Similar to my Charnwood bandsaw with a few updates. Happy with mine but the top wheel tensioning looks the same which was something I was always found a bit fiddly and hard to get right. The table angle positioner seems to have changed but just for a different type of awkward.
Dude that bandsaw is pretty awesome it’s a shame they don’t let ya keep it 😢. I need to turn notifications back on as this vid almost snuck through . I’ll be casting the Xmas item today I hope I don’t screw it up😉. Take care talk soon Geoff .
Thanks mate. I'm knee deep in my tax returns (boo hiss) so I still haven't had chance to think about the Christmas Challenge. But yours will be as awesome as ever!
Hey I have this bandsaw and for the most part I like it only problem I have with it is the bottom barring under the table where the blade runs along is stuck and not rolling so the blade is eating into it and is making a hell of squeak afraid to use it now in case I do damage to it
I ordered one this afternoon. It will be interesting to see if they have addressed the (fairly minor) points that you made, given that they have had 2 1/2 years to do so since you posted this review.
Hi - realise it has been some time since you reviewed this. Looking to use this to cut circles for bowl blanks for a lathe. Spoke to someone who said that it is pretty good for cutting thin plywood, but struggles with cuts in deeper wood. Is this fair?
Nice review Geoff! Looks like a great addiction to have in any workshop 👍🏻 you don’t get to keep it though. That’s a bummer. Tell em you broke it and threw it out 😂
And the best part is they didn't ask for the saw to be returned right away. Are they picking up the cost of return shipping, or do you think they'll forget about the return entirely? Don't forget to put the original blade back in if it does go back, they might bill you and lose the one you bought. That's how things usually seem to go for me.
Sorry here Ron, let me just copy and paste another reply I've just made... No mate... don't you worry about me. Draper have been as good as gold and there's no nastiness on their part at all. I'm hanging on to it with their blessing but I will return it in time. I didn't want to be in the position of receiving a "gift" to review. That might influence my feelings for the product. I like to stay honest and impartial : ) I appreciate you guys looking out for me but there's no worries here. Draper are picking up all the costs and have been excellent in their dealings with me. But at the same time I didn't want to feel as though I owed them anything... so I've always made it clear to them that I'm happy to review any product and return it. That way if I hate something, I can say so without any sense of duty or obligation. They took that risk... and I didn't hate it. Hopefully that speaks well of all parties involved ; )
Spot on! You make a shape out of foam, pack it well with sand, pour in molten metal like aluminium or bronze, and the metal evaporates the foam. The metal fills the void left by the foam and solidifies within a few seconds. Once cool you have a solid junk of metal in the shape you desire. I've used it to make all sorts of useful things like brackets and fixing. But I've also used it to make fun things like sprockets to drive the tracks on my Radio Control Lawn Mower, as well as replica viking axes and the like. As long as you're careful, it's amazing the things you can create : )
It's great fun, practical and surprisingly cheap to do. There's different techniques as well, such as Lost Wax Casting (I think you can now guess how that works) that uses plaster rather than sand.
WHADDAYAMEAN "Hang on to it for a couple more weeks"??? (imagine Bill Burr's show voice while reading that) Whenever somebody sends you something that you didn't ask for (except money), you get to keep it as a gift. (at least, according to EU compliant legislation, don't know about Fled legislation in the UK) and we have a saying that litterally translates to "Given is given, and asking back is theft" So unless it's terribly in the way or you truly hate it, just keep the damm thing =)))
No mate... don't you worry about me. Draper have been as good as gold and there's no nastiness on their part at all. I'm hanging on to it with their blessing but I will return it in time. I didn't want to be in the position of receiving a "gift" to review. That might influence my feelings for the product. I like to stay honest and impartial : )
@@vogman maybe you can use it to reverse engineer it, and us it to make a copy (does it come with metal cutting bands?) Otoh, casting wheels is a very particular trade, might be a bit risky to use homecast wheels in one of the scariest tools in the shop... =DD
Ok, a product review... for a brief moment I thought you had fancied spending bandsaw money. I don't know what the world would be coming to if you had started spending bandsaw money.
