I have a Sears Craftsman almost identical to this one and it has served me well. Mine is model 113.248210. And yes, mine has had pulley problems also, but instead of giving up, I fixed them. The only thing I really hate is having to look at the tension adjustment on the very back, which is annoying. Also the lower blade guide is difficult to adjust. But other than that, I'm very happy, it runs well, has plenty of power, and cuts accurately. I think, guessing from the serial number, that mine was made in 1991.
I had someone give me one of those bandsaws too. I had no bandsaw so I accepted. No end of troubles. Now all I need is a tall garage and a scaffold....
I have the same bandsaw and it's horrible. I got it as part of a package deal from an estate sale. It's the only one I have so I won't be tossing it off of a scaffold any time soon, but man it's bad.
@@jeremyturner2873 I was in the same situation and picked up a tiny little 3 wheeler Skil 3104, thought it couldn't be any worse but you guys may have me beat!!
There's already a lot of hate on this video, and there'll surely be a lot more, but I'm willing to bet that each and every one of us has wanted to do the exact same thing to a tool at one time or another, but didn't have the guts to do it. Hope you and Rachel had a great Christmas, Matthias. Cheers!
I like how you can look quite awkward in your videos but there is a charming personality behind it and that is what makes your videos unique compared to the other woodwork videos out there. Kudos to you and a thumbs up for hammering the horrible bandsaw.
So I've been watching your recent videos on your biggest bandsaw yet and I've been thinking "Hey, if Matthias can build one from scratch then I can surely I can get mine up and running properly" and then I see this video and I'm thinking "AWESOME Matthias surely has tricks for my exact bandsaw! I'm excited". Then you threw it off a latter several times and smashed it with a sledge. So thank you for making up my mind on what to do with mine.
Thank-you for my morning laugh,Matthias. I laughed so hard at the ending. Then I showed my wife and explained and she laughed as well. I also quite enjoyed how you state that you've got some shim stock and then pull out a pop can. Great lesson in thinking outside the box. If you're lucky, you should get $0.80/lb for the aluminum at the scrap yard. Unless you want to start getting into casting your own parts! Happy new year.
I have had similar bandsaw for over 20yrs never had those problems with the pulleys I did have to change belt once but it still cuts great!! I got it for the deep throat cuts and cutting woodcarving roughouts..still cutting and still going!!
I had the same exact bandsaw, and it worked just fine for my light use for many years. Finally one of the pulleys failed suddenly in a spectacular way, and I could not get a new pulley from Craftsman, so coworker took it off my hands as a project. Last I heard, he said something about dumping if off an overpass onto the Kennedy Expressway. Then another coworker said he had one just like it in his garage, that he only used a handful of times, and wanted $20 for it. I bought it and donated it to a local Boy Scout pack who added it to their woodworking shop. Last I heard, it was working OK. But it is like a ticking bomb, because of the inherent design defects that Matthias illustrated.
You're not the first! My better half tossed a vacuum cleaner, completely air-born, across the garage. And I smashed a critical part from the lawn mower, with a sledge hammer! A most satisfying way to guarantee there's no going back!
I was given the same saw which had the exact same problems. There are no replacement pulleys to be found so I converted it to a single speed saw using common v-pulleys & belt. It works well now but it's *DEFINITELY* not a saw that I'd use for precision work. It's fine for rough work but . . . . It's no wonder this saw didn't last long on the market.
BossmanEight I had the idea of trying it with V-belts, but I just didn't feel like spending money on it. The poly-V would be a better solution, if only the saw came with better pulleys.
William Todd 1) If you think this is bandsaw was worth $200 used, then I have a garage full of tools I'd like to sell you. 2) If you have an adjustable speed bandsaw and you're not using that feature, then you're not using the full potential of your tools. 3) dpeagles is correct. You're annoying.
William Todd There was a reason why the person gave it away, and as BossmanEight said he wouldn't use it for fine work, well that's what they are designed to do,
I've seen those tilting head saws on craigslist before and thought they were a really odd. I'm surprised they went to such great lengths to accommodate a feature that is so rarely used. I've only tilted my table to simulate a live edge and a pizza crust. lol
I have this piece of junk and it developed the same problem. I don't know how many searches I did trying to find a video specific to this saw, this issue. Every video on Craftsman bandsaws popped up...except this one; the one I needed. And I don't mean this one is close to what I was looking for, I mean it is exactly what I was looking for. Wiser now, though. From now on I will know the optimal keywords: (specific tool), scaffolding, sledgehammer. Despite knowing it will probably result in the same failure, I am going to try shimming the wheel. There are no replacements available so I need to try it anyway. Eventually I will buy a proper saw since this one has all the resaw capability of a butter knife but, for now, I just need it to get me by. Thanks for sharing. I got the info I needed and a good laugh.
