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- Feb 28, 2011
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I have been using a small Craftsman bandsaw for years, and while it is doing things mostly ok, it has never been as precise as I like, and I have all these boards, logs etc around I would like to resaw. Did not find anything I liked on Craigslist in the past 6 months, and becoming a member of the local woodworking places just for access to a band saw does not make financial sense. Of course, I know I should not be too cheap on tools, but I am not sure I want to spend $1,350 on a saw... So does anybody have any recommendations?
Thinking about a 14" saw with 10-12" resaw capacity, preferably with a decent fence, has to run on 110V. I need it on casters and it should have a decent dust port. What are your experiences with the lower priced brands like Grizzly or Rikon? They would run between $650 and $900 with at least 1hp and a decent set of features. My current favorite is this newer Rikon model. Most other tools I have are Jet, but those saws seem relatively overpriced. Or I could be done with it and get a Laguna for $1,350 (incl. wheels and tax), but I was really hoping to limit it to under $1K. And while the Laguna seems to play in a higher class, the Rikon runs 2 speeds and comes with a 5-year warranty. The cheapo solution would be something like this Grizzly, definitely a step up from what I have but I have no experience with their reliability, and it has a few limitations that would be compromises again.
Thanks for any tips. I better get a lottery ticket...
Stefan
Thinking about a 14" saw with 10-12" resaw capacity, preferably with a decent fence, has to run on 110V. I need it on casters and it should have a decent dust port. What are your experiences with the lower priced brands like Grizzly or Rikon? They would run between $650 and $900 with at least 1hp and a decent set of features. My current favorite is this newer Rikon model. Most other tools I have are Jet, but those saws seem relatively overpriced. Or I could be done with it and get a Laguna for $1,350 (incl. wheels and tax), but I was really hoping to limit it to under $1K. And while the Laguna seems to play in a higher class, the Rikon runs 2 speeds and comes with a 5-year warranty. The cheapo solution would be something like this Grizzly, definitely a step up from what I have but I have no experience with their reliability, and it has a few limitations that would be compromises again.
Thanks for any tips. I better get a lottery ticket...
Stefan