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I am thinking of buying myself a bandsaw. I've always wanted one for many reasons and now that I've sourced some zoot at a good price, I've started thinking about resawing as well. This one here has piqued my interest:

Craftex 18 '' Bandsaw

Is that large/powerful enough? If not, there's always this one:

Craftex 20'' Bandsaw

Is the 500$ difference really worth it? I'm thinking the cheaper one seems more versatile. 3 speeds, deeper cut capacity, wider blade capicity... Keep in mind that I'm too poor to buy cheap, so this will be (hopefully) my first and very last bandsaw.

By the way, I'm thinking of buying from BusyBee because they have a store here locally and there are no other retailers that I know of in Ottawa that sell or service these bigger and badder saws.

Now this begs the question. What is the best, money is no object, resaw blade you can get? What do the pro's use? Thanks in advance.

Regards,

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

I really like my Laguna 24". http://www.lagunatools.com/lt24.htm

Get the biggest diameter saw that you can afford for resawing. I really like Hastings Saw they make a very thin kerf blade.

http://www.hastingssaws.com/

Check out David Borson's resawing set-up pretty cool. I have been able to rewsaw using my Laguna 24's fence without need for further jigging. But if I were to do it all the time I think I'd get a power feeder.

http://www.borsonresaw.com/default.htm

Alain,

The problem I see with the Craftex are the blade guides. Check out Dave Boroson's site where he discusses the blade guides.

You made be able to get Laguna guides and put them on the Craftex. If you want that saw, I noticed that they sell a 24". I tried resawing on my Rigid 14" which I expanded to a 110" blade using the riser blocks. But I was never able to get the saw to stop following the grain or drifting, very frustrating.

The Laguna cuts through any wood as if it were butter. It's a whole different experience. I can slice paper thin veneers and resawing back and sides as well as tops is a breeze.

Good luck and feel free to e-mail me if you want to chat about this subject more.Tomas38879.555150463

Thanks a lot for the info Tomas. I will read/study those links. Wow! I can see why you love your Laguna. That is one serious piece of equipment! Now I have serious tool envy

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

[QUOTE=Hesh1956] Wow Al that looks like the mutha of all bandsaws...... [/QUOTE]


Aaarrrgh!!! Blasted TAS!!!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Of those two Alain I would buy the 18" mostly because I don't thinh that 9.5 inch capacity is enough, especially if you have to make a sled to cut odd billets into wonderful sets at some time in the future. Larry Stamm has cut THOUSANDS of Engelmann and cedar sets on his 14 inch Delta with riser blocks and very thin kerfed bands. Craftex are the same as Grizzly as far as I can tell, you can'y buy the other brand on the other side of the border (no craftex in the US and no Grizzly in Canada and they spec and look the same). SO you might ask Grizzly owners what they think of their saws. I have used a craftex 20 inch to cut tops before and I think the saw is fine, but blade selection is critical and really depends on what you are going to cut. If you are going to ONLY re-saw with it I would agree with Tomas and get a 24 inch saw, that is what I use, with 5 hp. But if you want a saw that will re-saw and will also do all of your other guitar making stuff, get that 18" puupy.

Hope that helps buddy!

Shane

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Canada

I would go for the deeper cut.

Al

I have a Craftex 20" and it does work well. However, I'm disappointed with the uppper blade guide. It has only a shaft in hole for adjustment and wobbles a bit when set for thinner cuts though it's not too bad when set up high for resawing. For the price, I'd go with the 18" saw as it has a rack and pinion upper blade adjustment yet is large enough to run an 1 1/4" blade.Scott McKee38879.6255439815

I think that those who get good results resawing on a 14" saw are masterful bandsaw craftsman, while I am just a bit of a hack. So I was speaking from my own frustration with my 14" saw and the difference that big saw made when I bought it (the 5hp makes a difference as Shane says). I agree however that the 14-18" saws are great for most things and are in fact indispensible, probably the most used power tool in my shop.

Do you have a planer and jointer? Those are important for processing rough wood, as is of course a table saw.Tomas38879.6384837963

Well Thank You. I never thought of myself as a master craftsman. Trust me I'm not. A lesser saw like mine will get the job done, but if a bigger saw will make the job much easier. I think that with the proper setup and a little practice you will have better results, and more consistant results han I could ever hope for with my Rigid 14".

Al

Alain
I might as well add my two cents. What I don't like about the 18" saw are the 2HP motor and the Aluminum wheels. It looks very similar to the Grizzly I had so many motor problems with. Cast iron wheels give more momentum and help a lot when re-sawing. The 29" saw has cast iron wheels, 3hp motor and Euro Guides. Worth the extra money IMHO. I very seldom re-saw over 9" and have yet to run into a problem. If you can't afford the Laguna or Minimax then I would buy the 20" If you look into Laguna check out their shipping to Canada policy. Also notice their re-saw capcity. The LT16-HD has a 16" re-saw capacity and the 5hp. Baldor motor. For serious re-sawing I wouldn't use anything but a carbide blade. I use the Lenox Tri-Master and the Laguna re-saw King.

