14" Band Saw

Re: 14" Band Saw

Henry (Raleigh NC)

Hey Larry that's not a lot of info on which solid advice can be provided.

Here are a few questions that would help us answer with advice.

- new or used?

- your budget?

- features you deem essential?

- location?

- your experience?

- do you have resources to help you move it? set it up?

- power available? 110V or 220V?

- what do you plan to cut? Resaw 12" exotic boards for veneer or cut curves in 1/2" plywood for crafts?

Henry

Re: 14" Band Saw

Howie

I have the 14" laguna with 2hp motor and really like it. 14" capacity, dual dust ports, plenty of power to hog through logs if you are doing green wood turning.

Re: 14" Band Saw

Larry

New, I don't know on price, $800.00? I have 50 years of experience. Resaw would be nice.

Re: 14" Band Saw

Michael van pelt

14” Laguna ! highly recomended. best in its class IMHO!

Buy a 50s vintage Delta, way better than new tools

Re: 14" Band Saw

John in NM

If you can find one, look for a Powermatic 141, or somewhat harder to find, a General 490. These are cast frame saws, which I like better than the more common C-frame saw you see everywhere. I've found a stiff framed saw is a lot easier to keep cutting straight, and you don't get much stiffer for the size than these two little 14" saws. Walker Turner made a similar saw, but those are harder to find than the General.

add vintage Powermatic to list

Re: 14" Band Saw

Philip Duffy

Suggest a riser as 14in. seems large until you get to a Big piece of wood. The riser gives a great capacity. Also, good set of bearings and blocks for the blades. P.

Re: 14" Band Saw

John in NM

For anyone confused by this, 14" is the depth to frame, not height. I get what Phillip means, but it may not be obvious to everyone. My saw cuts just shy of 12" height with the riser. I think 7-8" height is roughly typical of non-riser 14" saws. Guide choice will also affect cutting height, ball bearing guides usually take up a bit of height compared to the older style blocks.

Risers are great if you need one, but they do increase flexibility of the saw's structure so they can make tracking adjustments more difficult. For those who turn large chunks of wood or do a lot of resawing, its worth overcoming the difficulties.

for those contemplating cutting large chunks.....

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

get an old 20" saw. The problem with a 14" saw and many new larger frame saws is the postage stamp sized table. Yes one can "rise" a 14" saw but can you teeter this proposed large hunk of wood on the table? Ditto for resawing. Figure on building an outfeed table if contemplating resawing larger planks on a 14" saw.

For turners cutting chunks it is all about capacity. For those cutting veneer it is most importantly about precision. Be sure providers of advice are clear on their experience.

I bought a used Delta 20" for $500. Never regretted this purchase. It has become my resaw saw. I keep the 14" Powermatic fitted with a 3/8" x 6tpi for detail work. I could do detail work on the large Delta but it is convenient to leave an resaw blade on it.

Re: for those contemplating cutting large chunks..

Barry Irby

Absolutely agree with Bill. I have a 14" Delta with a riser block. (MY understanding is the 14" refers to wheel diameter)

The saw is difficult to track and not particularly well suited for bowl blanks, scroll work or slicing veneer. I would rather have a bigger Old Iron saw with about a three HP motor kept turned up for resawing and the same 14' saw without the riser for smaller work. It is a PITA to switch blades and tune the saw for different functions. If I had room I would buy a bigger saw as mentioned above. Never have been able to understand why my TS has a table the size of an aircraft carrier and the bandsaw has a postage stamp.

Right you are...

John in NM

Wheel diameter, my mistake

Kinda goofy....

Barry Irby

Like a 16" drill press means you can drill a hole in the center of a 16" diameter circle.

On a 14" bandsaw you have to subtract whatever the post takes out.

OTOH, some of the big box stores had to pay out millions because they called a 2 x 4 a 2 x 4 and not a 1 1/2" by 3 1/2". What they really should have done is not allowed anyone in the store that did not know the difference.

Re: for those contemplating cutting large chunks.. *LINK*

William Falberg

The reason they don't make bandsaw tables bigger is the design compromise necessary to precariously balance the whole table on the little potmetal trunnion so you can rip bevels like a table saw. For that rarely used capability you're stuck with the postage stamp table sizes. I built mine like a proper aircraft carrier should be ; 3' x 4'. And 2hp worth of powerful.


the saw of the future

...cutting large chunks.....

