Bandsaw Choice or....

[idahobob]

Hello all. Quick question, anyone use or recommend the Sears 10 inch bandsaw? I am so new to the carving world and am a little intimidated by bandsaws, and was curious if (1) do I "need" a bandsaw (2) can I get by with a copeing (sp) saw (3) is the sears bandsaw a good beginners choice. I am doing caricature carvings mainly (or attempting, lol). Thanks in advance!

[CarverFromNoWhere]

I have a sears, I think it is 12" model has an 80" blade, had it about 2 years now works great for me, no complaints other then some design flaws.

Yeah you should have a bandsaw makes stuff alot easier then doing it all with a coping saw. Just buy the biggest ya can afford when I got mine I quickly found out it was to small for some of the stuff I wanted to cut up. If it breaks or ya don't like it at least Sears is an easy company to deal with, I personaly don't like there tools they used to be great top of the line, now they are imports mainly.

Carl

[arbarnhart]

If you get a small bandsaw, make sure it is a 2 wheel and not a 3 wheel. The 12" Sears is about the only "medium size" saw out there (there are a few others, but they aren't very common) and most people that have them like them. Generally speaking, there are the little 9" benchtops that are okay for stock up to 2" thick. They will cut close to 4", but not very well. The 14" saws are the small end of large saws. They will cut much thicker wood but are substantially more expensive.

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Yes on needing a bandsaw, no on craftsmen !! The hand tools are fine, but like Carl said, the power tools are imports and cheaply made. I bought a craftsmen miter saw couple years ago, when you were done with your cut and let the saw head go back up, the blade guard would not fully cover the blade and the blade was still rotating. Sears repaired it, made it worse, then replaced it two times, same thing. They finally agreed that it was a design problem and would remove it from the sales floor before someone got hurt, well they are still selling it today. Remember K-mart is now at the helm. Sorry for the long post, but I do not want to see you waste your money or get hurt.

Dave

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Delta has a good small benchtop......

[Iowa Carver]

The Craftsman 10 inch ( not the 9 inch) is a duplicate smaller version of the 14 inch and 12 inch band saw. The 10 inch is only available from the catalog I believe. It's a nice little band saw and will cut carving blanks all day long but don't buy it to do much more than just general sawing. It's not a resaw bandsaw but I know some boxmakers that use it to resaw wood. I have the 12 inch model and have been using it for a year and a half and really like it ( other than the top is a bugger to level) but it runs and cuts great. I put a good Suffolk Timberwolf blade on it as well.

Corey

[idahobob]

Originally Posted by Iowa Carver

The Craftsman 10 inch ( not the 9 inch) is a duplicate smaller version of the 14 inch and 12 inch band saw. The 10 inch is only available from the catalog I believe. It's a nice little band saw and will cut carving blanks all day long but don't buy it to do much more than just general sawing. It's not a resaw bandsaw but I know some boxmakers that use it to resaw wood. I have the 12 inch model and have been using it for a year and a half and really like it ( other than the top is a bugger to level) but it runs and cuts great. I put a good Suffolk Timberwolf blade on it as well.

Corey

I've seen the term "resaw", what does it mean?Thank You

[RUssL.]

Slicing thin planks from a board by standing it on edge and pushing it lengthwise into the cutting blade.

As in making veneers.

You are "Re-sawing" a board into 2 or more thinner boards.

[idahobob]

oh, okay. Not something I would be doing now, so the 10 inch would probably work for my use/budjet. Thanks all.

[Claude]

I have a 9 inch Craftsman. When I got it, eBay, I put a new Craftsman blade on it, and used it that way for a year or so...wouldn't cut a soft banana without wandering all over the place. Finally got my act together and bought a Suffolk Timberwolf blade for it - makes all the difference in the world. I can cut tight circles, it tracks straight, even in 3.5 inch thick wood.

My suggestion is to decide how thick a piece of wood you wish to saw, and get a bandsaw that will saw that thick. Mine has a throat of 9 inches, but will saw up to 3.75 inches. I wish it could do a couple of inches thicker. One of these days, I'm going to go buy myself a 14 inch bandsaw with a riser block. My son has one made by Jet and it works well.

Claude