I've been looking into buying my first bandsaw.
Am I overthinking this?
I'm a hobbyist. I only got into woodworking, when I started guitarbuilding during dental school. I found that accurately dimensioning curly maple on a tv table doesn't work very well. Since then, I've been slowly trying to plan out my ideal shop (one with actual dust collection, lighting, etc).
At it's heart will probably be a bandsaw and my recently acquired Walker Turner press.
I've had the chance to buy a 24" cast iron monster band saw with a 3 hp, single phase motor a couple weeks ago (it was about 120 miles away). Now I have the chance to buy a disassembled 20" Crescent bandsaw (in the same city) with a 1hp, three-phase motor.
The thing is, I'm an amatuer woodworker. I'll probably never be more than a hobbiest.
My friend Ervin told me that he doesn't see the need for more than an old Delta 14" with a riser...and he's the best luthier that I know.
I'm honestly somewhat confused.
I drive a Corolla. I'm a dentist. My garage is wired for 220 V, single phase.
I want to build guitars, and I really don't want to risk injuring myself, particularly my hands.
This would be for making jigs, resawing, and cutting wood to shape.
I'm also considering moving on, once I get this guitar-building bug out of mys system.
There's an opportunity for me to help my community in a very exciting way, and it's drawing me from woodworking.
Should I buy and restore the Crescent or hold off for an old Delta?
-Matthew
ps. This isn't the most pressing matter in the world.
pps. My mentor has never owned a bandsaw. He only uses a cabinetsaw for his cabinetwork.