I have to come out of lurking to share this:
Never expected to see a turbo band saw, but it turns out I have one. I
needed/wanted (same thing, right?) a second band saw and finally did it.
Took a bit of a chance based on recommendations from a trusted dealer
and bought a General International 14². This is a new model with a
welded steel frame that resaws to 8², not the Delta knockoff.
It has a lot of nice features and one dubious one. It comes with a bag
that attaches to the dust port, and sorta looks like a big white polyp
on the side of the saw. Attached to the dust port is a fan driven by its
own belt from the drive pulley. The object is to blow the dust into the
bag (doubtful), but I didn¹t try using the bag, since I just connect to
a central dust system.
So with my dust collector on, I made some test cuts. When I turned the
saw off, the blade kept going. Fast. First thought was that I had done
something weird electrically (would not have been the first time). But
it turns out that the dust collector moves enough air to spin the fan
and power the saw. Now it doesn¹t have a lot of cutting power, in fact
it can only cut a quarter inch or so of thin doug fir before it stalls,
but the fact that it can cut at all was pretty amazing. And a little
unsettling.
Originally I was afraid that the fan would cut down on air flow and I¹d
have to take it off. Now I have to take it off so the damn saw will
stop. But the dust collection should be great. There¹s a plastic shroud
that sucks dust from the blade right under the table.
This is the first General International tool I¹ve used and I am
pleasantly surprised. Fit and finish are excellent - damn near perfect.
Wheels are right-on, everything fit right, runs smooth and quiet. The
manual is almost worthless. It must have been translated into English
from the Chinese by someone with French as a first language.
The upper guide is rack and pinion adjusted, it has a quick release
tension lever, solid fence, and everything lines up nicely. The only
important negatives are the open stand that might not be rigid enough
(so I bolted it to a piece of 3/4² ply and that to a roller base) and
the table is only supported on one side, but with a pretty stout
trunion. I don¹t expect the negatives to cause me problems, since I
don¹t have anyone working for me now (do all employees beat the holy
crap out of everything they touch?). Oops, one other negative - it takes
97.5 inch blades (so that it can resaw to 8²).
It looks like this will be a nice saw, but if it somehow isn¹t, the
dealer is one that will do most anything to make it right. If General
makes all of its GI tools with this much attention to detail, I will be
seeing more green in my shop.
And maybe they¹ll get that turbo thing right.
Regards,
PDX David
On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 11:17:31 -0800, Jane & David <[email protected]> wrote:
BTW, where and how much did you pay for it (including shipping)?
Thanks
>I have to come out of lurking to share this:
>
>Never expected to see a turbo band saw, but it turns out I have one. I
>needed/wanted (same thing, right?) a second band saw and finally did it.
>Took a bit of a chance based on recommendations from a trusted dealer
>and bought a General International 14². This is a new model with a
>welded steel frame that resaws to 8², not the Delta knockoff.
>
>It has a lot of nice features and one dubious one. It comes with a bag
>that attaches to the dust port, and sorta looks like a big white polyp
>on the side of the saw. Attached to the dust port is a fan driven by its
>own belt from the drive pulley. The object is to blow the dust into the
>bag (doubtful), but I didn¹t try using the bag, since I just connect to
>a central dust system.
>
>So with my dust collector on, I made some test cuts. When I turned the
>saw off, the blade kept going. Fast. First thought was that I had done
>something weird electrically (would not have been the first time). But
>it turns out that the dust collector moves enough air to spin the fan
>and power the saw. Now it doesn¹t have a lot of cutting power, in fact
>it can only cut a quarter inch or so of thin doug fir before it stalls,
>but the fact that it can cut at all was pretty amazing. And a little
>unsettling.
>
>Originally I was afraid that the fan would cut down on air flow and I¹d
>have to take it off. Now I have to take it off so the damn saw will
>stop. But the dust collection should be great. There¹s a plastic shroud
>that sucks dust from the blade right under the table.
>
>This is the first General International tool I¹ve used and I am
>pleasantly surprised. Fit and finish are excellent - damn near perfect.
>Wheels are right-on, everything fit right, runs smooth and quiet. The
>manual is almost worthless. It must have been translated into English
>from the Chinese by someone with French as a first language.
