Official Luthiers Forum!

U know, it seems that a lot of builders are very happy with a well tuned, well setup, well powered 14" saw. Lou Itura is considered by many the go to guy for bandsaw technology and know how. And he loves the iron 14". Iron bandsaws in larger sizes are either prohibitively priced or just not nearly available as steel bodies. Most ready made 14" saws are not setup to Itura's standards, and you will probably put a bunch of dollars into one to get it there. That said, I would love to have such a 14" bandsaw. But, I can get close with a 18" steel bandsaw. Without lots of upgrades. Plus, you have a larger throat area, and won't need riser blocks for resaw. And the carbide blades are not excluded for your use. I have a delta 10" for little things and would not be without it. My Jet 18" with 3hp is plenty for whatever I do. What I think will happen is if you buy a 10", you will later get a 14". If you get a 14", you will double your investment with bearings and riser blocks. Eventually you will want more throat area and more power and you will end up at 18" or greater. And you will probably keep them all if you have the room. If you do not have room for a 14" and a 18", then I would say go with the 18". But do not buy an 18" with a motor less than 3hp, and the motor should wire at 120 or 220 volts, 220 being preferred for proper power draw at startup.

My old Delta 10" saw is the most used saw in my shop by a long shot.

Motors can always be swapped out if it is underpowered...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I agree, but that means you are adding to ur investment. Nothing wrong with that. I do things like that all of the time. Grizzly does make a 2hp 14". Steel body. Probably a good saw. But still $800-$1000.

Not all of the modifications are necessary, like quick tension release (if not already included). As for a better fence you can always make your own.

Anything that draws 15 amps at 110v needs to either be on its own circuit, or be wired for 220. That is a lot of amps to draw off of a circuit. I had to modify the wiring in my shop to handle new equipments, as the wiring was originally meant for a residence that runs no air conditioning so the amperage of the breakers were very low.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com