Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi fellows, since i returned my RIDGID bandsaw back to HD, i have been thinking a lot about getting myself a LAGUNA but i came across this one from Craftsman at Sears, a 14" with 8 1/2" resaw capacity and 1 hp motor single phase with cast iron wheels, i'd like to hear your thoughts about what you read here please,would it be a good purchase?


http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Bench+Power+To ols&pid=00922401000&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Band+Saws&BV_UseBVC ookie=Yes

TIA

Serge

Serge I own this saw in the 12" version. for a general use saw it is pretty good I replaced the 1hp motor with a 2hp. It is pretty well built but hard to find blades for local. believe it or not The Sears store here in Odessa will not carry blades for either the 14" or the 12". Not that that is a problem as I use custom made Linux bi-metal or Temberwolf anyway. This not a saw to get if you plan on doing a good bit of re-sawing. But for the money is a pretty good general use small shop saw.

Serge -

Well, you know it's not a Laguna ...

Beyond that, if I were going to buy a 14" saw, I'd prefer a Delta-style saw that I could add a riser block to. If you ever want to pursue some serious resawing, 8-1/2" is a tight limit. 1 hp is a pretty tight constraint as well.
My Delta has a 1-1/2, and I'd be glad to have the power of a bigger steel-frame saw at times (although a really good resaw blade can save you).

Jim

_________________
Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Serge -- I have found a lot of the Sears tools in Canadian stores to be pretty expensive for what you get unless you can get them on sale. The link you posted is for Sears U.S. -- I think this is the one you want.
http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000FS2G8G/qid=1153230791/ref =sr_1_0/002-1944598-4684823?%5Fencoding=UTF8&searsBrand=core &mqnodeid=15858301

For CDN$699.99 and 8" resaw capability doesn't look like a bad price. Once you are into that price range though it might not hurt to look into a 14" Delta or General International that you can get a riser block for that'll give you even more resaw capability. Both of these saws also give you the option to run them on 220 volts or 120 which is kinda nice.

You are pretty close to Ottawa so I'll be there are places you could find places that sell Delta's or General's. You might also be able to buy direct from General's warehouse near Dorval airport in Montreal.

I bought my 12" version on sell last year for $180 ( I thought it was a miss mark but no) and paid $120+- for the 2hp motor and new sheaves that $300 and I am very happy but I don't do any real re-sawing.MichaelP38916.4199652778

Looks like a Ricon to me.....I'm guessing that's what it is. Sears doesn't make anything of their own anymore.

_________________
"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."

Serge,

I am curious why you returned the Rigid one to Home Depot.

I vote for the Laguna, and by the way you are such a great son (regarding your gift to tu mama) that you deserve the Laguna

I've had my eye on that new 12" Craftsman (Rikon) saw. A decent quality small saw is hard to find. I'm working in the upstairs bedroom of my old house, and I have to watch the power consumption... My 12" disc sander already makes the lights dim when it starts. I have the 9" Ryobi which has done an admirable job (once I added a decent blade) considering the sub-$100 price tag. I got the Grizzly 9" because the frame seems really sturdy, but the table is pitifully supported, I haven't even used it yet because of that. I'll probably just keep using the Ryobi. I do have access to an old 14" Delta for when I need something more heavy duty, it just involves a 15 minute country drive to use.

_________________
______________________________
Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

[QUOTE=letseatpaste] I've had my eye on that new 12" Craftsman (Rikon) saw. A decent quality small saw is hard to find. I'm working in the upstairs bedroom of my old house, and I have to watch the power consumption... My 12" disc sander already makes the lights dim when it starts. I have the 9" Ryobi which has done an admirable job (once I added a decent blade) considering the sub-$100 price tag. I got the Grizzly 9" because the frame seems really sturdy, but the table is pitifully supported, I haven't even used it yet because of that. I'll probably just keep using the Ryobi. I do have access to an old 14" Delta for when I need something more heavy duty, it just involves a 15 minute country drive to use.[/QUOTE]

Jon as long as you understand that the Craftsman is no Laguna or Jet and don't need strong re-sawing power I think the 12" saw would fit your needs very well. 100 time better saw than the Ryobi 9". This is no monster saw by any means but I do like mine and if you replace the somewhat week motor for re-sawing with a 2hp and top line blades it saws through 6" stock like butter. Well maybe cheese I do like mine it fits my needs well

Serge,
After my first build - I knew I wanted to do this for a living. So since that
first build, I have been buying with foresight. It is better to get more than
you need as regards power tools - you generally take a big loss when you
go to sell them.

My bandsaw is my go-to tool in my shop. I don't have a lot of room in
my shop and decided I would get one that could perform most of the
duties of a table saw. I ended up buying a massive Grizzly 24" - it
actually does weigh 1 ton. But it cuts smoothly and I don't regret buying
it.

My suggestion for you or anyone who is setting up shop and buying
tooling - to evaluate what major equipment you plan to buy.

The other thing is this - Buy used!!! Or at least, check out some used
sources. There are quite a few websites that deal strictly with used power
equipment and you can find awesome equipment in great shape for half-
off. You can find these websites by googling "Used woodworking
equipment".

