Which small bandsaw?

[Manny]

Hi folks

I want to buy a bandsaw but have no spare room, so I'm looking for for one that is:-

1. Portable - that I can lift and carry around and can be stashed away when not in use.

2. Accurate - I need it to cut hardwood tenons 3" deep x 2" wide.


I was looking at the basato 3 but at 75 Kgs it's not portable. The basato 1 is portable but is it up to to what I require. I spoke to a guy at NMA who reckoned that it was but I don't want to buy it a find it's not.

So any recommendations for a small bandsaw? Does anyone have a basato 1? Is there a showroom where I can see one in use (I'm in London)?

Thanks
John

 

[Neil Clinton]

Sorry I don't have any hands-on experience of the following, (hopefully some of the forum members do), but for what its worth........ The Basato1 has been reviewed some months ago in one of the woodworking mags and came out well due to the fact that it still features some of the qualities of its bigger siblings. Smaller models of bandsaws offered by Record, Axminster(White range) and Metabo have all recieved favourable reviews. Coincidently(?) they all look very similar but the Axminster & Record have taller cutting capacities (120mm) than the metabo or basato1. For true portability it's got to be the small Delta machine. At only 16kg it's almost half the weight of the other models, comes with an induction motor and still has a cutting capacity of 127mm! There's a good review of it on the Sawdustalley website. Apart from the Axminster model, D&M Tools sell all of bandsaws mentioned, so it's a good site to look at the spec. Should you choose the Delta they're knocking 25 quid off the £115 price tag just to make it more tempting! One good bit of advice is to upgrade the blade from the one supplied with the machine, this can make a huge difference to the quality of cut, no matter which model you buy.
Good luck

Neil

 

[Manny]

thanks Neil

I've used a Delta bandsaw which I wasn't that impressed with, the blade tended to wander so was no good for cutting tenons with. Perhaps a better blade would solve that problem.
Do you know which mag. had the review?

John

 

[Neil Clinton]

The blade tends to be factor with most of the smaller bandsaws. Sorry I can't help with the mag info. I can easily spend hours in WHSmiths/Borders flicking through the umpteen woodworking journals on sale. I then compensate the unfortunate retailer with the odd purchase. I may feel a little bit guilty for this indulgence but I usually come away good mental note of what products were "Best on Test" or "Best Value", (but not the mag details as well).
Regards

Neil

 

[Manny]

I can easily spend hours in WHSmiths/Borders flicking through the umpteen woodworking journals

Same here Neil, it bugs me a bit though that some are wrapped in plastic! apart from being a pain to rip open, without being spotted, they're not environmentally friendly

 

[Ado]

Hi Manny

I've got the small record bandsaw and I think it punches above its weight. I bought with similar requirements to yourself and I haven't been disappointed. Neil is spot on about upgrading the blade though. Best wishes.

Ado

 

[Manny]

Thanks Ado