Variable Speed Bansaw - Woodworking Advantages?

[James Malcolm]

I was originally considering getting a Grizzly GO640X bansaw, the model with the inverter that runs a 3ph motor off 1ph and allows you to vary the speed with a knob on the upright. After reading comments about the risks of mixing wood and metal, I've pretty much decided that I would only use it for woodworking. So my question is, are the enough advantages in woodworking to justify this degree of speed adjustability or am I just as well off getting a more standard model with only 2 speeds? I'm looking at a bandsaw mostly for resawing, walnut and cherry mostly, but obviously would be using it also for profile cutting. It's about 50% increase in cost getting the variable speed of the GO640X compared with a Grizzly GO513X2F. On the other hand, maybe I would just get something like the Laguna LT14 or LT14SUV for the 14" resaw height...

[Curt Harms]

I don't really see the advantage to variable speed for woodworking. I believe the two speed is either to compensate for lack of power when resawing (kinda like downshifting going up hill) and/or cutting non-ferrous metals e.g. brass & aluminum. For wood, faster is better IMO. Try varying your feed rate when resawing. On my saw at least +-2900 F.P.M.) a slower feed rate will produce a smoother surface. I wondered why the big old industrial bandsaws had blade speeds of 5000 F.P.M. and more. Now I know.

[David Kumm]

For wood only there is no big advantage to variable speed. Even two speed is kind of redundant. You will get used to feeding wood at the proper speed depending on the blade, number of teeth and width and type of wood. There are so many variables that you can adjust without altering the blade speed. Save your money for a better single speed saw. Dave

[Forrest Bonner]

Could be that it doesn't make much difference. But my personal experience with my ShopSmith bandsaw is that having a continuous variable speed allows me to cut various materials with different blades. ShopSmith publishes a recommended speed for materials and blade size.
Forrest