Do most of you CNC guys own a bandsaw?

6981 Views 30 Replies 15 Participants Last post by gdonham1, Sep 23, 2019

RainMan 2.0

Discussion Starter · Aug 23, 2019 (Edited)

I loved David’s sign that he made out of a section of tree , and David showed a video of him cutting it on a bandsaw . (Hope you guys don’t mind me posting your pics again )
It has me thinking,as it’s one of the few tools I do not have .

I think doing carvings with a log like David’s and ScottArt’s would be the best sellers in my neck of the woods .
After reading reviews here , I am interested in Laguna bandsaws , but not sure if this would be big enough .
I don’t understand the specs of this one. It says 12” resaw,so I’m assuming the largest material is 12” that you can cut .
Imo you’d want more like 18” cutting capacity ?
https://www.elitetools.ca/en/product/14-12-bandsaw-laguna-tools-mband1412-175/

Another option I guess would to just use a chainsaw and then plane it on my planer ,or let the cnc plane it . There is also a small sawmill operation about a half hours drive from my house .

Do you guys find a bandsaw to be an invaluable tool in your shop ?

See less See more

3

Reactions: 4

1 - 20 of 31 Posts

difalkner

· #2 · Aug 23, 2019 (Edited)

I couldn't do much without a bandsaw, Rick. My 12" King-Seeley from 1950 is probably used as much as my table saw. I have the Laguna 14SUV for resawing. Its resaw capability is stated as 14" but it will actually resaw almost 15". The throat is 14" and that's how they're rated. An 18" bandsaw has a throat capacity of 18" regardless of how high the upper blade guide rises for resaw capacity. Throat depth is from the blade to the frame.

In the 80's when I had a woodworking business we had a 1910 Crescent 32" bandsaw but it would only resaw 11". For most of what I do I need resaw capability over throat depth. And we also don't have the room for the footprint of an 18" bandsaw.

David

Reactions: 1

MikeMa

· #3 · Aug 23, 2019

One of these days I will get back to building my CNC. I have a complete shop, including a 14" band saw. The CNC will not replace any of my tools, as I still plan on doing traditional woodworking with the CNC there to enhance my work.

Reactions: 3

Cherryville Chuck

· #4 · Aug 23, 2019

As David said, don't confuse throat depth with cutting height. The older 14" Deltas came with a standard 6" cutting height but an optional 6" riser block was available to add in the middle of the column that would allow it a 12" cutting height. I have an 18" with 12" cutting height. If you plan on doing more scroll type sawing then a smaller saw is usually good as they are geared for narrower blades which cut tighter arcs. If you are mostly resawing then bigger is better so that you can use wider, more aggressive blades with deeper gullets and fewer teeth per inch.

Reactions: 2

honesttjohn

· #5 · Aug 23, 2019

Gotta have a band saw. My 14" Grizz has been good - but you can get a riser to expand it. Wish I would have got the 17 inch cause bigger is better, but the 14 inch was all I could afford at the time. Works great for cutting tabs when taking projects off the bed.

Reactions: 1

ger21

· #6 · Aug 23, 2019

I've had my 14" Delta for 30 years. I turn it on once every 5 years or so.

Reactions: 2

Inor

· #7 · Aug 23, 2019

I have a 14" PowerMatic that I absolutely could not live without. I chose the PowerMatic over the Delta or Jet because it has a bigger motor and can take up to a 5/8" blade. Without the riser block, it has about 6" of resaw capability. That is fine most of the resawing I do. Mostly, my resawing is just for doing bentwood laminate. But I do like the 5/8" blade because it gives a much smoother finish than most 1/2" blades I have tried.

Reactions: 1

4DThinker

· #8 · Aug 23, 2019

I've got two. A floor model 14" no-name brand that works fine in my main shop area, and a benchtop WEN that I keep in the room I have my CNC in. I don't resaw anything with either. I put the small bandsaw in the CNC room to use for cutting parts free that I've just cut leaving tabs connecting. I also have a router table with a flush trim bit dedicated to trimming off tab remnants/edges of parts the CNC has just cut out. I doubt anyone has just a CNC. Typical shop tools for work up front before the CNC starts, and work after it is done to finish the parts.

