[mdallensr]

I was at Sears yesterday and saw their 14" "professional" series, cabinet base, bandsaw. I'm not a great fan of their power tools, but this bandsaw has some good features for less than $500. It has a serious cast iron table, roller blade guides that looked to be easily adjustable (no cool blocks), a crank-up blade guide that allows a cut at least 8 1/2" thick without a riser block, and a rip fence. One dumb thing: the rail for the rip fence covers the blade slot so you have to remove it to change the blade. That may be something they made simple to do, but it wasn't obvious from looking at it. Has anyone seen a review? Mike

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

haven't seen or heard of it, but then I am not a fan of craftsman tools either!

[Lynn O. Doughty]

I'll have to disagree with you on Craftsman tools. I bought a Craftsman 12" 80" Bandsaw back in 1974 and it's still cutting basswood as good as the day I brought it home. I use a 3/16" skip tooth blade and can turn a 1" radius in 3" basswood with no problem. I take a fine file and round off the back corners of the blade. I use Olsen blades. Bought myself a blade repair kit so I only buy a new one when the repairs make the blade so tight I can no longer get it on the two wheels. In the future I think I will just buy the coiled blade material and make my own. It's a lot cheaper that way and I haven't had a weld I've made break yet.

Unfortunately, they don't make this saw anymore. You could probably find one on Ebay. Delta and Rigid both make a 14" saw which is rated pretty highly. I see so many carvers rush out and buy some Taiwan knockoff only to regret it 5 minutes after they try cutting something.

I would suggest that any carver planning on cutting his own material to buy at 14" model, Delta or Rigid.

Note::: Just did a Ebay search for Sears Bandsaws and they show two, one old 3-wheel model and an upscale version of the one I have. Mine doesn't have that fancy square cabinet on the bottom as the one in the Ebay photo. Looked in pretty good condition and you can bet it's built sturdier than any you could find today. Uses 80 inch blades.

The older 3-wheel 1950 model brought back fond memories as my Dad had that model and we cut out lots of projects on it. Bet there is more metal in that saw than in my pickup truck! If I didn't have to drive all the way to New York to pick it up I'd probably submit a bid just for the fun of having it around the shop. I still use a 1940's Sears Craftsman Jig Saw that was in my Dad's shop and a 10" Sears table saw that belonged to him. I did upgrade it with a new rip fench. Was going to buy a new one a few years back but after seeing what was available now I just laughed and left the store!

[Bigredcarver]

I got a Sears table top model for Christmas - I like it alot but I haven't used it a great deal...I don't carve as much as some on this board..but mine cuts accurately (Female torso has to be right on).It appears sturdy and built pretty well..