Watch me unbox, assemble and use the Ferrex 10" Bandsaw from Aldi. Now back on sale as a 'Special Buy' this cheap bandsaw has once again become available to the public.
I bought the lidl bandsaw 8 years ago. I built two spruce strip canoes and a single seat aircraft using it. Superb piece of equipment. Around that time I also bought the planer from Aldi. After stripping don and cleaning it thoroughly I used this to plane the strips and all the wood for the canoes and aircraft. The planer can plane to one tenth of a millimeter. Both are still in use today.
I bought my bandsaw nearly 50 years ago when I was living in Canada. I've moved several times since and it's still the most useful machine in my workshop. It's very good for sawing up frozen bread!
I'm a woodworker so yes I have a larger bit of machinery (but its not the first bandsaw I bought and I started off with a much smaller/cheaper model)... big tip is use your spirit level and get it right angled to the floor.... also on a faster belt it cuts faster and straighter (but mistakes are all quicker) - great video and I watch most of your footage as I'm still on a learning curve
I am new to woodworking and I find your videos so easy to understand. have heard so many people and I will only view others if you haven’t made a title. Thank you.
Now to convince she who must be obeyed that a bandsaw is actually an essential kitchen utensil that I'd be happy to buy her for Christmas... wish me luck.
When I was a small child, my dad used to bring me along to the butcher. I vividly remember him using the bandsaw and I was probably well into my teens or even young adulthood before I realized bandsaws where used by carpenters and woodworkers. Thanks for bringing these nice memories of my dad back 😊
Nice memory. When I cut the lamb, the combination of lamb mince and sawdust in my workshop smelt just like my Dads shop - funny how memories come back.
I bought a DIY Electra Beckum 315 over 20 years ago and never had a problem with it . Cost 300£ with floor stand . I have modified it , upgraded with new bearings , rollers etc . As a professional restorer - conservator this machine has been perfectly adequate and tackled every task
Fantastic to see somebody using and reviewing something that most people can afford. Sick of all the wannabe Pro's pulling their Dewalts and high end gear out to make a rabbit hutch!! Thanks for the Video :-)
Couldn't agree more! I've got the Parkside variant. I bought it years ago at a real bargain price. It's not perfect, but with a decent half inch blade, it is so much better than using a jigsaw.
Stuart, I've been umming and ahhing about buying a bandsaw for a while, I didn't think I could justify such a purchase. Having seen this video and how cleanly these saws cut, I'm going to have a look at one of these. Thanks so much for sharing this.
My advice is to always count your fingers before and after using any saw especially a bandsaw. I've seen so many professional woodworkers with fingers or parts of fingers missing.
have four bandsaw s, two metal and two wood, horizonal and vertical. carter guides are the real deal if you have trouble cutting straight, and i had plenty. silicon belts are a great up grade when the cheapies wear out
I bought the smallest Record bandsaw for about the same money years ago, it’s been a gem. It is about as simple as you can get. easy to set up. Will cut 4 1/4” deep 11” wide.
This reminds me, I've got one of these sitting in my office, that I bought about a year ago. I really should get around to unboxing it and giving it a go. Thanks for the reminder and great video Stuart..
Another great video! Whilst building the furniture for my camper conversion I bought a second hand Dewalt track saw I have never looked back! Safer to use than my Dewalt table saw. Whether you need a small accurate cut or ripping down a 8 x 4 sheet it is my go to tool now. Something to add to your Christmas list 🎄👍😃
Great review Stu. Sold out at the moment, but will look at one when back In stock. I was a butcher for 20 years so I've cut a few legs of new Zealand 🇳🇿 lamb in my time and millions of T-Bone steaks. Thinking back now our bandsaw was lethal! You certainly had to be in the wide awake club. I've still got 8 fingers and 2 thumbs though, bonus. I moved into engineering then for 10 years, a bit of a change.
Most of my power tools are Bosch, but I bought an Aldi impact drill when I was in shopping one day just to see what it was like. I used it to drive in 8" screws into sleepers and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality. I would definitely recommend Aldi tools too.
After my Bosch power drill died I replaced it with one from the Lidl. I normally use two, one for drilling and one for screwing stuff together, so I just wanted something inexpensive (and I was a bit curious if it was any good at all). It is actually much better than the one I still had!
I have a Rexxon bandsaw that I would describe as a heavy duty diy/ light industrial machine, I have cut solid wood blocks 8" thick in the past with a 3/8 blade, the thing to remember is to let the blade cut and use the minimum of force or the blade will wander, it was on the limit for my machine but taken slowly it did the job, band saws are good and at the price you payed why would you not have one and for the money Ferrex tools are not bad, I have one of the small battery powered angle grinder like circular saws, don't really like it as with no riving knife it can have a vicious kick back, if buying one be very very careful using it on sheet stock, the very thing I bought it for!!. Take care and stay safe out there.
