12" Craftsman Bandsaw

[nlester]

I found a deal on an older 12" Craftsman bandsaw.  Question:  Is it capable of helping me rough out osage staves?  Any info would be greatly appreciated

[Bevan R.]

Should be OK with a good blade. Check the HP on the motor. some bandsaws are a little underpowered.

[dmikeyj]

I have a 12" craftsman, with 1/2hp motor, and it is fine up to about 3" thick.  I tried to use it to resaw some 8/4 walnut at 4" thick, and that was a no go.   Thickest osage I've run through it has been 2" board, and it does just fine there.
 
Mike

[nlester]

Sounds like it might work then.  It sure would save a lot of time if I had a bandsaw at my house.  Thanks for the info.  Anyone else have anything to add, I'd a appreciate it.  Thanks again

[Carson (CMB)]

I have an older 12" craftsman.  It is way underpowered.  The HP is listed as 1 1/8 "max developed HP" in big letters on the front.  The motor tag also attempts to hide the underpower rating by listing the HP in Watts!  466W in the H.P. section of the tag.  By my math that comes out to .625 H.P.  I regret purchasing this craftsman bandsaw, however, it gets me by and one benefit of using an under-powered band saw is that it will follow the grain!

[Eric Krewson]

I had an older American made 12" craftsman, 1/2 hp, it would handle any osage trimming I needed to do as long as I had a sharp blade on it. I moved on to a big Griz but still have fond memories of my old Craftsman.

[bubby]

heck i've got an old chinese made 12" i got for $50 at a yard sale, long as the blade is sharp it'll cut most anything, Bub

[osage outlaw]

I had an older 12" Craftsman bandaw that I used for several years.  It had a wobble to it, but cut fine with a sharp blade.  I finally figured out the wobble and fixed it.  I sold it when I found a super deal on an almost brand new Craftsman 12" bandsaw.  Can you post a picture of it?  There are several different older models.

[Carson (CMB)]

I reread the original post and see that the question was specific to roughing out osage.  Yup, mine can handle roughing out seasoned osage.  But it can't handle yew or vine maple that is 4 + "  and has any moisture in it.  So if roughing out osage staves is the most you 're going ask from it it should be sufficient.  Maybe the model you are looking at is better than the one I have, which appears to be 1983 model. 

[rps3]

I have 2 of the 1 1/8 hp model where the head tilts instead of the table. With a sharp blade it has done anything asked of it related to making bows. I have seen quite a few for sale lately and the asking price seems to be around 150 bucks.

[osage outlaw]

That's the one I sold, with the tilting head.  I guess I let it go a little cheap for $75.  Oh well, I only paid $100 for the practically brand new one that replaced it.  Thank you Craigslist 

[UserNameTaken]

If its the old American made belt sander/band saw, then you're fine. I bought one for $100 and it will do a 4" log. The performance isn't amazing, but it gets the job done.

[Stiks-N-Strings]

Nathan my bandsaw is a 10" and I use a timberwolf blade with no problems. Give me a call this week if you get a chance

[druid]

I am very interesting in this topic: I am trying to revive old 12" bandsaw with 1,5 kW motor.

[nlester]

I went ahead and bought it.  Its the 2-speed 1 1/8 HP with the tilt head.  I got it for $75 and it seems like its in good working order.  I'm excited to see what it can do.  Thanks for all the information.  It appears I might've made out OK with this purchase.