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Making The Most Of A Super Cheap Band Saw


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Much as I'd love to take Spoke's advice and have a 14 inch bandsaw, sadly I'll have to make do with the small one. My workshop is an old 12 foot caravan with a workbench along each side, and a short one at the end. It is kitted out with my small bandsaw, a pedestal drill, router table, 4 inch jointer, a 10 inch thickness planer, a 4 inch x 20 inch belt sander with sanding disc, a bench grinder, and a dust extractor. This leaves me with a clear bench space of just under three feet wide to actually work. I have shelves and drawers under the worktops to store my hand tools and handheld machines - drill, router, chisels, etc., and a small amount of various types of hardwood.

All the above gives me the basic requirements for guitar making, and I have no room for anything else, much as I'd like to improve. I also have a bench saw which lives in the cupboard under the stairs, and it sees the light of day when I need to use it, and the weather is suitable, as I have to use it outside. In another thread, I posted that I'd just bought a fold up greenhouse to use as a spray booth. This will be erected as and when I need it. I have a very small compressor with a six litre tank, and a touch up spray gun which holds about half a litre of paint, just the right amount to spray one coat on a guitar. The spray equipment and fold up greenhouse share the space under the stairs with the saw bench.

So you see, I don't have anywhere to put a larger bandsaw. I already have to slide one machine to one side to move another machine to where I can use it.

Then there is the cost. I am disabled with rheumatoid arthritis affecting my hands, shoulders, back, and legs, which seriously limits what I can do and also when I can do it. If I am able to work more than a couple of days a fortnight, I consider that to be good. I make guitars purely as a hobby, and when I sell one, it is around the break even price. I can only complete one guitar in around six months, so even if I made a profit, I would never make enough money to buy a decent bandsaw. My income is only disablement benefits, and believe me, that is not a lot of income :D

Still, I keep a smile on my face, have a great sense of humour, and I have many very good friends (and I don't have to get out of bed early in the mornings to trudge off to work) so life isn't all bad :D

Edited by Mender
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Again I can think of many operations that require a larger bandsaw in guitar building... If you want to do it all a 14" bandsaw is best as a starter tool. For anyone wanting to make money in this business a 14" saw is too small.

I agree with everything youve said except this. Im all for getting good quality tools instead of settling for cheap ones. But ive used my same 12" sears saw for everything. Granted, it wont resaw anything at all, but ive made plenty of money in the guitar buisness using it...

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  • 1 month later...

I was just looking at this topic again and I see that the lowly jigsaw has been questioned as a hard tool to have to rely on for this hobby. I have actually cut out large 8/4 walnut to shape with an Orbital Bosch jigsaw. The orbital action made it cut like butter. If you have never used one of these saws you are missing out on one of life's quickest cutting tools. Bosch makes an aggressor blade that is 3" long, I think you could chop down a tree with it. And of course the band saw it my go to tool for shape cutting but that jigsaw is sure fast!

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I have to agree with Killemall on the 14" not being too small. I would love to get a 18" or 20" Laguna to do some serious resawing with. But I would still keep my 14" around to cut bodies from. 14" is the perfect compromise in my mind if it has a riser block. You can resaw with it, as long as you are making a business resawing lumber. And you can still cut any body shape on it. You might still have to cut one side then the other, but the extra minute it takes is not going to break the bank. The big saws make resawing easy, but you'll need to do a lot of fancy tops to recoup the several thousand dollars a good large bandsaw will cost. Unless you are building guitars full time a 14" will do the job hands down, and even then I would keep the big saw set up for resaws only and use a 14" for cutting profiles.

The one supplier I use locally has a 20" Laguna and it took him six months to get it dialed in perfect for resawing. He makes his living selling lumber, so he has to get as much from a piece of lumber as he can. But I would not take that much time to dial it in and then swap out to a 3/8" blade to cut a body profile.

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I have to agree with Killemall on the 14" not being too small. I would love to get a 18" or 20" Laguna to do some serious resawing with. But I would still keep my 14" around to cut bodies from. 14" is the perfect compromise in my mind if it has a riser block. You can resaw with it, as long as you are making a business resawing lumber. And you can still cut any body shape on it. You might still have to cut one side then the other, but the extra minute it takes is not going to break the bank. The big saws make resawing easy, but you'll need to do a lot of fancy tops to recoup the several thousand dollars a good large bandsaw will cost. Unless you are building guitars full time a 14" will do the job hands down, and even then I would keep the big saw set up for resaws only and use a 14" for cutting profiles.

The one supplier I use locally has a 20" Laguna and it took him six months to get it dialed in perfect for resawing. He makes his living selling lumber, so he has to get as much from a piece of lumber as he can. But I would not take that much time to dial it in and then swap out to a 3/8" blade to cut a body profile.

Belive me if you had the Laguna 18 you would never use the 14" again for any guitar shaping. Take it from a laguna 18" owner.

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Just for the sake of arguement and education, what makes the 18" better for cutting bodies? Resawing, the bigger the better hands down. But for cutting a body shape, you are only cutting 2" thick lumber, and I would use a 3/8" blade on either saw. Not arguing, just looking for some informed input.

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Just for the sake of arguement and education, what makes the 18" better for cutting bodies? Resawing, the bigger the better hands down. But for cutting a body shape, you are only cutting 2" thick lumber, and I would use a 3/8" blade on either saw. Not arguing, just looking for some informed input.

I normally just run a 1/4" blade for almost everything that does not involve resawing tall stock. First the openness of the saw makes it easy to swing your work. No need to ride the body on the outer edge you can work on the left side of the blade as well.

I sold off two bandsaws when I got this one. A Delta 14" and a Grizzly 16" (older model). I could not see any reason to setup one saw with a particular blade to so some repetitive task.

I mean even the 18" has some annoying features and blade changes are way too long for my taste. Then I wish I had a 24" model for the additional table space when I am working with a neck through.

Its just totally different feel and operation to a 14" saw. (Insert some stupid saying here)

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