>
>The upper guide is rack and pinion adjusted, it has a quick release
>tension lever, solid fence, and everything lines up nicely. The only
>important negatives are the open stand that might not be rigid enough
>(so I bolted it to a piece of 3/4² ply and that to a roller base) and
>the table is only supported on one side, but with a pretty stout
>trunion. I don¹t expect the negatives to cause me problems, since I
>don¹t have anyone working for me now (do all employees beat the holy
>crap out of everything they touch?). Oops, one other negative - it takes
>97.5 inch blades (so that it can resaw to 8²).
>
>It looks like this will be a nice saw, but if it somehow isn¹t, the
>dealer is one that will do most anything to make it right. If General
>makes all of its GI tools with this much attention to detail, I will be
>seeing more green in my shop.
>
>And maybe they¹ll get that turbo thing right.
>
>Regards,
>PDX David
Jane & David <[email protected]> wrote:
> This is the first General International tool I've used and I am
> pleasantly surprised. Fit and finish are excellent - damn near perfect.
> Wheels are right-on, everything fit right, runs smooth and quiet. The
> manual is almost worthless. It must have been translated into English
> from the Chinese by someone with French as a first language.
That's very well possible since they are based in my hometown Montréal.
--
mare
I bought the 18 inch version of this saw and I love it.
max
> I have to come out of lurking to share this:
>
> Never expected to see a turbo band saw, but it turns out I have one. I
> needed/wanted (same thing, right?) a second band saw and finally did it.
> Took a bit of a chance based on recommendations from a trusted dealer
> and bought a General International 14². This is a new model with a
> welded steel frame that resaws to 8², not the Delta knockoff.
>
> It has a lot of nice features and one dubious one. It comes with a bag
> that attaches to the dust port, and sorta looks like a big white polyp
> on the side of the saw. Attached to the dust port is a fan driven by its
> own belt from the drive pulley. The object is to blow the dust into the
> bag (doubtful), but I didn¹t try using the bag, since I just connect to
> a central dust system.
>
> So with my dust collector on, I made some test cuts. When I turned the
> saw off, the blade kept going. Fast. First thought was that I had done
> something weird electrically (would not have been the first time). But
> it turns out that the dust collector moves enough air to spin the fan
> and power the saw. Now it doesn¹t have a lot of cutting power, in fact
> it can only cut a quarter inch or so of thin doug fir before it stalls,
> but the fact that it can cut at all was pretty amazing. And a little
> unsettling.
>
> Originally I was afraid that the fan would cut down on air flow and I¹d
> have to take it off. Now I have to take it off so the damn saw will
> stop. But the dust collection should be great. There¹s a plastic shroud
> that sucks dust from the blade right under the table.
>
> This is the first General International tool I¹ve used and I am
> pleasantly surprised. Fit and finish are excellent - damn near perfect.
> Wheels are right-on, everything fit right, runs smooth and quiet. The
> manual is almost worthless. It must have been translated into English
> from the Chinese by someone with French as a first language.
>
> The upper guide is rack and pinion adjusted, it has a quick release
> tension lever, solid fence, and everything lines up nicely. The only
> important negatives are the open stand that might not be rigid enough
> (so I bolted it to a piece of 3/4² ply and that to a roller base) and
> the table is only supported on one side, but with a pretty stout
> trunion. I don¹t expect the negatives to cause me problems, since I
> don¹t have anyone working for me now (do all employees beat the holy
> crap out of everything they touch?). Oops, one other negative - it takes
> 97.5 inch blades (so that it can resaw to 8²).
>
> It looks like this will be a nice saw, but if it somehow isn¹t, the
> dealer is one that will do most anything to make it right. If General
> makes all of its GI tools with this much attention to detail, I will be
> seeing more green in my shop.
>
> And maybe they¹ll get that turbo thing right.
>
> Regards,
> PDX David
I looked at a 'General' bandsaw last week, and was a little nonplussed
by the price. Is there so dramatic a difference in quality as to result in a
three-fold difference in cost? Is GI so much inferior?
Dave
"Jane & David" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I have to come out of lurking to share this:
>
> Never expected to see a turbo band saw, but it turns out I have one. I
> needed/wanted (same thing, right?) a second band saw and finally did it.
