The Bandsaw Book

Rating:
Summary: Buy It ... Period
Review: Having also bought Duginske's Bandsaw Handbook (and recommended also), Bird's effort here is a real value for the dollar. Kiss and a kick here though ... the information clarity and photo quality are top notch but chapter after chapter are filled with redundant explanations. If you are the type who likes the repetition from various angles, this book may not be a problem for you - others like myself may feel that the 200 page volume could have been done in 125 pages, or more information could have been added. Also, while its a sincere attempt to help the novice bandsaw buyer, it still fell short for me. Not looking for a guide to suggest exactly which namebrand and model to buy ... that's simply unrealistic as most woodworkers have different needs, interests and varying budget constraints to deal with. But these types of books are marketed upfront as "how to choose" bandsaws among other things and leave as much uncertainty as buying knowledge in my view. To be fair, however, novice woodworkers are novices for a reason so can't expect to not learn many things the hard way. Expanded focus on purchasing lessons learned would really up the content. Considering the abundant positives, if you are looking for general reference information to get oriented to the world of bandsaws .. buy this book, it's very informative on the basic fundamentals of the tool, procedures, watch items, safety tips, and bandsaw applications. Definitely worth purchasing.

Rating:
Summary: Best Bandsaw Book
Review: I bought this book after I bought my bandsaw. After which I wish I made a slight shift in my purchase. Ah, well, live and learn as they say.
Not that I made a poor choice, just would have made a more informed decision based on what I found and wished I had.
The book is very complete, well illustrated etc.
I refer to it for many bits of advise on set-up and blade selection, maintenance and such. It's my only bandsaw book and I don't feel the need for another.

Rating:
Summary: great book.
Review: i dont have a bandsaw just yet but i am getting one in about a week. i wanted to learn about them a little before i did so would be better prepared to make the right decision on which saw to buy. this book was very helpful. it has everthiong you need to know in general about bandsaws blades and how to tune your bandsaw. i was able to make well educated decisions on which saw to buy and what blades i needed to do certain jobs. this book tells you all the things the bandsaw can do and how to do them and which blades are recomended to do it. he is very clear on his directions and the overall quality of the book is excellent. color photos are great too. mostly for someone who is new to bandsaws this book will teach you everything you need to know. i read this book cover to cover and now i know what i need to know about bandsaws. now all that is left is getting the actual experince using it. something no book can teach you. definatly one of the best books in my woodworking library.

Rating:
Summary: great book.
Review: i dont have a bandsaw just yet but i am getting one in about a week. i wanted to learn about them a little before i did so would be better prepared to make the right decision on which saw to buy. this book was very helpful. it has everthiong you need to know in general about bandsaws blades and how to tune your bandsaw. i was able to make well educated decisions on which saw to buy and what blades i needed to do certain jobs. this book tells you all the things the bandsaw can do and how to do them and which blades are recomended to do it. he is very clear on his directions and the overall quality of the book is excellent. color photos are great too. mostly for someone who is new to bandsaws this book will teach you everything you need to know. i read this book cover to cover and now i know what i need to know about bandsaws. now all that is left is getting the actual experince using it. something no book can teach you. definatly one of the best books in my woodworking library.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: I haven't used a bandsaw since High School. Im 30 now. I am entering woodworking and after trying wood carving and whittling, decided to buy first power tool. A bandsaw. This book helped me figure out what tool I should buy by features / benefits etc. Not the it's Brand X look at the quality schpiele you get from woodworking stores. I bought the book and a saw. I'm quite happy with my decision. Also, I found a few uses for my bandsaw that I did not know of from this book. Must buy for new bandsaw purchasers

Rating:
Summary: This is the only Bandsaw book you need
Review: I've purchased several books on the Bandsaw. This book is the only one you will need. It covers, CORRECTLY, how to set up, tune, adjust, look for, and operate new or used bandsaws. The photographs are excellent as is the writing style. The information is up to date...very important in light of the many changes in this tool recently. The only thing Lonnie missed was an inclusion of the style of Blades manufactured by Timberwolf (Although he included everything else)which require LESS tension than carbon or carbide blades while still retaining beam strength. This is HUGE for those of us who cannot afford the bigger machines but still want to resaw on our 14" saws using riser blocks.
If you're interested in learning about the bandsaw or are about to purchase one...this is the book to buy.

Rating:
Summary: This is an excellent book
Review: If your new to band saws as I was, this is the book for you. I think that those who are skilled at the tool could glean useful information from it as well, but not to the degree as the novice. He covers, of course, everything you could possibly want to know about band saws. Blade choices, how to set up (which is really important to get top accurate performance), which size of unit is best suited to your needs, and charts showing what degree of curve you could expect out of different size blades. Additionally the type of material, and blade teeth differences, and their best suited application for different tasks, which is key to know.
This book will be beneficial if you are contemplating buying a saw. Buy this book first, and be a knowledgeable purchaser. It is a well written, brightly and cheerfully illustrated, with full color photographs. The style makes it an easy and informative read. All in all a great book, unless you already have been using a band saw for many years.

Rating:
Summary: Everything you need to know about bandsaws
Review: This book has all the information you need to know to buy a saw that suits your needs and tune it for greatest accuracy and efficiency. It is clearer and better formatted than the other texts I've bought and read in the past. The organization of chapters and articles set apart in the chapters on various topics make this a useful reference for specific issues. Selection of blades gets a thorough and very up to date treatment. You'll also gain valuable insight into application of different guide systems, why wheel diameter matters and how much power your machine should have to accomplish various cutting tasks. The photographs in the book are a great compliment to the clear, logical text.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty complete....
Review: This is a good book for those of us who thought we knew band saws. The tune up section alone is worth the price of the book, especially if you are trying to use a 40 year old saw as I am. I have found myself trying to figure out ways to make cuts on the table saw that I should have been doing on the bandsaw, because I could not get good results with the bandsaw. This book changed all that. After following Mr. Bird's guidelines for tuning up the saw, and replacing a few worn out parts, my old gray ghost is once again singing. I too noticed the absence of a mention of Timber Wolf blades, but you can't get everything into one book. These blades are great on old saws because you don't have to tension them as much as standard blades. I have a new bandsaw in my future, and the chapters on whats good and whats not and how to buy a new saw are invaluable. Photo's are excellent and just enough of them to get the point across. I highly reccommend this book to "experts" and amateurs.

Rating:
Summary: Helped in Finding
Review: Well-written reference book written in a sequence that allows each chapter to build on the previous. Purchased this book as a help in determining what type (size, model) of bandsaw to purchase. The book provided guidance in what is important, what is marginal engineering and what is well engineered. It describes each component of the bandsaw, how it works and the effect it has on the final result. Does a great job of describing the importance of blades, various types and their application. I had not thought much about blades; however, by the time I got to the section I was paying attention. The author is very good at describing a component, how it works, how it applies to the machine and its effect on cutting wood. I purchased an additional book on bandsaws; The Bandsaw Book is the best.