When do you hit the "wall" with your bandsaw?

[Dave Lehnert]

I don't think there will ever be an ideal size. Tools you "Need" have gotten bigger and bigger. For example. If reading the woodworking forums 10 -12 years ago the JET 6" jointer was all the rage. Now talk about buying a 6" and people think you are a fool.

[glenn bradley]

Totally subjective and unfortunately, like experience, knowing what bandsaw you "need" often comes after you need the knowledge. I have been fine with my 2HP 17" machine. If I could do it again, given the choice of a larger wheel or a larger motor, I would go for another horse even though the machine has done everything I have ever asked of it so, go figger(?).

[Myk Rian]

Tim, it all depends on what you plan to do with your bandsaw. I, for example, have a 14" 1 hp bandsaw. For my current projects it's perfect. Recently I saw a demonstration on bandsaw boxes. They look like they'd be a lot of fun to make, but making them seems to require using two different blades. The guy doing the demonstration suggested that having two bandsaws was the way to go. In his case he had two 14" machines. If I ever want to do some resawing I've decided that perhaps a 20" or 24" Agazzani would be the best way to go. I've seen them demonstrated locally at Eagle Tools and was very impressed with the quality of these machines.

This is exactly what my Niece does. I sold her my 2001 14" Delta w/riser. She uses it to cut the bottoms off her boxes. Her Cman does the rest of the work. Since she makes a living doing that work, it was a big plus for her to have 2 saws.

The only reason I sold her that saw was I acquired a 1966 Delta 14" w/riser, metal/wood model that I restored.
The older Deltas can't be beat.

[Steve H Graham]

When I was band saw shopping, I thought I'd get a 14" saw. That's big by non-tool-lunatic standards. But I saw a nearly-new 19" Shop Fox on Craigslist, and it was cheaper than a new 14" Grizzly. I got the guy down to $850 and took the saw home.

This is a huge saw for an average person, but I found uses for it right away. People here in Miami throw out thick mahogany logs all the time, and I grabbed a bunch and resawed them. With a smaller saw, it would have been impossible. And I have a nice big table to work on, which makes life easier.

If you can find a deal like this on a used saw, I'd say go for it. It's not the finest saw ever made, but at my pace, it will never wear out, and I get beautiful cuts with it (much better than I deserve, given how I maintain it) and it takes up about the same amount of room as a small saw.

Small tools almost always suck, sooner or later.

[Carroll Courtney]

DSC00748.jpgI'm not going to come at you with an intellectual answer,but I second what Greg said that a properly tuned BS will cut most anything you put in front of it.But you also have to know the limits of each size and purchase accordly.I have three different size BS and will be narrowing it down to a 20" is my first choice then a 36" is the second.The 20" will handle from a 1/4 blade to a 1" blade and has all kinds of adjustment for fine tuning.Lets see some pics and hear from you on your choice,and for blades,give Bobby @ www.woodworkerstoolworks.com a chance and ask for his advice----Carroll

[Rod Sheridan]

I went from a 14 inch cast iron clone to a 17" General International band saw, used a lot by Diann for bowl blanks.

I do a reasonable amount of resawing, as well as making veneer, and also use it to mill logs about 1 metre long.

For me

- ability to tension a 3/4" blade

- ability to run a 1/4" blade

- Nice cast iron table

- 2 or 3 HP

- ability to take clip on extension tables for log work or larger pieces.

- easy to adjust guides

- blade brake, either mechanical or electrical.

My present saw doesn't take extension tables, or have a blade brake, and the guides could be a bit easier to adjust.

The 17" GI saw works well, smooth, easy and accurate blade tracking ( no fence fiddling), however I wish I'd bought the Hammer N4400 as it is not much more than the GI and has a 4HP motor, nicer guides, a blade brake, and accepts table extensions.

That said, aside from a calamity of biblical proportions the GI saw is staying the basement, the 17" does everything I'm likely to ask of it.

Regards, Rod.

[Van Huskey]

Bigger CAN be better with a bandsaw...

The thing is if you want ONE bandsaw that is a multi-function saw don't go too big, the constant blade changes get old when you are dealing with 15' plus blades. For me the best hobby shop setup is a 20-24" BS for straight cuts (rip/resaw) and a 14-16" saw for curves and dovetails etc. The smaller sized throat and table don't effect these cuts usually and it is much easier and quicker to change blades on the smaller saw.

If budget permits the big three are Laguna, Minimax and Agazzani. Laguna has the best guides, MM the heaviest construction.

[Callan Campbell]

I am firmly convinced there is no such thing as the perfect bandsaw. If you buy a big machine, 12 inch resaw for example, then you have the wrong blade on when you want to do any kind of fine detail or scroll cutting. Or the reverse can be true.

So my simple answer is to buy 2 bandsaws. One a resaw monster, and the other a benchtop model for finer cuts.

I personally have the monster (Grizzly G0514) and a Delta Shopmaster. Next step will be to replace the Shopmaster with either the Rikon 10 inch, or an older used saw.

+1 on this, bandsaws can easily be like routers, you find that one is just not enough.

[Karl Card]

Some have mentioned that with a larger bandsaw then you have the probolem of needing a smaller blade once in awhile for those very curvy jobs etc. What I did in the beginning was to get a 9 inch bench top bandsaw and a 14 inch floor model. Well I am ditching the 9 inch and keeping th 14 and also the plans are for getting the 17 inch grizzly. I do not need more than a 12 inch resaw ability but I need horsepower bad. I do alot of cutting 2x6 and larger boards in half ( making them 1x6) and 99 percent of these boards are purpleheart, yellowheart, teak, jarrah, all kinds of rosewoods, I assume you get the drift of very hardwoods. I just feel with a good 3 hp saw and the right blade I dont think I will have a problem.

[Tim Brodeur]

Thanks everyone for your comments!

Seems like there are compelling reasons for a monster BS and a more reasonably sized one. Like everyone is mentioning, it all depends.

The general jist I am reading is that depending on what the main uses are going to be, that really dictates the size of the wheels. If I never have a need to be able to cut down a log for a large bowl, then probably 17" BS would do just fine. If I need to rip a 19" board... either throw it on the TS or use a plunge circular saw, etc.

My main goal of this post was hear what really gets under one's skin when trying to do something... so if more "regular" tasks generate a "gee, my saw is too small, now I need to find an alternative to getting this simple job done", that to me dictates and justifies a certain size. If anything, I am hearing, have two. A straight forward 14"er and something larger. Of course, I think after hits their own "wall" on a regular basis, that "something larger" becomes quite apparent!

Again, thanks everyone for their input!!!

-Tim