You can correct the pulley issue with v-belt pulleys made of steel. Once done, it makes very little vibration but does require a pulley/belt change to +\- belt speed....
Matthias, I'm disappointed, you could have repaired that by machining a bushing for the pulleys. That would be 20 mins work with a metal lathe, then you could have given the working saw to someone who doesn't have one.
Did you not see the build quality? there was no hope for this machine.. Hell I don't have a bandsaw but I would have turned this down if it was offered to me (even for free)
Matthias Wandel lol, so you're claiming that your shop is deficient in tool coverage?! (poking fun) You should consider at least getting an old Logan, Sheldon, or Atlas lathe for doing little bits and bobs.
sskkuuddrraa Lighten up, dude. It looked cathartic as all hell! Tell me you have never had a project or repair you wanted to do something similar with. He just got the chance with no real loss to himself.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha....that last bit made me chuckle, why do companies use plastic for gears. my table saw has a plastic gear on the tilt mechanism that lost 3 teeth...I'm making an aluminium one and it seems to work alot better....WHY PLASTIC!?!?!?!?!?!?!
like everything in this world. money... its cheaper. and people like to buy cheaper stuff. only few brands are left with good materials. but a lot of buyers think they are too expensive,since they "look" the same like the cheap stuff. but when you open them... world of difference.
it's cheaper, easier and faster to form it than cutting gears. But the downside (ignored by manufacturers) is that it won't last for long. On the other hand, this disadvantage can be an advantage for manufacturers to sell more.
nrdesign1991 It's called built-in obsolescence. Things used to be built to last, or at least repair eventually, but now they're built to be thrown away and replaced.
Nice Matthias! I don't have a shop that high so I have to live the moment through your video. My alternative ending is to pull all the good stuff (motor, etc like you did) and put the rest out in plain sight on trash day. It never ceases to amaze me what people will pick up and bring home before the trash man cometh!
I recently picked up the same bandsaw for free. I got it for free because the motor was running but the fly wheel were not turning. Turns out the belt fell off because the pulley connected to the fly wheel slipped out of alighnment. The pulleys hex screw was not screwed tight enough to the fly wheel shaft. I adjusted and tightened the fly wheel pulley into alignment with the motors pulley. The belt was frayed so I ordered a new one at Sears. Pretty easy, all I needed was the model number. They showed me the parts list and assembly/exploded drawing and I picked out the part. I noticed in the video that while you were putting shims on the shafts that you did not have a square key to fit in the key slot allotted on shaft and pulley. Pulleys and key pins were also listed and shown in the parts list and assembly drawing at Sears. I agree with "Robstorms." It's a tilt head bandsaw, of course there will be play between wheels. After watching this video it seems a waste to destroy it. Yes, not the easiest piece of equipment to repair but a fair challenge; however, it could of been easily repaired with the proper parts that are relatively inexpensive. After being repaired it would of been good as a start up saw for amateur wood worker or donated to a rightful cause.
If you had spoken to any reasonable metalwork person (with a half decent lathe) they could have reworked some existing parts, or turned up a new pulley. Granted, that band-saw has a weak table (to which everything else is attached) and a compromised power train; but it was not a total write off. At least keep the motor! Were you just making a point about poorly designed tools? You are willing to go to serious lengths with wood, so why not treat metal with a bit more respect?
Matthias Wandel He is right ,if you drill trough that pulley (lets presume it has enough meat) with bigger drill than a shaft and insert peace of aluminum (secure it with a screw or tight fit it or glue it,if this was steel you could weld it )and then simply make a new hole that fits perfectly tight on that shaft on a lathe. That way we saved old pulley that were still good in shop i was working at. Also why destroy whole thing when you could salvage more parts and maybe make a new bandsaw out of this old one. You never know when idea will come along and maybe you could have used some of parts for future projects. Thats why i never throw anything ,you never know when you gonna need it !
I owned this band saw. It was worse than awful. It met its demise in the parts and recycling world (although not quite as theatrically ---beautifully executed by the way--- as Matthias).
Damn... i could use that saw, even with that vibration. Still better than cutting by hand. I hate seeing tools getting wrecked. Its like those videos of people shooting anvils into the air. I always cringe a bit, knowing how badly i need one and here they are shooting them like junk. Watching stuff like that is painful...
