MiniMax S45N bandsaw?

[Joe Mioux]

Joe,
Good input on the differences - thank you. Did you actually see both saws before you bought your MM16? I'm wondering if the weight of the S45N is consistent with the weight of the MM16. I don't give a rat's rearend about the weight except as a factor in the machines rigidity; I guess "mass" is a better word here. In other words, did the S45N offer the same structural strength, speaking of the spine mainly, as the MM16? One other question: it looks like there is a knob on the top of the S45N; is it actually a knob, like for tensioning on a 14" bs, or is something else... perhaps like a skyhook instead of the open hole on mine?

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no, I spoke with Dain, my sales rep. at the time extensively about the two.



I don't think you would have any worries that an s45 won't be stout enough to handle your band saw needs.

[Peter Kelly]

Hi Russ,

I have two MM S45's. I have one for regular sawing and another with a 3/4" blade for resawing. The saws are very good saws. There is one problem I have run into. I resaw 9" oak with no problem with a timberwolf blade. I wanted to switch to a carbide blade. However, MM tells me that the S45 will not tension carbide blades. The spring is not strong enough. I have not pursued the issue. They said it would not tension a 3/4" blade, but I did not ask about a 1/2" carbide blade. I am looking into getting a larger saw that will tension carbide blades.

If you don't want to use carbide blades, the saw is very good. If you have any questions please ask.

Sam

Sam, did you end up replacing the spring on your S45? If so, would you happen to know the correct size? I was wanting to buy a replacement from Louis Iturra but I'm away from my shop for a while and haven't had a chance to check the dimensions. Unfortunately, Parts Pronto doesn't list any specs on it either.

[Erik Loza]

Peter, I would be interested in knowing that part number as well. We seem to take calls on older S45's all the time.

Thanks, Erik

[ian maybury]

So far as i know (?) the Agazzani B-18 and the Minimax S45N are not quite in the same class Russ. The S45 is a good saw, but it's perhaps a class below the Agazzani or for that matter the heavy duty models in most of the Italian ranges in that it's more of a general purpose/more profiling oriented lower powered and somewhat more lightly built model. It's possibly more comparable to the Hammer N4400, although i wouldn't want to be held to that as i don't have detail familiarity with either. The Hammer has a lot of motor, and is a well priced.

The B-18 is in effect a heavy duty Italian bandsaw (equivalent to their 'NRA' series in Europe, but with a slightly higher spec - there's also a slightly lighter duty 'Rapid' series), but it's not one of the US market resaw specials like Minimax 16in which tend to have a slightly heavier chassis and stronger spring than the stock heavy duty equivalent. e.g. Agazzani also (or at least did prior to the recent re-organisation) do a resaw special in the 18in - what they call an 18/18 model which has extra resaw capacity. There's also 20/20, 24/24 etc models. (i'm guessing the second number is the available height under the top guide)

16 - 18in saws seem to be on the limit to run carbide blades - in terms of having enough spring and chassis stiffness to tension them properly, and because they bend them tight enough over the smaller wheels to possibly cause premature fatigue failures in the ones using thicker band material. Some saws of that size and below may also have relatively higher crowned wheels to increase the centring effect/overcome moderate misalignments on narrow blades - one downside may be that the line of cut becomes much more affected by where the band locates on the tyre in normal running.

[Peter Kelly]

Peter, I would be interested in knowing that part number as well. We seem to take calls on older S45's all the time.

Thanks, Erik

The knob in the manual looks to be an M10 so I strongly suspect the English equivalent spring would be 1" OD x 1/2" ID x 3" L. If no one else does, I'll verify this when I get back in the shop.

Parts Pronto lists the replacement spring cost at, drumroll....$54(!) Think I'm in the wrong business.

[Erik Loza]

The knob in the manual looks to be an M10 so I strongly suspect the English equivalent spring would be 1" OD x 1/2" ID x 3" L. If no one else does, I'll verify this when I get back in the shop.

Parts Pronto lists the replacement spring cost at, drumroll....$54(!) Think I'm in the wrong business.

*painful groan on the pricing*

I just don't understand Italy's logic on pricing parts. Yes, some parts can handle a 400% or 500% markup and still be priced competitively but this spring is probably like $10 at Grainger once we figure out what exactly it is....

Erik

[Christopher Charles]

Howdy

I've a 2008 b-18 and have yet to find it lacking. The fit and finish are not quite the same as the mm16, but I have no regrets. Runs carbide well.

C

[Peter Kelly]

Peter, I would be interested in knowing that part number as well. We seem to take calls on older S45's all the time.

Thanks, Erik

The spring in a S45 can be replaced with a 3/4" OD 3/8" ID x 2-1/2" Heavy Duty Die Spring. $5.18 + shipping from Fastenal https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/0345115

Just bought one and it fit perfectly.

Actually the exact same thing as a Carter "Cobra Coil" which is nothing more than a "yellow" heavy grade die-spring. Great product but nobody should pay $25 for these.

[Earl McLain]

Thanks for bringing this back up Peter--there is an S45 that showed up on local CL a few days ago, the guy is asking $900. I picked up a Laguna 14SE (made in Bulgaria in 2004) last fall--but the S45 would be a nice step up and i could probably trade up at not too much out of pocket once i sold the Laguna. I've not contacted the seller yet...maybe i'll have to do that after all!!
earl

[Chris Parks]

Thanks Peter, much appreciated, now I need to fabricate a decent tensioner handle/wheel for it.

[Erik Loza]

Peter: THANK YOU...

Erik