calsdad
Plastic
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2014
- Location
- Massachusetts
I'm looking to upgrade my ability to cut steel. Currently I'm using grinders with cut-off wheels, a Fein 9" metal cutting circular saw - and a Dewalt cold saw.
The grinders and Dewalt saw I typically use outside the shop if I can because of the mess they leave behind. What I really want to do - is be able to cut a LOT more accurately than what I can with the equipment I have.
So I looked into bandsaws - and what I want is to get a piece of equipment that will last for a while, cut accurately, and cut some larger stock. My shop is also crowded - so the pivot head bandsaws seem like the best option.
There seems to be a lot of options out there - but not a huge amount of reviews or information about all the options.
I've looked at the following:
Jet J-9180
Jet J-9225
Dake Zip 22
Hem Saw 2200XL
Hem Saw N215XL
Hyd-Mech DM6 (used - no longer in production)
Ellis 1200 thru 2000 series
Baileigh BS-210
Baileigh BS-250
Grizzly G0614
Bolton Tools BS-315G
Kama EV-97
and a number of other ones.
I know everybody seems to like the Ellis saws - they seem to get the best reviews. For some reason they don't really appeal to me - I've read some bad reviews of the vise setup on those also.
The Baileigh BS-250M and the Jet J-9225 are the models I keep going back to - and the Grizzly G0614 seems really appealing because it's at a really good price point. I bought a Grizzly metal brake last year - which after some extensive comparison shopping I figured was pretty much the same brake as that sold by like 5 other companies (including Jet and Baileigh) - but Grizzly was a much better price.
So I'm wondering if the same trend would hold true with the Grizzly bandsaw.
What I'm really after though is accuracy - I've got a couple of jobs where I really need the parts to be cut square and to be dimensionally consistent.
I'm willing to pay more for a better say - but I'd rather pay less if what I'm really looking at here is the same saws with just different paint jobs on them.
I have heard good things about pretty much all the Italian made stuff like the Kama, Hem and the HydMech stuff. Are the Taiwan made saws like the Jet, Baileigh, and Grizzly of the same cut quality?
Any advice is appreciated!!
The grinders and Dewalt saw I typically use outside the shop if I can because of the mess they leave behind. What I really want to do - is be able to cut a LOT more accurately than what I can with the equipment I have.
So I looked into bandsaws - and what I want is to get a piece of equipment that will last for a while, cut accurately, and cut some larger stock. My shop is also crowded - so the pivot head bandsaws seem like the best option.
There seems to be a lot of options out there - but not a huge amount of reviews or information about all the options.
I've looked at the following:
Jet J-9180
Jet J-9225
Dake Zip 22
Hem Saw 2200XL
Hem Saw N215XL
Hyd-Mech DM6 (used - no longer in production)
Ellis 1200 thru 2000 series
Baileigh BS-210
Baileigh BS-250
Grizzly G0614
Bolton Tools BS-315G
Kama EV-97
and a number of other ones.
I know everybody seems to like the Ellis saws - they seem to get the best reviews. For some reason they don't really appeal to me - I've read some bad reviews of the vise setup on those also.
The Baileigh BS-250M and the Jet J-9225 are the models I keep going back to - and the Grizzly G0614 seems really appealing because it's at a really good price point. I bought a Grizzly metal brake last year - which after some extensive comparison shopping I figured was pretty much the same brake as that sold by like 5 other companies (including Jet and Baileigh) - but Grizzly was a much better price.
So I'm wondering if the same trend would hold true with the Grizzly bandsaw.
What I'm really after though is accuracy - I've got a couple of jobs where I really need the parts to be cut square and to be dimensionally consistent.
I'm willing to pay more for a better say - but I'd rather pay less if what I'm really looking at here is the same saws with just different paint jobs on them.
I have heard good things about pretty much all the Italian made stuff like the Kama, Hem and the HydMech stuff. Are the Taiwan made saws like the Jet, Baileigh, and Grizzly of the same cut quality?
Any advice is appreciated!!