А ведь проточив пару переходных втулок для шкивов стоимостью не более пары долларов каждая можно было сделать идеальную посадку шкивов на вал и добиться практически нулевой вибрации и станок служил бы еще долгие годы. жалко смотреть как вещь которую можно было бы починить вот так убивают :(
думаю Матиасу этот гемор не нужен. Он или сделает пилу сам (см его видео как) или купит нормального качества. Хотя конечно я бы не стал рушить - там много чего можно в дело пустить. стол металлический например и т.д.
трезвенник да пусть если человек и может сделать или даже купи новый станок, но зачем его ломать?! Лучше отдал бы тогда уж его другому! Вообще ни когда не понимал людей, которые такое делает
Yeah, it seems the guys who were just hobbyists on RU-vid are now Video Producers with sponsorships and branding...you know, "This episode is brought to you by...Crap-O Tools". Oh well... We viewers have the final say in what and whom we watch! Most of us really like Matt's "productions"!!
Such a shame. I remember when the name CRAFTSMAN meant something. So, so sad. Thank you for the peek inside the world of crap that is our modern, consumer tool industry.
William Todd $35 would not have improved the bad design of this saw. Your repair is temporary and would just be required again later. I think most of us have determined that you are an idiot. Was that your intention?
you could have gotten new pulleys fairly cheap. when you have a tool you don't want like that you should post it in your videos and let someone get it for free. I would have taken it if it was free and invested 20$ in parts happily since I really can't afford to buy one.
Great year ender. Forget the negative comments I love how shite machines get destroyed. You should have used your big bandsaw for a pulley system to bring the crap one up to the top of your scaffold. That would have been a cherry on top for the video - lol.
Boo, total waste. Why take the route of reality or shock TV to destroying something? Wouldn't have taken or cost much to replace the pulleys regardless of design faults.
Joshua Denney The point was that if this was his decision then he should have not published the video and given the bandsaw to someone else. We have come to expect better of people who build and repair.
s0nnyburnett I agree with you. This wasn't a brand new iPhone being destroyed for viewers, but rather a terrible bandsaw that he wanted to just be done with. Throwing it away would have lead to the same end result, and he no doubt will use the parts he scavenged to make something cool in the future.
Not so. Fixing a piece-of-crap tool like that would be like painting a house while it's on fire. Utter waste of time. Salvage what you can and move on.
If my product was to be tested this harshly You can bet I would want it to be the best! If my product could pass your inspection I would be on the front page of every tooltest. Thank you for your honest evaluation of quality.
Or maybe pass it on to someone else to fix and use??? Not everyone can afford new or higher end equipment. That would have been a fine piece of machinery for someone just getting in and hey, they may have even braced the frame up so that it didnt deflect. Very Annoying video.
Yep thats right, no one has parts in a drawer or box that would be just the ticket for that machine hey... Silly me. When you say easier to build one do you mean easier to buy your plans for one?? Dont get me wrong, I like what you do. I don't like it when people waste things that others could _easily_ repair and use especially when theyve been gifted for that purpose in the first place. Pay it forwards next time brother.
+Darryl Kelly Mate come on, it became Matthias' property when he was given this one. He can do whatever he wants with it. Don't discourage him from being himself and making fun videos for our enjoyment just because he didn't give his stuff away for free. It's comments like that that discourage others from posting videos because they know there'll be people giving them shit in the comments no matter what they do.
Aaron Powell Do you see me giving him shit in other videos? Ive watched nearly all of them... I'm quite sure Matthias can handle a bit of criticism once in a while, or are you saying he's just a sook??? Or are you his personal caped crusader?
That's right, nobody has parts in a drawer that would make this a good tool. Let alone one for beginners. This piece of gear is clearly aimed at a very particular market: that in need of a moving-head bandsaw, as cheaply as possible. Beginners don't need that, they need a conventional bandsaw. That said: the table casting looked good enough to stick in a corner somewhere, even if the rest of it was scrap.
I really enjoy your no nonsense videos but this one is something else. Ever think about the person who thought they were doing good by handing over that band saw? Not cool. Leave the theatrics to the wood workers on RU-vid who think since they accumulated thousands of subscribers that they can go Hollywood on their videos! They suck, you do not, yet!
I started cracking up when you took the hammer to it. I've wanted to do that to my bandsaw, but my shop is far too small for me to get a good swing in!
I own one of those bandsaws. Got it very cheap at an estate sale a few years ago. I haven't had any of the problems shown in the video, but I think the previous owner kept all of his tools well maintained. I don't have any excessive vibration, but given what I just saw, I think I'll take a look at the pulleys to make sure they are secure. I don't know what years these bandsaws were produced, but the video shows further proof of the devolution of craftsman tools.
