Read a lot of reviews on this saw and others before buying and I feel I made the right decision with this one. Wasn't that hard to set up only took about an hour. Made a few practice cuts on some scrap wood and everything seems to be in good working order. This is a really good saw for the price and I do recommend. As for these so call pro's that put this little saw down well I have to ask, if your so damn good at woodworking why are you buying something so cheap, makes one wonder. Skil 3385-02 120-Volt 9-Inch Band Saw
Took me about 5 hours to adjust and align everything because the instructions were so vague, but once I got it together it fired right up. Make sure you tighten everything down good or it will rattle bad. Wood cuts perfect, and it's runs shockingly quiet, however when cutting metal (I tried brass tubing), it ran extremely loud and the cut was far from straight. Couldn't see a difference in the speeds, and it doesn't say which is fast or slow.
Pros:
-Mostly cast and machined metal body and parts
-Runs quietly with wood
-Light weight
-Can be bolted down to work surface
-Table guide and backboard included
-Laser is dead on accurate
-Comes assembled except for table (easily bolts on, set up took 10 minutes)
Cons:
-Cheap red plastic cover (works though)
-Light is horrible
-Takes awhile to set up and align the blade and wheels
-Vague instructions
For the money it's a great option for small wooden and aluminum projects, but I would suggest a different blade for metal work.
I bought this model from a home improvement store a few months back. It simply isn't powerful enough to really be effective. I snapped the blade that came with it going through a 1/4 piece of ebony. Replaced the blade with another, and am finding that getting through a 2x4 is a challenge, as the machine bogs down each time I begin to feed in work.If you do have one of these saws, be very particular about the blade tension you run. Just be sure to adjust the slip angle of the upper wheel each time you make a change.
I purchased this saw on amazon and it arrived as expected. Setting it up was easy, the laser took a little work to get it aligned, but the cherry I pushed through it cut ok. After about 3 months, the saw died while I was cutting a cedar board. I am done with Skil, and buying reconditioned anything...
OK,I'll admit, this is an inexpensive product, so my expectations shouldn't be high. And they aren't.
There really isn't much good about this thing. Setting it up was a pain. I was trying to get the blade to stay in the middle of the wheels when I unscrewed the top knob too much. Clunk, the top wheel dropped off and for 2 hours I had to try to put the spring, a nut, and the bolt back together behing a 1/2 inch gap. Idiots! Don't know why they don't have a cotter pin or something to keep that from happening.
The fence and surface area are worthless. It moves so much, you ignore it.
I bought a new blade because the factory one sucked. the new blade is skinny, and it turns out is even harder to keep in the center.
The mouth is very narrow, so if you want to work on larger pieces or "mill", forget it. Motor's too weak too.
In short, this unit is a real headache. Sure, it's less expensive, but you'll regret it unless you're cutting butter for your croissants.
Bought this to primarily cut steel in the 1/8-3/16" range, because nothing I read anywhere gave any indication it couldn't.
It can't.
It bogs down on 3/16" brass. I did find, buried in the manual, one line to the effect "do not attempt to cut ferrous metals with this bandsaw".... Not even a disclaimer on the company website.
I make knives as a hobby, so I use this for cutting pins and scale material. It'll cut brass bolsters if I'm patient. I DO REGRET buying this unit. I wish I'd taken the ~$100 and added another ~$120 to it and gotten a decent floor stand unit.
The laser doesn't align, the thing won't cut straight, and the motor is so weak, I'm tempted to drill a hole in the cover so I can push the reset button without having to open the cover.
Caveat Emptor....'
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