this review is at the request of a member here. this bandsaw is no longer made but can still be found. it has a 3" blade and it's purpose is basically for resawing which is all i use it for. it's been a great machine built like a tank, something you find less and less in new machine now. one problem it has is the motor is way too small. 110v 60hz 15a. in all the reviews ive read this was a common complaint. rip capacity is 12" which is more than ive ever needed. the dust collection the saw is equipped with was only marginal so i created a box under the saw which improved it 100%
the dust you see was from me being too lazy to hook up the DC the last time i used it.
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
I remember first seeing one of those when "The Norm" used one on his show. Freaking wide blade!
Strange that it uses a universal (brushed) motor, I suppose it is not variable speed? 900 RPM, if that motor mount is a "C" face, it might allow an induction motor to be added for mo-power, but that is a lot of mass to get spinning and getting the speed right might be a problem. I'm sure there are plenty of other owners who have looked into beefing up the HP.
i inherited this saw from my dad and i remember way back he had it apart attempting to replace the motor. i guess it didn't work though ? the guides appear to be some kind of phenolic material ? it's not the most powerful saw but it gets the job done.
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
Really nice saw Larry. I'd love to have the space for a dedicated resaw saw. Mine does a passable job of resawing but it's definitely not its strength. I almost wonder if they didn't underpower the motor on purpose. Might keep people from leaning in too much and stressing the blade leading to poorer cuts?
I am curious about your setup with a fence on both sides of the blade? Do you use them together or just pick on based on the size of the stock?
kenny just one fence the white one on the left side, the yellow is a mag fether board with rollers. tony i just put on a brand new blade recently but i have some back ups !
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
I remember seeing Norm use one of those 25+ years ago and was really impressed with the blade depth. I still see them pop up for sale every once in a while but I'm shopping for a 36" saw right now so I can run a resaw blade on my 20" permanently. That said, if one of these Hitachi's in good shape hit the market for peanuts, my mind could be quickly changed.
out of curiosity i looked and metabo still makes the 3" stellite blade for 125 bucks on amazon. so yeti if you find a deal, blades are available ! this saw new went for over 3k !
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
I also have an Hitachi band saw, model CB13F, with 7 Ampere motor. It does a great job for resawing, as well as normal ripping & cross cutting. I put a 6" riser on it, and a Highland Woodworking resaw blade - the Wood Slicer half inch. This blade does a beautiful job on resawing, the cut sides need very little smoothing to be used in furniture construction. I've never taken this blade off, mainly due to the hassle & my laziness. I do not remember the widest board I've resawed on this setup, but I know it required the riser block to get beyond the stock 6" maximum. Very happy with the results. I believe the success for this is the blade with the 7 Amp motor, but that's strictly my opinion.
