Band saw recommendations

[eyup]

Hi guys,

Does anyone have any recommendations for a band saw, floor standing so must include legs/base, minimum of 300mm/12inch? Budget is, at a stretch £600, but would ideally come a little lower than that.

Main use will be DIY so its doesnt have to be rugged trade quality but will be used often as it is for someone who will retire soon and wants to get back to their old woodworking days.

Any suggested models/brands would be most appreciated.

Thank you

 

[wotan]

Have a look on ebay, for a 'Wadkins bandsaw' these are probably the best you can buy.

Wotan

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Have a look on ebay, for a 'Wadkins bandsaw' these are probably the best you can buy.

Sorry, Wotan, but that's a pointless thing to suggest because Wadkin never sold bandsaws as small as that. The smallest bandsaw they sold (at least after WWII) was the MZC, a 16in cast-iron machine weighing in at about 450kg...... Unless you count the imported Tradesman monstrosity they imported for a short time in the 1980s (real pile of wossit they were, too)

The OP asked about 12in bandsaws and I'd say look at both Elektra-Beckum (sorry, Metabo these days) and Scheppach. Metabo have a nice littel home workshop machine the BAS317 which is well within your budget. I haven't used that one but I have worked in a place where we had the next model up - it wasn't industrial, but it had the power for what we were doing. Similarly Scheppach do their Basato 3, an altogether larger machine which is also within your budget. Finally I'd suggest perusing the Axminster Power Tools website for their bandsaws, which have gained a reasonable reputation. I know that you could get a secondhand Startrite 352 14in machine within your budget, and whilst I rather like them (I've had two in the past) the condition of many of the second-hand examples I've seen leaves a lot to be desired.

Whatever you do, budget £40 to £50 for some decent blades. I'd recommend talking to Dragon Saws ([email protected]) as they do super blades. Remember that band saw mmanufacturers always seem to overstate the capacity of their saws, so if they say it will take a 3/4in saw, assume that in reality it will actually only tension a 5/8in or 1/2in saw (or one size down). That applies across the board

PS By 12in I assumed you were talking about wheel size (that's what is normally meant by the size( and not depth of cut.

 

[Norcon]

The new Basato 3h vario offers you a 205 mm depth of cut

eyup wrote

minimum of 300mm

With the Axminster range your into the industrial range before you acheive a 300mm depth of cut costing above £1000.

My Metabo cost about £1100 and has a 290mm depth capacity.

The Startrite 502E is £1150 (ex vat) and has 335mm under the guides.
Another contender in that price range is the Hammer N4400 which retails at £1275 and depth of cut is 310mm.

As the N4400 is aimed at the more professional user they fit a 3kw motor in comparison to the 2.4kw startrite model, so some upgrades to the electrics may be needed for the basic user.
A lot of optional extra's with the hammer also.

Edit- Just seen J&K's post.
If its wheel size or throat depth then ignore my post.

 

[eyup]

Thank you for the replies. This is were my lack of knowledge on the subject will let me down! As this is intended as a gift for someone who has done an awful lot of work for us for free I want to make sure it is good quality while providing a surprise. However, I appreciate I have a lot of research to do before I buy so thought I would come to you knowledgable bunch as a start.

In terms on size given it was taken from the example he picked out of a draper catalogue, that being bs 315 as per http://www.toolstop.co.uk/draper-76237-bs315-315mm-740w-240v-two-wheel-bandsaw-p10137 plus the stand. This is well within budget even buying the stand. Is it a good option? I always feel draper is a reasonable name but maybe not quite were it used to be.

 

[Harbourwoodwork]

I have a startrite 301 the guides are a bit of an art to set up but the rest is good ,I wouldn't go near anything with a flimsy bed unless its for site work and has to be light enough to carried I have used the De walt for site work but only light stuff and template cutting and that was fine if I had to buy another workshop bandsaw I would take a look at axminster one's cast bed's and the guides look good