The powertec bandsaw was well packed and arrived in perfect condition.
The instructions were easy to read,and after initial setup,worked extremely well
for a band saw of its size.It has all the features of larger more expensive saws,
at a reasonable price.Cuts 1" oak and hickory with ease.
I used mine to make all of the body wood in my 1930 Ford coupe.
I have done woodworking for 30+ years and would recommend the powertec BS900
to any home hobbyist. POWERTEC BS900 Band Saw, 9-Inch
I was really surprised about this bandsaw. For a unit so low-priced, it has lasted a whole lot longer than any of the other cheapie bandsaws. I have been cutting up to 1-1/2" thick hard woods like walnut and cherry but unlike the other 9' saws I bought from Amazon, this one is still working, still going strong, after over two months of hard work. This bandsaw is just amazing!
I have to say that I have kept with the blade that came with the bandsaw and not tried putting a blade on it with finer teeth for cutting sharper curves; that's where so many other bandsaws go bad-- after the blade has been changed, so I can't say that this bandsaw is perfect in every way. But even just using the original blade shows that this is a very good, a very sturdy bandsaw that is a great buy for the price.
First, this saw uses 62 1/4" blades and not the 59 1/4" ones Amazon offers as a package. The latter doesn't fit, period. The unit arrived in a box that spelled re-package, but inside all was fine. Set-up was straight forward and the saw was running in no time at all. Upon checking why it vibrated so much, I discovered that the upper aluminum wheel was out of run, which made the blade wiggle sideways and the tension adjustment go up and down; forget about tight specs, this is a cheap tool and we pay for what we get! Now, if you've done your research, you'll have realized by now that other retail outfits sell an identical tool under their names, and you couldn't have missed the horrid customer reviews addressing a particular plastic pulley that goes bad within minutes. Rest assured, this Powertec version has a metal pulley securely fastened to the motor shaft! Now, the blade guides are another cheap affair, consisting of adjustable solid pins mounted on a plastic frame that sandwich the blade. Because the wheel is out of true on this unit, the blade touches these pins when it does its left/right flutter, and I wonder how long before I have to replace them and how much this will reduce the life of the blades... The upper guide bearing behind the blade is positioned out of alignment and the blade easily shifts off to the left, missing the bearing altogether! Now, that's starting to look like a major problem, as there is no means to remedy the issue. Remember what you pay for. The tracking adjustment works fine, and even though the blade tension adjustment takes time to get used to, it all works like it should; again, do not expect precision out of this tool. Does the saw actually work? Well, for a first course I fed 7/8" cocobolo to it and it ate it without complaining, the whole 80 inches of it! I scrolled through it without any loss of power and the cuts were clean and smooth. After one hour of torture test, the saw came clean, and I even forgot about the out of run wheel. Needless to say, the motor felt rather hot after that, and time will only tell how fast it will burn out... Now, it I had paid more for the saw, I would have returned it and given it one star, but because of its price and the fact it cut very hard wood without nary a complaint, I give it a 4! - Hitachi - Powertec'
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