4D

Reactions: 3

RainMan 2.0

Discussion Starter · #9 · Aug 23, 2019 (Edited)

Thanks guys .

A bit of a jump up , but there’s this one that does an 18” cut . I found a dealer in Calgary, so it’s only a 4 hour drive to get there

https://blackforestwood.com/collections/monthly-highlight-1/products/18-bandsaw-laguna-tools

honesttjohn

· #10 · Aug 23, 2019 (Edited)

You b itch about CNCRP prices for their parts and try to save $20 - and now want to drive 4 hours for a $2500 band saw. I'm confused.

Reactions: 1

RainMan 2.0

Discussion Starter · #11 · Aug 23, 2019 (Edited)

honesttjohn said:
You ***** about CNCRP prices for their parts and now want to drive 4 hours for a $2500 band saw. I'm confused.

I’m a confusing type of person , could be a little bit of autism involved, were not sure :grin:

If I get this new job in September working for our contractors and all goes well , it will be providing me with some extra income to play with .
So now I’m considering purchasing a few more tools , and may end up buying the plug and play electronics from Avid .
It all depends on how this new job goes , so I thought I’d do my homework now . Plus I love researching and buying tools

difalkner

· #12 · Aug 23, 2019

Rick, we may need to start calling you Charlie Brown (he is wishy-washy, too). :wink:

David

Reactions: 1

RainMan 2.0

Discussion Starter · #13 · Aug 23, 2019 (Edited)

difalkner said:
Rick, we may need to start calling you Charlie Brown (he is wishy-washy, too). :wink:

David

You don’t think I chose RainMan out of the blue lol

Reactions: 1

ger21

· #14 · Aug 23, 2019

You'll NEVER resaw something 18" tall. NEVER

Reactions: 3

difalkner

· #15 · Aug 23, 2019

I agree, though I did resaw a 14" wide board once. It was plenty wide and made a good video!

David

Reactions: 1

RainMan 2.0

Discussion Starter · #16 · Aug 23, 2019

ger21 said:
You'll NEVER resaw something 18" tall. NEVER

I don’t actually know what resaw is. Assuming your resawing it lol

Cherryville Chuck

· #17 · Aug 23, 2019

I've used mine to finish cutting 10" birch into thinner stock after I sliced 3" in from either side on the TS. That made it easy to cut the center with the BS. The Laguna is a nice machine and you'll probably be able to get parts longer than most other brands not that bandsaws tend to break much except blades.

Stick486

· #18 · Aug 23, 2019

ger21 said:
You'll NEVER resaw something 18" tall. NEVER

never say never...

difalkner

· #19 · Aug 23, 2019

Here ya' go, Rick. Resawing a 14" wide board -

David

Reactions: 3

DesertRatTom

· #20 · Aug 24, 2019

@RainMan 2.0: Resawing anything much wider than a foot is going to leave you with slabs that want to warp. I think it's better to use narrower pieces and glue them up. Beside that, you still have to either hand plane or use a jointer and planer to have a usable chunk of wood for your CNC to work on.

I have the Laguna 14-12 and it does the job really well. I have a 3/4 inch Resaw King blade I use for wider stuff, but it does a good job with the half inch blade as well.

Just FYI, resawing is splitting a thick piece of wood into two thinner pieces. On highly figured woods, this gives you a book match, that is, you glue the two pieces together on the edge so the grain pattern is the same on both pieces. Often used for guitars and other musical instruments, it can also be used for furniture or panels. If you start with a 5/4 piece that's flat, by the time you finish and plane it, you will have two half inch thick panels.

There are several types of resaw blades, most have about 3 teeth per inch with deep gullets to carry off all the sawdust. Some blades cut cleaner than others, but I can't imagine not planing/sanding the pieces perfectly smooth. For a musical instrument I'd probably use a scraper instead.

See less See more

Reactions: 2

1 - 20 of 31 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.