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Bandsaw Horsepower for Turning

Currently, I have a 14" Rockwell with 6" resaw and 1/2 hp motor. The resaw is too small for my 16" swing lathe so I am considering adding the riser kit and more horsepower. I have also considered a Euro bandsaw with 16" resaw and 5hp. This may be more bandsaw than I need since I have a good chainsaw with 24" bar.

How much horsepower does my 14" bandsaw (12" resaw) need for preparing bowl blanks from green logs? Would I need more horsepower if I wanted to resaw dry lumber for cabinet doors?

Thanks, Bob Stroman

Reply to
bstroman
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If you have the money, the go for the Euro. I bought a 14" Reliant (HF Special) a few years ago and was unhappy with it. It had a one horse motor, but it wouldn't cut worth a damn! Had lots of advice on it and finally talking over blades for with a Suffolk Machinery expert, he walked me through replacement of the jack pulley and changing pulley sizes on the motor. He said the problem was that the jack pulley was robbing speed from the blade. After the change, including adding a lifter block to it, the Bandsaw cuts like going through butter on green or dry resaws and cutting round blanks for the lathe from fresh or dry logs. He recommended a surface feet per minute speed of at least 2000 and a little over that is what I am getting. SFPM and a sharp blade takes care of most problems IMNSHO!*G*

Reply to
Leif Thorvaldson

Bob, I sounds like you are considering the same bandsaw that I just ordered, a Laguna, For occasional use, a smaller bandsaw with a riser block will work, but for everyday use get a saw that is designed for the job. I did concrete work for 30 years and like things over built. It is just plain safer. The bigger saw will last longer, and perform better. I have used my 24 inch chainsaw for years and it has worked just fine, but after cutting out some sycamore blanks last night, for smaller bowls, I can see where a big bandsaw would come in handy. I can let you know after I get to use it for a while. robo hippy

Reply to
robo hippy

Lagunas are good machines.

Reply to
Dan Bollinger

As the thickness of the wood increases, you must also increase the blade width and HP, while decreasing the blade pitch (teeth per inch) and speed.

For your 14" with riser, as a rough guess, use at least 3/4 Hp motor, but with a motor pulley 2/3 the diameter of the original.

Reply to
Dan Bollinger

My lathe (Nova DVR 3000) has a 16 inch swing. I have a Jet 710115K -

14inch band saw with a 6 inch riser block (makes it a 12 inch high cut). The motor on the band saw has 1.25 HP. I mostly use 3/8th inch hook tooth blades. I have cut 14 + inch circles in 8 inch thick white oak half logs. Sometimes on real big stuff it can stall out but a lot of the time for that I will use a chain saw instead.

Ted

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preparing

Reply to
Ted

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