roombacurious
Established Member
I've read quite a few of the threads here but I'm still quite confused...
I've been working with wood (usually pine) for the last five years and I have an arsenal of power tools now (though mainly chinese ones). They seem to do the trick for me but I'm starting to get tired with having to set my (portable) table saw up everytime I need to rip small stock (it's usually stored in a corner).
I was thinking to get a cheap, small bandsaw as an alternative to the table saw for small stock. I'm not really interested in cutting curves, I mainly want a tool with a table for ripping (not too keen to use the circular saw anymore either).
I've been looking at bandsaws like the small Clarke one (190mm throat, 80mm thickness, 350w motor). Somehow I'm not convinced that this thing can rip, even with a wider, good blade. I mean, my 1500w tablesaw seems to pant when ripping anything thicker than 50-60mm, how can a 350w motor cope with up to 80mm stock?
What sort of capabilities should I expect from the most basic of bandsaws? I'm afraid I can't afford to lose any more shop space (it's already packed with stuff!) so it will have to either be a bench one or none at all...
Thanks for your help!
I've been working with wood (usually pine) for the last five years and I have an arsenal of power tools now (though mainly chinese ones). They seem to do the trick for me but I'm starting to get tired with having to set my (portable) table saw up everytime I need to rip small stock (it's usually stored in a corner).
I was thinking to get a cheap, small bandsaw as an alternative to the table saw for small stock. I'm not really interested in cutting curves, I mainly want a tool with a table for ripping (not too keen to use the circular saw anymore either).
I've been looking at bandsaws like the small Clarke one (190mm throat, 80mm thickness, 350w motor). Somehow I'm not convinced that this thing can rip, even with a wider, good blade. I mean, my 1500w tablesaw seems to pant when ripping anything thicker than 50-60mm, how can a 350w motor cope with up to 80mm stock?
What sort of capabilities should I expect from the most basic of bandsaws? I'm afraid I can't afford to lose any more shop space (it's already packed with stuff!) so it will have to either be a bench one or none at all...
Thanks for your help!