> Took a bit of a chance based on recommendations from a trusted dealer
> and bought a General International 14². This is a new model with a
> welded steel frame that resaws to 8², not the Delta knockoff.
>
> It has a lot of nice features and one dubious one. It comes with a bag
> that attaches to the dust port, and sorta looks like a big white polyp
> on the side of the saw. Attached to the dust port is a fan driven by its
> own belt from the drive pulley. The object is to blow the dust into the
> bag (doubtful), but I didn¹t try using the bag, since I just connect to
> a central dust system.
>
> So with my dust collector on, I made some test cuts. When I turned the
> saw off, the blade kept going. Fast. First thought was that I had done
> something weird electrically (would not have been the first time). But
> it turns out that the dust collector moves enough air to spin the fan
> and power the saw. Now it doesn¹t have a lot of cutting power, in fact
> it can only cut a quarter inch or so of thin doug fir before it stalls,
> but the fact that it can cut at all was pretty amazing. And a little
> unsettling.
>
> Originally I was afraid that the fan would cut down on air flow and I¹d
> have to take it off. Now I have to take it off so the damn saw will
> stop. But the dust collection should be great. There¹s a plastic shroud
> that sucks dust from the blade right under the table.
>
> This is the first General International tool I¹ve used and I am
> pleasantly surprised. Fit and finish are excellent - damn near perfect.
> Wheels are right-on, everything fit right, runs smooth and quiet. The
> manual is almost worthless. It must have been translated into English
> from the Chinese by someone with French as a first language.
>
> The upper guide is rack and pinion adjusted, it has a quick release
> tension lever, solid fence, and everything lines up nicely. The only
> important negatives are the open stand that might not be rigid enough
> (so I bolted it to a piece of 3/4² ply and that to a roller base) and
> the table is only supported on one side, but with a pretty stout
> trunion. I don¹t expect the negatives to cause me problems, since I
> don¹t have anyone working for me now (do all employees beat the holy
> crap out of everything they touch?). Oops, one other negative - it takes
> 97.5 inch blades (so that it can resaw to 8²).
>
> It looks like this will be a nice saw, but if it somehow isn¹t, the
> dealer is one that will do most anything to make it right. If General
> makes all of its GI tools with this much attention to detail, I will be
> seeing more green in my shop.
>
> And maybe they¹ll get that turbo thing right.
>
> Regards,
> PDX David
In article <1goqry8.42zdxy1oclldvN%mare*Remove*All*0f*This*I*Hate*Spammers*@mac.invalid.com>, mare*Remove*All*0f*This*I*Hate*Spammers*@mac.invalid.com (mare) wrote:
>Jane & David <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> This is the first General International tool I've used and I am
>> pleasantly surprised. Fit and finish are excellent - damn near perfect.
>> Wheels are right-on, everything fit right, runs smooth and quiet. The
>> manual is almost worthless. It must have been translated into English
>> from the Chinese by someone with French as a first language.
>
>That's very well possible since they are based in my hometown Montréal.
Translations always come out better when the translator is a native speaker of
the language being translated *to*.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)
Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter
by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
You must use your REAL email address to get a response.
On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 17:12:45 -0800, Jane & David <[email protected]> wrote:
Thanks. After I read your post, I searched the webs and could not find the
price. However, I did find a picture of the bandsaw, also your enquires before
you bought the bandsaw in one of the forum.
(I bought a Grizzly GO555, summer 2004.)
>In article <[email protected]>,
> WD <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 11:17:31 -0800, Jane & David <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> BTW, where and how much did you pay for it (including shipping)?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>>
>
>General has a sale going on until mid-January. I paid $659 but no
>shipping since a dealer is about a mile from my place. Regular price is
>listed as 990, I like the saw but that seems high. The General website
>has a flyer you can look at (www.general.ca)
In article <[email protected]>,
WD <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 11:17:31 -0800, Jane & David <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> BTW, where and how much did you pay for it (including shipping)?
>
> Thanks
>
>
General has a sale going on until mid-January. I paid $659 but no
shipping since a dealer is about a mile from my place. Regular price is
listed as 990, I like the saw but that seems high. The General website
has a flyer you can look at (www.general.ca)