Opinions on Baleigh Bandsaw?

I am in need of a new bandsaw. My 60+ year old famco is not cutting it (literally lol)

Want to spend around $3k for a used setup but see the baleigh saws aren't terrible price wise.
Will they last like an old doall? I don't cut much over 2", actually majority is 1" round and under. But it's nice to have the capacity if I need it...

What do you guys think of the BS-916m? Good machine shop saw or is it geared more towards fab shops that cut tubing vs solid stock?

Horizontal Band Saw (BS-916M) | Baileigh Industrial | Baileigh Industrial

They're roughly $3500 new...

Look into Ellis bandsaws.

What he said times 10!

Looks like the Ellis 1800 is Right in my price range!

Ellis 18 Band Saw | New and Used Machinery

Evan-

We have a smaller mitering head Baileigh in the shop that we bought new almost 10 years ago. It has run pretty much flawlessly (sometimes for 10-12 hrs a day) for all of that time (replaced the pot on the DC drive and the coolant pump, that's it. Baileigh customer service has been generally great), and it still holds an accurate cut. Not sure if the build quality is as good today. Now, that being said, we do mostly use it for tube and smaller OD solid items.

I have also put many hours in on an Ellis and loved it. I think it is a better saw, especially for heavier stock. It's one big drawback may be that it has no coolant capacity, which could be problematic, depending on what you are generally sawing. You also lose some rigidity with the mitering head on these saws.

We also run a large, old DoAll in the shop for really big stock and structural stuff, and it is just a beast, and surprisingly accurate for it's somewhat advanced age. Buying these used can be a challenge, as they have generally been put through their paces, so to speak. I put quite a bit of time and money in on ours rebuilding certain aspects of it.

I think a new Ellis would be a good choice that would give many years of service. I haven't seen it done, but perhaps you could modify it for coolant if need be.

One last important point: always buy more saw than you think you will need!

Best,

ECJ

I suspect you can find that same China saw for a lot less $ if you look at other sources. I have a 1018 swivel head that I paid less for. Not a bad saw electrics are marginal and some of the parts that should be iron are aluminum

bob said:

I suspect you can find that same China saw for a lot less $ if you look at other sources. I have a 1018 swivel head that I paid less for. Not a bad saw electrics are marginal and some of the parts that should be iron are aluminum

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Bob,
I agree. About the only difference will be the color. That's not even a mitering saw, for more money than the Ellis. There's a huge difference in a mitering saw and a mitering ½ fence.

It looks like the Ellis will be what I'm getting! I don't do a ton of aluminum and as suggested I can lightly lubricate the blade of I'm cutting some aluminum.

I have yet to purchase one. But I'm thinking I can up it to $5k if I can get a little more saw for that price. Still go with the Ellis? Or something else. I did some searching and I did read a few poor reviews on the Ellis, and a few great ones. Hmmmm. Decisions decisions!!

Can you find a good used Do All 916? They are around for that sort of money. Beast of a saw.

Evan LaCava said:

I have yet to purchase one. But I'm thinking I can up it to $5k if I can get a little more saw for that price. Still go with the Ellis? Or something else. I did some searching and I did read a few poor reviews on the Ellis, and a few great ones. Hmmmm. Decisions decisions!!

Click to expand...

I've been looking online for those comments but can't locate them. For the life of me, I can't imagine what the complaints would be. Maybe they're expecting too much from the price standpoint? This is not a super high class $15,000 saw. It's just an everyday workhorse. That works forever.