Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on August 29, 2009 at 6:03am

This Ryobi 9" works great for me

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Permalink Reply by Jerry S. on August 29, 2009 at 6:49am

I have a Rikon 14" Deluxe. I paid $800 for it. A lot of money, I know, but it is well worth it if you do anything else. If you were only making CBG's then a 9" will be okay, but it won't be much fun trying to rip a neck from a bigger piece of wood. And, just like anything else, once you have a tool you start finding other things to do with it. And when that happens, if you get a small saw, you'll wish you had the bigger one. There are times I wonder if I really needed that $800 saw. But then I go fire it up and cut anything I want, from almost any size/type of wood and all those thoughts disappear. You really do get what you pay for with band saws.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Doug on August 29, 2009 at 6:51am

Will I'm one for get the biggest and best you can afford. You may want to do some re-sawing sometime and it is nice to have the capability. If you think that will never happen than one of the smaller ones will surely handle guitar necks.

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Permalink Reply by philip on August 29, 2009 at 7:46am

I'm new here, but have used a few band saws in my day. I agree with paul, get the biggest, best you can afford. The small ones do not handle resawing well.
Check out craigslist etc.

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Permalink Reply by Mortimer Snerd on August 29, 2009 at 8:33am

Purchase the largest you can afford, same goes for air compressors. Stay away from plastic bandsaws. I have found that Craftsman blades are not popular sized to be purchased anywhere but at Sears. I have found a local construction tool supply company to make my blades up while I wait, and cost 50% less then Sears china made blades.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Miller on August 29, 2009 at 9:35am

Thanks for all the help. I will search for a 14" then. Or bigger if I can find a good deal. The cratftsman saws all look to have a very short thickness cut. So I was leaning towards a different brand. I didnt know the blades werent standard however.

I could definitely use it for other things around the house. Resawing? that is like making veneer isnt it?

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Permalink Reply by Mortimer Snerd on August 29, 2009 at 10:00am

I wish,, I had one that would rip a 8" board so I could book match maple for guitar tops. Maybe some day,,,,,,

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Permalink Reply by Paul Doug on August 29, 2009 at 10:27am

Also try to get one that you can put riser blocks on. Increases the cutting height. Resawing is resawing thick wood to strips of the thickness you want.

Greg Miller said:

Thanks for all the help. I will search for a 14" then. Or bigger if I can find a good deal. The cratftsman saws all look to have a very short thickness cut. So I was leaning towards a different brand. I didnt know the blades werent standard however.

I could definitely use it for other things around the house. Resawing? that is like making veneer isnt it?

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Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on August 29, 2009 at 11:12am

How big of a piece of wood are you guys cutting? Neck stock guys. 1"x2"x3'.

Mort, I know what you make. You need the biggest ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Brian Lemin on August 29, 2009 at 2:34pm

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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Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on August 29, 2009 at 3:26pm

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....

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Permalink Reply by Greg Miller on August 29, 2009 at 5:48pm

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....

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