The Cellar - View Single Post - Building a bandsaw on the cheap from mostly scrap wood

glatt · 03-30-2016, 07:43 AM

I had been looking at craigslist around here for a while and there are no tool deals at all. Tools can be found, but good ones are rare, and they are overpriced. I think it's because there is almost no industry in this town, so you don't get that critical mass you need to support that market. Plus I don't have a truck to run out and pick up a tool within hours of seeing it posted online.

This band saw will hopefully wind up costing about $200, including the brand new motor, bearings, and steel shaft from Ebay. The wood is mostly scrounged scrap wood, but I did need to buy about $50 of new pine boards for the frame. I'm at about $200 right now and I still need to buy some bolts and knobs and stuff, so tt might be $20-$50 more. I've gone through most of a gallon jug of glue already.

What I'll end up with is a 16" bandsaw, which would cost at least three times what I will spend. But this isn't about saving money. If I add the value of my time into the equation, I come out way behind. This is about having fun making something that should hopefully be pretty good when I'm done. In theory, I can make this tool be better than one I could buy. I won't know until I'm done, how good it is, but I'm hopeful.

And it's a big project. My goal is to finish in 2016. If I can keep up my current pace, I should be done by summer.

03-30-2016, 07:43 AM	#5
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I had been looking at craigslist around here for a while and there are no tool deals at all. Tools can be found, but good ones are rare, and they are overpriced. I think it's because there is almost no industry in this town, so you don't get that critical mass you need to support that market. Plus I don't have a truck to run out and pick up a tool within hours of seeing it posted online. This band saw will hopefully wind up costing about $200, including the brand new motor, bearings, and steel shaft from Ebay. The wood is mostly scrounged scrap wood, but I did need to buy about $50 of new pine boards for the frame. I'm at about $200 right now and I still need to buy some bolts and knobs and stuff, so tt might be $20-$50 more. I've gone through most of a gallon jug of glue already. What I'll end up with is a 16" bandsaw, which would cost at least three times what I will spend. But this isn't about saving money. If I add the value of my time into the equation, I come out way behind. This is about having fun making something that should hopefully be pretty good when I'm done. In theory, I can make this tool be better than one I could buy. I won't know until I'm done, how good it is, but I'm hopeful. And it's a big project. My goal is to finish in 2016. If I can keep up my current pace, I should be done by summer.