i went to lowes over the weekend , they had a band saw , porter cole i think , the blade looks like it would destroy wood , is there an alterative blade , and if so which one ? is this not the machine i should be looking for?
Anthony...
Porter Cable is a good historical name in the tool industry. Years back, they were known as a tough, reliable tool if not necessarily the most "fancy". I think they still follow along those lines.
There are a lot of power tools on the market with fancy names and splashy looks and lots of hype. Some of them are VERY good tools....and some of them are all "show" and no "go". You could select a higher end tool, maybe like Bosch or Delta, but even with those you have to be alert because they have lower end "consumer" style tools as well. "Consumer" grade generally means ..."buy them, use them up, throw them away..". Even that can be okay though if you don't use that tool much. A good example is Craftsman. Have you noticed how Craftsman has slowly divorced itself from Sears.?? That's because Sears is going under..they're hemorrhaging money. Craftsman is trying to stay afloat by spinning off from Sears. Can't tell yet if they'll be successful ..... BUT I can tell you this... Craftsman is
NOT the same tool that it used to be.!!!
So, back to Porter Cable..... Originally, Tough, Well built, Heavy, Utility (not fancy) tools. Today, I would call them a middle of the road tool line generally. There are certainly better tools available, but for light work cycles (time running vs. time off..) and considering price as a discriminator in the "value" discussion---- I would say they are generally fine. And Lowes has a very generous return policy if you don't like it or if it should fail to perform.
Blades: This is the easy part. Just look up the blade description in the manual. It will be a fairly standard length. Just pick a blade of the correct length with the TPI that you want. Also choose a corresponding blade width. The width of the blade will be limited by the saw, just like the length is. The manual will tell you something like "...Uses 59-1/2-in length saw blades from 1/8-in to 3/8-in width..." -- or something like that.
Just one caution here: Remember, you get what you pay for.
Don't buy an inexpensive tool with a 3 amp motor designed to sit on top of a workbench and then expect it to cut slabs out of 4-6 inch thick timbers.!! Small, lower priced, lower powered saws are for small, light cutting jobs.!! Buy a decent brand and use it for what it was designed. You'll be happy.!!
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