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Acquire a Hitachi CB75F bandsaw? Barry you still have yours?

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Acquire a Hitachi CB75F bandsaw? Barry you still have yours?

#1

Acquire a Hitachi CB75F bandsaw? Barry you still have yours?

I barely have room in my shop for what I own now, so I can't just keep adding tools.  I have been offered a Hitachi CB75F band saw. 


 

Compared to my old (blue) Jet 14 BS with a riser block - everything about the CB75F looks more substantial, except the motor.  It appears to made like a machine that happened before a bean counter could force 'engineering the cost out' of it. 

The obvious upsides to the Hitachi are the robust blade tension mechanism and blade tilt mechanisms, which make my current saw's components look like toy pieces. 

Down sides noted by reviewers and users are a significantly noisy universal motor that is likely under-powered, as well as the blade guides being less than ideal. I do not know if the table tilts; I doubt it as I believe this was a re-saw machine not a general band saw.


 

So to my questions:

- Does anyone have experience with this saw?  I thought Barry Irby had one of these a few years back, but don't know if he still does.

- Would you choose it as a general purpose band saw?  I use my current band saw occasionally because I have never been able to conquer (or compensate for) drift and have always had blade tension issues.  And yes I have seen and think I have implemented all of Alex Snodgrass' advice on how to set up a band saw.

- Will it be able to handle smaller blades?  I believe this is meant to handle a 3" blade for resaw; I'd like to be able to resaw competently.  But the ability to handle curves is also a great feature of band saws; I have several jig saws (aka saber saws) but sometimes the power of a larger machine works in your favor over a hand held saw.

- Would you choose to replace a Jet for a Hitachi, if the cost difference was only the motor upgrade work?

- I believe this does not have rubber (or silicone) tires on the wheels.  is that correct?  Any upside or downside to that?

Remember that I have room for only one band saw, not two.


 

Thanks,

Henry


 


 


 


Re: Acquire a Hitachi CB75F bandsaw? Barry you still have yours?

#2

Re: Acquire a Hitachi CB75F bandsaw? Barry you still have yours?

I no longer have the Hitachi.  Sold it a year or two ago because I got a Laguna. I believe mine was an older model perhaps a CB60.  I ran a 3" wide blade that had Stellate (sp?) teeth.  I bought it from the son of a woodworker who had passed away.  Did not get much information.  Mine had some extra blade guides that allowed for a narrower blade.  Had such a blade but never installed it.  Ruined a very expensive 3" stellate blade by hitting something I shouldn't have.  Sent it to some retired Hitachi worker who was sharpening for them in his garage in Oregon.  Bought a second blade that had stellate on every other tooth but was still expensive.  And you are correct, it had a small motor that was a screamer and under powered.  For some reason it did not occur to me to swap out the motor.  Sold it for more than I paid for it to some company making movies.  Did not get it clear whether they were going to use it to make sets or if it was going to appear in the movie.

I got the Laguna 14" SUV model at an auction New.  3hp motor and about 12" resaw capacity.  Wanted to set it up as a dedicated resaw.  Moved my Delta 14" into another room with a narrow blade.  I had found changing the Delta back and forth from resaw to general duty to be fiddly and I ruined some resaw blades by trying to use them for general work (just for a minute, you know).

I did lots of research on resaw blades and finally bought a Laguna Resaw King for $175 dreaming it would stay on the saw and last a long time.  On line reports were that the blades broke easily and often.  I talked to Laguna's tech's and they said that problem had been solved and I bought the blade.  Installed it and made a few tune up and practice cuts, turned of the saw and de-tensioned the blade.  Came back to the saw to make my first real resaw cut and the blade broke in a matter of seconds after about a 6" cut.  Laguna said they would send me a new blade but I called BS on that and asked for my money back.  They agreed but never did send it.  Then I asked for a 3/4" wide blade instead of the 1/2" one that broke.  Even though they were the same price they would not do it so I said send the money.  Still no joy.  Thanks for the reminder, I will poke at them tomorrow.

So this brings me to a question, Does anyone know of an excellent resaw blade?

I wish I had kept the Hitachi and upgraded the motor.  (But I have a second bandsaw for curves.)  I do not remember if the table tilts but I have never tilted a table on any bandsaw.


Re: Acquire a Hitachi CB75F bandsaw? Barry you still have yours?

#3

Thanks Barry

Barry - This confirms my general recollection of what you have posted here on WC.

I have tilted my BS table once or twice - but not often enough to consider that a requirement for my one and only BS.

I'm still pondering whether this acquisition is worth the effort - but my gut says it is.  The specific saw I have access too did not get a lot of TLC (by appearance) but the parts that should move do indeed move... I did not get a chance to operate it, or even turn it on, which I would insist on before buying (at least witness it running).


 

Henry


Re: Acquire a Hitachi CB75F bandsaw? Barry you still have yours?

#4

Re: Thanks Barry

My impression of the saw was that it was very sturdy and well built.  Also, that 3" blade was very thin so it took a narrow kerf which is a good thing for a resaw.  In hindsight I think it is a better saw than what I have now.  Not positive, but as I recall the wheels were steel with no tires.  If there were tires they were very hard.

I am considering buying a blade meant for a Woodmizer type sawmill and using that to resaw.  Just worried that it will not run well on 14" wheels and may fatigue to death and may have more kerf than I would prefer.


Re: Acquire a Hitachi CB75F bandsaw? Barry you still have yours?

#5

Re: Acquire a Hitachi CB75F bandsaw? Barry you still have yours?

barry - my recommendation for resaw is the laguna resaw king. have had a mm16 for many years (i think it's a 1st generation)- just set up for resaw. while early on (maybe 10 years ago) one did break and another started cracking in the gullets - which they replaced - for the last few years i have run a 1" and have had no problems - i think they did fix the brittleness problem. i started out using lenox but felt i got a better and longer cut with lagunas.

but sorry about the poor cs you've been having

jc


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