SCM is indicating that they will have some show incentives (and they have two booths, side by side, one larger than the other) so hopefully that will bring something toward the bandsaw cost if you decide on the MiniMax MM20, which is a great machine.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Well, AWFS is over and I have a S500P on order direct from SCM. I met Sam Blasco and he took great care of me; I got a good deal, more than enough to offset the cost of shipping and sales tax. It should be here next week, so I need to order a Woodmaster CT for it. My neighbor is already interested in my Grizzly.
Sam's good people, really helped me out with my order and questions after the sale (that last part is most important!).
This is 18.5" wide white oak and came off my minimax with a dulling CT Woodmaster (it was replaced 5 days later).
The new blade started by resawing 40ft of 12" wide QS white oak, which took me less than 20 minutes.
So, you will really enjoy your saw, congrats.
Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 07-23-2017 at 9:12 AM.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
Congratulations, Dave! And yea...Sam is great!
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Well, so far, so good. The saw was delivered a week ago and the blades came a couple of days later. I got a Woodmaster CT and two Woodmaster GT steel blades for backup/rough work. A couple of neighbors came over and helped with the uncrating and setup, and the next day brought a trailer over and moved my 17" Grizzly over to my next door neighbor's place. He's going to use it for sawing up turning blanks as that's 90% of what he does and he was thrilled to be able to buy the saw from me.
I set up the blades using the handout Sam Blasco emailed me using the flutter method, and it cuts very well. I'm happy with the purchase and looking forward to using the saw for a long time. The only problem I have with it is the low (35" or so) table height so I'm going to glue up and mill a couple of skids to go under the base to raise it up to 39" or so (I'm 6'5"). The other is the dust collection; there is only one port on the side below the lower guides. I'm thinking of hole sawing a 4" port on the lower back and adding a second dust port at the bottom of the lower wheel; any thoughts on whether or not it would structurally compromise the saw? The Grizzly saws have a second port in that location and very little sawdust gets out of the saw.
From an Old woodworking machines standpoint...Powermatic 87 20 inch bandsaw, made in 1979. 2 HP 3 phase motor with a VFD...cannot get it to bog down. Will resaw anything....
That being said, If it were me I would want even larger/more powerful. Thinking I would not mind a larger MINImax, Grizzly, or other Italian bandsaw at some point.
Good luck in your search!