How to choose the right bandsaw

Chris C

Chris
Senior User
"IF you get a good one" tells me all I need to know. The bias is plainly obvious despite your lack of empirical evidence. And that's my issue.

You discuss all the tools you've used and the reasons you don't like them. Excellent. That's a review I can get behind. But I suggest you need to be clear when you talk about a tool that you've never used or never owned.

Specifications don't tell the entire story. The talking heads on the internet and the complainers certainly don't tell the entire story. Blanket statements about problems you've never experienced or issues you've never seen are not helpful to the OP or anyone that follows.

I'd agree that Grizzly is a price point tool. But I don't see what the issue is with that. Not everybody can or wants to spend tens of thousands of dollars on Laguna sliding table saws and Hammer jointer-planers just to build a bookcase or a plant stand.

Do my Grizzly tools have cheap Chinese bearings? Can I balance a nickel on my my 513x2 bandsaw? They answer to those questions is....who cares? I'm working wood not doing brain surgery. The OP is looking for a tool that will do just that. Let's try to help him out without mudding the waters with conjecture and speculation.
 

Ray2.0

New User
Never good enough
Wow , looks like I started a hurricane about different brands , needles to say that wasn’t my intention , but I get it , some folks have a very strong opinion about some brand and others just never had a problem with that specific brand/ model .
It’s all good and it shows the difference of opinion depending of each user with a specific tool

Now that I’ve got a serious amount of suggestions , all a little different form the previous one , it’s true that a used saw could have already been fixed / adjusted to perform the way one expect it to
I have been looking at CRAIGSLIST for a little while and acutely I saw a couple that got my attention , but before I could make a decision it was gone ,on other case it was a little above of what I thought I could handle and just ignored it
for some reason , the RIKON saws a very rare to come in for sale , Laguna saws are a brand that it seems that the present owners still think they have a one of a kind price wise
The other brands seems to be of very small resaw capacity ( I’m more inclined to a 12” RC)
Then some are from Grizzly / Laguna / Powermatic / but they tend to be bigger than what I’m interested , more saw more $
I’m intrigued by the saw MINI MAX , it seems to be a good old Italian brand that I have no idea on how to get parts for it , just in case one ever needs and it will for sure happen soon or later
About those places in CA that do auction those items , I’ve not look into that yet , but I will look around for it

Some of you aren’t sure where I’m located , I happen to be on the LEFT OF THE LEFT COAST , AKA San Francisco BAY AREA , I know , but that’s where we landed when we first came to USA
Thanks everyone for the advise and suggestions , I’m so happy I found this forum
 

Chris C

Chris
Senior User
You know us woodworkers.... never a shortage of opinions. But no worries as we tend to keep things very civil here. One of the best attributes of this site.
 

golfdad

Co-director of Outreach
Dirk
Corporate Member
Every Grizzly I have purchased has been spot on. I have there 3hp cabinet saw, 14 BS, drill press and 2hp dust collector.
 

Ray2.0

New User
Never good enough
I went for a 3 HP Harvey ( I had 220) as I liked the guides better than the Rikon or Laguna.

The above paragraph is from a post by ( TVRGEEK ) , I did Google the brand ( Based in souther CA ) and I was very impressed with the smallest unit ( AMBASSADOR C14 ) with a 3HP !
I even contacted their office just by curiosity and colect more info
It really looks like a well tuned and with fine finishes mechanically and visually , for $1849:00 plus $359:00 shipping and of course the dreaded TAXES , that’s for a brand new one
By looking into that info , now I need to discover a used one for sale and hope for the best , all of this uncontrollable salivating because of you , it’s all your fault mister TVRGEEK ! :)

Thanks again for all the help TVRGEEK
 

Reference Handiwork

New User
Ref
I went for a 3 HP Harvey ( I had 220) as I liked the guides better than the Rikon or Laguna.

The above paragraph is from a post by ( TVRGEEK ) , I did Google the brand ( Based in souther CA ) and I was very impressed with the smallest unit ( AMBASSADOR C14 ) with a 3HP !
I even contacted their office just by curiosity and colect more info
It really looks like a well tuned and with fine finishes mechanically and visually , for $1849:00 plus $359:00 shipping and of course the dreaded TAXES , that’s for a brand new one
By looking into that info , now I need to discover a used one for sale and hope for the best , all of this uncontrollable salivating because of you , it’s all your fault mister TVRGEEK ! :)

Thanks again for all the help TVRGEEK
I'm glad you landed on your target! I found that I had way better luck encountering quality used tools on the west coast, so I hope that's the case for you with this search.
 

Ray2.0

New User
Never good enough

Thats me again , I found this add on a Craigslist , just wonder what’s the general opinion on this brand and specific model , I can install the 6” extension and just keep it there for the bigger resaw jobs , so I don’t have to keep two blades lengths
just one thing is bugging me , will the extention block prevent the guides from getting closer to the table when needed .

Thanks for your info
 

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