I bought one several years ago and mounted it on my shop wall. Vibrated so bad I couldn't use it to make exact cuts. Took it back for a refund and bought a good hand held jigsaw to get me by until I could afford a nice bandsaw.

 

I have one. It is indeed difficult to make a straight cut. There is a a "fence" to one sie and a miter gauge to the other so angle cuts are possible. Blade insertion is more of a nuisance than I expected, more so than any jig saw I've used. As @Knot2square said the vibration is bad. It is cheap and I would say you get what you pay for.

 

Not sure how much space you have maybe you could use a bench top band saw.
Price wise some of the cheaper ones are not much more then the blade runner.

 

I've had one for a few years now. I use it for household jobs and not really for woodworking. It is great for small jobs that don't require a lot of precision. It is certainly not a long term substitute for a band saw. The best feature is the portability. It is lightweight and blade changes are a breeze. Doesn't create a lot of mess either.

Rick

 

Purchased one a couple years ago, returned it the next day. Wouldn't cut straight, vibrated like crazy. Worthless for woodworking.

 

Blade Runner

After reading the other previous posts, I guess I was the lucky one out to this group. I purchased mine a few years ago. It is the first edition. It has worked well for me. as for the vibration, I have not had that problem yet. I use mine often, not huge projects. It was never meant to be a band saw replacement. I do use it to cut small circle cuts, even up to 2 inch cuts. I have mine mounted on the wall with the hangar that came with it. I never have used it while mounted. I made a bench hold down for it and I just slide it into place. The new 2nd edition has some upgrades that look good to me. One is the saw hold down is now mounted in the center and the fence is a new addition as well. The price is much less now than when I purchased mine. Like I said it is designed only for smaller items. I think on mine ii try to cut anything wider than about 8 or 9 inches, I have to remove the arm.

At any rate, if used for what it was designed for it works great. I used it to cut all of my under ground watering system. One thing to remember is clean it up with forced air when finished. Normal moisture will cause the dust to settle around the blade insert. Keep it clean and like any other saw it wil do the job for what is made for.

 

I have seen used band saws for less money on Craigslist

 

all good advice/reviews....gonna pass on this thing...will make do without for now, have a good jig saw, router table, table saw and be on the lookout for a decent used one...

Thx!
Ron

 

Not sure what your budget is for a band saw, but I recently replaced both my large and small bandsaws. Got a Fourteen/12 for wood prep, and a Rikon 10 inch for the shop. The Rikon was just under $300 and can be ordered from Amazon. I use the smaller saw in my workshop, the larger for wood prep (resawing in particular) and keep it in the garage.

That Rockwell has always gotten mediocre reviews, and the blades are easily bent. The Rikon 10 inch is a really nice little unit, I have found it to do what I've asked of it. It uses a 70 1/2 inch long blade (longer life than a 9 inch). and I got a premium half inch blade for it that allows for limited resawing (go SLOW). It has the steel frame, is very solid construction and easy to set up. And it has roller bearings and a rack and pinion blade guard. WEN also markets this same saw for about the same price, surely made in the same factory and also offered on Amazon. The reviews are pretty good on both saws (for the price) but if you get a ringer, Amazon is good on returns. I bought my Rikon at Woodcraft and it was the floor model. It had a damaged tension knob, but one call to Rikon and it was in the mail the next day.

Here's a pix...

 

I bought this one to mount on my work bench a couple of months ago, seems to be well built and runs smooth and cuts good. Not a heavy duty resaw machine, got another saw for that, but a go to saw for making jigs and general cutting.

WEN 3.5 Amp 10 in. 2-Speed Band Saw with Stand and Worklight-3962 - The Home Depot

Herb

 

This is the saw I mentioned that seems identical to the Rikon. The Rikon didn't come with the stand, but I no longer have any open stands like that in my shop because the make it almost impossible to clean out all the sawdust. It is a pretty nice saw and getting good blades for it helps. I use it pretty much as you do. I wish it had a tension relief lever, but setting tension is pretty easy. I removed the light from a little 9 inch saw I gave away and put it on the Rikon using the same attachment hardware. Put a 50 watt equivalent spot light in it and now can really see the work area clearly. I got a 1/2, 1/4 and 3/16th blade for it, but generally use the half inch. I have the 14/12 Laguna for resawing and heavy duty cuts.

 

@DesertRatTom

My Wen came with an LED light. Some people say it is too bright, I haven't made up my mind yet.
One thing I will note is this is the first band saw I have had that the port in the bottom takes care of 95% of the sawdust. and I only have a 2 1/2" hose from my DC going to it. I don't use the metal stand ,it is bolted to the bench top along the wall.
I use the carbide impregnated blades on all my saws now ,and have really had good success, they don't cut as fast as the wood slicers, but they stay sharp longer. I can feel the rate to feed the material, and as long as I don't try to force them they keep on cutting. they give a smooth cut also. SuperCut Bandsaw Co., Inc. Products I order them on Amazon.

Herb