Lowe's Porter Cable bandsaw

[cheechi]

I have gone years getting by without buying a bandsaw. I do have an M12 portable but that's relatively new and for this purpose doesn't really count.

so some background. I'm lefty. I play bass & guitar and do a fair amount of mod work for them. not an expert but I own a soldering iron and can follow a schematic. Anyway. In order to cut out custom pickguards for my own rather than rely on a company to make lefty, for the particular model I have, and then to get it to line up exactly right, is a challenge I have recently been facing.

I have the Porter Cable drill press from Lowe's and I like it quite a bit. Other than the laser it was essentially perfect out of the box. Who here has had any experience with the PC bandsaw? good or bad I'd like to know.

There are no decent used saws coming up on CL for the past year or so around here. The ones that do show up are very expensive. So it's a good suggestion but not applicable I have been watching.

 

[derosa]

I'd considered it for a while before buying a bigger and better grizzly. It will do fine for general use and none of the reviews had durability issues. Seems like it is a direct rip off of the delta that porter cable was producing at the time it came out, they've since sold the delta brand, and that saw had decent reviews as well. Biggest issue i ran into with it was the lack of a riser block, youre limited to a just under 6" cut. What will matter with the saw is the quality of the blade. A lot of attention paid to blade quality, correct tooth count and sharpness will have it cutting as nice as you can want.

 

[cheechi]

Thanks. I had been looking at the PC vs the floor standing craftsman unit. For the cut capacity, any of the benchtop models would probably do but the table size isn't big enough and generally, looking at the quality difference between my benchtop Skil DP from Lowe's vs the PC DP from Lowe's, I'm expecting the same gap in quality with any benchtop bandsaw in the similar price range.

Is this the Delta you refer to or a newer one?

There isn't a Woodcraft nearby anymore and for something this big I'd like to be able to look at a display first. I know the HF horizontal gets some love around here but I don't think I need that considering I have the portable. The 14" HF with its 2 star reviews isn't going to be an option worth considering.

I do plan to get good blade(s) I see the timber wolf on Amazon gets better reviews than the Olson does. But I hadn't planned to get to that question yet.

 

[manwithtools]

That Porter Cable does look like a copy of the older Delta 14" bandsaw, which likely makes it a decent machine because that design has been manufactured for ages. I'd be willing to bet you could install a Delta riser block if you ever decided you needed more than 6" of resaw capacity.

Timberwolf blades are the best I've found - available in all the length and width combinations that you would ever need. Quick delivery and reasonable pricing too.

Learn how to adjust the tracking and guide blocks properly, most of these saws need a little tuning straight out of the box. I'd also suggest looking at older Delta, Jet or Grizzly machines in similar sizes, they all are decent saws.

On the subject of pick guards, have you ever thought about an engraving company to make them for you? I'd bet we could make them on our machine quite easily. It's essentially a CNC controlled engraver. With the proper graphics file for input, it can make very accurate shapes.

 

[cheechi]

I have. Both WD and Warmoth would do a custom for me if I sent them a tracing. After a few, with postage back and forth plus the item cost I'd be halfway toward a bandsaw of some kind. I haven't 'needed' one for years but I have had several situations that I 'could use' one in the past few years. So having an engraver or other CNC shop custom cut me one is probably going to be similar price or more if they have a higher charge for something that's not something they do every day

Technically I could use a jigsaw to cut out the pg then clean it up on a router table. The bevel would probably be done on the router anyway.

As far as adjustments, I'm prepared for the need to align or at least check alignment of everything out of the box, potentially replacing the stock blade immediately, and some reviews say the wheels are not balanced properly. what other things should I look at?

In addition to the PC and Delta, I have looked at the Craftsman & Grizzly in similar price range although with the Delta & Grizzly of course I can't really see them in person anywhere around.

 

[manwithtools]

I understand the "needed" vs. "could use" validation. You will certainly use the band saw for many more jobs other than just pick guards.

I think you would be fine with any of the 14" saws - I'd stay away from Craftsman unless it's about 40 years old. Unbalanced wheels I think are a rarity. It's more likely the rubber tire on the wheel being out of round, this can be fixed with aftermarket tires. I think I got my urethane tires from Suffolk Machinery, the makers of TimberWolf blades. They sell guide blocks and other parts as well.

 

[cheechi]

awesome thanks for that too!

Would you say aftermarket tires are a good upgrade for any of these saws or just something I should look at when the stock ones wear down?

 

[manwithtools]

Tires are a good upgrade if you need to correct a problem, not necessary if there are no issues with the OEM tires.

