What to look for in a band saw and scroll saw

[Gardenmac]

Hope you don't mind but I thought I'd pick your brains. I'm looking at buying a band saw and scroll saw for my hobby workshop. Any advice on what I need to be looking out for would be appreciated.

I'm looking at making band saw boxes and bird boxes from logs using the band saw and christmas ornaments from the band and scroll saw.

Any help in what to look for would be thankfully received.

[Charvercarver]

Hope you don't mind but I thought I'd pick your brains. I'm looking at buying a band saw and scroll saw for my hobby workshop. Any advice on what I need to be looking out for would be appreciated.

I'm looking at making band saw boxes and bird boxes from logs using the band saw and christmas ornaments from the band and scroll saw.

Any help in what to look for would be thankfully received.

 

Unless you are using fairly small logs I'd go for a 14 inch bandsaw, not just for power but for clearance.

 

I make Christmas ornaments on a scroll saw, I use the Axminster 18 inch model. However if you have the money I'd go for a Hegner. The cheaper saws vibrate like mad and don't have the power to do stack cutting. Also look into Flying Dutchman or niqua blades.

[bellringer]

With the bandsaw buy the biggest you can for the money you have

[agg221]

On the bandsaw, buy the one with the biggest wheels you can find - bigger bend radius means less stress on the band and you can usually tension it harder.

 

Reckon on the bands supplied by the manufacturer being useless and talk to Tuffsaws - tuffsaws.co.uk which will give you a big range of high quality bands to choose from.

 

Alec

[bellringer]

i agree with alec tuff saws blade are some of the best

[Stompy]

Whats your budget? I only ask as bandsaws rely upon a solid body to maintain accuracy and function. The cheaper models are made from cheaper sheet metals and are more likely to twist under usage which can cause the blade to wander more or the band to come off the wheels more often. Vibration on any machine causes inaccuracies and poor performance..... hence why the old green cast iron machines are still the best.

 

You may be better off looking for a second hand model, something like an old Startrite or SCM would be great. They do fairly small models with single phase moters that will run off of a 13 amp socket. This are industrial machines and are built like tanks so are solid and when set up correctly will out perform any cheap new model by miles. Check on Ebay, usually pick one up for a couple of hundred quid if you are lucky.

 

The most important bits to look like on bandsaws are the blade guides, the table, the wheel adjustments and the motor.....

 

You need guides above and below the table, they need to be adjustable to guide both sides of the blade and the back running edge. Bearing guides are best but resin blocks are good also, just make sure they are solid and sturdy.

 

The table ideally wants to be cast iron but if sheet steel test that it won't easily twist under load.

 

The wheels need adjustment to centre the band on the wheels and also set blade tension. Also rubber tyres on the wheels prolong blade life and make for smoother running.

 

The motor just needs to be powerful enough to not slow on cuts (although blade condition is a big factor on not putting strain on the motor). Something above 3/4 hp should be fine.

 

Tuffsaws do some very good quality blades at great prices..... I have used them for years and have no complaints.

 

Don't know to much about scroll saws.......

Edited December 30, 2013 by Stompy

[Gardenmac]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I've been looking at the mid range hobby Axminster bandsaw, can't find a supplier up here for the Hegner. I'm a bit old fashioned

in that I like to see before I buy so buying off the net for machines isn't really for me. Ok I like to walk out with what I pay for. I know, I know my lads keep saying get with it dad but its just me.

[Logrod]

I've an Axminster/Jet JWBS 120S bandsaw which I must have had about 10 years. It works fine on curved cuts with a narrow blade, but I struggle with straight cuts with a wider blade in anything that isn't just straight grain (hard to get enough tension/ poor blade guides imho). If I had my time again I'd buy an old machine second hand (It's really the only machine in my garage I'd replace if I had a chance), it's not bad, just not good either!

[Charvercarver]

As others have said I think you would be better off looking for a second hand floor standing model, if you're cutting and shaping logs you'll probably need the sturdiness of a full size model. Axminster do sell the Excalibur scroll saws, though I have seen reports that the ones available this side of the pond are not the best build quality. I would recommend the awfs18 which I have, but unfortunately I've seen poor reports about the version they are now selling. Again I'd have to recommend the second hand route and suggest you try to get a hegner that way.