Benchtop Bandsaw??

[Sawdustmaker]

New to the forum and as I browse and see member's workbenches I've seen some bench top band saws, like the Ryobi from HD. Is this a good little band saw for occasional work? How does it hold up? Problems? Other brand along the same line? I know that a small one like this won't resaw, but I have no need of that...yet. I'm now using my jigsaw for curved and pattern cuts and it has limitations. Not looking for a "man killer" bandsaw. Thanks for any tips.

 

[Catadj78]

I recently got the Craftsman 10". It's on sale for 170 right now and you can find surprise points to get it in the 150 range. I couldn't find a decent used one for that price around here. I'm happy with it

 

[IndyGarage]

I've had a small benchtop Delta one for about 15 years. I think it's an 8 inch or so. I only use it periodically, but it's always performed well. I've cut a lot of wood, and some metal on it. Sometimes it has a bit of wander on thicker cuts.

 

[astroracer]

I've had a 12" Harbor Freight Central Machine saw for 20 yrs. It has occasional use. I am just now having to replace the blade.
It did take a bit of fine tuning to get it to cut straight and consistant but I've found that to be the case with any small bandsaw I have used.
Mark

 

[gtae07]

I have a Craftsman one (can't remember if it's 9 or 10 inches) that I've been very pleasantly surprised by. I actually use mine for cutting smaller aluminum extrusions and sheet (14TPI blade) rather than for wood most of the time, but still it works great.

 

[rustyzman]

I recently picked up a 50's/60's vintage Craftsman unit that is pretty nice. Very available out there used, for cheap. Stay away from the old Skil 3 wheel ones, they are junk and you will spend all your time replacing blades. My experience anyway.

If ever you find a 2 or a 3 wheel INCA for a reasonable price, buy it. I have the 2 wheel and it is a really great saw. Really nice quality and very functional. Looking at it and picking it up you would think it is a toy, but it is very stable and very capable. The gentleman I bought mine from is a good friend who used it to build his own sailboat from a raw fiberglass hull. Did all the curved woodwork with it including the Deck Rails, which I think were about 3" thick Teak (could have those details wrong, but they are thick). Stunning craftsmanship and attention to detail. Never broke a blade. Great saw.

Great value in the used saw market if you find one nearby.

 

[Sharpest]

If you're doing mostly metal with it, I'd look into getting a dewalt or Milwaukee port-a-band and the kit to bench mount it from Swag Offroad. More versatile.

 

[maxpower_hd]

If you're doing mostly metal with it, I'd look into getting a dewalt or Milwaukee port-a-band and the kit to bench mount it from Swag Offroad. More versatile.

That sounds like a pretty good setup. I have been pondering a port-a-band saw for metals. I have used them and the cut well but there is limited use using them by hand. A table option would be great. Thanks for the tip.

 

[rcktsled]

I have an older version of the Ryobi benchtop bandsaw, maybe 5 years old. It is well made, not heavy duty by any means, but adequate for occasional use. Well worth the $89 I paid for it.

 

[abachman]

I have a Sears 14 inch that is quite nice for a home hobbyist. I've had it for a number of years and have not had any problems. Most times when I use it I surprise myself that I don't use it more often as the saw of choice.

 

[astroracer]

If you're doing mostly metal with it, I'd look into getting a dewalt or Milwaukee port-a-band and the kit to bench mount it from Swag Offroad. More versatile.

Yea, I guarantee he isn't doing metal with any of these bench top saws. Way to fast for anything except "maybe" thin sheet aluminum.
Mark

 

[Carroll B]

If you're doing mostly metal with it, I'd look into getting a dewalt or Milwaukee port-a-band and the kit to bench mount it from Swag Offroad. More versatile.

I have a Dewalt along with the Swag bench mount. Last summer I built a luggage rack for a friend's motorcycle and this combination was a pleasure to use when cutting 1/2 square tubing. I agonized for several weeks if I should buy a HF portable band saw and now I am glad I went with the Dewalt. Can't believe all the years I cut metal using a hacksaw. I was going to make a bench mount for the saw but the Swag is well made.

 

[rsanter]

I have the ryobi that I bought for $100 a bunch of years ago. I figured I would use the **** out of it for the job and if I wore it out or it pissed me off then I would just sell it or take it back....etc
That thing turned out to be a great little saw for the size and price. I still have it even though I have two big band saws now because I can take that with me if I had to do a little job off site

Bob

 

[CSRPenFab]

I have the Ryobi from Home Depot, about $75 on sale. It's been fine for small cut offs and low volume work. If I was buying one right now, I'd go for the Rikon from Woodcraft.

It's on sale for $219 and a really solid benchtop saw.
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/...21e069702d0676000f61,5764018e69702d3ae3000bf8

 

[jfleisher]

The Rikon 10" and the Craftsman 10" are pretty much identical...

I price shopped both last year and settled on the Craftsman when it went on sale.

