Band saw help

I am looking to purchase a band saw. Before I just jump into it I thought I would ask some of the good people here their suggestions. I have seen plenty of cheap 9" band saws. I was wondering if these saws are even worth purchasing? Would have enough power ( mostly around 2.5 to 3 amps) to cut through a piece of neck stock? Would I be better off trying to find a 14" or bigger?

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  • cool, nice job on that fence. I thought about making my own, but until I get some more woodworking experience under my belt I am going to go with an aftermarket fence. I went ahead and ordered a Kreg fence. Until I recieve it I can practice using a craftsman table saw fence. I have been able to put a small shim between the table saw fence and lock down the lever. however it is not very accurate and a pain in the behind to get perpendicular. Thank you for all the help Paul and everyone else too.
    Paul Doug said:
    OKAY!, you want cheap. This is a fence I made for an old craftsman band saw I had years ago. Got the plans out of an old woodworking magazine of some kind, probably "Wood". Made out of scrap popular. It served me very well for years. Doesn't fit my current BS. Anyway, it is very square and you can adjust it for blade drift. I keep it just for sentimental reasons.



    Greg Miller said:
    LoL cherry pickers can come in mighty handy. Wouldnt really help me though on a gravel driveway. I had to hand truck the box to the porch and then slide it up with all might onto the porch and into the door way. Luckily as I was contemplating on how to get it down the steps to the basement a freind showed up. What timing!!! He helped me set it up too. It wasnt too hard to get set up and seems to run great. real smooth and quiet. Its like cutting butter. One problem though is a rip fence was not included. I hate to pay over a hundred bucks for a rip fence. Anyone know where to get a cheap rip fence?


    Paul Doug said:
    Congrats! You will love it. You need a cherry picker. I have a Harbor Freight I bought years ago. It does all my heavy lifting. When I brought home my Steel City Uni-saw, I lifted the box an go it moved half way through the door, than I took the CP apart went in through another door with it, put it back together inside the house, lifted the saw again and moved it on into the house. A must have tool for us little guys.


    http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=35915
  • Just saw this one (hehehe, nice pun, yes?). If you're working on a budget, Skil makes a really nice bandsaw for about $100. It's done just about everything I need it to. For guitar making, what you really want to look for is the deepest throat you can find (distance between the blade and the back of the neck).
  • OKAY!, you want cheap. This is a fence I made for an old craftsman band saw I had years ago. Got the plans out of an old woodworking magazine of some kind, probably "Wood". Made out of scrap popular. It served me very well for years. Doesn't fit my current BS. Anyway, it is very square and you can adjust it for blade drift. I keep it just for sentimental reasons.

    Greg Miller said:
    LoL cherry pickers can come in mighty handy. Wouldnt really help me though on a gravel driveway. I had to hand truck the box to the porch and then slide it up with all might onto the porch and into the door way. Luckily as I was contemplating on how to get it down the steps to the basement a freind showed up. What timing!!! He helped me set it up too. It wasnt too hard to get set up and seems to run great. real smooth and quiet. Its like cutting butter. One problem though is a rip fence was not included. I hate to pay over a hundred bucks for a rip fence. Anyone know where to get a cheap rip fence?


    Paul Doug said:
    Congrats! You will love it. You need a cherry picker. I have a Harbor Freight I bought years ago. It does all my heavy lifting. When I brought home my Steel City Uni-saw, I lifted the box an go it moved half way through the door, than I took the CP apart went in through another door with it, put it back together inside the house, lifted the saw again and moved it on into the house. A must have tool for us little guys.


    http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=35915
  • LoL cherry pickers can come in mighty handy. Wouldnt really help me though on a gravel driveway. I had to hand truck the box to the porch and then slide it up with all might onto the porch and into the door way. Luckily as I was contemplating on how to get it down the steps to the basement a freind showed up. What timing!!! He helped me set it up too. It wasnt too hard to get set up and seems to run great. real smooth and quiet. Its like cutting butter. One problem though is a rip fence was not included. I hate to pay over a hundred bucks for a rip fence. Anyone know where to get a cheap rip fence?

    Paul Doug said:
    Congrats! You will love it. You need a cherry picker. I have a Harbor Freight I bought years ago. It does all my heavy lifting. When I brought home my Steel City Uni-saw, I lifted the box an go it moved half way through the door, than I took the CP apart went in through another door with it, put it back together inside the house, lifted the saw again and moved it on into the house. A must have tool for us little guys.

    http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=35915

    delta14Bandsaw.jpg

  • Congrats! You will love it. You need a cherry picker. I have a Harbor Freight I bought years ago. It does all my heavy lifting. When I brought home my Steel City Uni-saw, I lifted the box an go it moved half way through the door, than I took the CP apart went in through another door with it, put it back together inside the house, lifted the saw again and moved it on into the house. A must have tool for us little guys.

    http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=35915
  • You should'a had a V-8

    Greg Miller said:
    Just purchased a band saw. 14" delta. $400. I am getting ready to set it up now but damn was it heavy, 250 lbs. I am a small guy and had to get this thing into the basement.
  • Just purchased a band saw. 14" delta. $400. I am getting ready to set it up now but damn was it heavy, 250 lbs. I am a small guy and had to get this thing into the basement.
  • I already have a hobby size band saw which I use for cutting glass, its way too small for guitar necks though. If I need fine detail work for wood I can change out the diamond blade for a wood blade.

    Wichita Sam said:
    If you can afford it get 2 band saws.... a larger one for bigger stuff and a small (hobby sized table top) for working with small pieces....
  • If you can afford it get 2 band saws.... a larger one for bigger stuff and a small (hobby sized table top) for working with small pieces....
  • I think the band saw is about my favourite tool. Basically the biggest you can afford, as it gives you all the versatility you might need.

    The small ones work well for small jobs and some fiddly bits; but even then you can change the saw on the large one to do the finer work.
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