Used 20" Jet Bandsaw advice?

[Brian Kent]

I am about to check out a used 20" Jet bandsaw. I have no experience with bandsaws and I do not want to make a hobby out of rebuilding tools. I have the checklist from the Bandsaw book and will not buy it if I see any damage or obvious wear beyond paint and tires.

Does anyone have either warnings or encouragement about buying this tool for $600. (My current plan if I do not buy this one is to buy a Grizzly G0513X2 in a couple of months).

I just talked with the seller. It is about 15-16 years old. Blue paint job. He says it works and just needs oiling since he has used a different saw in the last year.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Roy Wall]

I am about to check out a used 20" Jet bandsaw. I have no experience with bandsaws and I do not want to make a hobby out of rebuilding tools. I have the checklist from the Bandsaw book and will not buy it if I see any damage or obvious wear beyond paint and tires.

Does anyone have either warnings or encouragement about buying this tool for $600. (My current plan if I do not buy this one is to buy a Grizzly G0513X2 in a couple of months).

Brian - I looked this tool up and it has a 2 hp 230v motor. If you are not wanting more than a 12" resaw - this saw should be pretty good. It is definately in the clone of the newer Powermatics - as WMH tool group owns both JET AND PM.

A 20" BS is a nice size saw to have. The extra table space is nice. If you can run it and make a few cuts that would be preferable. If the seller has it well tuned, it should serve you well. For general work, nothing heavy, I imagine its pretty solid. Higher tension blades like Lenox TriMaster are probably off limits - as the frame is just not stiff enough.

SO - I'd say its a light duty saw, not that this is a bad thing.

[Brian Kent]

Roy,

Thanks for your response. Now I just want to know what a heavy duty bandsaw is if a 500lb 20" saw is light duty. I believe you - I'm just surprised.

Do you have any opinion about quality and risk differences between this 15-16 year old saw for $600 and the Grizzly 17" G0513X2 for $950?

It seems OK. I just have a gut-level warning. I have the money for the used one today or the new one next month, so the price difference is not really significant.

[Mike Cutler]

Brian

You really do have to go take a look. Given a choice between the 2 I'd take the Jet if there was nothing wrong with it. No slam on Grizzly. Bigger is better with bandsaws for me.
One more thing that may "sweeten" the deal for you is if the used saw comes with blades. Blades for a bandsaw that size aren't going to be cheap. Something to consider.
Look for the wheels to turn freely and for the machine not to try to vibrate itself to death. Look for the guide to go up and down and not twist or angle. Make sure the guide bearings, or blocks are equidistance from the blade. Listen to the saw while the blade is being tensioned. does it make any popping noises.
Unfortunately your inexperience does work against you, but if the person really wants to sell it to you. Have them "demo" it for you.
If I was selling a saw of that vintage I'd be prepared to do some resawing on hardwoods to demonstrate that it is working and tuned properly. Resawing is tough on a bandsaw. If it can resaw uniformally, it's a good indicator that it's at least close to being properly setup.
The seller is asking a fairly good amount for the saw. He should be prepared to "sell it to you".

Is it a light duty bandsaw? Yes. Bandsaws can be enormous. It is though a good size for a home shop. Outside of a production enviorment, or some very special criteria, ie cutting large blanks for turning, a bandsaw that size will probably be big enough to meet your needs.