Serge. Not knowing your finances or prices of what looking at it is difficult for me to say what is best. If you have the money and it is only a matter of makes, I would suggest and in my case would go for the Laguna. I am sure the Craftsman is ok, but are they the same as they used to be? You just have to take into consideration what each of them offer you and what you want to do. Sometimes getting less expensive isn't in long run best buy. I would look at the long range of what your plans are for building. If thinking in future of this as your means of income, then go for the best machine you can now (might be harder to come by later) If plans are just a few a year for hobby and selling one or two to make up some cost, go for the less expensive as that should go for years. I plan on getting a new drum (thickness sander) I have several opitons and will probabley spend a few extra for a Delta or General as opposed to say Grizzly. I have a Griz and it works fine, but the others have better ways of say putting on abrasives. I figure better to spend the buck now rather than save the dime. I have heard alot about the Rigid and warranty. Why isn't that an option, do they not stand by their product? I was thinking down the line of replacing my Griz G055 for one, but am now not sure of that. stan thomison38916.4918402778

Thanks guys, you got me wondering here, i have seen it up close and it looked really well built and was on sale at $599.00, a $100.00 less than the usual price, what really got my attention was those cast iron wheels of course and the way the blade guard works by going down with the screw instead of falling down on the table and it already had a nice built in fence. Since i don't plan on doing any heavy resawing, would you advise me to get this one?

All and all, i need a sturdy saw for occasional resawing and to be able to cut necks and plates.

The only bad thing considering all I can say about it other than a bit under powered at 1hp is that when the blade guide is raised moderately high for re-sawing the tracking window is blocked by the guide column

Sears specs list a 2-1/2" and 4" on the dust collector port, on both the 14" and 12" models. Do these have dual ports, or does it have one port with an optional adapter or something? If it's similar to the Rikon, it has the 2-1/2" below the table, and the 4" at the bottom of the backside. Sears doesn't have additional photos, so it's hard to tell on their website.

_________________
______________________________
Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

dual ports one 4" motor side of the housing and one 2-1/2" under the table

Thanks Michael and Todd, i just checked Laguna's site but even the smallest of their bandsaws runs on 220v which i can't have, i only have access to 110v here.

Todd, The delta bandsaw is appealing as for price range and resaw capacity when using a riser block but the only thing that stopped me from buying it was those cast aluminum wheels and the fact that it was at HDepot, i think i might be paranoid here but it would frustrate me even more if i was gonna get the same type of quality as the RIDGID, just a feeling i have that the Craftsman i saw was of better quality, i might be wrong but The link Anthony provided is the right one and the saw has 2 speeds and both 2 1/2" and 4" dust collection, i guess after seeing it up close, it really looked like a very sturdy tool!

Serge look at the 14" Grizzly. Very good saw and can purchase risers for much larger capacity. It is a highly rated saw.

Grizzly is not an option in Canada! Stuff comparable or identical to Grizzly here in Canada is BusyBee.

Serge not trying to push you in any direction. Todd Stock's suggestion is a good one.

For what its worth a lot of luthiers resaw on 14" Delta's with riser blocks. I have used Tony Karol's and resawed wide Koa and Maple boards with 5/8" 3 tpi bandsaw blades and it worked just fine. A fellow I purchase my Engelmann archtop billets from -- Larry Stamm does all his resawing on a 14" Delta.

I've resawn 5" wide ebony on my 14" General with no problems (just off to buy the riser block ) now that all my 93-1/2" blades are used up.

The question you have to ask yourself is how much resawing do you think you will be doing and plan from there.Anthony Z38916.5598032407

A good point for me on Craftsman Pro series for an inexpensive saw is the adjustable speed control via a cam drive pully tensioner, most saws in the price range of the 12" I looked at did not offer this.

Serge !!! You recommended that RIDGID to me dang it!@!
Just kidding - mine does seem to be hanging in there although it has gotten pretty limited use so far
...........what happened guy?
Should I be on the lookout for anything in particular to go wrong on mine?
Cheers
Charliecharliewood38916.5943518519

PS if you couldnt return the resaw riser when you took it back I would be interested.
Cw

The thing I always had a problem with Sears is when you need blades, belts or accessories items they are always non standard size's. So you get stuck having to buy from them when you need these items even if their overpriced. Their stuff is so proprietary. They are kind of like the Dell of tools.

Truth is the bearings, guides, sheaves, belts and wheels are not truly proprietary They get their stuff from suppliers stock. You have to do some research and cross reference specification which is not easy but if you know how to spec out the part, you can find most of it through specialty vendors

They want you to believe they have these bearings and such made just for this product but the truth is they use already developed bearings and such. they just get them with out the manufactures ID or part number and stamp their part number on them. We as in the company I work for does the same thing to insure that our clients come to us for replacement parts but all of our bearings are truly SKF or Timken bearings supplied to us with our part number and ID vs. theirsMichaelP38916.6188541667

Charlie, out of boredom and not having nothing else to do here at work, I'll answer that last question for you as I was there when that last straw broke the camels' back, so to speak...

Serge's saw was all right but the problem was in the drive wheel on the back of it. On the drive shaft there is a small square groove and in this groove there is a small square 'key' made of aluminium (sorry for my limited english here, I don't the names of these parts...). This groove is repeated the pulley's hole as well. The idea is to have the key break instead of the shaft...

Anyhow, on Serge's saw, the small screw that holds the 'key' in place was broken in the pulley. The key fell and when the saw was in operation, the shaft would slip in the pulley creating a loud noise and vibration.

We wanted to replace the screw but it was badly broken in there. It also protruded just enough not to be able to get the 'key' back in the channel. The options were to tap the hole again and put in a larger screw or try to replace the pulley...

However, our usually friendly bear was a bit peeved, as you can well imagine. It wasn't the first screw to break on the machine...

The rest is history...

On a related note, interested in two 105'' Lennox carbide tipped Tri-Masters?   

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