Bandsaw purchase decision

[SteveS]

Something is likely wrong with the your saw or your blade. 4hp is plenty to saw 10" thick stuff. I have used my 4.8hp MM16 to cut 16" thick African blackwood log sections with no feed issues.

[jteneyck]

Agreed, your blade is the problem if you really have 4 HP.  If you put a 1" blade with 1 - 1.5 tpi on it it should zip through 10" stock about as fast as you can push.  What speed is your saw running at?  A low speed would slow the cut rate down, too, but not as much as an inappropriate blade.

[TGW]

It seems like there is something wrong with all the locally available blades then. Maybe they are all buying the same blade coils from the same importer.
We have tested 2 teeth and 4 teeth per inch blades.

The blade is cutting at about 22 metres per second. That should be a suitable cutting speed.
Everything is tuned the way it should. The bearings are new both in the saw and in the motor and everything turns freely. We tested the motor with multimeter and with megger before I installed it (the saw was formerly line shaft driven) and the motor is sound. All electrics are new and made by a certified electrician who doublechecked everything when the saw didn't cut as expected. The wheels are reballanced and we have checked their alignment.

[Steve N]

I have a Rikon 18" it's most similar to this model. Mine is the older green one. I've had very good luck with it, and like it very much. At least once a year WoodCraft has these at 1K. At the time I bought Laguna still had the worst customer service in power equipment, and between that and a lower price I'm still glad I got the Rikon. I had been smitten with the 14 SUV, but was chased off by consistent reports of horrid service. Both here, and Lumber Jocks.