small but powerful bandsaw: does it exist?

I think its going to depend on your blade and your feed rate for the most part. A small benchtop 10” with a 1/2hp motor will do it with a good blade, such as a 3 TPI 1/2”, but your feed rate is probably going to have to be rather slow.

You could also rip it with a hand saw if you really needed to.

-- Its not a crack, its a casting imperfection.

chrisstef: I’ve actually been doing it by hand now. But without a proper rip saw, it’s a pretty tough job to do well. Luckily though, I take the pieces of wood and put them on my lathe afterwards, so even if the cut is crooked a bit, it’s not too bad.

I was thinking of getting a Ryoba for the job if anything else…50$ and the problem would be solved. And, I don’t have that much to spend on a bandsaw right now. Still, I was wondering if a small but powerful bandsaw does exist.

Fish

-- http://picasaweb.google.ca/dpoisson

I have a little Rikon 10” and I just sliced out a 3” thick Red Oak crochett for my workbench a few months ago. Went very well, and I was using the stock blade. Had a better blade on order, but got impatient. Highland Woodworking has a Wood Slicer blade to fit this saw; and a video of it in action on their website.

I really like this saw. Wish it had greater re-saw capacity but it’s limited to about 4-1/2”.
I have used it to cut some Cherry blanks for bowls to turn on my lathe also. I seem to run out of vertical capacity before I run out of motor.

Sometimes this saw can be purchased for close to $200 on sale. Sears used to sell the same saw with black and silver paint. I have seen the sears version on CL for $100.

crank49, would this be the model you’re talking about?

http://www.sears.ca/product/craftsman-md-10-bench-top-band-saw/609-000437004-351_3_284410

Also, were you crosscutting or ripping a piece of 3’’ thick red oak?

-- http://picasaweb.google.ca/dpoisson

I have a Magna (forerunner of Shop Smith) 11” with a 1/2 hp motor on the power stand. I use a WoodSlicer from Highland, and have resawn some pretty tough stuff with it. I just take my time.
Bill

-- [email protected]

Look for an INCA. They are great.

I bet you can find a used model in your area for cheap. I bumped into a Grizzley 14” on CL for $150. I wish you were closer or in the same country for that matter, ive got an old 10” crafstman thats collected a ton of dust.

-- Its not a crack, its a casting imperfection.

I did a lot of research on the 9” & 10” category bandsaws and finally decided on the Rikon 10-305. Got it from Highland Woodworking along with their 1/2” Woodslicer resaw blade and I couldn’t be happier. This saw sets up like the big guys and works extremely well! Very compact footprint too and plenty heavy enough to not go scooting around the bench. There is a huge difference between the Rikon 10-300 and 10-305 though..beware and don’t buy the 10-300 on Amazon. It won’t take the 1/2” blades and is just not quite as good a model as the 10-305. The 10-305 also has a 4 5/8” throat capacity vs most 9” or 10” bandsaws are limited to 3 5/8” so you get an inch more resaw capacity. I’ve already put a 3” block through it and it didn’t even flinch and resawed 1/4” panels totally uniform with no blade wandering at all. Very, very happy with mine!

-- Handcrafted toys, models & gifts at -- http://www.wolfwoodworks.com

ShopSmith makes an excellent small bandsaw. Normally it is attached to a full sized ShopSmith unit and, hence, it takes up a lot more space than any other band saw.

However, as Bill White mentioned, there are relatively small dedicated stands available for this Shopsmith accessory. There is lots of used ShopSmith tools available on e-bay at good prices.

I mention this because I consider the ShopSmith bandsaw accessory to be exceptionally good.

As an FYI – I have a large 18” Jet bandsaw that is dedicated to resawing and I use a ShopSmith bandsaw for all the small scale, curvy stuff.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

Yes, that Sears machine is the same as the Rikon I have. But, they have it on sale often.

I was cutting a shape out of a red oak 4 layer glue-up (= 3”) which was rip and cross because the layers were stacked cross grain to each other. I was using the stock 1/4” blade, but it was brand new. Not so sharp anymore.

Wolflrv made a good point. Beware the 9” version which looks like this. It has plastic wheels and is way less saw. I was not aware the 10-300 was less. I have the 10-305. I think Jet also sells a saw that looks like another clone, but with a base. It’s about $369 I think. They all have that 4 5/8” height spec.

For what it’s worth, I had an old wood 2 drawer file cabinet that is now the base for my saw. Works great.