Glynne
Established Member
I went to Makers Central at the NEC on Saturday and had a really good chat with the bandsaw "guru" on the Record Power stand.
Having established that I already owned a BS350S and was looking to see if I could improve on what I think is already a good bandsaw, he was incredibly helpful if not quite following the offical Record line.
Firstly the top bearings - yes the bearings on the new Sabre are far better than the BS350S and no there are no planned upgrades for my machine. However.....I will shortly be able to buy a spare bearing set for the Sabre which will fit the BS350S, as long as the blade guard is removed. The assembly will simply fit the existing pillar by removing the one allen screw / bolt.
So Record cannot advertise this as a potential upgrade because it would involve contravening H&S guidelines - but if people elect to operate without a blade guard then Record cannot be held responsible.
I also commented that the fence and mounting bar could be better and again the longer mounting bar, larger fence and resaw bar from the Sabre will fit the BS350S - all the mounting holes are evidently in the same position and it's simply, ubolt one and fix the new one. P{rice is likely to be ~£120.
I know there have been several posts from people who have upgraded the bearings / fences with aftermarket products so hopefully this might be of interest to others.
Having established that I already owned a BS350S and was looking to see if I could improve on what I think is already a good bandsaw, he was incredibly helpful if not quite following the offical Record line.
Firstly the top bearings - yes the bearings on the new Sabre are far better than the BS350S and no there are no planned upgrades for my machine. However.....I will shortly be able to buy a spare bearing set for the Sabre which will fit the BS350S, as long as the blade guard is removed. The assembly will simply fit the existing pillar by removing the one allen screw / bolt.
So Record cannot advertise this as a potential upgrade because it would involve contravening H&S guidelines - but if people elect to operate without a blade guard then Record cannot be held responsible.
I also commented that the fence and mounting bar could be better and again the longer mounting bar, larger fence and resaw bar from the Sabre will fit the BS350S - all the mounting holes are evidently in the same position and it's simply, ubolt one and fix the new one. P{rice is likely to be ~£120.
I know there have been several posts from people who have upgraded the bearings / fences with aftermarket products so hopefully this might be of interest to others.
