Customer Reviews

The Bandsaw Book

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

I bought this book hoping it would assist me in buying a new bandsaw. It did that and more! I was able to spot minor, but annoying flaws in 3 new saws after reading the book. The bandsaw I eventually purchased responded well to the improvements suggested by the author. I'd recommend this book to anyone considering buying a bandsaw or looking to get the best from one they already own.

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.

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.

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.

After purchasing a new band saw, I realized that I would not be able to rely on the machine's unclear instruction manual to teach me how to tune and use the machine. After searching various woodworker discussion boards, I decided to purchase "The Bandsaw Book" by Lonnie Bird as well as "The Bandsaw Handbook" by Mark Duginske. Both books contain basically the same information. Of the two books, however, I found Lonnie Bird's to be more user friendly version. Bird's book is easy to understand (but not dumbed down) and is more concise (without sacrificing detail). Bird's book also had more up-to-date color photographs and illustrations. With the two books side by side, I found myself turning to Bird more often than Duginske. Following Bird's chapter on tuning a bandsaw, I was resawing 8" wide oak boards to 1/8" thickness within an hour. Very helpful.

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.

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.

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