New bandsaw opinions

[drivethruboy54]

Im in the market for a new saw, my hobby shop is quickly growing and the jobs and material are getting much larger.

Here's what im looking at.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/9-x-...g-Vise-/SB1020

I like that its got 12 " capacity, nice to be able to saw 12" flat bar. I like this saw because its like the FMB and HYD-mech where the table miters with the head so the blade always come down in the same place on the table. Baleigh and Ellis saws, which ive both used, end up chewing up the table because the table doesnt rotate with the head, and i wasnt impressed much with either saw.

Im also considering a hyd-mech dm -10 or dm-12, but thats getting beyond my price range and may have to save up longer for one of them.

The capacity of the dm-10 is only 11" in the flat, which means i wont be able to saw 12" flat bar if i need to.

The dm-12 is kind of a baheemoth and is quite pricey, but like the capacity, and of course the quality.

FMB seems to be way out of my price range. Calipso's are nice saws (my buddy has one) but again, they wont saw 12" flat bar, so im not sure if i should even put them on my list of maybe's.

I like the south bend becase its basically a dm-10 copy, but with bigger capacity.
.

I use an Ellis at the shop i work at part time, but im not a fan, just feels kind of rickety.

Ive used http://www.grizzly.com/products/Meta...10-X-18-/G0592
at the shop worked at last, but the vise/table sucks, it cuts slow and constantly trys to pull things out of the vice, and its not fun to for cutting smaller stuff.

Anyways, opinions would be nice. Obviously no saw is perfect and i have to give up something to get something else. Just curious what others think.

[brucer]

I would look for something used, you'll get more saw for your money

[drivethruboy54]

If I could find one locally, I would buy one used.

I'm not buying a saw sight unseen, 2 people I know did that, one ended up with a POS on his hands, the other was working, but definitely not as described.

[rabidchimp]

I ran a Marvel at a heavy duty fab shop. Outfit did tons of Boeing stuff, fuselage carts, etc. Basically, the saw had to accomodate some big stuff, heavy on the tooling end of things. Could cut 24x24 with it. Was a $80,000 saw, so obviously, way more than you're looking for, but I vouch for the brand. It was an excellent machine. For my shop, I run a Jet, lists around $1800 or so, cuts straight, allows me to cut material I couldn't do before. Its slow, and I have to baby sit it. I like the brand though. Maybe a more high end version would suit you.
-Aaron

[drivethruboy54]

well i didnt what i said i wouldnt do, i bought a saw without seeing it!

The guy who is selling it to me assures me everything works as it should and it comes with some new blades

A fairly new FMB ORION G, coming out of chicago, got a pretty good deal on it. Its being crated up right now and should be at my door next friday

Ive used quite a few different saws (big grizzly double miter, hyd mech DM10's, ellis, and a wilton, and an fmb orion) and the FMB saws are definitely engineered far beyond any of the saws ive used.

Ill update when it shows up at my door! also scored a Grob NS18 from a ranch my buddy lives at for $350! i go pick that up on saturday morning. I think im set on bandsaws for awhile now

[surfside]

A used band saw would be good option too. I knew an old folk purchased new 10x18 band saw for almost $4,000 including the shipping. He said it was a good deal.

[Donoharm]

funny.. I used a FMB(Italian made) bandsaw every day for more then one year, just like the one you have only with hidraulic vise and head.. it's a great machine, if it's broken just fix it, it's worth every penny.

[drivethruboy54]

The guy just sent me this, all crated up and ready for pickup on Monday. Should have it at my door by next Friday!

[drivethruboy54]

Heres the Grob NS18 i just picked up for $350

Its got a single phase motor on it instead of the 3 phase motor it originally came with, was planning to use a VFD for speed controller, oh well.

Doesnt look like much, but it runs like a champ, came with about 10 blades. The built in air pump even still works!

Little paint, new rubbers on the wheels some new blade guides and it will be good to go for another 60 years!

im not sure what the pedal down at the bottom does? its connected to some rods and a chain? any ideas?

[VPT]

That grizzly looks like a nice saw!

I have a rong fu 7x12 that cuts every day. Love the saw! Bought it at auction for $200 and has been a work horse ever since for me!

[leightrepairs]

Does the pedal raise a blade guard? Seems i remember a saw with a pedal that worked that way.

[wendell]

Originally Posted by drivethruboy54

im not sure what the pedal down at the bottom does? its connected to some rods and a chain? any ideas?

loop the chain around your stock and connect it to the pedal. Press on the pedal to feed the stock into the blade.

[tnmgcarbide]

it's a gravity-power feed . a hunk of iron inside pivots on the foot lever and pulls the workpiece
toward the blade . crude and effective . my doall has one .

[drivethruboy54]

Thats what i thought. The Doall (1950's ish) at a shop i use to work at had a similar setup, we never used it though.

What a great tool to have! My buddy's shop is a couple doors down and is doing a auto to 6 speed swap in his 97 dodge 2500, and needed the brake light switch bracket modified for the new pedals. Had to cut a formed 90 degree bend off and move it .5". Normally i would pull out a cutting wheel, but instead i used the vertical, figured i might as well use it if i have it

Much easier to cut, no sparks, no deburring needed, got right up to what i needed to cut off, think ill be using it a lot more! Sometimes i get too caught up in water-jetting all my parts and forget about other tools. This also seems to be the only vertical i have ever used that seems to cut a straight line with very little effort. I'm liking it!

[DemonSpeeder]

Or you can build one...(don't laugh)...it works pretty good...

[Dualie]

Peddle on the grob is a brake. Ours has the same thing

[drivethruboy54]

couldnt be happier with the saw! Its already making me money!

Runs like a champ, cuts super straight and smooth.

Cleaned up it up a little bit, put a fresh blade on it, and put it to work.

Ive already cut up around 14 sticks of 1X1 box tube for a job and was very impressed. There is a reason these saws cost so much money! i couldnt afford the price tag of a brand new one, so im glad i found one used in as good condition as i did.

if youve never used one its hard to understand, but this thing makes a hyd mech dm-10 feel inferior!

i was goofing around and sliced off a piece of angle, eyeballing and with a normal downfeed speed it held a perfectly straight line. I checked the angle with the calipers at each end and in the middle, all within .003". Id say thats close enough for what i build