This is typical of Chinese built machines that are then badged to appeal to a western audience.... They tend to get the basics right do the chinese.... Then let it down with cheap & nasty, plasticy components from the parts bin... That switch... I'd probably replace it with a lewden type... (i am an electrician by trade)... The plastic insert... I don't like it and it wants sacking off and a proper metal one making for it... That work light is a potential hazard on this if it ain't going to stay put... Sack it off and get another for it... The hook that doesn't fit the push stick...this is typical of China... Drill another hole in the push stick so it'll hang properly... The rest of it looks OK.. 😏
In fairness to Draper, they were receptive to my comments (I'm married - so I'm used to being ignored). They've even assured me that they're already addressing some of these points. I certainly hope the insert is one of them. I have some aluminium plate in my shed and I'll probably try to make my own insert to improve accuracy. It's a shame about that switch... it works, but the quality is shocking in comparison to the rest of the saw. But it does look easy enough to replace, even for an amateur like me. As for the light, it droops a little - even without a drink - but not so much that it would fall into the blade. It's position would make this tricky, but not impossible, though it's likely low current being LED... not that I'm going to risk trying it : )
2:46 YOU need a slap... That tilt lock lever arm will be on a spring loaded spline, pull it towards you and turn it out of the way. :-)
Ha! You're right! 100% spot on!!!
I never noticed that at all. Sorry Draper. Sorry slapped designer : )
Thanks for the correction : D
Similar to my Charnwood bandsaw with a few updates. Happy with mine but the top wheel tensioning looks the same which was something I was always found a bit fiddly and hard to get right. The table angle positioner seems to have changed but just for a different type of awkward.
Dude that bandsaw is pretty awesome it’s a shame they don’t let ya keep it 😢. I need to turn notifications back on as this vid almost snuck through . I’ll be casting the Xmas item today I hope I don’t screw it up😉. Take care talk soon Geoff .
Thanks mate. I'm knee deep in my tax returns (boo hiss) so I still haven't had chance to think about the Christmas Challenge. But yours will be as awesome as ever!
VegOilGuy Cheers mate yeah I’m quite fond of third place every time but hey third place is still bronze and you know I love my bronzes😁👍🏻
Now come on, you know 3rd spot is reserved for me : )
You two beat me every time with creativity.
Hey I have this bandsaw and for the most part I like it only problem I have with it is the bottom barring under the table where the blade runs along is stuck and not rolling so the blade is eating into it and is making a hell of squeak afraid to use it now in case I do damage to it
I ordered one this afternoon. It will be interesting to see if they have addressed the (fairly minor) points that you made, given that they have had 2 1/2 years to do so since you posted this review.
Thanks for the review. I was unsure which make to buy but you have convinced me. 👍
Glad I could help 😁
Thank you, that was a first class review and you've helped me make a decision - I'll buy one.
Hi - realise it has been some time since you reviewed this. Looking to use this to cut circles for bowl blanks for a lathe. Spoke to someone who said that it is pretty good for cutting thin plywood, but struggles with cuts in deeper wood. Is this fair?
Nice review Geoff! Looks like a great addiction to have in any workshop 👍🏻 you don’t get to keep it though. That’s a bummer. Tell em you broke it and threw it out 😂
Between you and me, I've covered the whole thing in silicone and I've just ordered half a ton of wax. It's a big mould but I think I can do it.
; )
VegOilGuy haha nice!
And the best part is they didn't ask for the saw to be returned right away. Are they picking up the cost of return shipping, or do you think they'll forget about the return entirely? Don't forget to put the original blade back in if it does go back, they might bill you and lose the one you bought. That's how things usually seem to go for me.
Sorry here Ron, let me just copy and paste another reply I've just made...
No mate... don't you worry about me. Draper have been as good as gold and there's no nastiness on their part at all.
I'm hanging on to it with their blessing but I will return it in time. I didn't want to be in the position of receiving a "gift" to review. That might influence my feelings for the product. I like to stay honest and impartial : )
I appreciate you guys looking out for me but there's no worries here. Draper are picking up all the costs and have been excellent in their dealings with me. But at the same time I didn't want to feel as though I owed them anything... so I've always made it clear to them that I'm happy to review any product and return it. That way if I hate something, I can say so without any sense of duty or obligation. They took that risk... and I didn't hate it. Hopefully that speaks well of all parties involved ; )
You don't get to keep the saw?
