Black & Decker BDBS100 3.5 Amp 9-Inch Band Saw

Comment: I have to admit, I am a Black and Decker fan. I tend to buy B&D tools more so than any other brand. However, I am not oblivious to the level of quality, (or lack there of), that some of there tools have. I try to always remember what and who the B&D line is made for. They are made for the homeowner/hobbyist, not the contractor. Keeping that in mind the B&D band saw is a decent product. In fact, after reading the reviews for it, I half expected some heap of junk to end up on my doorstep after it had been dragged behind the UPS truck by a nylon rope. I guess I need to keep in mind that most reviews are written with a bias in one direction or the other about the brand instead of the individual product that is being reviewed. This product is right in line with the quality of other B&D tools. In the picture you will see there is an orange side and a black side of this tool. The black side or back of the band saw is made of some sort of metal. I think maybe steel. I hesitate to call it iron, I don't think its heavy enough for that, thou I could be wrong. The front panel or the orange side is just a plastic case. When I open mine and then try to close it, I have to pull the bottom side forward and slide my hand along the bottom edge with pressure to get it to fit over the back metal panel. If I don't the case just hangs open about 2 inches. I don't know if this is just my unit or if this is something that others would have issues with as well. It doesn't affect the operation of the unit so I guess its more cosmetic than anything else. If the front panel was made of a less flexible plastic, that would help the situation. The table is made of aluminum and not cast iron and does need great care in the initial set up in order to get it properly leveled and aligned with the blade. This unit does not come with a fence but does come with a miter guage. I was able to resaw some construction grade 2x4s. Just take it slow. One more thing, there is no tension guage so you have to use the pluck and listen method to get your blade tension set up. I feel that for around $100 the B&D band saw is right in line with the quality where one at this price range should be at. If your a weekend warrior and your not resawing tree stumps, this should meet your needs.

Comment: This tool is very easy to work with.
It works great and does your job quickly.
I am happy with quality of this band saw.

Comment: My new saw arrived today and with minimal assembly I had it cutting wood within an hour. It needed the guides and belt tension adjusted but it came with very clear instruction and only took a few minutes. I like the table tilt mechanism a lot more than I anticipated. It has very little vibration and cuts very cleanly. It's not a top quality band saw but for less than a hundred dollars to my door it appears I will easily get my moneys worth.

Comment: I was a bit leery of this saw after reading the negative reviews from some, but it appeared well made so I bought one. I've had no trouble with the little saw. I put on a metal cutting blade and it easily cut through aluminum angles, channel and rectangular tubing up to 1/8" thick. I suspect performance problems in negative reviews might be from inadequate setup. I took the time to very carefully set up and align the parts as prescribed in the very good manual. I had to use all three of my old feeler gauges for the setup but once done, it worked very well. Also, I patiently cut the aluminum without forcing which took a bit longer.

I have but two minor complaints: It was not possible to perfectly center the blade on the rubber of both wheels so I compromised the alignment and it worked well. The other complaint is that I found it nearly impossible to find vacuum hoses that would fit any small shop vac AND the vacuum port on the saw so I had to use a reinforced coupling to do the job. That makes for virtually no cleanup. The line laser is a neat addition too.

Comment: We ordered this item to cut curved objects and even after a year the Band Saw works well and is very useful to us.
A thinner blade is required to make very fine and curved cuts but the blades are inexpensive and cost $8 to $10. It is also very easy and safe to use.