muskyswab Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 im looking to get a band saw for cutting baits out and the skil 9" bandsaw caught my eye. Is this a reliable saw? If u have any other suggestions or alternative tools for quickly cutting out baits, please tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskyswab Posted May 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 haha thanks for the advice. Is it a good choice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 You are right to ask the question. Try to buy quality, this may involve more money of course. I say this because the cheap piece of ---- that I bought, died on me two days ago. A cast component, part of the tensioner assembly has snapped. Indonesia does not have the customer service that you enjoy in the USA. The shop will want to return the bandsaw to the manufacturer and will probably take at least 2 months. This means I will end up with two bandsaws, as I will have to buy another now. The good thing is I will no longer have to change blades when cutting metal. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskyswab Posted May 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 (edited) Vodkaman, what do u recommend? and i have a very small garage so i need something to fit in a very small space. Also would a handheld jigsaw do the job just as well? Edited May 7, 2009 by muskyswab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basschamp167 Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Hey, Do you guys use a thinner blade for cutting out your baits? Or is the stock blade that it comes with fine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Blades are another important consideration. Make sure you can get replacements, don't assume. I could not get replacements for mine and had to get them custom made. Now I have 25 wood and 25 metal spares and no bandsaw. In fact, the blades cost more than the bandsaw. DUH! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basschamp167 Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Yeah that is definitely true. I have seen blades for about $20, though. Were your blades that expensive because where you live? Or because you had 50 made lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 (edited) It was going to be$6 per blade, if I just had a few blades made, but $2.50 per blade for having the entire raw blade length cut and welded. This worked out at about 25 blades of each (metal and wood). The blade provided with your new bandsaw is usually the cheapest possible grade. Mine snapped within a week. This could be down to inferior material or inexperience on my part. My second blade was still in use when the machine broke, after 4 months. It is not in constant heavy use though. The bandsaw was a Nesto table top N240BS. Just so you know what NOT to buy. When you do buy your bandsaw, it is important to read the manual and set it up correctly. Quite a few adjustments to be made BEFORE powering the thing up. It is embarrassing to aire my mistakes, but I do it so that you can learn from them. Dave Edited May 7, 2009 by Vodkaman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 (edited) Good on you Dave, sounds like me, can't wait to use the tool they call it 'premature' something - not many of us would admit to that, just for the record and to even things up, I bought a new GPS yesterday (Car) and stuffed the battery, trying to use a bodgie charger, so have to do the FleaBay thing and wait a week for another one, problem is I'm driving home next Monday and will need it.pete Edited May 7, 2009 by hazmail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeeFishing Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 I have a similar machine made by Delta. It's a good size and OK power. The only issue I've had is getting the upper wheel adjusted so that the blade doesn't wander and slip off. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CL Rods Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 I wouldn't buy the Skil brand if you have a Home Depot nearby, I would recomend buying the Ryobi instead. It goes to the quality statement previously made. The prices are pretty close to each other. I have had no problems adjusting mine, or ripping with mine, but I am only ripping Basswood and Balsa. I say buy the Ryobi, because it will already come with roller bearings to keep the blade cool and they can be adjusted easily to help keep the blade properly aligned while cutting. These bearings are superior to what you will find with the Skil version sold at Lowes. Just read ALL of the directions for setup and adjustment and you will be good to go. The only thing I had to do was order the rip fence as the model Home Depot stocked did not come with the rip fence. So I went on line and ordered it. For our international friends I can't imagine what it is like to not have a Lowes/Home Depot right around the corner. If you are not going to rip larger wood down to the size you need then skip it, but it is cheaper to order say 3" stock and rip it down to 11/16 or whatever than it is to order the thickness you want to cut your outlines from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrhopkins Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 i bought a Ryobi a year ago and would not recommend it. snapped 2 blades, blade wanders when cutting thick stock and Lowes can't think to stock replacement blades for the stuff they sell! it's going in a yard sale! i got a Craftsman 10" benchtop saw that i really like. i've cut out approx. 100 lure blanks and am still on the original blade. plus it has roller guides to keep the blade from wandering. right now you can get one from the online store for $159 on sale $40 off. don't know what that Skil sells for but i'm sure it is over $100 so for a little more the Craftsman is a good saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 (edited) Another thing to keep in mind concerning bandsaws is how long a blade will stay sharp. The larger the wheel, the longer the blade, and the longer it will last before getting dull because it has more teeth. I have a 16" Grizzley floor model that I bought 15 years ago to do wood working on const. projects, and the blades last me at least a year. I change them for different materials and jobs, but they last a long time. A sharp blade will make even a cheap saw perform better, and a dull blade will make even the most expensive saws bog and drift. Having said all that, if I were buying a bandsaw for lure making, and only using it for cutting out profiles on blanks, I'd buy a good desktop model, since I do my ripping on a table saw anyway. Edited May 7, 2009 by mark poulson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CL Rods Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 i bought a Ryobi a year ago and would not recommend it. snapped 2 blades, blade wanders when cutting thick stock and Lowes can't think to stock replacement blades for the stuff they sell! it's going in a yard sale! i got a Craftsman 10" benchtop saw that i really like. i've cut out approx. 100 lure blanks and am still on the original blade. plus it has roller guides to keep the blade from wandering. right now you can get one from the online store for $159 on sale $40 off. don't know what that Skil sells for but i'm sure it is over $100 so for a little more the Craftsman is a good saw. Well I haven't had the wandering problems with mine, and haven't broken any blades. I am using a narrow blade and I am not cutting PVC. The Ryobi does have roller bearings like the Sears version, so properly tensioned and adjusted I have had no issues what so ever. I raise and lower the roller guides accordingly and the roller guides are adjusted to do just that, guide. However, I will say I have seen the Craftsman 10" and it is slightly larger and had a slightly wider stock blade as I recall and at the time I was buying it would have been $100 more than what I paid for mine. So for what I do ie: no PVC the smaller saw is fine. Now I can only rip up to about 3" or so, so if you need more height than that, I suspect the 10" Sears would provide more capacity. If I ever do cut PVC I will probably go up one blade width, and they are in stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Gator, you are right on. What I pay for my cheap piece of ----, you get quality. It is extremely frustrating buying the bigger chunks of machinery here. But it all balances out in the end. They practically give wood away here. Albasiah, similar density to a dense balsa or light basswood, 12' x 3" x 2" $1.50. Lots of things I just cannot get here, D2T, etex, minwax, RTV, durhams etc. I just keep searching, but the language problem is holding me back. I can memorise 12 digit numbers, but words totally defeat me, so I talk a lot with my hands. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
