Harbor Freight

[edward]

Harbor Freight has a General Machinery Band Saw on sale for $149 just wondering if anyone had any experience with one, is it worth  buying, pros and cons. Thanks for any feedback.

[Wichman]

I have and use that model. It is a fine light duty saw. Take the time to set up the saw and it will work fine.

Pro; inexpensive, low foot print in the shop

Con; low power, mine cannot cut through 2 inch Elm, it bogs down and stalls in an inch or so, I am using a 1/2" blade and I am going to try out a smaller blade when I can. The table is not ferrous so magnetic fences aren't possible. The table is okay for cutting but too light to drill and tap for accessories. The miter gauge was sloppy in the slot so I shimmed it with shim stock from Ace hardware.

Pro and Con: Blades, the blade selection at HF is poor, but HD has blades that can be ordered in. There are high end blades that can be ordered that fit this saw (62") but I hesitate at a blade that costs more than the saw itself.

If you have other questions, fire away.  

[OCtoolguy]

Save time, money and hassle and buy a good used brand name saw. I had a cheap saw and it was under-powered and the wheels were out of planar alignment. I now have a Chinese Delta and it is much better. I see many used saws at about $300.

[edward]

I have a craftman band saw and it's ok for thin wood but can't cut thicker wood which would bind up, at my age I don't really wan't to spend too much.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

8 minutes ago, edward said:

I have a craftman band saw and it's ok for thin wood but can't cut thicker wood which would bind up, at my age I don't really wan't to spend too much.

Well to me sounds like you would be going from one failure to another but in a different color. 

[Norm Fengstad]

I have a Rikon I bought second hand for $800.00, after a good tune up it is a most excellent saw. I have cut upto 15 inch elm wood slices. 

[browders]

I opted  for a more expensive saw, a Grizzly. This is an excellent saw with plenty of power. The down side is getting it serviced. There are only two service centers in the country. One in the midwest and the other in NW Washington. At almost 300 lbs. it's way too costly to ship. That said, I use a 3/4" blade and can successfully resaw 6 to 8" hardwood.

Jim