Customer Reviews

Black & Decker BDBS100 3.5 Amp 9-Inch Band Saw

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I make muskie fishing lures as a hobby, and when the dealer who cut my wood blanks for me was stricken with cancer, I had to make my own.
My first purchase was a Black and Decker 9" band saw. It was assembled, and I had a riser to mount it on so I was cutting within an hour after getting it. I started out with some soft Western Red Cedar so I could get used to the machine, and was pleased. That's as long as my pleasure lasted. If you want to cut nothing but soft woods, and never do any re-sawing, then this is the saw for you. The blade guides wore out in a matter of days, and the bearings that the blade is supposed to ride against are loose causing the blade to skip off the side. The only way to keep the blade on the bearings is to over-tighten the blade which causes premature blade failure. I bought the best blades that I could get and ruined more hard maple stock than I can count. All in a matter of two months, it started screeching and the motor would bog down and not cut straight no matter how I tried to adjust it.
If you want to cut soft wood, and not much of it, then you'll like this saw.

I like this product and it has cut everything I have tried from plastic to wood and aluminum. There is a wobble once the unit is up to speed almost like one of the wheels is out of balance. I have not been able to figure out an adjustment that affects the wobble. The wobble doesn't affect cutting performance but does make the floor wobble. It also seems louder than some similar saws I have used in the past.

I have had a couple of band saws in the past where you could never adjust the alignment so they didn't slip their blade within about 15 minutes. This unit has not had that problem and has been used for at least 20 hours of cutting.

I receive the Black & Decker 9-inch band saw soon after I placed the order. Out of the box it worked perfectlty and performed the relative simple cuts I required of it. There were not any assembly issues and the instructions were well written.

Portable light weight band saw for light projects.. nice form factor too.
You have to set up the blade guides and adjust the blade wheel tracking.
It's great for what it's designed for...light operation.
Im happy with it.

I have to admit, I am a Black and Decker fan. I tend to buy B&D tools more so than any other brand. However, I am not oblivious to the level of quality, (or lack there of), that some of there tools have. I try to always remember what and who the B&D line is made for. They are made for the homeowner/hobbyist, not the contractor. Keeping that in mind the B&D band saw is a decent product. In fact, after reading the reviews for it, I half expected some heap of junk to end up on my doorstep after it had been dragged behind the UPS truck by a nylon rope. I guess I need to keep in mind that most reviews are written with a bias in one direction or the other about the brand instead of the individual product that is being reviewed. This product is right in line with the quality of other B&D tools. In the picture you will see there is an orange side and a black side of this tool. The black side or back of the band saw is made of some sort of metal. I think maybe steel. I hesitate to call it iron, I don't think its heavy enough for that, thou I could be wrong. The front panel or the orange side is just a plastic case. When I open mine and then try to close it, I have to pull the bottom side forward and slide my hand along the bottom edge with pressure to get it to fit over the back metal panel. If I don't the case just hangs open about 2 inches. I don't know if this is just my unit or if this is something that others would have issues with as well. It doesn't affect the operation of the unit so I guess its more cosmetic than anything else. If the front panel was made of a less flexible plastic, that would help the situation. The table is made of aluminum and not cast iron and does need great care in the initial set up in order to get it properly leveled and aligned with the blade. This unit does not come with a fence but does come with a miter guage. I was able to resaw some construction grade 2x4s. Just take it slow. One more thing, there is no tension guage so you have to use the pluck and listen method to get your blade tension set up. I feel that for around $100 the B&D band saw is right in line with the quality where one at this price range should be at. If your a weekend warrior and your not resawing tree stumps, this should meet your needs.

I was a bit leery of this saw after reading the negative reviews from some, but it appeared well made so I bought one. I've had no trouble with the little saw. I put on a metal cutting blade and it easily cut through aluminum angles, channel and rectangular tubing up to 1/8" thick. I suspect performance problems in negative reviews might be from inadequate setup. I took the time to very carefully set up and align the parts as prescribed in the very good manual. I had to use all three of my old feeler gauges for the setup but once done, it worked very well. Also, I patiently cut the aluminum without forcing which took a bit longer.

I have but two minor complaints: It was not possible to perfectly center the blade on the rubber of both wheels so I compromised the alignment and it worked well. The other complaint is that I found it nearly impossible to find vacuum hoses that would fit any small shop vac AND the vacuum port on the saw so I had to use a reinforced coupling to do the job. That makes for virtually no cleanup. The line laser is a neat addition too.

This tool is very easy to work with.
It works great and does your job quickly.
I am happy with quality of this band saw.

We ordered this item to cut curved objects and even after a year the Band Saw works well and is very useful to us.
A thinner blade is required to make very fine and curved cuts but the blades are inexpensive and cost $8 to $10. It is also very easy and safe to use.

I had a 3 real one before and blade dept coming off the pullys,repaired 3 times and still did the same thing. Could not make a slight turn in cutting. This new one,even tough one speed, is great. I have done a lot of turns etc and its still with me. To me this is a great machine.

I bought this saw about a year ago from Amazon (good price, speedy and excellent delivery as always of course) for the relatively simple task of taking the binding off of books. I rated the brand highly as I am still using several 25 year old Back and Decker electric tools that seem to be indestructible, and had seen good reviews on the band-saw. It is by far the worst power tool I have ever bought however. Despite some good features of construction (lots of metal parts, the lamp, the powerful motor, straight-forward tension control), the design of the features to steady and guide the blade itself seem fundamentally flawed. The only way to get a straight cut is to use a wide metal blade and higher than recommended tension, but after a while this wears away the back of the guide and results in showers of sparks and noises. The bearing to resist the forward pressure placed on the work piece is oriented sideways instead of front to back and this destroys the bearing after a couple hours of good use. I admit that reviews for every band-saw in this price bracket seem to indicate that no one is better than another in terms of getting a straight cut - I find it hard to believe that there is not one out there that can perform a simple straight cut without going up to $300 or so, but this is the reluctant conclusion that I am nearing. If anybody has found the perfect inexpensive alternative, please comment and let me know! Hope this review helps.