Band saws

What should you look out for when buying a band saw?

For many woodworkers, the band saw is the most useful and versatile tool in the workshop. The combination of high cutting depth, the ability to cut both curved and straight lines, the tilting table and a wide range of blade thicknesses and tooth combinations opens up a huge range of possibilities, while the tool takes up very little space. You can make rip cuts and fine cuts, cut wafer-thin veneers, tenons, bevels, curves and even circles. Browse through our range of small to large band saws.

In our online shop you will find a selection of high-quality band saws from the Record Power brand with an excellent price-performance ratio including a 5-year guarantee. The following key data play a role when purchasing a machine.

Choosing the right band saw

With such a wide variety of bandsaws on the market, it can be difficult to find the one that best suits your needs and there are a number of factors that should be considered when making your choice.

For example, a cabinet maker who needs a machine to cut precise veneers and tenons or rip boards will be better served by a machine that can accommodate a wide saw blade, has a deep, stable fence and a powerful motor. For the wood turner, on the other hand, who mainly wants to cut bowl blanks, the ability to hold narrow blades for radius cuts and keep them on track is more important. A well-dimensioned table with enough support for the bowl blanks to the right of the blade and good blade guidance to prevent lateral pressure during cutting are also more important. Make sure that the strength of the bandsaw model matches your main application requirements.

"When you buy one of our machines, you can be sure of long-lasting functionality and customer service."

Read the most important key data of band saws here:

• Motor power: Describes how many kW/hp the band saw is operated with
• Clearance height: Indicates the maximum cutting height of the saw
• Total weight: A high weight is decisive for the smooth running of the saw. This is particularly important when working with larger branches, logs and planks.
• Size of the machine table: Depending on what you mainly want to saw, you will need a larger or smaller table.
• Flywheel material: If you want to saw large pieces of wood, you should make sure that the flywheels are made of solid grey cast iron.

Scope of delivery and accessories for band saws

All band saws are supplied with a rip fence and a saw blade as standard. This allows you to start sawing precise cuts immediately after assembly. The following optional accessories can be found in our online shop.

Underframes and chassis for band saws

The Sabre350 and 450 band saws, as well as the BS350 and BS400 band saws, have their own frame included in the scope of delivery. For the small Sabre250 and BS250 band saws, you will find a suitable base frame in our shop. All machines can also be equipped with a travelling frame to quickly reposition the machines in the workshop.

Rip fence, angle fence and table extension

All machines are equipped with a rip fence. For the BS350S and BS400, it is possible to retrofit the professional fence from the Sabre series. An angle fence and table extension are also available for the Sabre 350 and Sabre 450 bandsaws.

Saw blades

A saw blade is included with the purchase of a band saw. In our shop you will also find various saw blades for every band saw for rough to very fine cuts.

Important technical features of Record Power band saws

Below you will find a list of important technical information for bandsaws that are installed in Record Power machines.

Band wheels

Band wheels are the drive mechanism for the saw blade. For a quiet and smooth cutting performance, it is important that the wheels are well balanced. High-quality supports must be fitted to ensure precise blade guidance.

Impeller of the BS400

Grey cast iron impeller of the Sabre450

The wheels on all large saws from Record Power (BS300E, BS350S, BS400, SABRE-350 and SABRE-450) are made of grey cast iron. This is very robust and helps to increase the flywheel effect. The wheels are dynamically balanced and have thick rubber pads that are easy to cover and will last for years. This solution is critical on the larger capacity machines to ensure they can withstand the clamping forces of larger blades and the stresses of heavier use.

Key aspects of bandsaw design, the machine frame

The design of a bandsaw has a significant impact on its longevity, accuracy and reliability. Here are the key aspects to consider when purchasing a bandsaw and how Record Power compares to similarly priced competitors.

The frame must be able to withstand the stresses of the blade tensioning system. If the frame is not strong enough, it can warp and distort the upper and lower band wheel boxes, damaging the machine and rendering it unusable.

Machine frames from Record Power

On our large premium machines, the frame is folded and welded from industrial flat steel and fitted with wide multiple bracing for extra stability. The band saw wheel covers are also made with additional fabric to increase rigidity and strength.

Band saw fence

A stable fence is crucial for a precise, straight cut - for example for rip cutting, veneer cutting or tenoning. It is also important that the fence or fence attachment is adjustable to ensure the squareness of the table and blade.

Fence of Record Power bandsaws

Record Power fence bandsaw

The bandsaw range guides are based on our Startrite industrial bandsaw and feature deep extrusions mounted on solid steel bars with steel and cast iron guide clamps. The mounting rail is fixed to the table with sturdy bolts, allows adjustment to ensure squareness and is rock solid once adjusted and fixed. The aluminium extrusion parts found on the smaller BS250 machine are an excellent and cost effective solution for machines of this capacity and provide ample support.

Motors

A high quality motor with plenty of power is crucial. The deeper the cuts you plan to make, the more power you need.

Record Power motors are designed to provide generous power for the capacity of the machines and are fan-cooled, quiet induction machines. We always clearly state input and output power values, whereas most of our competitors only list the input power as the motor power. Always ensure you have an accurate output power when comparing machine specifications as this is the most significant value and will be lower than any stated input power values.

Bandsaw tables

The table is the support and working area of the bandsaw. In addition to the rip fence, it is also the reference plane from which many cuts are made, as a plumb and stable surface is clearly a great advantage. It is also important that the table can be set precisely at 90° to the blade, so a stable table attachment with good adjustment is a great advantage.

Bandsaws from Record Power

Inclined bandsaw table

Bandsaw table with flat fence

Record Power is renowned for its extensive use of high quality grey cast iron and our bandsaw tables are no exception. Our tables are large and heavy for maximum support, have a fine polished surface to minimise friction and the Premium range has mitre slots on both sides of the blade to easily allow a wide variety of angled cuts. The face tenons in the Premium range are moulded in one piece from two sides for rigidity and offer table tilt via a rack and pinion drive to make precise angles easily adjustable - even one-handed. The face trunnion sits on a plate on the top of the lower band wheel box and has jacking screws to make accurate alignment a simple Task.

Band guides of band saws

The purpose of "band guides" is to prevent the band from twisting during the cut. Guides need to be readjusted whenever different belt widths are used and often require readjustment, even when a belt of the same width is used. Easy adjustability, good access and a clear field of vision are therefore advantageous. Good guidance over a wide range will produce the most accurate results.

Belt guide in detail

Belt guide with band saw table

All Record Power bandsaws offer easily adjustable guide systems that provide more than enough guidance for the machine size. The SABRE-350 and SABRE-450 in particular offer a quick and easy solution for fast, tool-free Adjustment.

Belt tension

A critical factor for accurate, straight cutting. Even a high-quality belt will behave badly if the tension is insufficient. The spring and sliding mechanism in the upper belt pulley box must be strong enough to withstand pressures of up to 20,000 psi (1400 bar) and the frame of the machine must be strong and rigid enough not to deform under these pressures.

At rest, the tension can be released

Tension display of the band saws

Record Power tensioning systems vary across the range, each is carefully designed and specific to provide generous tensioning capability for the machine. BS350S and BS400 have a strong spring system with top slide as shown, with tension release via eccentric levers.