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The stock one is fine although I occasionally use an aftermarket exotic fence from my table saw. Bob Berta Would I make any changes.a work light would be handy and a tension release. Don't force the work and use too high of a speed. Wilton also makes a version that is only for metal that is a variable speed (no belt change required) but that doesn't have a fast speed for wood and actualy has less useable speeds on the low end. I will see how long the side bearings will last but thus far after 6 months of use they don't seem to have any wear at all.
This ranges from a very low speed of around 60 fpm to 3400 fpm. You can also get the same thing with a 220 volt motor.mine is 120 volt. The Ryobi was a surprisingly decent saw with some nice features despite the cheap price. I did a minor tweak to make it easier to adjust tension. I will probably get one of those in the near future. The fence comes with a resaw guide which is the way you SHOULD do resawing rather than just feeding it in along a flat fence. One thing not discussed in advertising is that there are actually more than 8 speeds. What it doesn't have is a table extension like the Ryobi, tension release, a work light, and ball bearings in the side guides although it does in the rear thrust bearing.
Although it had light constuction it had a nice table extension, quick tension release and ball bearing guides in back and sides of upper and lower guides, it even has a LED work light. You can cut up to 6" thick material although you can get a riser that increases this to 12" for resawing timber. For what this saw was designed for.metal and wood cutting it meets all my requirements. The saw is quality construction throughout and base is substantial and one piece heavy construction.but sadly not enough to avoid UPS gorillas. I have used it for various other metals.steel, brass, plastic, cast iron.
I bought this as an addition to an existing cheap 10" Ryobi wood band saw. There is a scale on the back and an indicator that you use to set the tension for different blade widths. I also considered a horizontal type band saw but those are very limited in maximum capacity unless you get a VERY large/expensive version. the trick is the correct feed and speed. And of course any wood cutting is a piece of cake. Bottom line.it cuts through just about anything AS LONG as you get rid of the stock metal cutting blade and get a proper BiMetal blade.
The door access to the belts is on the back of the saw as is the cabinet door for the clutch knob so if you intend on placing this close to a wall you must do as I did.put it on a roll around caster set. I got the optional fence which is a good one. But there is no way you would want to use it for metal cutting beyond ultra light duty on aluminum.The Wilton is an expensive tool compared to other similar capacity band saws.but that is because it has a very high quality gear case and belt system that allows you to have at least 8 speeds. It is nice to be able to cut through 4" thick aluminum plate to get material close to final dimensions thus reducing the amount of lathe metal removal needed.
I also use it to do wood work. I am not convinced there is any advantage to a ball bearing guide. You can use miter gauges from other tools since it is a standard 3/4" wide. The blade size is listed as a 92 1/2" however, 93"-93 1/2" blades are more common in catalogs and work fine. The included setup decal shows that if you swap the two pulleys top to bottom and turn them around you have a few other speeds so you could find a speed for just about anything you can imagine. I needed a saw to cut metal prior to working with it on my metal lathe and milling machine in a home shop. The table is a nice size and cast iron with angle adjustment and a fine tuning adjustment so you can make sure the table turns back to 0 degrees after angle cutting.
Make sure you keep that table oiled so it doesn't rust. This made a huge improvement.it now is very easy to adjust the tension.so much so that it is just as fast to adjust the tension as a model with the tension release lever. I thought it would be nice to have a faster easier adjustment. I turned a new knob on my lathe with three rods for adjusting. This lets you cut just about anything you can feed it.
This too requires access from the back so again.don't put this against a wall.or put it on wheels. Mine suffered a bit of a dent in the door from UPS handling but figured it was so slight that it wasn't worth dealing with UPS insurance. The stock knob is a small knob which is OK but a bit cramped. I use 93" blades. You also wouldn't be able to cut elaborate curves and compound curves like you can with a vertical bandsaw.By the way.I believe Jet and Wilton are owned by the same company and I have seen a Jet bandsaw that is identical in every way.
This is the first bandsaw I have purchased but I find it an excellent choice and it has met or exceeded the capabilities/specifications stated by the manufacturer. Very functional with the optional accessories for both metal and wood.
The saw has 8 low speeds but you must switch the pulleys from the motor to the gear box which gives you 4 speeds one combination and 4 the other. I already have the Powermatic wood bandsaw, I bought the Wilton to use strictly for metal, this one is quite capable for both, but personally I would rather have separate, dedicated machines. These saws are packed very well, I had no damage. I leave the high speed belt off as I will only be using the low speeds. Overall I recommend this saw if you are cutting metal and/or wood. It went together quickly (less than 1 hour) and ran perfectly with only minor adjustments to dial it in.
The variable speed version of this saw is $290 more, it will not achieve as low a speed as this one, do your homework to decide which is best for you, I couldn't justify the extra expense. The quality is that of the Powermatic, since both are from WMH Tools and probably made in the same factory (Taiwan). There is no way to get the low speeds without the gear box on this saw, I heard of some people thinking they can just change the pulleys on other wood saws, it just doesn't work. Its too bad they don't include the blade tension quick release like the Powermatic, that was an additional expense for the Carter release, but this is not a must for some people. As for the operation, so far has been great. If you leave the high speed belt installed, you will have 5 speeds at your disposal by merely moving the clutch drive in or out.
I would have given it 5 stars if it came with the blade tension quick release.
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