John K Jordan

And me, not knowing any better, often cut large chunks on my 14" Delta with riser. I did this for years and with no problems other than limited speed due to the small motor. A bigger outfeed table would have been nice but I never took the time to extend it.

I resawed plenty on that little saw - a friend and I once sliced a 12' long doug fir 2x12 into the four thin boards he needed. I cut thick bowl blanks for the 16" lathe and processed a LOT of green log sections into turning squares for drying. Granted, my log sections were limited to 12" diameter and I usually got some help to handle pieces over 24" long or so.

Using the saw like this assumes it is in perfect alignment and the proper blade for the job is tensioned correctly. (And sharp - I resharpened often) I did spend some time tuning up the saw before I considered it useful: I made the wheels coplanar when tensioned, installed stronger tensioning parts, and bought a real tension gauge to insure rather than guess at the tension. The saw was mostly crap before I did all that and I went through a lot of learning and experimenting to make it sing.

I have an 18" saw now with a bigger table and a lot more power and slicing wood is easier and faster. A 20" or larger saw would be nice but from my experience I can testify a 14" saw can absolutely do the job given some care and patience.

JKJ

Re: for those contemplating cutting large chunks..

AZ in Colorado Springs

Every bandsaw I've seen has the upward traveling side of the blade to the left of the operator. Yours is reversed?

Re: for those contemplating cutting large chunks..

Barry Irby

Is the saw available? Where and at what price? I have seen you posting over the years.

Kinda looks like a ship saw

Ian Neuhaus

you saw kinda looks like a ship saw and is unusual in that the blade is reversed compared to a normal band saw

Re: Kinda looks like a ship saw

William Duffield

It's hard to tell what it looks like, without selling your soul to Zuckerberg, since Facebook insists that you log in before you can see the saw or find out any details about it. If this is a commercial offer, it would be polite to contact Ellis to find out whether an advertising fee is appropriate.

From the glimpse I got of the saw, I doubt seriously it could be considered a ship's saw, since a ship's saw has a tilting frame which is essential to allow it to continuously adjust the angle of the blade with respect to the table as a plank is being sawn.

When I need to saw long or wide boards on my bandsaws, I simply resort to a couple of roller stands, since they don't take up any valuable shop floor space when they are not being used.

Re: Kinda looks like a ship saw

William Falberg

No, it's not for sale. It's a prototype to test my theory that "band saw texture" or deep vertical grooves are a consequence of machine inefficiency in the blade transport system. My vibration problem with the portables got so irritating I had to abandon the cast aluminum wheels altogether and go to the custom machined (out of 1" 6061 aluminum billet) that gave us such smooth finishes from coarse blades. The results were amazing. When the vibration went away it took the flapping with it. And the saw marks diminished . I got to thinking if I eliminated all the irregularities in the blade and it's transport system I could produce a saw that left no marks at all. My sons are using it now for whatever sons do when I 'm not watching; but eventually we'll build another prototype without the parts we didn't like. Our customers' comments guided the design of our portables and I'd like to see the veneer saw evolve likewise. I oriented the saw frame for right-hand feed because I'm right -handed. Why would I reverse that? Not saying I wouldn't if there was a compelling reason to do so. So that's another big question: Is there an ergonomic advantage in orienting the saw to favor southpaws' strong arm? What's the popular view on that? There are compromises involved with keeping the freehand option open for carving, shaping, contour work while still providing a platform for the rail and sled precision veneering/resaw operations. Should I make two specialized saws? I traded the bevel/tilting/trunnion option for a table big enough to freehand cut 18" corbels and big bandsaw boxes. Is shop space so precious? I do a lot of other work on the bandsaw table when it's not being used as a bandsaw. I'd like to have the option to run 2" blades but how would you like having to re-assemble the blade guide mounting brackets every time? I'll never know the answers to some of those questions, my sons are taking over soon as I get this project in production. Eventually a cost figure (in dollars) will emerge and it won't be cheap but if it replaces your planers and beltsanders, is it worth it? As you see, I have more questions than answers.