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

I think the "best" saw is the one you'll need (and can afford) in three years. Might as well get it now and save the agony of shopping for a bigger saw. Small saws (and off brand) rarely have enough frame strength to pretension a band to the manufactures specs. Good equipment can make a fair craftsman good and a good craftsman better, but it's not magic and understanding how the saw operates and functions on a physics level is important to knowing if the saw is operating properly. Guides do not function to keep the band running straight in a cut; side guides do not tough the ban and are set up about .003 off the metal. Side guides come into play when a knot is hit and the change in hardness wants to deflect the band. Running guides against the band will overheat the band. Thrust guide (bearing) should not run against the metal either, but slightly behind so the band can be freely moved by hand. Running a band against the thrust bearing as habit will cause the metal to crack at the back because the band wants to buckle into itself. If a band cannot be pretensioned enough physics will do it in the cut causing a barrel type cut line. There's lot to learn about good sawing habits and techniques and there's no better teacher than practice after reading the book

For me the "best" band is now Lenox aluminum Master. 1" 3 tpi. It is a new version of the Tri-Master carbide, but the aluminum alloy band is more flexible and can be used on smaller wheels. The Tri-Master isn't good on saws smaller than 24" because of it's lower flexibility. The aluminum Master has a carbide tip and kerf about .040....very nice for a large band and I IIRC what the Lenox tech rep said it is now available in narrower bands than 1".

Another great thing about carbide tips is the swage style tip. It exerts force straight down instead of pulling to a side as does set teeth or spring teeth. This means one doesn't have to adjust for drift in the cut line or skew the fence to compensate for drift or re-compensate as the set wears.

Just get the best saw with the biggest horsepower and strongest frame today that you can afford in three years.

Here's the blurb on the Laguna blade guides. They really are different than the bearing style guides

The LAGUNA GUIDE is a revolutionary blade guide system (several patents pending) that is designed to give you many years of superior high-quality band sawing. Most blade guide systems are designed to support the blade on the sides and then either above or below the side guides to support the back of the blade. This forces the blade to twist as pressure from the wood being cut is transferred to the back blade guide.

The LAGUNA GUIDE eliminates this by supporting the blade on the sides above and below the back blade guide. By eliminating all blade twist, the LAGUNA GUIDE gives the blade-unsurpassed stability.

The LAGUNA GUIDE features “Space Age” ceramic guide blocks (patent pending) as both side and thrust support. This enables the ceramic piece to gently touch the side of the blade, on all three sides without heat build-up, therefore giving stability, which has never been achieved before. Tomas38880.425625

Thanks a lot for your great tips and ideas guys. I knew it was a good idea to ask you guys for your advice. I had never really thought about the quality of the drive wheels (i.e. aluminium vs. cast iron...) I'm sort of leaning towards the bigger saw. Like I told Serge, if I buy the smaller one, I know one day I'll probably want to upgrade to something more powerful...

I'm still studying the matter, but now I'm a bit less ignorant about bandsaws and I know what to look for. Again, thanks guys!

Alain

Alain Desforges38881.4879166667

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

I have a Laguna 18LT and love it. It's an incredible saw. In terms of specs, it has 18" resaw capacity and a 4.5 HP Baldor motor, which is far more than a luthier would ever need. It terms of quality, it is an incredibly well-built and precise tool. The guide system is fantastic.

The price is quite a bit more than the saw you posted; if you are on a fixed budget, then the Laguna may not be possible. But if you can stretch a bit, definitely cry once and buy once. (Tomas' 24" saw is quite a machine, but perhaps overkill unless you plan to do an awful lot of resawing.)

There are a lot of good blades out there, but the best I have tried is the Laguna "Resaw King." The original design was pretty good, but they have redesigned it within the last year or two, and the new version is simply incredible.

Gloat warning: Laguna has been closing out their supply of Lennox Carbide blades for a month or so for 50 cents an inch. Friday I picked up two 1-1/4" Lennox blades for my saw (which uses 150" blades) for $75 each, and they normally run a hair over $200 each. If you are in the market for a great deal on blades, it may be worth a call to Laguna.

Kelby I really like the Re-Saw King too. Cuts are incredible. However I have found that on the harder more difficult woods it chatters a bit and dulls much faster than the Lenox Carbide. Have you had similar experiences?

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Check out the Grizzly G0566. More bang for the buck.
I agree, if you can afford a MiniMax or Laguna, you're better off. I've heard decent things about the Agazanni saws too.
The new Jet saws are a lot cheaper and well made too. Lots of choices. Honestly, I've never heard of Craftex before, but they could be decent. I'm guessing they're also Taiwanese judging by the cost.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Don that Grizzly is a nice saw but I don't think they ship to Canada.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Laguna does ship to Canada:
http://www.lagunatools.com/canada_info.htm

Bob, I haven't had a hard time with chatter on exotics, but it does seem to dull quicker on them.

Don and Bob,

Craftex in Canada, Grizzly in the US. I am 98% positive they are the same saws. You can't by Grizzly in Canada and they will not ship direct, it would have to go through a broker or other third party. Just as you in the US can't by (and will likely never see) Craftex stuff. Grizzly does carry a much larger inventory though

Shane

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Canada

Wow! Thanks for that link Scott. Now I've seen my new favorite...

Laguna Saw

Man, those Laguna's sure are sweet...

_________________
I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Another vote for Laguna. I want to be buried with my 24.

I tried the Laguna bands three years ago and noticed the harmonic vibrations with them. Maybe they've fixed the design?

Larry,
I'm not enough of an expert to say whether the problems were cured, but the new design is a significant improvement over the old one.