Im buying a bandsaw ...need advice

[Isaac Hart]

Hey guys, (and gals too Marylin :)

I decided to get a bandsaw....finally. I was looking at 2 Delta models, the 10" and the 14".

Pros and Cons:

14"
higher throat capacity
larger motor
sturdier table
---but---
cost more
heavy to move
only 6 1/4" under guide capacity w/out riser

10"
higher under guide capacity (7")
less expensive
more moveable (i have a small shop)
---but---
less powerful motor
lighter table
cant install riser blocks

Well...any advice? Im leaning toward the 10" because it has the higher under guide capacity(I wont need riser block capacity for a long time),and the cost. Plus it would be easier to roll around the shop. I was looking at the grizzly 14" however, anybody have one of these?

Isaac

[WoodMangler]

I have the Delta 10"... it does surprisingly well for a saw it's size actually. I usually resaw any wider than 3" or so by making a couple passes on the tablesaw, then finish with the bandsaw. It's no super-duper tool, but I've never been able to justify upgrading it as it does what I need it to do.

Use Timberwolf blades.... makes all the difference in the world...

[Marilyn]

Isaac,

Have you considered the 14" Jet bandsaw? It sells for around $600 vs. the Delta's $850 and the specs are eerily similar. Once again, I think they are made in the same factory overseas but with a different coat of paint. I checked it and the Delta out pretty extensively and went with the Jet. I did get the riser block right away and have been very happy with it. It has resawn 9" oak without difficulty and I am now working on godd feet and cabriole legs. I did replace the blades with Timberwolf's blades...got a 3/4", 1/2" 3/8", 1/4" and 1/8". I rounded the back as per the info gleaned here in the forum and put cool blocks on. A fence and miter gauge came with my deal. Again, I could not be happier.

[Sonny Edmonds]

Isaac,
Hey we can spend your money!
Now we have a bit more info to work with than the post in Just Talking.
Concider this option: A Jet 18" for a grand or 1050.00. I had a 20" Delta on order. Cancled it and got the JWBS-18 instead.
Now I'll grant you I gave up some in the process. But what I was after was a resaw bandsaw. The Jet I got touts a 1 1/2" blade capacity. Only 10 something inches of clearance, but I can't lift trees anyway.
I got a 1 1/2" blade for it, and yeah, I have to take the table off to put it on. But for a grand, which is what it cost at that time, and 1 1/2HP motor, it cuts the mustard.
1/8" to 1 1/2" blade capacity.
Something to think about with the cashola your going to shell out. A bit more might get you a lot more. :)

:D

Sonny Edmonds
"Precision Firewood Specialist"
http://home.earthlink.net/~sonnypie/
God Bless America !

[Isaac Hart]

Hey guys

I looked at the Jet bandsaws, but I have some political reservations about buying their product. They have had problems with unfair labor practices.

http://66.166.49.197/donotbuy/jet.htm
very political link, sorry, but I couldnt resist

If one of my good union brothers saw it in my workshop they would turn me into the mafia.(just kidding....i hope :+) Delta's 14" is comperable to the Jet 14", but I have heard the Delta trunion is sturdier, and is built right here in the good ol'e USA. (at least the one at Lowes was)As far as price, I believe you saw their "limited edition" machine. (dont know the difference myself other than $200 bucks) Im thinking of getting the Delta 14", but the 10" still sounds appealing to me due to the cost, and smaller size.


Hey Marylin
Did you ever get my email reply about Highland Hardware? I think it was a long one, but Im sure you have figured out I have a bad habit of rambling :) Also Did you sign up for that class with Frank Klausz?

Isaac

[Isaac Hart]

Sonny

Your forgetting that im still an apprentice. I cant afford that on $14 an hour. Not even next month when I get my pay scale upgrade $19. Do you LIKE making me jealous? :)

but seriously, I forgot to tell you what happened to me at work last week.
\We finished up at the powerplant, and I went to work on a new Georgia Power Bill Payment Center. This part was actually 2 weeks ago)One of our formen called me to go back out to the CDC (center for disease control). \
So I meet him out there and were going over what needs to be done with the construction manager for the CDC, which was installing some new chemical fume ventilation hoods, (or as the crazy scientist/doctor dude in the lab called them "the fart-fans for deadly gasses" :+ ). We go to the supply house to get the nessasary material. We unloaded it, and the foreman says one of the first year apprentices was comming to take his truck back to the office and drop one off for me.
I gave him a funny look, and he asked " You were paying attention werent you?" I said yes to which he replied "good, Im leaving for Flordia in about two hours, this ones all yours...and dont screw it up."
So now I have my own job. I guess I have to bust butt to prove myself, but its nothing I cant handle.

