Horizontal bandsaw

[jackpinesavage]

Any thoughts on what might qualify as a pretty good horizontal bandsaw. Not for production work.
A good used wellsaw looks pretty attractive. What do you guys think?
Clyde

[digr]

Can't go wrong with a Welsaw!

[dubby]

It really comes down to the size of the job at hand.

Cutter had his big Johnson and while it was a great saw, it didn't get used a whole lot. He also had the little parking-lot tool sale machine, that I cannot remember the brand name of, that was capable of doing most jobs. I have a chicom ShopFox prepared machine that has paid for itself 20x over, with the only real modifications being I upgraded the roller bearings to American made parts. There has only been one time that I needed a larger capacity than the machine affords me.

Plenty of folks are using the HF machines and there are thousands of modifications that have been done to make them "better". Rebuilding an old iron tool is a whole lotta fun though, and I think if I were to come across one that was of suitable size for my shop and in my budget, I'd like to go that route.

[JH35]

Originally Posted by digr

Can't go wrong with a Welsaw!

I have a 1980's 58B Wellsaw. It works great for a little fab and farm repair that I do.

[LKeithR]

Can't beat an Ellis if you can find one at the right price. We've got a 1600 that we've had for over 30 years and it still works fine. Never had to do anything to it more than simple repairs...

[Shade Tree Welder]

Originally Posted by LKeithR

Can't beat an Ellis if you can find one at the right price. We've got a 1600 that we've had for over 30 years and it still works fine. Never had to do anything to it more than simple repairs...

Keith and I have the same saw and have the same opinion of it, Great saw,
easy to maintain, again only worked parts that are expected to be wear parts.

Wellsaw, Jet, Johnson all make good saws. You just have to see what the used
market in your area has to offer. I had a 10"x8" Jet before the Ellis, it did ok,
not great on angle cuts but you could do them.

Also have in mind what you need the saw to do. I do mostly fabrication so
mitering structural steel is important to me. A machine shop most just cuts
blanks so mitering is not really a consideration.

[digr]

Don't forget kalamazoo I replaced my Welsaw with one for $170 at a city auction

[LKeithR]

Originally Posted by Shade Tree Welder

...Also have in mind what you need the saw to do. I do mostly fabrication so mitering structural steel is important to me. A machine shop most just cuts blanks so mitering is not really a consideration.

Ron makes a very good point. A saw with a swiveling head is soooo much more convenient if you're doing a lot of angle cuts...