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I do lots of resawing and millwork for all kinds woodworkers and have had many bandsaws over the years. You might just consider looking around your area for someone who has a real resaw and resaw service. In the long run it just might save you a lot of $. Carbide blades and powerfeed are the critical things to look for.

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

@RTurner, I doubt I need anything that size... It would take up half of my new shop. My wife is a real keeper but I am guessing she would have something to say if I came home with that...


@Jim Kirby, I do have the space in my sub panel in the shop but I am not comfortable playing with 220v, I have done some 110 wiring but am not very comfortable around electricity, I have heard it can kill you...


@Tai Fu, Yes we do have code here that you have to have to have a permit to do any electrical work, you can do it yourself but it has to be inspected by a licensed contractor. Although it is difficult for the building inspectors to know you are doing your own work and a lot of people do. I would just as soon let the pro's do the work. Just like guitars, I would rather my clients not try to do their own repairs but that doesn't stop them from messing it up and then bringing it to me to fix the original problem and their mess up's.

@Pegasusguitars, If all I wanted was a saw to do resaw work then I would consider jobbing it out but I know I will use it for a lot more than just that. Besides I like the idea of finding a really nice piece of wood and cutting my own. Not so much to save money but that is a consideration in my decision on which saw to buy and how much to spend.

Cheers,
Bob

I've recently inquired about resawing wood with a local, very reputable guy who basically only does resaw work.
You guys probably know who he is, but I won't mention names.

The cost for resawing a bit of wood was ...well...astronomical-ish.

If I remember, it was $75 to set up the saw, $75 and hour, and you had to buy a blade.
so, for me to get (1) board of 5/4 mahogany sawed into 3 sets, a few fingerboard slices of ebony, and a few thick back plates resawed in two, I was looking at nearly $300. Not counting a good drive there and back, of shipping.

To me, that makes a $1500 - $2000 bandsaw look like a perty good deal.

Furthermore, I recently bought a really nice piece of cocobolo (qurtered, landscaped, the whole she-bang) from a local hardwood store, it cost $44 and could yield a 4 piece back and sides. I would guess a similar set (4 piece and all) would sell for at least $200 here, and probably $300 on a retail site. So, if I had a bandsaw, I could save myself $150-200 bucks resawing it myself.

So yeah, thanks to you guys, now I want a 18" bandsaw.

Don't be so sure about that. Getting a big bandsaw set up well for resaw work takes some time and effort... you will likely not want to throw on a smaller blade for the occasional curved cut. I've found that it's a heck of a lot easier to keep a big saw set up for resawing and to go buy an extra $100-200 10" saw to do the light to medium duty work. In other words: if your decision to buy this thing hinges on being able to easily switch between resawing thick lutherie woods and being able to cut tight arcs, you might want to rethink it unless you have a lot of spare time and a lot of patience... just my $.02 of course

I appreciate that input and it is a valid point. I still have my 40 year old 14" bandsaw I am using now which I will not get rid of until I am confident I don't need it (its not worth much anyway but it does work). As far as using a new one just for resawing I know that I will not do that. I can only speculate that I would set it up for resawing maybe one or 2 times in a year... I don't imagine I will be able to build more than 2 or 3 guitars a year so resawing may be just making enough sides and backs for me and possibly sell a couple to lower the cost of my sets.

Great point though and thanks for bringing it up. I am guessing I will use a new big saw in place of a lot of the things I do on my table saw now. Since I have a very healthy respect for table saws I would prefer to cut smaller stuff on a band saw.

Cheers,
Bob

I have an old 12" Craftsman bandsaw with a fine toothed blade just for the small stuff. I
leave the big saw set up for resawing. I often use both saws daily.

Good point... I keep my table saw now pretty much just for crosscuts using a sled. Everything else I used to do with it I now do on the big bandsaw