There is absolutely nothing wrong in buying cheap woodworking equipment like this band saw, because most of us will use these tools a handful of times in a year. Of course, if you are a professional woodworker, you would be advised to get the best. But for the rest of us that might only need a tool once or twice, cheap makes sense.
More than 60 years ago was my first experience of a band saw, as you demonstrated at the end, My Dad had a butcher shop and most lamb back then came from NZ and was frozen, the band saw was excellent at breaking down lamb in to primal cuts, legs, shoulders, loins, then as with your leg of lamb cut the loins into perfectly same size chops. Sadly, being the son, I was tasked with the cleaning every time it was used.
@@ProperDIY 4pm? my Dad was a southern version of Arkwright, didn't start cleaning until the front door was shut and bolted, just in case a last customer came in before 6pm who wanted chicken portions or lambchops, frozen chickens were another boon for the saw, down the middle then legs and breasts cut in a blink of an eye, and get the money in the till ;-)
Another great video from Stuart. Don't forget to connect duct extraction to the ports, saves clogging up the lower wheel. Also I find removing the table easier to adjust the lower bearings/guides. I get my replacement blade from Andy at Tuffsaws.
Not sure if it has been said, and I'm a bit late to the party but when setting up the guide rollers getting your "close but not touching" it easiest if you put a piece of paper between the two snug it up and tighten then remove the paper. if you find the clearance is to much (shouldn't be) just use something thinner, for REALLY close fits I personally use a "laminating pouch" that I have in 2 forms, 1 was sent through the laminator empty as the plastic makes it slip out nicely obviously though the most accurate way is to just use a set of feeler gauges (I can never find mine when I want them)
I think Peter Millard said all that needed to be on the Ferrex saw a while ago, hence the sudden demand levels, when it went on sale again. LOL. It definitely worth the money, just needs a decent blade.
Great video. I have keeping my eye out in Aldi but they haven't arrived here yet but you are the second expert to recommend one so I'll be getting one if they get here.
I remember my father always complaining about the smelly band saw in the family owned carpenters shop after my grandfather used it for cutting stockfish!
I see all the hints about the lack of a table saw haven't been successful yet😂 Another good & very watchable video. Keep them coming. This has got me wondering whether I need a band saw in my life. My main issue is space - or lack of. My single garage is already rammed with barely enough room to swing a cat.
@@SprocketN I've already got three cats & the wife is talking about getting a dog as well 😣. What garage space I have got will soon be taken up with jumbo bulk buy dog food bags & the like. Currently I'm re-boarding & adding extra insulation & shelving in my loft with the hope it will make some extra space available in the garage for project work. Not sure if this will work or not but it keeps me busy now that I'm retired.
@@ProperDIY Ha ha. I have a little Power Devil table saw which I bought years ago. It's OK but too small for cutting large sheet material so I only use it now & again. The mitre guide slots are a really sloppy fit & the clamping mechanism for the fence is cr** so it's not very accurate. As a result I have resorted to using collapsible work tables, saw horses & a straight edge with my circular saw for cutting larger material. Good luck with the hunt for a table saw sponsor 😉
Nice review. On the wider blade it looks as if your guide bearings are too far back. I have a Record Power BS250 and all of the info that I have seen says that the bearings, top and bottom, should be set so that the front face of the bearing should be in the gullet of the teeth for best results.
Really like that fence. I have a crappy Chinese one I bought just over $100 Oz. Need to improve the fence and replace the blade. It’s always been garbage
Hi Stuart, thanks for bringing this to our attention, I have until recently been watching the Aldi Website every other day waiting for them to be in stock but it kept saying "Delayed - Coming Soon" then about ten days ago, they disappeared off their Website altogether which made out they would not be available at all now or possibly even in the future. Thanks to your Video, I have now snapped one up while they still have stocks but they are going very fast, so thanks again.
Great review and I just knew the steak would be cut we did it on ours but it took a while before we realised where the flys where coming from ,the fragment of the meat where nicely spread around the shop 😂👍👨🏻🏭
I used my chopsaw for slicing frozen black pudding once, looked like a murder scene by the time I was done. Great video as always, I must get one of these.
Great video and i have seen that Bandsaw before, but i already have a desktop Bandsaw which unfortunately doesn't cut some nice thick chops. Enjoy your meal 😃 Take Care, Barry (Wirral)
I have the same saw yet under a different name. You might find after a bit of use you may need to bypass or replace the interlocking switch’s - I ended up just cutting them both out of the circuit
Bought one of these when they first came out after reading the reviews & have cut yards of different woods but the original blades are utter crap put decent strong blades in & they will go all day no matter what you throw at it !
