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Hey folks,

I'm in the market for a bandsaw and am interested in your opinions.

I'm want to get one that's big enough to resaw wood for acoustic guitars.  The ones I looked at let you put 12" under the guide so that is enough. 

What about quality of the saw?  Some have cast iron wheels some don't.  The price difference between the canadian general and the taiwanese king is about $1200.  The General has the cast iron wheels, is it worth the extra dough?

Thanks for any advice.

Stefan

Stefan, where in Canada are you? Also welcome to the OLF

I would say that most of the General tools are built considerably better than the King Canada stuff, more reliable motors, parts are built to a higher tolerance etc...

What is your price range that will really help answer your question better.

Have you looked at this Delta on Amazon, Delta 18" bandsaw it's on sale for $821. might be worth looking into.

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know nothing about the king, but generally speaking you tend to get what you pay for.

things like the type of guides, whether the guides are raised by a rack and pinion or armstrong system, the size and effectivness of the dust collection port, etc., all can have effect on the cost.

a saw a number of folks have bought since its introduction and seem to like is the rikon 14" delux, which also has a 12" resaw capacity.

and as i alwzys say to those thinking of sinking money into stationary tools such as a bandsaw, check out the pre-loved market in your area. stationary tools tend to last a lifetime if they are not abused, if they need replacement bearings they tend to be readily available, and large sums can be saved to invest in ... oh... maybe wood!

Stefan-
Welcome to the OLF!
Busybeetools has some saws on sale for the next while- the 2HP 18" saw is reduced from $1300 to $800 Cdn, so might be worth a look.
I have the 16" CT082 from BusyBee and wouldn't recommend it as it needed a bit of 'tweaking' to get it to adjust easily and run right.
The Rikon saws are well-spoken of, and with the US $ dropping in value, some good buys may be available in the US, even with the shipping hassles.
Good luck with your quest- save some $$ for wood after you get your saw!

Cheers

John

BTW FIllippo,

what is the off sale price?

Height under the guides aside, I wouldn't want to resaw guitar-height sets with less than 4-5HP. Getting the wood under the blade is one thing, pushing the blade through it is another.

If you're serious about it, then get something like a General or a Laguna and you won't ever feel like you'd like more saw than what you have. Of course, they'll hit you in the pocket book so it all depends on your budget. I have a Laguna 16HD, and it's an amazing saw, but if the budget was tighter I'd go with a General International.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

i don't know how many sets i've resawn with my old 16" walker turner, yet it only has a 3/4 hp motor on it. admittedly it is an old motor, about the same size as the 5hp 3ph motor in my old phase converter, so it has a lot of inertia working for it.

it won't keep up with a bigger 5hp saw, but it does what i need it to do. if i were going to be cutting wood commercialy like bob or shane, i would be looking to at least upgrade the motor, but for resawing to meet my own needs it is easily sufficient.

Stefan,
Another Canadian here, are you on the west coast?
Anyway I "wouldnt" buy RIDGID 14" bandsaw, Im perpetually tuning mine and although its finally running right (just about),
I wouldnt advocate the purchase of one,
I know another fellow from Quebec Serge
{come back sharebear, we miss you!} who also bought the same model, and was likewise displeased with his, and {luckily for him} eventually returned his.
House of Tools have some very nice bandsaws - but you definitely get what you pay for as someone already said.
Cheers
Charliewood