I have made several cuts on soft wood and some hard wood. The saw is doing everything I asked of it. It was easy to set up. Of course I am just an amateur wood worker.
I bought this band saw at my local Sears for a great price. At $99 I couldn't pass it up. Overall construction is solid. Initial set up was easy. Except for blade alignment. While the top wheel is adjusted by knobs, the bottom wheel must be adjusted by 4 screws. These screws align the shaft which protrudes from the back. You need to make minor adjustments, and check for travel. I spent about an hour making these fine tunes. While it is working properly, it is not as aligned as good as it could be. The key is to not get frustrated, and take your time. The roller bearings are better quality than...
read full review »I bought this band saw for myself, really not knowing a whole lot about band saws other than what I was taught in school many years ago. I got the saw and also purchased a craftsman work station stand, I set it up, made a slight adjustment with the tension knob and went set out using my new saw. It couldn't have been easier. I have read about how changing of the blade can be a pain, and in all honesty I have not changed the blade since I just purchsed the saw.
But on my first project for my band saw It worked wonderfully and my friends that have seen it are impressed and didn't know a band...
read full review »I purchased another brand band saw at another chain store. 9" , I had an earlier model and it worked ok. I set up the new machine and it had serious vibration and the cut was all over the place. Table was not sturdy at all.Bearing adjustment instructions were actually incorrect. Just a flimsy piece of equipment. I brought it back and got as refund. More research on the web caused me to take a second look at the Craftsman 10" saw. Ordered on line, delivered to my local store a few days later, no shipping. Very impressed. All steel, solid cast table, easy to adjust. Right out of the box it was...
read full review »I've owned my bandsaw now for about 2 yrs. Haven't had to use a whole lot so never had to change the blade. Well for my next project I needed to do some tight cuts and decided to purchase the 1/8 in blade. What a nightmare to put on. I couldn't for the life of me get that blade to stay on the wheels. I followed the instructions to the T and still no luck. After pulling my hair out I decided to call Sears for support only to find out they have no techs I could talk to. While waiting for 20 minutes to find this out I read the reviews for this saw. It does get good ratings as long...
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I have had this saw for a month now and I cannot get it to cut straight lines or the desired curved lines to save my life. I have tried to tune the saw but it did not help at all. I tried to cut a circle in 1/2in poplar using a center pin in the wood to prevent unwanted movement of the wood but the saw blade deflects from one side to the other so much that the blade will come right off the wheels. What a piece of junk. This was my second Craftsman power tool and it will be my last. The other is a reciprocating saw that won't hold blades, cuts is every direction but the one you...
read full review »I gave this craftmans 10" band saw 4 stars. Works good, quite, cuts clean, easy to setup and level. Why I gave the saw 4 stars. I was cleaning up the saw dust the frist time I use it. and found a bad weld that was cracked. When It gets a little more use I will have to reweld it. I like this saw so well I didn't want to return it and maybe not be happy with the next one.
There is something inherently wrong with my saw. In 2 years and getting help form numerous tool gurus, I have still not been able to get my saw to cut a straight line, follow the desired curve or keep the blade from staying on the wheels for more than a 5 minutes of continuous operation. We're adjusted tension, blade tracking, changed blades and still the blade wanders around and then pops off hte wheels.
Good small capacity saw for the money. Great for light-duty work when a heavy duty industrial saw is not needed. I use this saw at home for family projects. I have used this saw for two years without problem.
As much as I like the saw, I would not consider using it for professional work. Nor would I consider using any competing saw of similar spcecifications for professional work.
I bought this bandsaw to use in my guitar shop. It makes tight radius cuts as well as long straight cuts, just change the blade to the 1/8" for making tight turns and purchase the 1/2" blade to make long straight cuts. Don't crowd it when cutting thick stock or blade will flex and cut crooked. With aa little practice it will will do the job.