Delta 28-348 14-Inch 1-1/2 Horsepower Metal and Wood Cutting Band Saw, 115-Volt 1 Phase

Whether you'll use it mainly for resawing or for creative curved cuts, you'll appreciate everything about this workhorse band saw from its rock-solid construction to its micrometer adjustment for ball bearing blade support and the blade guide blocks that assure absolute accuracy. The cast-iron table is a generous 16 by 16 inches and easily tilts 45 degrees right and 9 degrees left for bevel cuts. The max cut capacity is 6-1/4-inch thick, and even at that, with the 1-1/2 hp motor, you won't experience any bogging. Blade change, the least favorite job of band-saw owners, is really not so bad: There's a side take-out slot for the blade, and you won't even have to remove the rip fence guide rails when you're changing blades. We're impressed, too, with the Veri-Set quick-index tensioning system, designed to get you back to cutting wood and not fumbling with blade tension. Cutting brass, then steel? The multi-step pulley makes it a snap to change speeds for different materials. We didn't hook up the press to a dust-collection system, so we can't vouch for how well the integral port pulls sawdust, but the rest of its features would make any woodworker happy.--Kris Jensen-Van Heste