frankp

So I got a ridiculously good deal on a used Meber BWS P400 bandsaw used on Craigslist.

After much help from <<woodnthings>> I got her set up and have a fairly decent understanding of what to expect.

For those that don't know this is a saw roughly comparable to a Laguna 14 and Meber used to supply Laguna.

New price for the Laguna is ~$1500 (US)

On to the review...

The specs:
15" (390 mm) throat
9.25" (250 mm) resaw height
220v (single phase) 1.5 hp motor
weight ~250 pounds

The good:

She cuts like a dream, as compared with any of my other tools. Even with dull nasty old blades (in many different sizes and tpi) she goes through hardwoods (padauk, purpleheart, maple, oak, ebony, and walnut so far) like butter. The 1.5 hp motor has no issues resawing up to 9" wide hardwood and tracks well.

She runs fairly quiet, not much louder than my Ryobi 9" bandsaw and significantly quieter than any of my other big tools.

The adjustment knobs are easy to find, easy to use, and the overall design of the saw seems quite user-friendly.

Steel and iron make her heavy and mostly stable. I have found a little rocking but I believe that's mostly a product of my uneven garage floor and the wooden riser a previous owner put as a base for the saw.

The bad:
The cutting depth (height) adjustment arm is a little clumsy. The arm runs in a slot on the inside of the upper wheel housing and rocks a little more than I'd like. There is a blade guard attachment, but the sighting gap is a little off and the screws for it have been lost or stripped over the years (it was built in 1994) so I removed it until I can get to a decent fix.

The roller bearings are fairly noisy when they have any pressure on them. This is probably an operator error issue, because when they spin without pressure, they're whisper quiet.

Getting metric blades in the US is difficult and more expensive than standards.


Overall, I got a very good saw at a steal. I almost felt guilty about the price I paid once I figured out what saw I had bought, almost. Not too many negatives, and none that I suspect haven't been addressed in the last 15 years, but I'd recommend this saw to anyone even with the detractors.

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woodnthings

Somehow you forgot to post how much you stole her for in this review! heh...heh...Don't worry about metric size blades, any competent sharpening service or machine shop will have a blade welder, I even have one. They can weld up blades to your length.
You may find a USA size that is close and can be tensioned properly. A small amount of travel in the wheel translates to a considerable length on the blade. Harbor Freight sells one online for some ridiculous price $130 or so.
http://search.harborfreight.com/cpis...d=blade+welder
I buy bulk blade stock and make my own for metal cutting, re-sawing and general cutting. I think Timberwolf makes a great blade and will make them up to a specified length as well. Glad to hear that 1 1/2 HP is enough power on the 9" re-saw. Great find and I'll bet you have learned a few things in the process. bill

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