Need A Good Muzzle Loading Bandsaw....Hobby Type....Under 400....Best Brand?

1950DAVE said:

But mostly.....

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No sir, not mostly, any tool in the wrong hands is a PITA and useless. I've seen mechanics using cheap foreign made tools and use them for years and still operating to do what was expected of them.

64Springer said:

Delta brand I've owned before. Good quality.

Just looked at a Ryobi bandsaw at Home Depot. Junk. Pure junk gadgetry for 219 bucks. Ryobi used to be a fantastic and well built tool. But this was 20 years ago.

I can't believe what the American consumer puts up with in this modern plastic craptastic era.

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I've had 2, maybe 3 Ryobi grass trimmers and they're pure junk! Use two seasons and it starts to fall apart. (The battery type.) A friend got an "E-Go" brand and says they're ok. Pricey, though!

Amazon is showing a Rikon that several hundred people have given a 4.5 star rating to for 350. My Rikon machines are unstoppable.

And a nice looking grizzly for 500.

springfield art said:

I've had 2, maybe 3 Ryobi grass trimmers and they're pure junk! Use two seasons and it starts to fall apart. (The battery type.) A friend got an "E-Go" brand and says they're ok. Pricey, though!

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Yard and garden stuff is all Stihl. Down to the premix fuel. A cheap tool is almost always a false economy.

Old-Duckman said:

Good quality and low price don't usually go together.

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However, lower prices and quality can go together. Many of my tools, including bandsaw, are from Grizzly and I can heartily recommend their tools. For cutting stock blanks something like the Grizzly 17" would work great. My 14" will cut them but very slowly, not enuf power. However, your price limit will probably have you looking for a used item. Check the newspaper classified and peruse the pawn shops.

At all costs avoid cheap Chinesium. I owned a Ryobi for a few hours once. It was so bad that it went straight back to the store.
Find something better made but used. New tires and a good cleanup are cheap and very worth it.
Stick to two wheel saws, the three wheelers can be difficult to keep tuned.
Stick to belt driven, easier to fix. A direct drive burns out and the whole thing is usually junked, belt drive goes and you stick a new motor/belt on it.