I don't think I could get the setup spot on for one depth of cut and have it work for another depth.
Thanks, Shareef.
Attachments
Alexam
Bandsaw Boxmaker
Not surprising Mike, it's a post from 2007, Shareef may have been better with a new post.
First of all Shareef, the setting up is crutial to using the bandsaw and this will help you
THE BEST FROM A BANDSAW 'Alex Snodgrass of Carter Industries has an excellent video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU on a tune up method that works well, but if you want to get the best use of your bandsaw on an ongoing basis, then the Steve Maskery DVD's will show you far more and they are a real investment. http://www.workshopessentials.com/shop/ '.
For checking the tension of your blade - A Flutter test Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8zZuDosSy0
With the Alex Snodgrass video followed, you should be working well.
Raising and lowering the cutting depth should not change the position of the blade, but anything can happen if the blade has not been set up correctly. My guides on the BS400 are the same and stay in line.
As regards the Trunion and table position, under the table thare should be an adjustable bolt that screws up and down and stops on the lower housing. Tjis spop is so that you can set it once the table is level and then moving it from an angle to level again it will alwsys stop in the same p[osition - level.
Whenever you change blade sizes, you will need to check the guides because in order to change the blades, you should open up the side guides at least. The rear bearing should not change provided to have tuned your nabdsaw correctly and the lower gullet is at the centre of the top wheel.
Hope this helps, but shout up if you need more help
Malcolm
First of all Shareef, the setting up is crutial to using the bandsaw and this will help you
THE BEST FROM A BANDSAW 'Alex Snodgrass of Carter Industries has an excellent video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU on a tune up method that works well, but if you want to get the best use of your bandsaw on an ongoing basis, then the Steve Maskery DVD's will show you far more and they are a real investment. http://www.workshopessentials.com/shop/ '.
For checking the tension of your blade - A Flutter test Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8zZuDosSy0
With the Alex Snodgrass video followed, you should be working well.
Raising and lowering the cutting depth should not change the position of the blade, but anything can happen if the blade has not been set up correctly. My guides on the BS400 are the same and stay in line.
As regards the Trunion and table position, under the table thare should be an adjustable bolt that screws up and down and stops on the lower housing. Tjis spop is so that you can set it once the table is level and then moving it from an angle to level again it will alwsys stop in the same p[osition - level.
Whenever you change blade sizes, you will need to check the guides because in order to change the blades, you should open up the side guides at least. The rear bearing should not change provided to have tuned your nabdsaw correctly and the lower gullet is at the centre of the top wheel.
Hope this helps, but shout up if you need more help
Malcolm
