[JerseyBill]

What's the ideal size Band saw for cuemaking?

[str8eight]

Most cue makers I know (myself included) use 14” and 17” bandsaws.


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[PRED]

DoAll 16" min. 3/4" blade

Variable speed can cut metal or wood (specific band needed for each)

[whammo57]

at least a 14 inch............ Grizzly has a very nice one and is prices lower than all the others.............. look at the G0555

Kim

[SpiderWeb]

A 10 inch is good for some jobs with a fine blade.

[Busbee Cue]

Originally Posted by SpiderWeb

A 10 inch is good for some jobs with a fine blade.

The 10" is a very handy tool to have in the shop for sure, probably use it more often than the 14" and sometimes I wish I had something bigger than the 14".

One thing for sure is you can never have to many tools.

[JoeyInCali]

14" or more for woods.
Remember handles are 17" long ( most ) .

Have a 9" band saw with BI-METAL blade. Use that for plastics, aluminum, brass, G-10 and phenolics . NEVER use the good blade for woods on metals and phenolics . A mounted Porta band saw would work too.

Have a chop saw and miter saw as well. You will eventually need them. And you can get them for a song on Craigslist .

[cueman]

I have a 16 inch Grizzly and can cut 15 inches on it with the 5 inch tall custom fence I put on it. It is the minimum size I would want, unless I needed a light duty small one for a specific process that uses smaller and therefore cheaper blades.

[Ssonerai]

What's the ideal size Band saw for cuemaking?

What do you plan to do with it?

I'm not primarily a cue maker, my saws are 30" & 36". (30" is user past 40 years, 36" is project). My metal cutting BS is only 14". Since i do make cues, it is hard for me to think of anything cue related that requires deeper than a 6" cut? Any good machine with truly round wheels, solid construction & table, that can be easily, reliably squared, with good guides, 12" or larger wheels should work. So one of the better 14", or preferably 16". 20" if you can swing it, & don't pass up a 24" if the condition and price are right.

I really like the inertia and smoothness of bandsaws once they get past 16" & up.

As saws increase in size, so do the tables. That can be a welcome advantage if you tend to add a lot of fixturing or sleds for your work. Say for FS construction. Or need to bust up logs, e.g. (blackwood, snakewood, etc)

smt

[JerseyBill]

Originally Posted by JerseyBill

What's the ideal size Band saw for cuemaking?

I want to cut Steel and wood. And every operation that I can't do on a table saw. Need general helpful information in which saw and size of saw and blades and brands of both or at least where to buy them.
thanks everyone.

[JerseyBill]

Originally Posted by cueman

I have a 16 inch Grizzly and can cut 15 inches on it with the 5 inch tall custom fence I put on it. It is the minimum size I would want, unless I needed a light duty small one for a specific process that uses smaller and therefore cheaper blades.

What are the dimensions (lengths) of your forearms and handles etc.?

thanks in advance for being a very helpful member of these forums without you and a few more like you
It wouldn't fly. You're always there with a good piece of information.

[JerseyBill]

Originally Posted by JoeyInCali

14" or more for woods.
Remember handles are 17" long ( most ) .

Have a 9" band saw with BI-METAL blade. Use that for plastics, aluminum, brass, G-10 and phenolics . NEVER use the good blade for woods on metals and phenolics . A mounted Porta band saw would work too.

Have a chop saw and miter saw as well. You will eventually need them. And you can get them for a song on Craigslist .

Joey, Thanks for all the help you've given me through the years.
I'm changing everything I've done before because I'm trying to just be a hobbyist and make ten or so cues a year.

[Ssonerai]

Do you shop auctions, or plan to buy retail?

I want to cut Steel and wood. And every operation that I can't do on a table saw.

I hope it is not insulting as to what you already know: keep in mind that wood cutting saws tend to run somewhere over 3,000 ft/min band speed. Bigger/"commercial" tend to run around 4,500 fpm.

Unfortunately, steel is cut with band speeds slightly under 100 ft/min. Stainless, maybe even less. Depending whether you are using carbon steel bands, or HSS. Hence, to cut steel on a bandsaw tends to require a gearbox and several speed ranges.

I sometimes saw aluminum on my woodworking bandsaws, but as others noted, never with a good blade - it will dull it for fine wood cutting. For that matter, I sometimes saw aluminum up on one of the table saws. Again, not with a good blade that will be used with wood. All due safe practices observed, of course.

Where this is going: if you are stuck on one saw to do it all, get a good one proven to be convenient to change over, and proven to be a good performer in both roles. The classic machine would be a 16" DoALL, or a Grob (still made in USA!) Some Grobs do have weird guides, which may or may not be an advantage. They can also be changed.

At a lower price point, Rockwell Delta's 14" wood-metal cutting saw is highly respected. So is their 20" version. Powermatic made analogs of both, and may be even slightly better but a little less common.

It might be cheaper and more convenient in use, to get a 14" metal cutting saw, and a 16" or larger wood cutting saw. It is a real nuisance to clean the cutting fluid off a machine after sawing steel, change the blade, change the guides or at least the guide setting, re- set the speeds, and then saw wood. Let alone if you have to go back & forth a few times a day.

To get the best performance out of a bandsaw especially in wood cutting mode does involve a deeper understanding of machine factors and "tuning" or set up, than say a table saw.

smt