Help with deciding which Bandsaw to get....

[Jeff Duncan]

My only thought is to at least reconsider your plan of attack. You are ending up with a lesser saw in any of the 3 options, and that should be the last resort. I would see if there's work arounds to get your Northfield shipped. I'm thinking even if you have to partially disassemble, it would still be worth it to keep a saw you already own and presumably know well. Just taking the table and top wheel off would remove a lot of weight on a saw that size.

This is where you may find some good advice back over at OWWM, there are a lot of guys there very knowledgeable about moving big machines like yours. My first thought is to design a crate that would allow you to tip the saw on it's side fully cradled and supported. Have 2 timbers running the full length of the bottom of the crate with one end curved up. Then you could use the tractor to pull the crate like a sled instead of lifting straight up! Just one option...I'm sure those smarter than me can offer even more.

May sound crazy, but then again the Egyptians built pyramids out of stones weighing many tons without tractors.....where there's a will, there's a way

good luck,
JeffD

[Ryan Carpenter]

Thanks for the thoughts Jeff, I am of the same mind as you. However I have moved this saw several time and am pretty good at it at this point. The first time I did it was with the help of some guys at OWWM. I took off the top wheel tables etc and drove it crated upright on a trailer from New York to TX. My big problem is not getting it to PNG but rather getting it from port to point of use. Where this will most likely end up is 12 hours up a river by boat, or 2 hrs from port by puddle jumper plane. Since there is no way to fit this in a Cessna, and I don't have the money to pay the govt to fly it out in a Chinook Heli, the only other option would be by boat and the saw weighs twice what the boats can hold. There is a barge we could pay to use but then how do I get this up a twelve foot bank out of a barge onto muddy ground at the top with only a tractor with a 2100lb lift rating on the bucket. I could wait till it floods and the be able to get the barge over the bank but then I cant use the tractor to unload it so....... While I know there is a way, I have seen many things find the bottom of the river very quickly and would rather be safe than sorry.

Trust me when I say I have been over and over and over this. I can't afford to ship this only to get it in country and not be able to move it. I love this saw and the way it works. It is hard to let it go. I know its value and I know that whoever gets it in trade is getting a amazing deal, for that matter while I am happy to trade what I have been offered is a little less than I had hoped for. But I need a saw that will do close to what I have done with my Northfield and I need it to be no cash out of pocket so what is offered is what I have to consider and work with. I had really hoped someone would have a 24" Northfield to trade wouldn't that be a perfect world! Or a newish MM24 or 28 since those are more on par with the value of my saw however once again what I have is what I have to work with. What the heck I will put an add up here and....

If I had time to sit on it for sale I would love to and then maybe with the money I could buy something outright but since I need to have this shipping container ready to go in the next few weeks I don't have that time and am stuck in a big pickle. My income is based on donations and so is my budget for tools hence the trade aspect, if I had cash to buy another saw I would and then I would have a friend sell the Northfield for me. I don't have those options at the moment. Unless that is someone here wants to donate to the cause and then I would be happy to give you a tax receipt for it and all in the world would be better. That is a joke, but only sort of , really.

So all in all I will go look at the saws today and see what I think about them give them a good run over and go from there. I am leaning towards the Laguna but then again the weight of the SCMI and I could do this for a while so I think whatever one is in the best shape is what I will go with for now.... Thanks for all of the comments and help so far.

Oh I started an album with a few pics from PNG to give some bearing on it all. I'll add more later.

[Brian Kincaid]

Ryan,
Do you have any idea what your Northfield would weigh if you removed the table, wheels, and motor? I removed the wheels and table from my Grizz to uncrate it safely and it was really easy to move by myself. If I had removed the motor it would have been a joke. You are right that none of the saws you are considering (mine included) is in the same class as your Northfield. Likely because none exist.

Your saw starts at 2800lbs ?
How about a pontoon boat/sled that you can pull up the bank with a come-along?
So, just how much can you disassemble on that beast?
-Brian

[Myk Rian]

but then how do I get this up a twelve foot bank out of a barge onto muddy ground at the top with only a tractor with a 2100lb lift rating on the bucket.

Ropes, pulleys, and skids.

[Van Huskey]

I am the first to say keep the Northfield BUT the logistics sound scary! Knowing how much of a pain heavy iron is to move in the US with any moving asset available with at worst and exchange of money the thoughts of being in a jungle with the conditions as described would make me wonder if gravity and friction might not get the best of me. The barge owner would probably give me a couple of kina and use it as an anchor.

[Ryan Carpenter]

You are all right to an extent. I know this is a good deal not for me, and I wish it were easier to keep this thing but, it is something that I am not going to agonize to much over , I may have night mares but not to much agonizing. As far as the barge driver giving me a few Kina for a boat anchor I think the barge driver would more likely charge me for making him loose face, not pay for an anchor that would sink his boat. It is partly logistics and partly I just can't afford the risk, and partly with 10 machines in the 900+ lb weight range I don't need the hastle of another one if I have bandsaw mill that can cut all my big lumber needs. I need something that is going to be easy to do some basic resaw work on and easier to move than the northfield.

[Van Huskey]

One must do what one has to do. It works for you since you get what you need which ultimately represents more value to you than a saw that can't meet your needs.

[Andrew Joiner]

Ryan, I hate to derail this thread, but I have a suggestion. We all work so differently. There's a lot of experience here. Could you maybe start a new thread detailing the actual things to be built? From what you've said so far I would think your sawmill could produce all the stock needed. I think of resawing being valuable for finer work.

I'm sure you know what you need,but there's a ton of excellent woodworkers here that could help your creative process.