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JJ,

On the motor, just keep watching for a used one, even phone around to the motor repair places around you and watch e-bay. You should be able to find a good used one for half the price of a new one. But in the mean time a 1 hp will definately keep you going, it will even re-saw with good blades and an accurate set-up.

Good Luck

Shane

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Canada

new 2hp baldors are often on ebay @ $199 or so.

JJ, Alain Desforges had bought me 2 nice blades for my former RIDGID 14", but they are 105" that would fit your resaw set up, i can't use them so if you want them, give Alain a PM, i was about to bring them back to him, in fact, i'm heading there tomorrow night, i'm sure he would make a great deal for ya!

JJ, don't know where you live, but if it is somewhere near a large city, check out Craig's list. You would be amazed at what get sold, traded and even given away on the list.    www.craigslist.com  & nbsp; Then select your nearest city.

Good luck.

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Aoibeann

Thanks, Lillian...I'll check it out.

BTW...I live in Warsaw, IN...Ft. Wayne and South Bend.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

[QUOTE=JJ Donohue] UPDATE:

The 2 HP motor has a burned out starter winding. The shop guy said it would cost $350 to fix but recommended getting a Baldor motor at $400. I decided to do neither at this time.

The seller (a good friend) has given me the original 1HP motor so I'll get that installed. It should be plenty adequate for of my needs anyway.

A few more questions about bandsaws:

1) What type blades are best for the applications I anticipate using this for...i.e, cutting tonewood profiles, neck blanks, 1/2" and 3/4" baltic birch jig material, plexiglass, etc.

2) What blade speeds are recommended for the combination of those materials and blades?

TIA
[/QUOTE]

JJ - You'll do fine with a 1 HP motor. The only situation where more power would help would be re-sawing. And, even for resawing, 1 HP is plenty if you're not in a rush.

I've only got a 1/2 horse motor on mine, and it works fine for everything from 1/2 aluminum plate to resawing 8 inch oak. It all depends on how much of it you have to cut and how fast.

As for blades, it's a good idea to get a fine enough blade so that you have at least 2 (or, even better, 3) teeth in the piece you're cutting at all times. So, that means that for 1/8 inch thick tonewood, you should have a very fine pitch blade - at least 16 tpi. But in practice, maybe you can use a coarser blade - especially if you go easy and don't need a smooth cut.

I've got an old Delta scroll saw that I use for anything thin ( 1/4 inch or thinner) - either wood or plastic. Maybe someone who cuts thin wood with their bandsaw can make a recommendation.

For the other stuff, I would get a 6 tpi skip tooth blade - easy to find and cheap. For wood, the usual blade speed is about 3000 fpm. For plexiglass, probably less. I've only cut polycarbonate on my bandsaw, and I've used the same 3000 fpm as for wood, but plexiglass would probably require slower blade speeds because it tends to melt and/or crack.

Phil

Thanks, Phil...great info and exactly what I was looking for.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com