Best bandsaw and drill press for the money.

[Mike Glaze]

Mike...
You live in Utah... your in luck. Try Machinery Consultants in Salt Lake. Also, there are a number of woodworking machinery companies in salt lake that deal in both used and new. Should have some tips in the yellow pages. I recall about 5 years ago running across a mint condition, late model oliver table saw with every gizmo onboard for $1750. And it was M-I-N-T!

But your points are well taken. You did ask what was the best drill press out there. Without a doubt that is the clausing and its still being made.

Dev Emch

I will visit Machinery Consultants to see what they have. Thanks for your helpful information.

I'm going to setup a decent shop in my garage. I do plan on buying some of the vintage hand tools like a Stanley Bailey No 4 bench plane, Stanley 750 chisel set(good dealer for this type of stuff?). I have narrowed it down to a DeWalt DW 788 scroll saw. A good drill press, a good bandsaw and a good tablesaw model is up in the air as far as what I will end up buying. Later on in a couple of years I plan on getting a lathe and have looked at the Vicmarc carried by a specialty wood turning company in Provo Utah.

I'm not a beginning woodworker. I just never have bought many of the large wood working machines and had them at home. I have worked at a company that built guitars years ago and in reality I'm a novice woodworker and an expert in the finishing department. So feel free to recommend anything you prefer to me because this will help me narrow it down to what I end up buying.

Thanks

Mike

[Paul Comi]

I have the 0513 Grizzly and compared to the 14" saw I had before its wonderful. I have also heard good things from people who have bought the Rikon saw in this range. For my buck, I either went for the Grizzly or went all the way and bought a Laguna. I just couldn't justify a Laguna being a hobby woodworker.

[Ronald Ulrich]

Mike;
I would agree with one of the posts on the Delta 14", closed stand. The adjustment is wonderful and would purchase the tool again. The dust collection works is why I purchased the bandsaw. Easy to put blades on, the Delta blade didn't last long before it broke. The blade tracks well and no fiddling with it to make it work right out of the box.

Happy woodworking.
ron ulrich

[Mike Glaze]

Hi Mike,

I have pondered about posting a reply to your question. For the price range you are considering I believe the Grizzly is an excellent choice. However, much would depend on your intended use of the saw. Resawing large pieces can be very challenging for some saws and that is why you often see folks that look for such a capability go for the Laguna's or Mini Max's.

Chris Barton

I mostly plan on sawing 1/2" on up to 4" material most of the time with the bandsaw. I may cut a 8" square block once in awhile to square it up to the exact dimension I need. I do not plan on resawing 12" wide boards as an example.

Thanks

Mike

[Mike Glaze]

I have the 0513 Grizzly and compared to the 14" saw I had before its wonderful. I have also heard good things from people who have bought the Rikon saw in this range. For my buck, I either went for the Grizzly or went all the way and bought a Laguna. I just couldn't justify a Laguna being a hobby woodworker.

The Grizzly fits my needs and budget. The Laguna is wonderful, but it is very expensive and far more bandsaw than I really need. Four to five years from now I may need something like the Laguna if I get into resawing wide boards, but I have no plans of doing that in the near future.

I'm going to be cutting 1/2" on up to 4" material most of the time on the bandsaw and I may square up something like an 8" block of wood once in awhile.

Mike

[Paul B. Cresti]

Mike,
In reading two of your posts you stated you wanted a high quality saw that you could put through heavy use and then you also stated that you will be ripping up to 4" thick stock. I think you may seriously want to consider a Italian bandsaw and more specifically, MM, in which I have just a wee-bit of bias towards A real rigid bandsaw with a 1" carbide blade is a ripping monster. My bandsaw is my go to machine for all my rough ripping. Yes I do use it for resawing for veneers but also use it to save wood by buying larger stock and resawing them into the thickness I need instead of planning. What also happens is by buying extremely over sized stock you can resaw that stock into multiple parts and have the wood match throughout the peice you are working on.

[Charlie Plesums]

I have the Grizzly G0555 with riser block. Great saw for the money. It replaced the Jet 14 inch because of more features, same basic frame, and someone wanted to buy the Jet. The Jet replaced a benchtop bandsaw which wasn't worth the plastic it was made from.

BUT as Paul said, it sounds like you will be making heavy use of it. And as much as I like the Grizzly, I still lust after the MiniMax 20 inch. The difference in quality is greater than the difference in price. I bought a MiniMax combo, and even my wife said I should have bought it 30 years earlier, because of safety, accuracy, and productivity - even though it cost 30 times as much as my previous contractor saw. I expect the same increase in accuracy and productivity when I finally upgrade bandsaws.

If the budget is limited, but your use is as heavy as it sounds, I would get the Grizzly, recognizing it is a great interim machine until you can get a heavy duty unit to match your heavy duty use. One that takes carbide blades. One that can tension a blade to high levels, etc. etc.

[Robert Waddell]

Mike,
The Rikon 18" or the Grizzly 17" Model 0513 is the most bang for the buck out there. I have been using the Griz for over a year and love it. The Rikon has cast iron wheels and may be a little heavier machine over all. If the Rikon had been available when I was looking I would have bought it. Either of them would do a good job for you.

Drill presses are not much to obsess over. Most any of them will do the job.

[tod evans]

mike, when you said you plan on working with 4-8 inch stock please dissregard my earlier post on a bandsaw. the minimax mm16 isn`t under a grand but for fat hardwood it`s where you need to start looking in order to get good life out of your tool and be happy with your purchase..02 tod