 

[gtae07]

Yea, I guarantee he isn't doing metal with any of these bench top saws. Way to fast for anything except "maybe" thin sheet aluminum.
Mark

Yep, thin sheet aluminum (.063 or thinner, but usually .025-.040) and shaping angle extrusions up to 2x2x1/8 or so (see pic). For cutting long sections of extrusion to shorter lengths I use a HF chop saw with a metal cutting blade.

Things like this

 

[ez-duzit]

The best of the small bandsaws is the 13" Hitachi. But I'd recommend avoiding a benchtop saw and getting an early Delta wood/metal bandsaw.

 

[Whiskeymike]

+1 on the Portaband and stand. If you are only doing small things, especially with metal, it'll be far more useful.

 

[Falcon67]

I recently got the Craftsman 10". It's on sale for 170 right now and you can find surprise points to get it in the 150 range. I couldn't find a decent used one for that price around here. I'm happy with it

Have the same unit. It's mounted on a HF generic stand and that puts the table at a good height for work. I put a 1/2" bi-metal blade on it and it cuts through 1/4" aluminum plate like butter. Decent tool IMHO.

 

[capww8]

Depends on what you're doing, or course, but you might consider a portable bandsaw. If you need a bit more precision, add a SWAG portaband stand.

Also, this thing is killer if you're using your band saw primarily to cut steel for welding projects (as I do)

http://www.femi.it/en/femi-machine-professional-processing-wood-metal.aspx?l=51&f=28&p=123

 

[theoldwizard1]

A port-a-band (your favorite brand) is a great combination. I just wish they had a high speed mode for wood.

 

[Sawdustmaker]

Thanks to all of you for the info. I would be using the saw for woodworking, cutting curves in 1x lumber and for cutting out patterns from 1/4" MDF of 1/8" masonite for repeatable projects and 2x lumber on occasion. Liked the Rikon & Craftsman suggestions. The Ryobi is now $129 and is the newer model. Thanks again.

 

[James-W]

I have an older Craftsman bandsaw, bought it probably close to 30 years ago. It works OK for smaller jobs, but I want one that I can cut boards in half so that I can make thin boards. Right now I just plane a 3/4 inch board down to 1/4 inch or 3/16 inch. If I had a bigger bandsaw that could handle it, I could rip a 1X6 down and make 2 boards out of it. That would allow me to avoid all that waste of good boards.

Here is the one I am thinking about getting. Only thing is, I am not sure I want to get back into having to work all the time. I would rather go to the golf course than to go to the garage to work.

http://www.rockler.com/jet-14-in-3hp-steel-frame-band-saw-714550

 

[SteveL]

My suggestion is to get the biggest and best you can afford. The difference between a 10" bench top and a 14" floor model is huge. I have a 14" Delta with a riser block that I picked up from another forum member and it has been able to do virtually anything I throw at it. With the right blade, you can rip up to 12" wide boards or do detailed work in 1/8" material. I think I gave about $350 for it and have since upgraded the guide blocks and the tension spring and added a quick release tension set up but you really don't need these things to most projects.

If budget is really a concern, I would strongly consider the 14" Harbor Freight as there are a lot of guys over at the Woodnet.net forum that have figured out how to make them very functional and reliable on a small budget.

The only thing I wish I had was the capability to slow mine down so it would do metal.

 

[James-W]

My suggestion is to get the biggest and best you can afford. The difference between a 10" bench top and a 14" floor model is huge. I have a 14" Delta with a riser block that I picked up from another forum member and it has been able to do virtually anything I throw at it. With the right blade, you can rip up to 12" wide boards or do detailed work in 1/8" material. I think I gave about $350 for it and have since upgraded the guide blocks and the tension spring and added a quick release tension set up but you really don't need these things to most projects.

If budget is really a concern, I would strongly consider the 14" Harbor Freight as there are a lot of guys over at the Woodnet.net forum that have figured out how to make them very functional and reliable on a small budget.

The only thing I wish I had was the capability to slow mine down so it would do metal.

I have heard about (but have not seen one) a gear reduction unit that mounts on the motor shaft and reduces the speed. I have no idea how it works, but I will Google it and try to find out more about it.

 

[ez-duzit]

I have heard about (but have not seen one) a gear reduction unit that mounts on the motor shaft and reduces the speed...

...an early Delta wood/metal bandsaw.

This is the one with the gear reduction.

 

[James-W]

Here is a thread right here on this forum about it.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144536

 

[James-W]

This is the one with the gear reduction.

I like the old bandsaw, a lot of that old stuff was really well built. Some of the new stuff works really nice, but a lot can be said for the old stuff too.

 

[Falcon67]

BTW, as you probably already know, the biggest "deal" with a band saw is the threat from the blade to the back of the saw, which limits the size and orientation of the material you can run through it. With the 10", occasionally I'll have to do a flip/flop to get a piece completely cut. Also, I get my blades off Amazon, plenty of different types, thickness, tooth counts for the 10" saws.