Must have equipment?

[kennym]

I had a Grizzly 14" ultimate bandsaw , the one with the built in light on it and cast iron wheels. I figured I should upgrade after a few years, so I got the 17" with cast iron wheels. The 14" did everything I needed just like the 17" does. I  don't saw super thick logs or anything .

So I could have stayed with the 14" no prob.

A sander with a conveyor belt will be easier to be accurate with.

No complaint with Griz tools here at all...

[Roy from Pa]

I have several grizzly power tools and all work great.

[Jeff Freeman]

I get pretty accurate with my setup. You have to learn the feel how the grinders working and learn where and where not to put your hands. Friend of mine he's stuck his right into the grinder yeah unsupervised I guess. JF

[mmattockx]

By hand and the pressure of the belt against the laminate. I use to have a roller spring set up but it was a pain in the ass. JF

No problems with slippage between the sled and the lam?


Mark

[mmattockx]

Any must have bandsaw options or size? Minimum depth etc that one should have?

For bow work you don't need a big saw, the deepest cut you will make is ~2" for riser blocks and lams. I have an old 12" saw and it is more than enough for me. IMO it needs to have a fence and needs to cut straight with that fence so you can rough cut lams off of boards before grinding them to thickness/taper. Decent dust collection is a bonus, but it can be improved and modified once you have the saw if necessary.

Something to think about is buying used. Around here there is a steady trade in used saws in the local classifieds (Kijiji up here, Craigslist in the US) and they don't hold their value very well. Lots of decent 14" saws are available for 1/4-1/3 the price of a new model.


Mark

[Flem]

Bandsaw will probably be first. I can make a spindle arbor for my stationary drill press, and an oscillating spindle sander is not a huge expense. I have a belt sander already that will work interim.

Any must have bandsaw options or size? Minimum depth etc that one should have?

I do want a floor model and not a bench model.

The size bandsaw you will want, depends on what you plan on cutting. I imagine all the advocates of 14" or smaller saws, are just resawing pre-milled lumber. If you plan on making your own lumber from small logs or splits, you can get by with a 14", but from the get go you will be wishing you had bought the biggest one you could afford.
Most 14" saws have a 1hp motor. The wimpiest 18" has a 2hp. A Grizzly 14" is going to cost $800++
If you can wait till they have a sale, you can likely pick up an 18" for 50% more money and get at least 50% more saw.
Oh and I should add, the dust collection on standard 14" bandsaws is worthless unless modified.

[wood carver 2]

I have a Grizzly 19” bandsaw and I love it. It has a 3 horse motor and it will rip through a 12” wide beam of 100 year old doug fir with zero resistance. It’s super accurate and easy to maintain. I would have bought the bigger saw, but the 19” was the biggest that would fit in my garage. 😕. I don’t just build bows, so that was a consideration for me. I usually find a way to max out my tools, so bigger and more powerful is good. I also have a Grizz drum sander and it’s also a workhorse. I made a simple taper sled for it. I can sand wood down to almost paper thin by taking light passes with it.
Dave.

[Mad Max]

A lot of us have this one, get the 6" riser block kit

https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-the-classic-14-bandsaw/g0555

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-17-2-hp-bandsaw/g0513

This is the one I was looking at? Got one last automotive project in the shop that will be done around Thanksgiving.  Proceeds from that will fund the shop makeover.

[Roy from Pa]

That will be fine.

[Crooked Stic]

That saw will be good. Grizzly has everything you need. And if you got a lathe you can build the profiler on the end of the 6x80 edge sander they sell.

[Mad Max]

That saw will be good. Grizzly has everything you need. And if you got a lathe you can build the profiler on the end of the 6x80 edge sander they sell.

Yep

[Mad Max]

The Grizzly 6" x 80" Edge Sander was a must have for me.
Get the table squared up and make your wood blanks square

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

Thanks for all the advice! The 6 X 80 is a good looking piece, will put it on the short list.

The bandsaw will have to do some small beams as well. I have a decent amount of hickory, ash, maple ,red oaks on my property that i have various uses for.

Can't  wait to get the shop repurposed!

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

Went to Klingspors today and looked at bandsaw.

Do you guys use a 2 speed bandsaw or is a single speed ok?

Looked at a Laguna 14BX with 230volt single speed 2.5 HP. Foot brake , good resaw capabilities. 

[Shredd]

  That looks like one that could suit your needs... Anything over 2 hp. sounds good to me... Down the line you can buy another 14" or 10" used saw to run a smaller blade so that you don't have to change out blades all the time...  The only thing I would think about is that a bigger saw would have a bigger table which makes it easier to handle big chunks of lumber and a longer fence... 

   I believe why they have two speeds -  One for metal and one for wood...

[Jerry Gille]

For the way I build bows I use a table saw, bandsaw, edge sander, drum sander, air compressor, and spray gun. A router is handy for making forms too.  Of course I cut my own trees for lumber so a chainsaw is a must. But I do outsource to a sawmill because portable bandsaw mills are a little too much overkill just for making lumber to build bows with. The cost goes down with every bow you make!