Inexpensive Bandsaw

[Ace]

On German Ebay I found a guy who sells a couple of power tools, one of them being a bandsaw. specs are as follow:

blade length 1400 mm

blade rolls 200 mm

motor power 350 watts

maximum workpiece height 80 mm

maximum workpiece width 190 mm

blade velocity 15,7 m/sec

weighing in at 18,5 kilograms

the price is 82 Euros which is about 68 USD at the moment.

Could I use this thing for serious guitar work? cutting bodies and necks? For that price I'm considering buying myself an additional christmas gift...

so long

ace

btw, of course it's new with 2 years warranty

[bluespresence]

What's with all that funny "mm" stuff?! We eat m&m's over here in the states.

If it's a decent table top model with a 9 or 10 inch (I forgot my metric conversions!) backset it will work well for you. Since I'm clueless on what is a "standard" size blade over there I can only suggest you make sure you can get replacement blades easily.

$68 is a bargain! A 9 or 10" bench top here costs $100 for a good one. The 2 year warranty is a bonus too!

BTW are you near the Venn mountains?

[Ace]

okay I'm confused now...a band length of 1400 mm doesn't seem likely to me now, as the maximum workpiece height is 80 millimeters, which is about 3,14 inches... 10 inches would be 254 millimeters.

About my location: approximately 200-250 kilometers down south , it's the part where the country has that little edge where it gets slimmer towards the south, right at the edge and in throwing distance to france (if you can throw 20 kilometers, that is)

so long

ace

[bluespresence]

Remember the blade goes all the way around and up and down. The work height is the area in between the work table top and the blade guide up above so 3 inches is pretty normal. It means you just can't put a hunk of wood in there thicker than 3 inches.

A blade length of 1400 mm would equal about 55 inches then?? Sounds about right.

The reason I ask about your location is because my Grandparents are from that area, hence my last name "Venn". My Grandfather was given a "new" name when he got to the states which was common back then due to the large amount of immigrants coming here and the people on Ellis Island couldn't understand half the languages they spoke.

[Ace]

Yep, I'm dumb as a stick...but none that you would use to build a guitar from *lol* for some odd reason I imagined that the blade would move up and down (making the whole idea of a BAND saw obsolete)...band length 55 inches is indeed correct.

When I was in our Home Depot store today I found the exact same bandsaw, same make and model for € 109,-, but in the ebay offer, shipping is not included yet so that's going to be an additional 15. I'm still thinking that about 100 bucks would be a nice deal on a bandsaw... Oh btw, dumb as I am I screwed up the conversion...it's 82 bucks x 1.2, not /1.2 to get the USD price...anyway, what measurement is that "backset" that you mentioned that's supposed to be 9 or 10 inches ?

So was your Grandpa German or Belgian then?

Thanks for the info so far

so long

ace

[bluespresence]

Backset (depth is probably more correct) is the distance between the blade and the saw itself. So you can only stick a board so wide through the saw. At 9 or 10 inches you have to flip the body to cut the other side.

I stopped at Home Depot today to pick up a new detail spray gun and I see they have a Ryobi 14 inch bandsaw for $349 with the stand. I wish I could talk the wife into that for Christmas. Maybe I'll just buy it and give it to her

Grandpa was Belgian, Grandma was German. Must be why I love Chimay (sp) so much!

[Ace]

Okay, that's what I thought backset was. Obviously 9 Inches makes me have to turn around the body but that's what I thought anyway so I think that saw is going to be on the list for a shopping spree in the very close future.

I have no Idea what Chimay could be, sorry ;-)

And I think the Bandsaw would make a really nice gift for her, just imagine her eyes when she sees that HUGE package with her name on it. Simply prepare for a few nights in the garage...alone...with your new 14" bandsaw...which you're set for anyway. The ideal plan.

so long

ace

[bluespresence]

And I think the Bandsaw would make a really nice gift for her, just imagine her eyes when she sees that HUGE package with her name on it. Simply prepare for a few nights in the garage...alone...with your new 14" bandsaw...which you're set for anyway. The ideal plan.

[rsera]

you must like sleeping on the couch.

Hi Ace,

ich habe von Güde ein Bandsäge gekauft und ich schatze der muss auch 9 inches sein aber alles was großer ist wird mit sicherheit sehr teuer.Bei Ebay konnte mann eventuell was kriegen aber wurde ich nur neue sachen kaufen wegen garantie und so.

[rsera]

http://www.chimay.com/www/chimay/site8/en/...a0_frameset.htm

für Ace

[Ace]

Hey Rick, thanks for the info. Oddly enough I'd never heard about Chimay before. Bluespresence, if you click on that little map of the area and you prolong the line that goes from Poteaupre to Luxembourg by about 20%, that would pretty much mark my location ;-) Gonna have to look out for some Chimay in the near future.

So, how do you like the Güde saw? I suppose it is the model I was looking at, here is the ebay link http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...gory=22583&rd=1

it is of course new with full warranty (Ich weiss dass Du das lesen kannst, aber falls die anderen sich den Link angucken )

I've seen the exact one at the Hela store for 109,- that should be roughly the normal market price. If I buy it on ebay I have to spend an additional 15 bucks for transportation so it's not that much of a difference. The seller isn't close enough to me that picking it up on my own would be an option...

so long

ace

[bluespresence]

Hey Ace! Watch out for that Chimay, it's dark and sweet and sneaks right up on you! Thanks for the link rsera!

