Black & Decker BDBS100 3.5 Amp 9-Inch Band Saw

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.

Comment: I make muskie fishing lures as a hobby, and when the dealer who cut my wood blanks for me was stricken with cancer, I had to make my own.
My first purchase was a Black and Decker 9" band saw. It was assembled, and I had a riser to mount it on so I was cutting within an hour after getting it. I started out with some soft Western Red Cedar so I could get used to the machine, and was pleased. That's as long as my pleasure lasted. If you want to cut nothing but soft woods, and never do any re-sawing, then this is the saw for you. The blade guides wore out in a matter of days, and the bearings that the blade is supposed to ride against are loose causing the blade to skip off the side. The only way to keep the blade on the bearings is to over-tighten the blade which causes premature blade failure. I bought the best blades that I could get and ruined more hard maple stock than I can count. All in a matter of two months, it started screeching and the motor would bog down and not cut straight no matter how I tried to adjust it.
If you want to cut soft wood, and not much of it, then you'll like this saw.

Comment: Portable light weight band saw for light projects.. nice form factor too.
You have to set up the blade guides and adjust the blade wheel tracking.
It's great for what it's designed for...light operation.
Im happy with it.

Comment: I had a 3 real one before and blade dept coming off the pullys,repaired 3 times and still did the same thing. Could not make a slight turn in cutting. This new one,even tough one speed, is great. I have done a lot of turns etc and its still with me. To me this is a great machine.