Looks nice enough. Does it have a low speed for metal cutting?
It does... 300 and 800 RPM I think... sorry I forgot to mention that : )
Just brought a Draper, so thanks for helping me decide.
That's great to hear. I'm sure you'll be pleased with it : )
How have you found using it, one year on?
Excellent review, looks like a good bandsaw, thankyou for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Hello Geoff - may I ask, do you live near London?
No my friend, I live in Wolverhampton which is roughly 140 miles from London. However, my wife is from London and we have family there : )
I've never heard of lost foam casting before - does the molten metal just burn away the foam or something?
Spot on!
You make a shape out of foam, pack it well with sand, pour in molten metal like aluminium or bronze, and the metal evaporates the foam. The metal fills the void left by the foam and solidifies within a few seconds. Once cool you have a solid junk of metal in the shape you desire.
I've used it to make all sorts of useful things like brackets and fixing. But I've also used it to make fun things like sprockets to drive the tracks on my Radio Control Lawn Mower, as well as replica viking axes and the like.
As long as you're careful, it's amazing the things you can create : )
thats amazing
It's great fun, practical and surprisingly cheap to do. There's different techniques as well, such as Lost Wax Casting (I think you can now guess how that works) that uses plaster rather than sand.
What an excellent, candid and easy to follow and understand review for a bandsaw newbie li9ke me. Thank you
WHADDAYAMEAN "Hang on to it for a couple more weeks"??? (imagine Bill Burr's show voice while reading that)
Whenever somebody sends you something that you didn't ask for (except money), you get to keep it as a gift. (at least, according to EU compliant legislation, don't know about Fled legislation in the UK) and we have a saying that litterally translates to "Given is given, and asking back is theft" So unless it's terribly in the way or you truly hate it, just keep the damm thing =)))
No mate... don't you worry about me. Draper have been as good as gold and there's no nastiness on their part at all.
I'm hanging on to it with their blessing but I will return it in time. I didn't want to be in the position of receiving a "gift" to review. That might influence my feelings for the product. I like to stay honest and impartial : )
@@vogman maybe you can use it to reverse engineer it, and us it to make a copy (does it come with metal cutting bands?) Otoh, casting wheels is a very particular trade, might be a bit risky to use homecast wheels in one of the scariest tools in the shop... =DD
Ok, a product review... for a brief moment I thought you had fancied spending bandsaw money. I don't know what the world would be coming to if you had started spending bandsaw money.
LOL.
It would mean I'd won the lottery ; )
This is typical of Chinese built machines that are then badged to appeal to a western audience....
They tend to get the basics right do the chinese....
Then let it down with cheap & nasty, plasticy components from the parts bin...
That switch...
I'd probably replace it with a lewden type... (i am an electrician by trade)...
The plastic insert...
I don't like it and it wants sacking off and a proper metal one making for it...
That work light is a potential hazard on this if it ain't going to stay put...
Sack it off and get another for it...
The hook that doesn't fit the push stick...this is typical of China...
Drill another hole in the push stick so it'll hang properly...
The rest of it looks OK.. 😏
In fairness to Draper, they were receptive to my comments (I'm married - so I'm used to being ignored). They've even assured me that they're already addressing some of these points.
I certainly hope the insert is one of them. I have some aluminium plate in my shed and I'll probably try to make my own insert to improve accuracy.
It's a shame about that switch... it works, but the quality is shocking in comparison to the rest of the saw. But it does look easy enough to replace, even for an amateur like me.
As for the light, it droops a little - even without a drink - but not so much that it would fall into the blade. It's position would make this tricky, but not impossible, though it's likely low current being LED... not that I'm going to risk trying it : )
@@vogman
No.
One of the reasons it'll be LED is to get round machinery directives concerning lighting near rotating machinery...
Ji
Ooopppss sorry big fingers...crazy blupers
50likes
Thanks Julian. Hope you found it helpful : )