Customer Reviews

Factory-Reconditioned Skil 3385-01-RT 2.5 Amp 9-Inch Band Saw

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The band saw arrived in good condition without any damage or missing parts. Assembled in about 15 minutes and did not need any adjusting. It works well, fairly quiet and with enough power to do the job. The laser and LED lights are a nice touch, but not really that useful. The case is plastic, so it may not last for decades, but the unit is well worth $100. This is not a top of the line band saw, but it is better than I expected for the price. Overall, I am happy with the purchase and would recommend to others.

I was in a hurry to make some band saw cuts and picked up one of these at a local retailer for $114 plus tax. Wish I could have waited a few days for it to be shipped. Although not a high quality tool, this saw performs better than I expected for the money. It does have a bit of that "made in a third world country" feel about it, but after making all the adjustments and doing a couple of test cuts, I'm pretty pleased. It's easy to set up and adjust and the features can't be beat for the price. It even has a laser indicator line and work light. Just be sure to spend a few minutes adjusting all the blade guides as you would with any new saw. This is no replacement for my 18-inch Jet bandsaw, but should be perfect for those quick small cuts when I don't want to wrestle the 300-pound machine.

PROS:
* mostly functional right out of the box (with a few adjustments)

* design looks good,everything seems easy to reach

* base and frame seem adequately solid

* all the adjustments seem to be functional, even if
flimsy or rough-feeling

* gear-driven blade guide arm is a nice touch.

CONS

* basically everything is very light-duty and has a thin,
flexible feel to it, including the table. I had to put
washers under one side of the table and change the mounting
bolts to get the table square to the blade - the fence and
miter gauge also have quite a bit of 'slop'.

* table angle pinion and rack gears feel rough, and it didn't
go far enough to get the table square with the blade (see above)!

* the fence is super cheesy and lightweight. You have to eyeball it
to make it straight (the stripes on the table help), but then
again you could also just clamp a board onto the table!

* wheels seem VERY light duty - not quite true(out of the box the upper one was
scraping slightly on the frame, which went away with a little adjustment).
I can't imagine putting any wider blade on for rip cuts, without things
flexing too much.

* The blade guide surrounds the blade and obscures the cut, unless
you have it mounted at a ridiculous height (eye level!), or bend down to look

I don't really have any comment about the laser, as I don't use it -
however, its pretty wobbly where its attached inside the case, so good luck getting it
to stay in the same position over a long period of time. One more thing that
could be nice with a little modification.

Overall, I think this would probably be OK for very light-duty, craft-type work
on thin material. . .

CONCLUSION:
I would have rated this 3 stars if I hadn't gone to Harbor Freight and seen a
very similar 9" saw that seems much better implemented (single speed, but motor
looks more solid, table and angle mechanism MUCH more solid and smooth. Also has
a toothed belt. No fence, but you could probably make something). Theirs is $119, but you
can find a 20% off coupon in the mailers or online, bringing it down under $100.
In retrospect I would have gone with this (probably with the extended warrantee).
Hope this helps.

I am just getting started in woodworking and didn't want to spend $500 on my first bandsaw. I read a bunch of reviews and picked this one. My saw arrived in great shape and if i didn't know better I would have thought it was a new tool. It was easy to assemble and fired right up with no problems. The first thing I noticed was the laser is useless. I tried adjusting it and it is no where close to where it should be. The fence is also pretty useless on this. The table was warped at the corners and needs to be bent/adjusted. I mainly use this for cutting small curves in .25-.5" soft wood and it works great for that. I think with some adjustments it would be even better.

I think this is a great saw for the price if you are just getting started in wood working. If you are looking for something that is going to be really accurate right out of the box you are going to have to spend a little (or a lot) more.

The bandsaw (shifting around loosely inside the box) arrived in fairly decent condition, which is amazing given how poorly this heavy item was packed. However, I very quickly ran into a couple of problems. First, the bandsaw initially vibrated pretty severely. After checking wheel balance and other, this was finally resolved by replacing the provided blade with a better quality product. Also decided on a 14-tpi blade to better handle metal as well as wood.

Second, both blades (provided and new replacement) refused to track in the center of the lower wheel. After repeated adjustments and trying various suggestions found on the internet, I noticed the crown (or hump) on the lower rubber tire was off-centered, with the blade actually tracking perfectly on that crown. Since the blade is not hitting the metal wheel at this point and the saw is cutting well enough, that will have to be the way it is until a replacement tire arrives (on order).

