Help!
I’m in process of moving from a larger house with plenty of shop room to a much smaller one with very limited room for my woodworking. My large stationary shop equipment (old Unisaw, 8″ Delta jointer, 18″ Laguna bandsaw, etc) will have to be replaced with smaller equipment. The jointer I can do without, using hand planes and a good bench, the table saw I can replace with several smaller ghood ones now on the market as well as with a Festool saw and guide; but replacing the bandsaw with a smaller, high quality one, has me puzzled. Years ago, I had an Inca bandsaw that was both small and very high quality, but Inca is long gone (at least in the US).
I’ve looked at several 12″ bandsaws, notably the Jet and the Delta, but they just don’t seem to have the quality I’d want.
Do any of you have any advice as to a good quality, smaller, bandsaw? I’d seek out and buy another used Inca, but I’m concerned that parts would not be availible.
Replies
Does the new saw have to be a benchtop machine? If it doesn't, I would suggest that you consider a traditional cast iron frame 14" saw, they don't take up a lot of floor space, and would be far more useful.
The current 12" and smaller saws are primarily hobbyist saws for craft work, they are not smaller woodworking machines so you won't find small heavy duty models. If you wanted to search for one, an older home shop machine from before the 1960's would be a miniature version of a larger saw with a lot more metal than the plastic versions available today.
Of the new saws I'm familiar with, I would suggest looking at the Ryobi 10" saw, it is probably the best engineered of the bunch, has a number of nice features and is well liked by people who own one. They also make a 9" saw, but it is the 10" I'm recommending. Ryobi is sold through Home Depot but there may be other sources.
The Inca machines were beautifully made but the company no longer exists so parts are near impossible to obtain, a big problem on band saws where tires, guides, bearings, and belts don't last forever. Also, the Inca's have a cult following so the prices on old machines are off the scale.
John White
Thanks, John, I appreciate the information. I'll look at a Ryobi 10" benchtop saw, but I suspect that I'll end up buying a 14" saw, either a Powermatic or Rikon's two-speed model, which looks well built, especially for a mainland China product. The castings were actually cleaned up before they were spray-painted and the wheels actually tracked straight ...
Jim
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