 

[BikerDad]

I have the predecessor to the Porter-Cable, the Delta sold by Lowe's. I picked it up when Stanley B&D sold Delta off, which meant the Delta DP and BS sold at Lowe's were re-branded to P-C, so I got a killer deal on the discontinued SKU. Both are decent Chinese clones of the classic Delta 14" bandsaw. The Porter-Cable is IDENTICAL, except for the paint and stickers. It's done most of what I've wanted it to do, and I love having the tension release lever. I have upgraded the bearing guides to Cool Blocks (110% recommend), and added a Kreg fence to it (meh). The only problems I've had with it are 100% on the operator, not the saw.

I'm not really sure what's involved in a pickguard (sax man here, not guitar), but from the Wikipedia description and pics, it looks like you could probably make them with a scrollsaw instead. It would likely be slower, but you could do more intricate work if you chose. That said, I'm pretty sure that the P-C bandsaw at Lowes, with an 1/8" blade, will do what you want. You could also use it, with a wider blade, to resaw for your pickguards if you wanted, as long as you don't exceed the 6" resaw height. (@12" if you get a riser kit.)

The upshot is, "Would I recommend it?" Yes, I would recommend it over the inexpensive Grizzly, definitely over a Central Machinery (Harbor Freight), and probably over the Rigid. The Grizz and Rigid are in the same ballpark quality and In Your Shop cost wise, but you can see the P-C in person and if you get a bum unit, you can take it back rather than screwing around with shipping.

I actually use my 14" Delta a lot more than I use my 24" Italian bandsaw ("Papa Griggio"), but a lot of that is because I can just walk over to the Delta, throw the tension lever, and push the power button, since it's plugged into an outlet 2' awa. With Papa Griggio, I have to shut off the breaker to the clothes dryer, get the power cord to the Rotary Phase Converter and plug it into the dryer outlet, flip the breaker back on, and then go to Papa, flip that switch and do my cutting. After I'm done I have to reverse the process. This doesn't even include dealing with the clutter Papa's large table attracts....

 

[derosa]

That's not the delta I was referring to, it is a clone of the older style delta and fairly sturdy. My research suggested they were not close enough to use the old delta riser kits which are not quite that available. I know the new delta stuff is supposed to be decent but I've never seen it in person.
The craftsman for a while were made by Steel City from what I had heard, bought a steel city and promptly sent it back; there's a reason the company went under last year. If it isn't a steel city then I don't know who makes it.
As mentioned above, replace the tires if there is an issue otherwise they're good for years. I've used timberwolf and found nothing wrong with them but buy Lenox which seem every bit as good.

 

[Empty Pockets]

I'm not really sure what's involved in a pickguard (sax man here, not guitar), but from the Wikipedia description and pics, it looks like you could probably make them with a scrollsaw instead. It would likely be slower, but you could do more intricate work if you chose. That said, I'm pretty sure that the P-C bandsaw at Lowes, with an 1/8" blade, will do what you want. You could also use it, with a wider blade, to resaw for your pickguards if you wanted, as long as you don't exceed the 6" resaw height. (@12" if you get a riser kit.)
..

Biker stole my thunder..... I've used a dewalt scroll saw for mant such items. Depending on how intricate these pick guards are, might be a consideration

 

[cheechi]

I could use a scroll saw. However that to me would be a one trick pony as I haven't had any situations in the past where I have tried to figure out 'what else besides a scroll saw can do this task' while I've had that several times with a bandsaw.

I know what will happen when I say this, however I haven't needed more than my table saw's capacity for rip cuts in the past, so I doubt I will truly need the riser for resawing ever.

The increased table surface on a bandsaw vs scrollsaw is really ideal for this. Some that may do really intricate detail, likely do most of it on the bandsaw and the fine work on the scroll. I won't need that kind of detail.

I really appreciate the comparison to the Grizzly as that was becoming the other one on the short list. And the newer Delta brand overall hasn't shown me anything that I've really liked. So I wasn't super stoked about that one to begin with. The Ridgid doesn't seem to be available anymore either.

The current Craftsman is a Rikon, the previous was a Steel City. Neither really impressed me with their name brand items but on paper the Craftsman one really doesn't look bad. Been burned that way before so I'm considering it a last resort.

I started out saxes/flute and still play from time to time. But bass is just so fun.

 

[cheechi]

other projects have got in the way but I picked up one of these today. Going to build it on one of these but may not get a chance to start in the near future.

Reread this thread today want to thank again those that have given advice.