Mastercraft bandsaw opinions needed

Hello BrianS,

I have no experience with Mastercraft but if you are going to buy a bandsaw I would suggest looking at a 12 or 14" model. Unless price is the object.

I have a 12" bandsaw and looking to buy a 14" or larger bandsaw soon.

Jet 14" closed base

Realizing the inherent limitations of a smaller bandsaw, I still think this is worth it as a beginners machine. It's half the price of new, and for my immediate needs I think it will be fine. I'm not planning on doing a lot of re-saw work, just want it for some detail cutting that I can't do on the table saw. I'm just getting into this as a hobby so too soon to tell if I'm going to stick with it or move onto something else.

Brian

Sounds like you have made up your mind to get the bandsaw but if you are a beginner I would not add a band saw to your shop until you have a lot of other items.... since I don't know what you have I can not say if this is the tool you need next. But sometime ago a few of us made up our list of "first tools" so please before you lay down the $$ check post:
www.routerforums.com/showthread.php?t=539

If you want to do some curved cuts and you don't have one a good jig saw would be a better idea.... This sort of hand-held tool will be useful even if you decide woodworking is not for you.... it then becomes a handyman tool for jobs around the house.

Ed

Thanks Ed. That was a pretty impressive list in that other thread. Surprisingly enough, (to me anyways) I have most of them already. I've become an auction hound as of late and picked up quite a few things in anticipation.

You mentioned a jig saw. I purchased an old B&D router and table a while back. The instructions with the table show using it either with the router or mounting a jig saw upside down in it. It's probably a pretty poor excuse for a scroll saw, but have you ever seen one, or know of someone who's used the table in this manner?

Brian

As long as you are aware of the limitations of a 3 wheel band saw go for it . After you use it for a while you will have a better idea of what features you would prefer in a band saw.

Good Luck

Jerry

Did you get that Mastercraft bandsaw and if so how do you like it?

Yes, I got it but have not had a chance to use it yet. Furnace died, 2 daughters moved out.... all in the same month!! I'll let you know how I like it when my world stops falling apart.

Brian

Let me know how you like it. I am thinking of getting one as well because I can not get 1/8" blades for my 20" Delta bandsaw. The place I use to get my blades made in Edmonton can not make a 1/8" blade which I need to cut my dovetails on as seen by Mark Duginske. The saw is on sale at Cdn Tire for $120.00 The sale ends by the end of the week.

Hi Dan. Yes, I got it and now it's broken. Seriously, it was a pretty good saw for the money, and what broke on it was one of the tires. I can get 2 new tires of Fleabay for around $50U$ or so, and a brand new saw when they go on sale for a bit over $100. It broke about 4 months ago, and has not been high on my priority list due to a very busy work schedule. It cut everything I asked it to cut, but it is a bit low powered. I'm not sure you could do any resawing with it, but the dovetails should be fine.

Brian did you have any problems getting it to track properly? I've always heard those 3 wheeled saws are notoriously bad that way.

Thanks for the quick reply Brian and sorry to hear you broke the bandsaw. I guess the nice thing is you should be able to get parts for it fairly easy being it is sold by Cdn Tire. Having said this most stuff is brough over from China so you may have some issues regardless. Nevertheless good luck with getting it repaired.

I have my eye on A Ryobi (" saw and may just get that one. When I went to Cdt Tire yesterday to look at the Mastercraft I found the table did not pivot very well and was not impressed by how the rack and pinion operated. I will call the fellow who posted in Kijii and see if the saw is still for sale and go over and have a look at it.

TRN_Diesel said:

Thanks for the quick reply Brian and sorry to hear you broke the bandsaw. I guess the nice thing is you should be able to get parts for it fairly easy being it is sold by Cdn Tire. Having said this most stuff is brough over from China so you may have some issues regardless. Nevertheless good luck with getting it repaired.

I have my eye on A Ryobi (" saw and may just get that one. When I went to Cdt Tire yesterday to look at the Mastercraft I found the table did not pivot very well and was not impressed by how the rack and pinion operated. I will call the fellow who posted in Kijii and see if the saw is still for sale and go over and have a look at it.

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I would not recommend a Mastercraft saw based on what I have seen. If you are interested in a used saw there are usually some available of better quality. Good bandsaw blades can be ordered from R&D here https://www.tufftooth.com/ . Very reputable company selling high quality blades of all sizes.

Cherryville Chuck said:

Brian did you have any problems getting it to track properly? I've always heard those 3 wheeled saws are notoriously bad that way.

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Yes, it seemed to track OK. By tracking, I'm assuming you mean the position of the blade on the wheel?

TRN_Diesel said:

Thanks for the quick reply Brian and sorry to hear you broke the bandsaw. I guess the nice thing is you should be able to get parts for it fairly easy being it is sold by Cdn Tire. Having said this most stuff is brough over from China so you may have some issues regardless. Nevertheless good luck with getting it repaired.

I have my eye on A Ryobi (" saw and may just get that one. When I went to Cdt Tire yesterday to look at the Mastercraft I found the table did not pivot very well and was not impressed by how the rack and pinion operated. I will call the fellow who posted in Kijii and see if the saw is still for sale and go over and have a look at it.

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Parts availability? Bahahaha!! Crappy Tire is almost as bad as Sears for parts for older machines. Even warranty parts are difficult to come by. I waited a month and a half for the plastic depth gauge on my thickness planner. The employee finally got tired of me asking about it and gave me the one off the floor model. That was last year, and as far as I know, it never did come it. This particular saw, and I am assuming their current offerings, was actually made by Ryobi I was told.

I feel your pain Brian it is frustrating when you can not get any service for machines which are sold here but not made here.

I had a similar issue with getting locking bars for my 12.5" Delta thickness planer and Jerry on this forum helped me out by accepting the parts mailed to him direct from Sears. Delta does not service Canada anymore and that parts were not available. The bars were only $9.00 each but without them my thickness planer was useless.

I ended up using a company called Reship.com. It allows you to get a US mailing address and when you buy stuff you have it shipped to the US address. Once it gets there they forward the shipment to you up in Canada. Now I can order stuff from Amazon.com and get what I need for far less than what they sell it for here in Canada. The real benefit is accessibility to parts not available to you in Canada.

You may want to look into it for future parts issue it certainly saved my back bacon!

TRN_Diesel said:

I ended up using a company called Reship.com. It allows you to get a US mailing address and when you buy stuff you have it shipped to the US address. Once it gets there they forward the shipment to you up in Canada. Now I can order stuff from Amazon.com and get what I need for far less than what they sell it for here in Canada. The real benefit is accessibility to parts not available to you in Canada.

You may want to look into it for future parts issue it certainly saved my back bacon!

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We have something similar available in Detroit that will accept shipments for a per-package fee. I have something even better... I have everything shipped to Mike McGrath's house. Comes in VERY handy for those companies that won't ship across the border, or for Brown, which will bring it across the border but charge outrageous brokerage fees to do so.

panther414 here. I have the Mastercraft 9" bandsaw which is identical to the Ryobi BS904 in most ways. However the BS904G seems to have an improved blade guide assembly which is the master crafts major downfall. you can't get enough adjustment. I like the saw and will keep it. It is a good saw to learn on and deciding what you like and dislike. Knowing what I know now I would get the Ryobi BS904G.

Hi Panther and welcome. It probably is a Ryobi but with a few specs from Canadian Tire changed. Sears is the same. Any Sears tool that starts with 315. is made by Ryobi.