Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi,

I'm a newbie here. I've spent the morning browsing through all the old bandsaw threads on the forum and found it very educational! I'm wanting to get a larger bandsaw and set it up for resawing. Based on what I've read and my (under $2,000) budget, I'm going to start putting aside some money for the Grizzly G0514X2 19" 3-hp bandsaw. I'm still unsure what blade I'll pick, but some more reading should help narrow my choices. One factor in my decision is that I'm only 90 miles from the Springfield, Mo. warehouse. I can drive over there, pick it up and drive back for less $$ than their shipping charge.

I currently use a Ryobi (not Rikon 10" as I wrote earlier) 9" and a Ridgid 14" bandsaw. I can resaw on the Ridgid, but it is a struggle, even though I have it refitted with Carter guides and a Kreg fence. It also is limited to just 6" height.

I'd appreciate any tips, tricks or advice on setting up a 19" bandsaw for resawing.

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Complete newbie to guitar building, but experienced amateur at building other stringed & wind instruments.

I think the only thing I could say is that I track my blade so the teeth are on the center of the tire. Forward of the center the blade will be "aimed" diagonal to the miter track, and the fence will have to be adjusted accordingly. Each time you change the blade it will have to be re-tracked.
Tracking on the center of the tire fixes that and lets you use the miter tack accurately.
For resawing you an align the fence parallel to the blade by titling the table, for cutting out solid body shapes you can adjust the table perpendicular to the blade using a square.
Lenox makes a carbide tooth resaw blade called the Woodmaster for about $60, I've never tried it but it seems to get good reviews.
My Resaw King is functioning flawlessly and has a super thin kerf to maximize the material use.

Pick a blade about half the width of you tire otherwise it will hang off the back of the tire.

A little overhang isn't bad.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Lenox Woodmaster CT available from Spectrum Supply http://www.spectrumsupply.com/

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I/ve visited grizz twice and looked at their BS. I decided to wait.If one checks their CS , lots of complaints.OTOH. they probably sell way more than other BS makers. so IMHO it/s a crap shoot.

Won't the rigid 14" take a riser block? Itura swears by the 14". Mainly, I think, because it is an iron frame.

Bob C (RC Tone Wood) uses them, so does John Hall. I bet when you fit them with carter stuff, they are as good as any.

Mike

Cast iron 14" frames won't support much tension at all... it won't even tension a 1/2" blade properly let alone anything wider. It is reported that European (such as Minimax) steel frame can support a huge amount of tension but it's also more expensive than Grizzly. Grizzly seems to get good reviews but I think it's a hit and miss sometimes as wheels could be unbalanced, etc.. Just make sure customer service is good.

By the time you buy a 14" cast iron saw, fit it with a full range of Carter stuff, you just put enough money to buy a decent 19" bandsaw.

_________________
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

Stock and I just got done talking about that. He said the same thing you said, the 14 inch rames just aren't really up to the task of tensioning a blade properly.

The exception would in fact be the Laguna 14 SUV, which is MUCH befier than any 14 inch bandsaw I've ever seen.

_________________
Old growth, shmold growth!

I have the Grizzly pictured with a Woodmaster CT. Great combo, very little setup for me other than the blade tracking, getting the table at 90 degrees to the blade and getting max tension on the blade. I've never had any drift or problems with the saw, even after it was shipped from NY to Alaska.

That is why I bought it. At almost 400 pounds I have to say it is a sturdy saw. When I get it hooked up we will see how it handles the 1" blade and how true it cuts.

I thought about getting a Grizzly but with only 3 distributors here in the US I was concerned about service. That is why I went with Woodcraft. They have a great reputation and they said if they couldn't help me with a problem I had they would make sure any issues got resolved.

I think when it comes down to it (at least in my mind) most of these saws are very competitive with each other as far as performance so it really came down to having someone I can rely on for service should I ever need it and that was the main reason I went with Woodcraft. It was a toss up between the Rikon and the Laguna both 3 hp motors and I picked the Laguna mainly because of the trunion that holds the table on. It is 2X as sturdy as the Rikon, if you grab the table on the Rikon you can move it up and down slightly when it is locked in place where the Laguna is rock solid.

Bob

Same for me really. I knew that if Laguna couldn't help me Woodcraft could.

A sturdy table is DEFINITELY a must.

The Laguna has a bigger, sturdier trunnions than the Grizzly, but the grizzly also has a geared table adjustment truss that I believe makes up for the smaller trunnions.

_________________
Old growth, shmold growth!

I'm not sure if the Laguna LT14SUV could do 1" blades except for Resaw Kings.

Not saying it can't handle the tension but 14" wheels are too small for any blade thicker than .025" and I don't know of any 1" blade that thin. So if I were in the market for a steel frame saw I'd go 18", the bigger wheel reduces blade fatigue.

_________________
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

Here's a possibility to consider while I'm saving pennies for the 19" saw: I read that the Grizzly 6" riser kit will fit the 14" Ridgid bandsaw. If I swapped the stock Ridgid 3/4 hp motor for a 1-1/2 hp motor, would the Ridgid frame handle it? I suspect that the various import 14" bandsaws are all made in the same factory. As I mentioned, I already have retrofit the Ridgid with Carter guides and a Kreg fence. I'm thinking a motor upgrade along with the riser kit would add to the resell value of the machine, should I decide to sell it after I get a 19" machine.

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Complete newbie to guitar building, but experienced amateur at building other stringed & wind instruments.

