5 Best Benchtop Band Saws – Small Bandsaws Reviewed in 2022

Do you genuinely need a band saw?

You may well consider your workshop is total with no 1, but then you wrestle to lower the exact same sleek curves that your buddies can. Maybe your jigsaw is gathering dust underneath your workbench because you just can’t get the styles you want.

If the paragraph previously mentioned describes you, a band observed is precisely what you require. Band saws are not just very good for chopping wood into irregular styles – they are also excellent for sawing plastic and metal, thinning boards into slats, and any activity that calls for an extremely easy minimize.

Even right after you determine to make the leap, acquiring your 1st band noticed is not easy. Each and every woodworker has their possess view about what is most crucial to appear for (shocker, we know). In these evaluations, we aid you lower via that noise, and decide out some band saws that truly are the very best.

Study on to equip your store with a powerful new device. You can thank us following you’ve gotten that S-curve just right.

A Quick Look at our Favorites in 2022

Rating	Image	Product	Details
Best Overall		Grizzly G0555HX Deluxe Benchtop Band Saw	Next-level performance Powerful 1-HP motor Sturdy	CHECK PRICE
Best Value		Delta 28-400 14″ Bench Top Band Saw	Powerful motor Well-built steel frame Large durable table	CHECK PRICE
		Rikon 10-305 Bench Band Saw	Best for-dollar value Smaller footprint Can knock out most jobs	CHECK PRICE
		WEN 3962 Small Benchtop Bandsaw	Budget-friendly Two speeds Awesome at cutting thin pieces	CHECK PRICE
		KAKA Industrial Horizontal Benchtop BandSaw	Workhorse Cuts all materials Robust yet portable	CHECK PRICE

The 5 Best Benchtop Band Saws

1. Grizzly G0555HX Deluxe Benchtop Band Saw – Best Overall

Rather than just inform you the Grizzly G0555XH is our absolute favorite benchtop bandsaw presently on the market place, we thought we’d give you some proof rather. We resawed a 10-inch oak plank into two planks of equal thickness, then calculated the thickness at the top and bottom. The big difference? About a hundredth of an inch.

With a 1.seventy five-HP motor, this band noticed tends to make nearly any sheet of wooden, plastic, or metal feel comfortable. We have taken to making use of it for cuts we’d ordinarily go to our desk noticed for – it is that good. On best of all that, despite our ideal endeavours, we can’t appear to break it. It in no way complains, never ever bogs down, and the base never rattles. What far more could you want?

We really had to go deep browsing for items to complain about, but if there’s any caveat at all with this saw, it’s that it is difficult to cease. With no a fast brake, the blade tends to keep running for many seconds soon after you switch it off. We also advise swapping out the manufacturing unit-set up blade for heavier-obligation function like log ripping.

All in all, we consider that this is the greatest benchtop bandsaw of the yr.

2. Delta 28-400 14″ Bench Top Band Saw – Best Value

If your eyes bugged out with greenback indications at our #1 decide, by no means fear: we comprehend how many of you are seeking for the greatest band noticed for the cash. Very good point the Delta 28-four hundred makes that lookup so simple. It is a powerful 1 HP noticed with a solid desk and a pretty much indestructible steel frame.

In purchase to make a less expensive device, Delta has laser-centered on this saw’s core purpose, and left out a lot of extras: there is no rack and pinion adjustment for the blade guides, for case in point, and no fence or miter. However, for these of you who favor to incorporate your very own attachments, this may well actually be a attribute rather than a flaw. And did we point out the drastically reduced price?

We do have a number of problems that hold the 28-400 out of the #one spot. Even though miter attachments are simple to buy, blade guidebook adjustment techniques aren’t, and not everybody is a enthusiast of jury-rigging equipment areas – some of us just want to get to function already. The reduced information, in particular, is a soreness to reach anytime you alter blades.

3. Rikon 10-305 Bench Band Saw

The Rikon 10-305 is our other choose for the best bandsaw for the cash. If you’re on an especially limited budget, you can still manage to equip your store with a bit of added reducing energy. It’s also a excellent alternative if you’re hunting for some thing that won’t take up as a lot room.

Without a doubt, a 1/three-HP motor is not as sturdy as some carpenters want or need to have, but the ten-305 can make up for it with a big cast-iron operate table, a micro-adjustable blade information, and a fine metal entire body. Rikon also throws in obvious guidelines and an effective dust port, and they make it straightforward to adjust blades out swiftly.

You understood we had been heading to have some reservations, although, and here they are. The Rikon ten-305 does not come with its personal stand, so you’re on your very own for fitting it into your store. The provided blade is also up coming to useless, and you are going to notice the underpowered engine. This noticed is strictly for hobbyists – we don’t advocate it for anybody chopping lumber on a expert scale.

4. WEN 3962 Small Benchtop Bandsaw

The Wen 3962 is one more spending budget-friendly Chinese-made bandsaw. It’s offered in 9, 10, or 14 inches, but we’ve obtained the most expertise with the ten-inch measurement, so it’s the 1 that tends to make the list. This saw arrives with some extras that really increase the luxurious of utilizing it: a operate mild, a sturdy optional stand, and speeds of both 1520 or 2620 feet per minute.

The observed alone checks all the packing containers. It’s hefty, operates quietly, and hardly deviates at all down the length of an 8-foot board. We have received no complaints about the calibration, the table, or the adjustable fence. Like the Rikon model at #three, this is a observed for DIYers and hobbyists alternatively of pros, but that is not automatically a knock in opposition to it.