The saw looks nice and I think it will serve you well for building guitars and a lot of other things. As soon as I sell this batch of guitars I have I'm off to Home Depot for the 14" floor model. If I have to sleep in the garage then I will! Let us know how that saw works out for you. They have similar ones on US ebay too, but with a different brand name and a little smaller.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=20784

Take Care!

[Ace]

Yep, I'm waiting for testimony from rsera about the saw. I think I'm gonna go to that store where it sells for 109,- bucks and haggle them down a bit with the ebay price as an argument

Dark and sweet you say? Mmhh I HAVE to find some *g*

btw what do you think about the router that dude in the link you gave me sells?

so long

ace

[bluespresence]

It looks pretty nice for the price. I currently have a Black & Decker that has served me for close to 15 years and is getting very tired. I'm wary of the low end routers because of the abuse a router takes. My B&D is a cheapie but all I could afford at the time and I'm surprised it has lasted this long. I bought it to use on a boat restoration I was doing (1965 Chris Craft) and it cut a lot of mahogany. I then used it to make tables and assorted furniture over the years before getting used on guitars. I'm now looking at Porter Cable or Ryobi as a replacement. I couldn't afford to even LOOK at those 15 years ago!

That price is tempting though - just to try it out.

[rsera]

Hi Ace,

das ist meine Bandsäge,ich habe sie bis jetzt nur 2x benutzt und es war ok, nicht zu vergleichen mit einem 2000€ Modell, aber es macht seine Arbeit.Ich habe 139€ für meine bezahlt und glaube nicht das ebay ein gute Argument ist weil dann das gegen Argument kommt das die Ebayer brauchen keine Lagerplatz und soweiter.

as for the chimay I didnt know what is was so I had a look around the internet to find out about this,its one thing to be unknowlegdeable about something but another to stay that way.

thank God for internet and Project guitars

[Ace]

Yo Rick,

still it might be worth trying a little haggle. On the other hand I'm still a bit unsure if I really need a Bandsaw for a couple of reasons: We have most of the other needed power tools and a friend of our family is a carpenter and I'm sure if I asked him he'd either let me use his bandsaw or saw something out to my specs for little to no cost. Did I mention that his daughter digs me? Well I think I'm gonna wait how my dad likes the router I bought him for christmas and we'll see how much woodworking we're gonna do in the future and perhaps he's gonna buy a bandsaw anyway

concerning the chimay and looking up stuff on the net, you wouldn't believe how much interesting and utterly useless information I've gathered since I got a flatrate internet connection

so long

ace

[rsera]

a jigsaw(Stichsäge) would do it as well,but if your friend lets you work in his shop even better cause he could give you some useful tips and so on.I am looking into a cnc mill at the moment (got plans from ebay and my Mrs.said I could build it) so I dont knoew if I need mine anymore but I will figure that out when the time comes.

That was really nice of you to get your Dad a router ,you may also want to get him this cool book to from martin koch about building guitars, I have it and I think it is very good and it is also in German.

Frohes Fest Rick

[Ace]

I have the Koch book on my Amazon wish list along with Hiscocks book. I do have "building a solidbody guitar" by Roger Siminoff, got that one cheap off of the 'bay. Although it is cool, it only has one approach to every problem, so I think something more comprehensive is in order as well, nevertheless I'm sure I could build a guitar with only that book (and PG *lol*) as a reference.

Thought about the jigsaw already, too and we also have a circular table saw so I could rough out the body with that and do the rest with jigsaw and sander. We shall see. First I need to get some wood (gonna ask my carpenter friend about that, too), hardware, parts and the exact plans for the guitar. I'm much thinking about a special strat because I was raised on strats but seeing the creations on here gets my mouth watery, too. Also, I used to think of the Mockingbird as the coolest shape in existance and for a rock guitar I still hold on to that belief...we'll see.

I think we'll read across each other again but if we don't:

merry christmas

so long

ace

[rsera]

I have that book from Martin Koch in German and I like it more than that one from Melvyn Hiscock,better info and so on and a little easier to understand in German and that book from Roger Siminoff I have as well a very nice staining section but yes very 1 sided approach to building.

You were saying something about a circular table saw for roughing out bodies,I would say be VERY careful couase you could and up roughing out your fingers.

I hope I get this CNC oberfräser built pretty soon so I can do any guitar I want with no big hassles.

here is a link where you could get some wood by mail order in Germanyhttp://data.holzboerse.de/clients/woodland/haupt.htm

they may not be cheap though cause they still have the prices in DM

[Ace]

I see, I'll go for the Koch book (*lol* das Kochbuch...) then. About the circular saw, yes I was only thinking about roughing out the body as in making perpendicular cuts, not really outlining the body, only to cut away excess material on the sides. No way I'm gonna try cutting a body shape with the circular saw.

I think we're all looking forward to hearing from your CNC project. That's really impressing.

About woodland, I had already found their website but guess what, I was thinking the prices were Euros. For that I thought "Man I could order from Warmoth and Carvin all day long and have the US Champion 8-seater row the stuff across the atlantic for delivery..." I'm still going to ask our carpenter friend about wood prices, if I'm luck he has some scrap wood in pieces large enough for me to make a body out of it that I wouldn't even have to pay for, or very minimal. I think for my first project I don't really want an expensive blank in case I mess anything up, ya know.

so long

ace