Small bandsaw or small table saw

[Bob Howell]

I have a nice cast iron 14 Delta bs that I put a 15.6 amp motor on for sawing green bowl blanks and re-sawing large boards. But Now I also want to saw small stuff for purfling and Bindings and maybe rosettes.

Today I saw a 10" Ricon at Highland woodworking for $200. That is within the strike price. But a small 5-6" table saw would work also. So I'm dreaming of something like this and wondering just what else is out there. I remember a small Proxxon table saw. some where. What are others using to make purfling, rusetts, etc.

Thoughts on this would help me deal with the urge for a new tool.

[Gordon Bellerose]

I find that I can cut a fairly thin strip on my 10 inch table saw. I use a CMT thin kerf rip blade. Excellent blade.
I keep the strip I want to the outside, not against the fence.
After that I can use a straightedge and a knife to cut it to the width I need.

As for a small table saw, I'm afraid I don't know much about them.
If it were me, I would do a google search.

[Waddy Thomson]

I have been pretty happy with my Craftsman 10" band saw. Pretty much a knock-off of the Rikon. I did like that it has a flat, not fluted, cast iron table vs the aluminum one on the Rikon. That may have changed on the new model Rikons. I did replace the guides with a Carter single bushing guide that rides behind the blade and holds it in a groove. Best thing I ever did. I only use 1/4" blades on the saw, and when I'm cutting purflings and such, I use a bi-metal 14-18 tooth blade.

[David King]

Either saw you'll want a zero clearance insert around the blade. I use a 7-1/4" Freud 40 tooth or 60 tooth cross cut blade on the TS and a Woodslicer/bladerunner/kerfmaster blade on the BS. If you get any burning clean the blade.

[Kerry Werry]

A bit expensive but well worth it I recently bought a Byrnes Model Machines table saw, hand built machine that works great!! I also got their sander BTW and between it and the table saw making things like bindings and rosettes is great.. of course a regular table saw with the right jigs will work as well...

http://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/

Kerry

[Bob Howell]

I did not have much say in this and looks like I'm getting the Rockwell 9" bs, from Amazon . Now I'm looking for blades. 59 1/4"-1/2 seem to fit.
This will be for thin bindings, perflings. Stuff under 1/2".

[Barry Daniels]

That's too bad. Those small bandsaws are not very good.

[Bob Howell]

That's too bad. Those small bandsaws are not very good.

Well I can send it back; But you know Mrs. Santa

[Barry Daniels]

Yep, I know how that goes.

The 14" bandsaws are where the real works start.

[Bob Hammond]

I suppose that bandsaw could be used, but a table saw setup such as David uses is probably the most practical idea. For bindings, I start with a 3/4-1-1/4""Th x 3-5"W x 36"L board and saw a deep slot(s) down the edge with a thin-kerf blade, and then lay the board flat and saw strips off the slotted edge, thus obtaining two or more strips with each pass. If the blade doesn't leave a good smooth surface, then you can plane the slotted edge between the passes on the saw. I find that it's easier for me to saw thin strips off a board that is large enough to control easily, instead of trying to cut thin/narrow strips from thin stock.

[Bob Howell]

Yep, I know how that goes.

The 14" bandsaws are where the real works start.

I have a 14" bs, this will be for small stuff.

[Bob Howell]

I have been pretty happy with my Craftsman 10" band saw. Pretty much a knock-off of the Rikon. I did like that it has a flat, not fluted, cast iron table vs the aluminum one on the Rikon. That may have changed on the new model Rikons. I did replace the guides with a Carter single bushing guide that rides behind the blade and holds it in a groove. Best thing I ever did. I only use 1/4" blades on the saw, and when I'm cutting purflings and such, I use a bi-metal 14-18 tooth blade.

I see a 3/8", 14 t blade on Amazon for $8 or so. The bimetal is $28.

[Stephen Neal Saqui]

A bit expensive but well worth it I recently bought a Byrnes Model Machines table saw, hand built machine that works great!! I also got their sander BTW and between it and the table saw making things like bindings and rosettes is great.. of course a regular table saw with the right jigs will work as well...

http://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/

Kerry

Thank you for posting this! If this guy built a 10" bandsaw it would be well worth getting!

[David King]

The 9" wheels will wreck havoc with any bimetal blade stock and cause the teeth welds to either fracture or the band itself to fail. You need to stick with carbon blade stock that's .020" or less in thickness. I'd look through Iturra's catalogue to see if he has any decent blades in that range. The frozen fish blades would be great if they made them less than 1/2" deep. You can try calling Sharptech in Atlanta (800) 462-7297 to see what they can come up with.

[Bob Howell]

The 10" Rikon is looking good. I took the Rockwell back. Spectrum supply has a 14 tooth .025 blade. I'm planning to cut bindings and perfling strips.

Anyone had luck with this type blade?

[Bob Howell]

I have been pretty happy with my Craftsman 10" band saw. Pretty much a knock-off of the Rikon. I did like that it has a flat, not fluted, cast iron table vs the aluminum one on the Rikon. That may have changed on the new model Rikons. I did replace the guides with a Carter single bushing guide that rides behind the blade and holds it in a groove. Best thing I ever did. I only use 1/4" blades on the saw, and when I'm cutting purflings and such, I use a bi-metal 14-18 tooth blade.

Where did you get the blade?

[David King]

http://www.spectrumsupply.com/flexback.aspx

[Bob Howell]

I've looked. They don't carry a bimetal with suitable thickness.

[Brian Evans]

Why do you want a bimetal blade? I only use them on my steel cutting saw (that runs very slowly). Everything else, including thin aluminium, I use carbon blades. Correct width and tooth count is very important, it's rarely one size fits all jobs.

[Barry Daniels]

Yep, bimetal blades are handy for cutting carbon steel but totally unnecessary for wood.