Isaac

[Marilyn]

Isaac,

I did get your email, just about the time I also got the flu, so unfortunetly didn't reply. I am thinking about taking the dovetail class on Sun. June 9th, but not the one I think you mean. That is a two day course, and I am really down there to visit my new daughter-in-law and paint the grandbaby to be's room. Highland Hardware sounds fascinating though and I am sure I will find a number of things that "need" to come home with me. My daughter-in-law lives in Symrna, do you have any idea about how far that is from Highland? I imagine she will drive me there as my big city driving skills are woefully undeveloped. I am more of a small town/outdoors sort of person.
I hope your quest for the bandsaw comes out all right. Sounds like your new job is coming along fine!

[Isaac Hart]

Marylin-

sorry to hear about your flu. From Smyrna your looking at anywhere from 30min - 1 hr in the morning rush hour, 25-30 min in the middle of the day, and 1-2 hrs at evening rush hour. Return trip, well reverse the times. Luckly on the weekends its a little quicker, given that the accepted speed limit, weather permiting usually runs between 65-75 mph.(not bad since the posted speed limit is 55mph, we like to drive fast here in atlanta) My best time from Smyrna to Virginia Highlands (the name for the part of town where Highland Hardware is)Was about 20min. But I was going a wee bit ofer that accepted speed I was talking about. Anyway, here I go rambling on again. Im tired...rambling...getting worse............must .....lo...g......off..now...

ZZZZzzzzzzz ZZZZzzzzzzz ZZZZzzzzzzzz

:+

Isaac

[Sonny Edmonds]

Isaac,
No... I'm not trying or liking to make you jelous. It is the same sort of advice I would give an apprentice working with me. We have two on our crew right now.
Silly, it's called guidence and sound advice. From what I read, if somebody was going to shuck out 850 bucks for a 14" Delta, why the heck not point out a bigger saw for 150-200 more. Make sense?
But you will decide and get the right one for your shop and needs, I have confidence in that. :)

Sounds like your foreman might be setting you up. Round here an apprentice is not supposed to work without direct supervison of a journeyman. Period.
And your Union Brothers might get bent about it. But it will be the forman's butt if anything goes wrong. Maybe your's as well. Watch your backside.
That's a little advice from an IBEW Local 18 Shop Steward, me. :)

:D

Sonny Edmonds
"Precision Firewood Specialist"
http://home.earthlink.net/~sonnypie/
God Bless America !

[Isaac Hart]

Well in our aggrement a 5th yr can have his own job, providing he is not the first one on the job, and he does not have anybody working under him. So he is about 6 weeks premature. I was told the local approved it because I am one of only 2 people in our company that has clearance to work in that area at the CDC, and it takes 2 months to get the clearance needed for the building were working in, plus 2 weeks of safety training. Since the only other person that can work there is in florida....that leaves me. We have some rat-----er I mean open-shop contractors trying to get in to some of the jobs around there, so I think there is a whatever it takes to keep the work attitude right now. Plus one of our formen is on the locals apprenticeship board, and he hasn't said anything, and hes a "brothers brother" if you know what I mean. (you know....3 letters beginnging with F, they usually are travelers...ect)

And on to more important things---

Being my B-day, my father is fronting the price difference between the 10" and 14". Of course this is not the $800 version. Thats the limited edition version. Its cabinit mounted, comes with $275 worth of accesories, and some of its parts are chrome. Im getitng the $500 version. Same saw, fewer accesories, open stand, and no chrome. But I have to go now, Im on my way to Lowes right now to get it. Im starting to get arroused.(You might be a woodworker if your sexually addicted to power tools :+ )

Isaac