sawing staves ( pics added)

[soy]

 >:DI know that some frown upon the use of a band saw, but I have little time and im running out of room (logs and staves)so I was wondering is a 1 hp big enough or do I save up and go for a 2 hp???
Eather way I was looking at the grizzley brand any good or bad with them? Thanks as always for any help

[JonW]

I have a 14" Grizzly saw and it does everything I want. I highly recommend it.

[soy]

The 555.  How does it handle green hard wood aka ironwood hicory and walnut

[Pat B]

I have a Grizzly 14.5", 1hp bandsaw and it does all I want!

[half eye]

Between milling, re-sawing, and roughing out staves....I use bandsaws a lot....Them fellas give ya good advice about 1 HP being plenty of saw, just give your blade selection some serious thought. My personal favorite is the 3 or 4 HOOK style. has plenty of tooth set, and gullets big enough to retard loading up (makes clean cuts) and it works well for "free-handing" cuts on twisty staves.
     The only wood that I have worked, which can be problematic is white ash.....when it's green it will load a blade really fast (with pitch/resin) and will do it in a hurry. That wood needs a wet drip hooked up to lube the blade.
     On dry wood that saw/blade will cut any sort of wood like ironwood, osage, Ipe, hard maple etc.
rich

[soy]

Thanks for the input guys, im putting way to much thought into it.I can't get off the notion that I need more power( its better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it) but I also want to keep it cheaper and with you all haveing no problems I feel confident that 1 hp would do.BUT if I did go 2 hp do I stay with a 14" or go to a 17" Man what a can o worms

[mikekeswick]

A good quality sharp blade that is suitable for the job is CRITICAL (imho!) maybe more so than sheer power. Also make sure you know how to set it up properly or else they can be a bit of a pain. I just got a bigger saw after my original elecktra beckum bas 315 was struggling with 5 inch thick pitch pine (for arrow shafts) since I upgraded i've noticed that the extra power can be a real bonus.
It all depends what you want if for but I think along the same lines - it's better to have and not need than to need and not have!

[gstoneberg]

...BUT if I did go 2 hp do I stay with a 14" or go to a 17" Man what a can o worms

I have a 1hp 14" Jet and I have never needed more than 14" for making bows.  However, I have needed more than 14" for other woodworking projects.  The downside to a larger saw is the cost of the longer blade.  The only time my saw has problems is with seasoned osage.  I cannot cut more than 3" thick seasoned osage.  Green osage is no problem at all.

One other thing, I wish I'd bought the rip fence with my saw.  Not so much for roughing out bows, but it would really help ripping arrow blanks or backing strips.  I could still get it for mine, but I don't have a woodworking store near me and never think to order it off the web.

Good luck,
George

[soy]

Thanks for the continued help, thanks george I was wondering if that would help.
mikekeswick thanks I might be leaning that way
I think im down to 2 models, 2 hp with a resaw fence.
What is a trunin ( I mis spelled trunin) and is cast iron better?  And is a brake somthing I shuld also consider?

[Del the cat]

Judge the size on what you are going to be cutting (plus a bit extra!).
I can't see any point in a brake, if you need a brake, by the time you get to it, it's too late. Safety is about prevention not cure, and an ordinary stop button that you can slap if you get a snag will do fine (IMO).
I've got an Electra Bekum like the one Mike had, a couple of times I've had to split a log with axe and wedges before I could get it on there, but I don't have room for a bigger one anyway...and that big log would have needed an assistant to manhandle cat-handle it.
I don't s'pose many ever think 'Ooooh I wish I had a smaller one' (Bandsaw..you smutty fellows )
Del

[JonW]

Like I said before, I have the 555 14" Grizzly. With a 3TPI hook blade that saw will cut anything up to six inches like it is butter. For instance I cut all the way down an Elm log length ways that would barely fit in the saw. It was about 5 3/4" dia. If you need to cut something larger than 6" Grizzly offers a riser block that will allow 12" of cutting with the same saw and I firmly believe it would handle it . WITH THE RIGHT BLADE!!

[gstoneberg]

What is a trunin ( I mis spelled trunin) and is cast iron better?  And is a brake somthing I shuld also consider?

I believe the trunnion is the little bracket under the saw table that allows it to be tipped accurately so you can cut an angle.  I have one on mine and have never moved it.  Normally a cast iron tool is cheaper than a milled tool, but it could also mean a cast tool instead of a sheet metal tool.  Don't know.  Most of my saw is cast iron, but I would not put Jet in the same league as Grizzly.  Still, I have used the heck out of my saw.

George

[Jim Davis]

If you can hold your fiery horses for a bit, you can come up with a better older saw than a Grizzly or Rigid or other offshore brand. I'm warning you though, the following link can be addictive.

http://owwm.org/index.php?sid=4d54a5f12baa48cceb797a65b20526cf

Lots of us who hang out at owwm.org have found woodworking machines from the classic 1930s through the 1950s for not much money and when they are cleaned up and sometimes had new bearings  installed they are like new and far better than anything by  Griz or Rigid or Makita or other offshore brands.

This is the saw most offshore brands are copied from. It's still better. This specimen is a 1945 model.


You might have to join the owwm forum to see very much of our doings, but it costs nothing to join.

Watch Craig's list and newspaper ads, yard sales etc. There is a lot of good old stuff around.

Jim Davis

[soy]

That is a sweet looking machine asharrow im wireing in 220 putting in a new panel getting ready!!!I will post pics soon hopefully if I can make up my mind . I can't thank you guys enough for the helpful input 

[George Tsoukalas]

Who would frown on using a bandsaw? I don't have a bow grade bandsaw but so what? You go right ahead and use it.  I am a little confused as to whether you are going to use a bandsaw to make your staves or to turn logs into boards. That is called resawing and is a whole nuther thing and often with another type of saw to do well. I just wanted to say that if you are making staves then be sure you follow that lateral grain when laying out your bow. It's a good form and the heartwoods are much more particular about that than the whitewoods. Look at me acting like I know what I and talking about! Jawge