I am looking at buying a small bench top bandsaw and would be interested in
hearing any recomendations, or ones to avoid!
It will mainly be used for sawing through bone and maybe the occasional piece
of timber.
Now before I get weird emails and knocks at the door by plod, I should explain
that I make bone carvings using beef shinbones or deer antler. After the bone
has been cleaned and processed I need to cut it into small pieces. So nothing
big and heavy needed.
It will be used for the odd bit of wood, but as space in my shed is limited
these wont be large either!!
Was thinking along the lines of Machine Mart or Screwfix, comments welcome.
John

On 31 Aug 2004 18:56:35 GMT, ospam (John) wrote:

I am looking at buying a small bench top bandsaw and would be interested in
hearing any recomendations, or ones to avoid!

I just wouldn't - I've yet to hear of anyone who bought a "small bench
top" bandsaw and found it satisfactory. I'm using a 14" (the old
white Axminster 350) and I really wouldn't want anything smaller.

I also saw bone, although I'm mainly a woodworker - also antler,
buffalo horn, and there's a narwhal I've got my eye on 8-). Slabbing
beef knuckles is certainly making my saw work for its living.

Frame rigidity, guide quality and motor power are all important. If
you're trying to resaw something a few inches deep, so as to prepare
stock, then you need all three of these to be working right. IMHO,
anything with wheels under 14" diameter just doesn't deliver what you
need.

Most 14" machines either work, or can be made to. Poor guides can be
upgraded with Cool Blocks, which are as much guide as that size of
machine ever needs. If the guide fittings are too small or rudimentary
though (the small diameter metal pins in particular), then you're just
stuck with what you have.

If you don't already have it, Mark Duginske's book has some great
advice, particularly on choosing blades.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0806963980/codesmiths

--
Smert' spamionam

"John" wrote in message
...
I am looking at buying a small bench top bandsaw and would be interested in
hearing any recomendations, or ones to avoid!
It will mainly be used for sawing through bone and maybe the occasional
piece
of timber.
Now before I get weird emails and knocks at the door by plod, I should
explain
that I make bone carvings using beef shinbones or deer antler. After the
bone
has been cleaned and processed I need to cut it into small pieces. So
nothing
big and heavy needed.
It will be used for the odd bit of wood, but as space in my shed is
limited
these wont be large either!!
Was thinking along the lines of Machine Mart or Screwfix, comments
welcome.
John

my performance power bandsaw is really quite pants.

mrcheerful

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 20:51:40 +0100, Andy Dingley
wrote:



If you don't already have it, Mark Duginske's book has some great
advice, particularly on choosing blades.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0806963980/codesmiths

There is also a video or DVD to accompany this which is pretty good,
although I am not sure it's available in the UK. I bought mine in
the U.S. and it is also available from amazon.com.

He has another book and video on woodworking machines in general,
although aspects of it such as table saw operation are more geared to
Delta Unisaws et al. The other sections are fairly useful though.





..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl