Chester Machine Tools. Any experience ? Esp. with Band saws.

[tedmagnum]

I need a band saw. Lot's of people are using the Clark one and it seems okay for the money.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cbs45md-41-2in-x-6in-metal-cutting-ban


But I've seen this one by Chester Tools. It's almost as cheap once you add the VAT. It might even be U.K made ???

http://www.chestermachinetools.com/products/detail/47


Any ideas ???

Cheers

 

[Mikey D]

i dont think the chester one is uk made , if you have a dig around their website you will see they have their own factory in china .
Not sure of the quality tho .

have a look at axminster ,similar colour scheme i think ...

which ever one you get , a decent M42 Blade will transform it .

cheers mike

 

[ronan]

I priced machine tool and general engineering tools off them , their prices seemed to be less than rdg tools etc , but they wanted silly money for postage though. Aren't all the chinese tools the same with different paint , logo's or stickers ?

 

[inchpincher]

With all these cheap bandsaws (mine included) the cast iron top is surprisingly heavy and the sheet metal legs surprisingly thin. I'd factor in some time and money to upgrade the flimsy base. And I still can't get mine to cut 100% perpendicular which is driving me a little insane.

 

[Paul.]

With all these cheap bandsaws (mine included) the cast iron top is surprisingly heavy and the sheet metal legs surprisingly thin. I'd factor in some time and money to upgrade the flimsy base. And I still can't get mine to cut 100% perpendicular which is driving me a little insane.

Agreed, an ideal first project for anyone buying one of these is to use it to cut up some box section for a decent base, worth putting some locking castors on it as well.
I really only use mine to cut aluminium sections but for light work they are not bad little tools, If used on steel an M42 blade will make all the difference to the speed and accuracy of cut, expect to pay around £15 each for them though as opposed to around a fiver for carbon steel blades.

 

[Wayne.]

you may find this useful [URL]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oImXgU3ATEk
[/URL] & this little mod http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-ZkJ8EqhzE

 

[hareng]

They are all chinese made in same factory.
You could have your name on and chosen colour if ordered X amount!

2 year ago the Clark and Chester were £170 new, mate bought one shop soiled direct £85 just needed two screws in the front legs.