With my Jet 14 inch saw with the riser block it didn't seem beneficial to me to use more than a 5/8ths blade. In fact, I'm thinking that my attempt to use a 1 inch blade may have distorted my frame a little.

_________________
Old growth, shmold growth!

Hi jim I own 6 bandsaws, no ridgid BS .Personally I would hang on to my $$$ and save what you can for a top quality BS. Most of my BS are DIY rebuilt cheapies with a dedicated blade . that do a lot of my grunt chores for shop tasks . My minimax is my go to resaw machine , which I plan to upgrade to a better resaw BS. I would also want to road test any potential BS for it/s resawing capabilities before I plunked down 2k or more only to find out afterwards that the BS has flaws that I can/t live with. There is a dearth of blather and misinformation on BS on y tube , blogs, forums , etc , by so called experts . If you can find someone that has the machine you plan to purchase it would behoove you to contact them politely and ask to see if you can try it before you buy it. Professional luthiers, cabinetmakers. boatbuilders, etc. would be a good starting point.Folks who use their machines daily and could share the pros and cons of their particular make/model. http://www.ateliertomistrings.com

The more I read & research, the more I think the riser kit on the Ridgid is a waste of time & money:

$90.00 for the riser kit
$134.00 for a 105" Resaw King blade
$159.00 for a Carter blade tension release kit
$262.00 for a 1-1/2 hp motor upgrade (Ridgid has a 3/4 hp motor)

Sheesh! That's $645.00 worth of modifications to a $400.00 bandsaw - not counting the earlier modifications! That's 1/3 the price of the 19" Grizzly + shipping and a Resaw King blade! Not a good investment, IMHO!

_________________
Complete newbie to guitar building, but experienced amateur at building other stringed & wind instruments.

Also a rigid bandsaw frame is not going to be able to tension a resaw king properly!

_________________
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've read a couple of comments to that effect. I've also read a couple of comments on Amazon about fitting the Grizzly riser kit to the Ridgid and the user was perfectly happy with the results - although they did not mention their choice of resaw blade. I suppose just the riser kit & a 105" Timber Wolf blade would not be a bad investment just to see if it will work well enough for now. For now I will not be resawing anything 10"-12" wide harder than a billet of quarter-sawn Sitka Spruce I bought from Gilmer recently. I could always just release the blade tension with the stock adjustment knob - a PITA, but cheaper than the Carter release kit.

_________________
Complete newbie to guitar building, but experienced amateur at building other stringed & wind instruments.

About the only blade a cast iron 14" is going to tension is a 1/2" blade, like a 1/2" 3T bimetal from Lenox or Olson. I read somewhere where someone reported that they tried a 1/2" 3T Trimaster in a cast iron saw and it would self feed because the cast iron can't possibly supply enough tension. At minimum you'd have to upgrade (or eliminate) the tension spring because the stock one will not tension even carbon steel blades properly. But then the cast iron frame is too flexible. The resaw king is really designed for steel spined saw such as LT14SUV or similar because they do not flex as much as cast iron frames.

_________________
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

Jim there is a new Grizz riser kit for sale in this weekends Tool section kansas city on craigslist.Think it was sat or sun??

Thanks! I've emailed the seller. Unfortunately, I blew this month's shop budget on wood and a bending iron, so cannot buy until after June 11. It may be sold by then.
If not, I can run up to KC (120 miles) on my Honda trike and pick it up.

_________________
Complete newbie to guitar building, but experienced amateur at building other stringed & wind instruments.

If your up this way jim, PM me for my adr/fone number.Will give you the nickel/s worth shop tour. The grizz might still be available..I/ve bought 3 cheapy BS off CL here in KC, I/ve got a youtube video on basic setups for BS follow the link.www.ateliertomistrings.com

Thanks, Earnie. I don't get to KC as often as I used to, but I'll take you up on your offer the next time I head up that way. The Craigslist riser sold before I had the money to get it. I'm going to order the riser kit from Grizzly next week. I do not have high expectations, but am willing to invest the necessary amount to try it. I still plan to get the 19" Grizzly later, but this may take the immediate pressure off. I want to resaw this billet of 2" x 10" x 36" quarter-sawn Sitka I have without having to rip it down narrower to fit the Ridgid as it's currently configured.

This blade was recommended to me, so I think I'll give it a try: http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/wood-slicer-resaw-bandsaw-blades.aspx

_________________
Complete newbie to guitar building, but experienced amateur at building other stringed & wind instruments.

Jim nice sitka, Too bad on the riser kit getting sold.That/s the deal with CL , the best deals are gone before anyone reads them Like 2hrs max.I scored a really nice CL gtr on craigslist for $40. FYI those highland blades are IMHO crapola and marketing hyperoni. I/ve bought at least 3 in the past .Total waste of $$$ for my minimax s-45 they are a crappy carbon steel blade and dull vy quickly . I would call suffolk machinery that sell timberwolf BS blades and ask their techie what kind of blade to get for the cutting that you will do on your BS. They are helpful and their blades are way better than the highland hdware blades for a vy similiar price .pros buy the timberwolf as a backup grunt BS blade. Their techs can help you, whereas H.H. can/t ,just my 2 cents from past experiences spending a fortune on BS blades and getting my advice from BOZOS.

If your on a budget try looking at some of the auctions for public entities. I found a delta saw, current on auction at Rene' Bates Auctioneers page under City Of Denton, Texas' Look at the "tools and shop related items". This one's not in working condition but look at the price so far.