Replies

1. 
   BG | Aug 08, 2005 02:49pm | #1

   guido,
   I did a lot of research before buying my BS, there are many that easily meet the criteria of being "good" ..inexpensive, however, is relative to your particular needs...hobbiest? professional? resawing? shaping logs for the lathe? cutting large curves?
   As a general rule anything 1hp and 14" or greater can suffice and the more cast iron the better. There is a price differential between 14" BS with cast aluminum wheels and cast iron wheels. Delta and Powermatic offer both options. Cast iron wheels mean smoother cuts (all other things being equal)and therefore less clean-up...so inexpensive becomes relative to how your using the machine and the value of your time.
   BS larger than 14" are generally more powerful and have greater capacity for resawing. That means you can work faster with greater results using larger pieces of stock. The best of these appears to be Laguna or Minmax. Less expensive the Jet, Grizzly, Delta have good reputations in the larger size. A newcomer in the market for us is the Rikon..so far good reports.
   Many professional shops have two BS: 14" for the curves and a larger one for resawing/ripping. For them swapping out the different size blades and tuning the saw makes this the less expensive option.

   When I was shopping for a BS I looked at Jet, Delta, Powermatic Grizzly, Minmax in various sizes up to 18-19". The Grizzly had the most attractive packages(good power with cast iron wheels). The Minmax was in a class of its own. I ended up buying a Delta on sale which made it less expensive than the Grizzly. Since buying it I'm using it more and more and probably could justify a larger machine...however, I'm quite pleased with my decision.

    

1. 
   alberto | Aug 09, 2005 04:23am | #2

   Thanks for the great tips BG, I will be primarily be cutting rounds
   for turning, but of course other needs will arise just by having a BS...
   Which Delta did you get? I found some factory rebuilt units that are fairly reasonable in the Delta BS. Regards, G.

1. 
   BG | Aug 09, 2005 01:13pm | #3

   guido,
   I ended up buying the Delta 206(1hp,14"). It's a great little general purpose machine.
   At about the same time a friend who works at Woodcraft and a professional turner bought the 20" Delta. His key concern in a BS was insuring no racking between upper and lower and power. He got some special discounts working at Woodcraft on the Delta, that was also key.