Overall, I'm fairly satisfied with this bandsaw and suspect (once initial quirks are worked out) it will provide years of reliable service.

UPDATE: Almost forgot to update this review. The new rubber tires arrived, installed easily, and the various blades (selected by material being cut) are now tracking properly in the center of the wheels. The bandsaw itself continues to serve well, without further problems. Since I'm currently residing overseas (associated with military), using a (big) transformer to supply power. No problems in that environment either.

I got this saw because of the good price and positive reviews. It arrived in a generic cardboard box, very poorly packed. I spent a couple of hours getting it set up, and discovered (a) that it had a "factory refurbished" sticker on it, (b) that it was missing three of the four rubber feet, (c) that the retaining ring on the bottom wheel had popped off, and (d) that the driver pulley on the motor was badly out of balance, causing lots of vibrations. I contacted Amazon and they replaced the saw ... with another refurbished saw. However, this second saw was in much better shape and I had it set up and cutting pretty quickly.

As for the saw itself -- for the price, it's surprisingly good. The table is stamped aluminum, and probabaly not particularly flat. The fence is a joke (make your own out of plywood and clamp it in place), and the miter gauge isn't much better. The upper blade guide is fiddly to adjust, and is hard to keep parallel to the table. However, the saw cuts well; once everything's locked down, the vibration isn't too bad, and the table angle adjustment knob seems surprisingly tight and accurate.

The saw handled my test cuts -- some 4/4 madrone and 8/4 purpleheart just fine, but you can't rush it and have to feed the stock through fairly slowly. I think for doing small joinery tasks, resawing stock less than 3.5", and just doing quick utility cuts, it's a good addition to a small shop on a budget. But don't think it can do everything a "proper" bandsaw can.

If you're comfortable adjusting and setting up a new machine, and understand what the limitations of a saw this size and price will have, this saw's a good deal. Expect Amazon to ship you a refurb, since that's what they seem to be doing (and if they do, complain about it -- the product is listed as new!)

Don't waste your money on this saw. I am a professional crafts-person, and owned a delta band saw for over 10 years,until it finally died last month. I needed a new saw fast, and went to Lowe's and picked this one up. It is IMPOSSIBLE to change the blade, and if, by chance you have 3 arms and can get the blade on, you cannot set the tension. It is the worst design ever!I wish I had just bought a different saw because I am wasting hours of precious time trying to get the blade on.

DO NOT ORDER this product from the CPO Skil Shop. They sent me a refurbished unit, even though everything about the description indicated that it was new. If Amazon.com doesn't have it in stock, then don't order it! Wait till it comes back in stock at amazon!

With the $ it would have taken to ship it back to CPO, I could have just went to Lowes and bought it new.

That said, the saw is awesome and works fine.

I ordered a Skil 3385 from Amazon in July, 2009. The item is advertised as "New." However, it arrived in a plain brown box, poorly packed, and marked "Factory Refurbished." The saw showed some wear and other signs of prior use. It was somewhat dirty, and the instruction manual was crumpled and had writing in it.

I returned the saw to Amazon and bought one that really was new at Lowe's for $114.

I have not used the saw very much yet, but so far I am pleased. The initial adjustments are well explained in the manual and easy to do. I tried cutting a piece of wood and a piece of FR4 printed circuit board (with a 15 TPI blade on low speed.) The cuts were straight and clean. The frame is an aluminum casting, and it has a plastic access door on front. Overall, it appears well made and a bargain for the price.

Only 3 minor negatives: 1) The 1½" dust port is nice, but it does not fit Shop-Vac 1¼" hoses. I had to cut apart an old dust brush and use some duct tape to make an adapter. 2) The fence is a bit wobbly. I think it would have to be clamped in place for critical work. 3) The work light is too dim to be very useful.

Overall, I would give the saw 4½ stars, but I have to give Amazon a low mark for inaccurately describing their offering as "New."

I bought this bandsaw thinking it is new as advertised here on Amazon but it arrived in a generic box and after assembly I saw the refurbished sticker on it.

Called Amazon customer service, they said they would replace it, I asked that they make sure I am getting one new in the box but next one comes worse than the first one, in a beat up cardboard box from PH, Arizona!Skil 3385-01-RT 120-Volt 9-Inch Band Saw

Please be aware you are paying and buying a refurbished product not "New" as advertised!

It does cut OK but built and looks cheap! The stand is terrible!

Worse than all is dealing with these people picking up phone in India for Amazon customer support!

P.S. Since my review Amazon has changed the condition from "New" to "Refurbished".