I’ve returned to woodworking over the last couple of years after being away from it for almost 30 years.  My question to the many experienced woodworkers here is: what band saws have you used that you like and what do you specifically like about that equipment?

I’ve read all the bandsaw articles in the last 18 months from FWW, PW, WWJ, etc. and they each come away with a somewhat different view, probably because they are testing different machines and often are biased by their own style of use.  Long story short, I’d appreciate hearing an update on the thoughts and recommendations from some experienced users.

The types of uses I have in mind will be for things like carvings, jewelry boxes, large mirrors, small furniture pieces and cabinets. These would involve various cut-types, including long rip cuts, a lot of curved cuts and a little resaw work. The resaw work will be limited to perhaps 1-2 times per month and stock sizes will never exceed 10-12 inches in width. I’m not planning on adding a cabinet saw for quite some time, so the band saw will be my primary tool for ripping and some joint work.

In considering the models available, I’m limited to those I can order locally because I can’t take a delivery off of a large truck and would need help getting the machine into the basement (there’s only me here for that). Local sellers often have staff that will make a special delivery to bring the equipment off the truck and in through my basement back door. I’m also limited to models that use single phase 110v. But this electrical limitation should’t present a problem since I won’t be doing large resaw jobs requiring large motor sizes.

To this point I’ve been considering the 14” models from Powermatic, Steel City (both the cast iron and larger steel frame versions) and the Rikon. I’m looking for something that allows for easy blade changes, accurate and easy to use guides, and as noted earlier, it has to operate on 110v single phase.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.