New band saw. What's it for.

[N80]

I was just given a like-new Powermatic 14" band saw. Looks like a nice piece of equipment. Weighs about 200 pounds. It is for wood only, unfortunately.

I do modest wood working from time to time. I have one of those compound/mitre/chop saw deals that I can do a lot with. I have an ancient drill press and basic electric hand tools like circular saws, sanders, drills jig saws etc. I can get most of what I need done with these tools.

I did not need or want a band saw but it was free to whoever would haul it off.

So my question is this: What tasks are band saws especially designed to do better than other tools like table saws and radial arm saws etc?

If I find ways to use it, I'll keep it. If not, I'll pass it along to my son-in-law who helped me pick it up and move it into my shop. He was eyeing it enviously.

Thanks for the help.

 

[747driver]

Wow...you scored a home run on this bandsaw !! Powermatic is top of the line wood working tools. Its a keeper...

 

[HCJtractor]

Bandsaws are pretty versatile. Primarily, most use for curved cuts. You can change blades to allow tighter curves to be cut. Basically they excel at any curved cut, any radius. Another useful application is re-sawing, or cutting a board vertically, like making a two by six into two one by sixes, if that makes sense. You use a wide blade for this. This is used to cut thin veneers from thicker stock, or slicing a thick board as if you were cutting pages from books. But it can be used for many cuts, and generally is safer than other saws. But they do require some specific skills and have a learning curve. I think they require more skill to fully utilize than most other saws, but it can do many things well. Your saw is a very good one.

 

[N80]

Thanks guys. It came from a wealthy fellow who gets into hobbies and moves on to something else. His wife wanted it out of her garage and gave it to anyone who would take it away. It took two people and a truck to do it.

I'll see how it fits into my typical projects. Re-sawing is not usually one of my needs. It does have a fence and the table tilts so it would be useful cutting some angles.

 

[Turbys_1700]

We used Powermatic in the furniture industry for production work. Great industrial brand. Set up with the fence you can rip but like previously mentioned the most typical used is for curved parts. You didn't hit a home run. It was a grand slam.

 

[HCJtractor]

I do lots of woodworking and use my bandsaw the least. Yet there are times when no other saw can do what it does. And if I was more skillful using it, I’d probably use it more. It is a very good saw for really quick cuts that can be done by hand, and safely. And if you cut any curve, it’s the best.

 

[N80]

This gentleman typically buys stuff he considers the best. Anyway, I've got a big built-in bookshelf job coming up. There will be several fascia type boards across the top with some long gentle decorative curves (to match some valences already in the room) so this saw should help with that.

It is Powermatic's smallest and lowest end saw and it still retails for around $1400. It even came on a rolling base that can be raised and lowered. It came with an extra belt, but no extra blades. I'm assuming the blade on it was an all purpose one but will have to research that.

 

[Thomas]

Nice darn nice grift :thumbsup: you may not have use for it now but you will later.

 

[bunyip]

Blades are not expensive, I use mine a lot fot decorative items.
Blade tension is critical so you don't get wandering cuts.
No kickback but watch your fingers and check the blade guides regularly.
Forcing work through will break blades, just ease through gently, it wil let you know if it is not happy.
Drop the blade guides as close to the workpiece as possible.
Keep the rubber on the wheels clean and check alignment often, adjust as neccessary which is an easy task.

 

[JohnBuffaloMN]

I just bought a used homemade bandsaw - it was part of a lot of tools - and am now curious to see how well made it is. I've not done a lot of wood working, but am moving slowly that direction with part of my shop. So many things I'd like to be able to create.

Here's a "Bandsaw Clinic" that'll help you get the thing set up properly. He demonstrates some cuts that you'd only be able to do with a bandsaw... and goes into a lot of stuff I didn't know about bandsaws.