We have a brand called King Canada. I bought the 9" model. I was a noob, and didn't wanna spend much. Think it was around $150 CDN. Well it's more of a hobby saw. Only 3.5" rip capacity and a 1/3 HP motor leaves me ready for an upgrade. The saw usually stalls out when cutting all but plywood material. Trying to re-saw say a 2x4......forget it.
Personally, on saws (both table and band), I prefer the fence on the right of the blade. It just feels more natural, to feed the material with my right hand.
Higher speed for wood. Slower speed with the right blade you can cut ally too. As long as you have a minimum of 3 teeth inside the material when you cut all should be well. I've had 50mm ally through mine although it took a bit of time, it was straighter than I could have sawn by hand
You'll be picking bits of meat out of your projects for the next 6 months. I tried that 30 years on a frozen haggis my startrite 352, it murdered the teeth on the blade and took months to get all the bits of haggis out of the works, never again !!! nice video by the way . Most of the ferrex tools are pretty good for the price and as long as they are not abused work well. Cheers
Just bought one on the strength of your recommendations. I struggled with the table assembly and that locking lever! Lost the bolt inside the housing but retrieved with a magnet. Where did you get your woodworking gloves? They look good. Do they offer much protection? Thanks for the videos. Looking forward to the hext one.
I got one of these and had high hopes for it, unfortunately the bed was wonky to the extent it was unuseable, it was 3-4mm out across the width so it went back. Hopefully mine was just a one off.
We are in the process of buying a plot of land to build another house - - AND my first ever workshop. Most of the land my partner intends to "farm". I have suggested that whatever I buy for the workshop i will give her half as much to buy seeds and saplings etc... Is this fair...? So far she is quite agreeable... I feel a bandsaw coming on - perhaps after her first harvest...
I have an 8" cheap bandsaw which I was very happy with. But then I replaced the blade with a higher quality one and, wow, what a difference! It was like a totally different saw.
Hi Stuart Great video mate I treated myself last year to a new Record Power bandsaw, as you said they come in handy quite often but mine was over three times the price of yours after watching your video I can honestly say there’s no difference whatsoever 🤪🤪 👍👍👍👍
For 150 that looks miles better than the metabo bas 316 .for a cheap band saw that looks like you can get away with most diy work on it .Good one mate Thanks for that ,like the meat skills as well lol 👌
Yes... when I worked in the meat department of a food store, a band saw is what the butcher used to cut the meats. That was way back in the 1970s and it probably hasn't changed all that much... if there are any food stores left with butchers, that is. LOL
New subscriber!👍🏾 ...been after a bandsaw to replace my titan which has served me well but a bit limited and sometimes frustrating. This looks like an affordable upgrade for me. I've got lucky and literally just grabbed the last one online!
After watching your video I decided to purchase the same model. Just waiting for it to arrive. Can you confirm blade size please , is it 1140mm. Keep seeding different sizes on various sites. Looking to purchase a blade to cut metal. Thanks for great and informative videos
This may be too late to be of any assistance but it comes with a 6mm blade 1790mm long. Tuffsaws (as recommended elsewhere here) give great advice and will provide a suitable blade, probably for around £10. If you get in touch speak with Ian - very helpful.
Very good and informative video. I've got a VERY old bandsaw that hasn't cut a straight cut in 20 years. I can't even get parts for it any more. Do you know if this Ferrex bandsaw is available in America? Thanks for letting us all know how easy it is to unbox and set up.
Thanks for the video.... very helpful...... All's working well using mine, but I can't figure out how to release the tension on the belt to change over to the other speed
@@ProperDIY Have got it now. The manual says "release the belt with the tension screw for belt tensioning (46)".... you don't you do it by adjusting "nut 47"
All of these handy man band saws are made in the same factory in China. You are just paying for the name stamped on them. Replace the bearings with double sealed ones, which are cheap and readily available. The ones supplied clog with saw dust. Always set up your blade with the gullet in the middle of the tyre, irrespective of what the instructions tell you. This stops the blade from wandering.
Hi Mr Proper DIY, on the subject of bandsaws, has your Ferrex been good to you and would you recommend any other budget bandsaw? Also, do you rate any budget table saws?
Perfect. I buy stuff that I think will be really useful one day, put the box in the corner then open it years later. Only to find I was right and I should have opened it immediately. :-O DOH!
Thanks Stuart. Unfortunately we cant order anything from ITS at the moment, South Africa is on the Red list AGAIN, so all flights to and from are banned right now. Well, we have so many Black Friday deals here at the minute to keep us happy anyway. You take care and stay safe