I had the same saw a year ago and it had the exact same issue. I ended up having a pulley made since the part is no longer available. In the end I bought a Grizzly 14" saw with a 6" riser and couldn't be happier. Sold that saw for $100
The very end made me laugh. Why don't tool companies want to sponsor you.... hmmm.... Replacing pulleys and nearly anything else on that piece of junk would not have made it any better. Many tools are just pure crap. Thanks for destroying that piece of junk!! The addition of flames would have increased the drama a little. Great stuff.
great job!! tool companies don't sponsor you because you are honest about tools, you don't take their crap just so you can have free tools. Great job and don't change.
Dear Matthias. Thank you for posting this video. I was getting a little despondent about comments on my own channel. Then I read the comments you get and realised I had nothing to worry about. :) Happy new year. And thanks for continuing to keep me entertained.
Okay. Extremely intelligent, mellow, gentlemanly, sweet guy...all the restraint and grace one could want... has a hobby or two to occupy his mind and provide for therapeutic relief. He also has people sending him average tools to vent all his pent-up anger out on. And that's apparently A LOT of pent-up anger there. !! Oh my.
Rather than using shims to try to correct the run-out on the pulleys, a better solution would have been to use some sort of filler, then to bore back to the correct diameter. Of course, the keyway would also need to be cut again, but that's something that seems not to have been mentioned. There was a keyway cut in the motor output shaft, but the only means of securing the motor pulley to the shaft seems to have been a grub screw. As for the flexibility of the aluminium frame, that could have been easily fixed by gluing a sheet or two of plywood directly to the frame; ideally, the plywood should be routed with a network of grooves to match the webs in the aluminium frame.
I have to admit i was amused to see the word "fail" in one of your vids as I don't associate you with the word fail too easily. IMHO everything you touch turns to gold. But it is hard to re-engineer poor engineering. Tool companies won't sponsor you because they know you know how to build tools. You're the friggin man Matthias!
Well, thanks to your video I realized that just tipping the saw on it's face which gave easy access to the pulley and made it easy to tighten with a T handle hex key. I didn't have to take anything apart and it was fixed in about 5 minutes.
My first Band was that brand, within 2 months the vibrations started. Like you I traced it to the motor belt area and the set screw in the motor, pulley was loose. Some thread lock and a good tightening corrected the problem. I still use the saw.
Now you can sell it to the scrap yard !! I like you videos you start and finish your projects . Unlike others on RU-vid that say its a prototype but never complete any of it and just move onto another .
1) I get as much useful information from your approach to nonworking projects / mistakes as I do from your wins. 2) I missed the background regarding the origin of the rolling scaffold. My guess is ceiling work in that very tall shop. 3) Your shop ceilings are very tall. 4) I see a woodstove. 5) I know you're in Ontari-airy-airy-o, because I grew up there and recognize the signs. 6) Ontario is cold in the winter (September - May). 7) All of your warm air from your woodstove lives up near your ceiling. 8) On your "wooden gear wear" segment you asked about ideas for a project that would involve wooden gears exposed to long service intervals. 9) How about a wooden "Big-Ass" fan project?
Had a lot of stress in the last time? Good job! I did that to a wooden gearbox I build once... set it on fire and listend to "Watch it burn" (really). I hope you had a great chistmas. To tool companies: If you want the people to buy another tool, build your products with safety in mind and less lethal!
I look at your site regularily but somehow missed this post till now(8 weeks ago). I too have this saw and love it because it has the tilting head design which I use frequently. I bought it used 5 years ago quite cheaply. It is not heavy duty but for me has run quite well. I suspected early on that it was not that strong so I have been easy on it.(I was a electro - mechanical designer till my retirement due to stroke 8 years ago. Luckily I am in recovery and enjoying my woodworking hobby. Next I plan to build a wooden bandsaw as well, hopefully with a tilting head!!!)(PS: I love your concepts.)(PS: with this saw I learned Blade drift is an incorrectly adjusted blade track(not on center of wheels)!!!)
If i had a tool company. I would totally sponsor you! I would honestly look for someone to take it apart, rebuild it, re-use it, tell me of flaws and design options. You would be in the top of my candidate list. But i guess that's why engineers aren't business men.
I had one of those Craftsman 12" saws for years. I can't remember how many times I repaired it and I'm not a big bandsaw user. The demise of mine was less dramatic but something like you did was often on my mind.
My dad had an old sears table saw. It's assembly looked very similar to that bandsaw. I have saved a few parts off it and am going to see if i can put together a better table saw than it was previously. (no i didn't set the bar very high).
A year ago, a guy tried to sell me this exact model bandsaw for $140. I looked it up and people said to stay away...so I did. I found the "other" Craftsman 12" bandsaw on the cheap. It's the more modern shape and runs good.