A handful of things are knocks in opposition to it, although. The recommendations really don't match up at all with what’s in the box, so you are going to need to have some mechanical savvy or assist from a person who does. Operating on the more rapidly speed leads to the belt to rub up towards the motor’s mounting bolt, and the miter gauge is so shaky you are far better off not bothering.

5. KAKA Industrial Horizontal Benchtop BandSaw

Here’s a curveball to keep the listing varied: a horizontal bandsaw from KAKA Industrial which is adept at cutting metal, suitable for industrial use, and sells for a quality cost. It’s also up for debate whether or not this is a “benchtop” saw considering that it sits on a wheeled stand. We decided to consist of it due to the fact it is modest and comparatively transportable, like the other saws on this list.

There is a finding out curve for making use of a horizontal bandsaw, even for people who’ve utilised vertical bandsaws just before. As soon as you set it up and discover how to use it, though, KAKA’s observed opens up a entire world of precision and likelihood. It helps make completely straight cuts in wooden and metallic, and its pan is equally adept at catching sawdust and coolant.

The “industrial” in the title is not just speak: if you maintain it appropriately, this observed can very easily deal with hefty use. It is not off-boundaries to hobbyists, both.

Other than the substantial cost, flaws to beware of include the wheels on the stand, which are cheaply created and can make the technique unstable. We propose locking them, replacing them, or just having them off. The roller skate bearings on the blade guide also have a awful behavior of breaking — replacing these is also a good idea.

Buyer’s Guide – Choosing the Best Benchtop Band Saw

We just named a number of of our preferred benchtop band saws, and for some of you out there, which is sufficient. Other folks of you might want to know a bit more about why we chose these five more than all the rest on the market. It’s wonderful that you are intrigued in heading a bit more — inquiring “why” is a single of the approaches to grow to be a correct professional.

Your project needs

Like we talked about previously mentioned, band saws have a couple of needs. They were initial put to use in sawmills for resawing planks into thinner boards, which is in which they developed their trademark precision. Later on, artisans uncovered that they ended up best for producing irregular cuts. They’ve also often been a favorite of carpenters looking to reduce down on sawdust.

You cannot make the right buy if you really don't know what you want your new band observed for. For case in point, if you’re stripping logs, we really don't advise employing the Rikon ten-305 or the Wen 3962. On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re just generating a quilt rack, springing for the Grizzly G0555XH will be a key squander of funds.

Power

Band saws measure their motors in horsepower. one HP is very good, 2 HP is superb, and everything earlier mentioned .5 HP will get the task accomplished. Keep in thoughts that a lot more isn’t often far better.

Not just wood

With their close-established teeth and higher diploma of control, bandsaws are a well-liked selection for shaping materials other than wooden. If you’ve been contemplating a undertaking that would require plastic, sheet metal, plaster, cork, or an additional strange foundation, it may well be time to spring for a band observed.

Sawdust and waste

Band saws use greatest chopping possible to a narrow space. They’re utilised by carpenters who want to help save wood whilst making as small sawdust as attainable. Here are some suggestions for getting a band noticed that does not depart also much squander:

• Check on the dust port. Does it work? How efficient is it?
• Read as many reviews as you can. If dust is an issue, other buyers will have pointed it out.
• Be prepared to change the saw blade. Many band saws, including several on this list, come with factory blades that don’t unlock their full efficiency and power. Good thing changing out a blade is usually easy to do.

Weight

The principal big difference amongst a band saw and a jigsaw is that the jigsaw is transportable, whilst the band saw is set to 1 place. If you do most of your function outside your home shop, we advise a jigsaw instead.

Even if you do deal with your initiatives at house, it’s crucial to take into account weight and simplicity when buying a bandsaw. Some of the best models, like the Grizzly G0555XH that tops our record, are really weighty. Fat is good if you’re striving to keep the saw steady even though slicing out a sample — but it is not so wonderful the day you have to go it inside.

Ease of Setup

If we have a #1 rule of purchasing saws, it is this: you really don't constantly need to have the most noticed you can get. It came up with horsepower, and it’s coming up once again now. You’re not less of a woodworker if you buy a lighter saw so you can carry it to your basement.

Set up is a little bit diverse since being difficult to set up does not correlate as strongly with energy as fat does. Any dimensions of band saw can be created effectively and come with very good guidelines.

That said, some newbies will get a observed with a large quantity of adjustment alternatives they don’t truly want. This is why knowing what you want to do is so important: you really don't want a few speeds to develop a reducing board, any a lot more than you need a graphing calculator to do arithmetic.

Price

If you instantly purchase the most inexpensive band observed you can discover, you will not often preserve income. Ever hear the fable about the bad male who pays far more for boots than the wealthy man, due to the fact he has to purchase a new pair each 12 months while the prosperous man’s boots keep up for five? Electrical power instruments are like that. A low-cost band observed might expense you so significantly in repairs and needed include-ons that you sooner or later take in the personal savings. Which is why the Grizzly G0555XH edged out the Delta 28-four hundred for the prime place. The Delta executed nearly as properly as the Grizzly, but it didn’t arrive as a full deal.

Conclusion:

The Grizzly G0555XH was a very clear outlier in our tests. It’s potent, steady, and cuts a swath by way of any wood you treatment to use. It was an effortless decision as the very best benchtop band observed.

Nevertheless, the Delta 28-400 is practically nothing to scoff at possibly. It is inexpensive, compact, and sturdy. Our only complaint is that it isn’t really functional – unlike the Grizzly G0555XH, you have to add accessories and functions to make it full.

We hope these reviews have given you the equipment you require to begin on the lookup for one of the best woodworking resources you are going to ever acquire. Very good luck buying, and we’ll see you in the workshop!