I took possession of a Minimax 24 inch bandsaw from the freight depot today, and have pictures to prove it.
Here is the saw upright and unpacked in my shop. This thing is big. It stands around 7 ft tall. To give perspective, the Delta 14" sitting behind it, is not more tha 1 or 2 ft bac total.
When I got to the depot, they loaded it without much trouble, and everything seemed A ok. It is a big saw, and fortunately, I was able to close the tail gate of my truck (which I didn't think I was going to be able to do.
I signed off on the paperwork, but before I left I noticed some of the crate frame was broken. I told the guy I was going to notate it to be safe, so he went inside to get his camera and his paperwork. While he was gone, I looked some more, and then I began to find some damage.:-(
First, the on/off switch is broke. Both the cover plate and the switch itself is cracked/shattered.
Then the lower blade guard which was in the crate is all bent up.
This was a bit disheartening in and of itself. I called Minimax on the way home and asked what the process would be to get replacement parts. They were very good to deal with and told me to take pictures, make a list, and email to them and they would send me all the parts and deal with payment/restitution from the shipper.
Getting it off of my truck was a job. I had two friends over, and we used 2x10 ramps 9 ft long that went right to my door. We rolled the crate on 2" pipe off the ramp and took it in the building. It is one HEAVY beast at 1000 lbs.
Once we got it in and uncrated, I found that the throat plate was messed up.
I put the mobility kit on, moved it around a bit, and I have come to the conclusion that the mobility kit is an overpriced, useless, POS. Bernard had told me I could order some wheels somewhere that would fit the threads on the saw, and I am DEFINITELY going to do that.
Then I found a couple other items. The dust chute has been warped (probably by the carrier), I am missing one nut and bolt for the dust chute, and the knobs and washers for the lower blade guard are missing.
I put the table on it, and it is HEAVY. The table is quite large. Minimax's site says the table is 36" off the floor. I haven't measured it, but I would say it is more like 28". The fence is cast iron and solid. It is a bit on the short side, but no big deal. I saw some posts on Sawmill creek where a guy made some auxiliary fences for his Minimax, and I expect I will do the same.
The upper guide post assembly and mechanism is impressive. It is telescoping with rack and pinion and the openings on the front make it easy to change the blade compared to my old Delta.
Overall, this is one extremely well built saw. I do have a few negatives that I will share.
First, for the cost of this thing, you would think it would have come with a blade. I have ordered a couple extras, but they are not here yet.
At least for this saw, the mobility kit is worthless. Don't waste your money. Buy a HTC 3 wheel base or get the wheels (Bernard, I will be in contact).
The miter gauge is a joke. It doesn't come with the saw, but it is a real toy in my opinion. Just look at it.
It turns out the manual is wrong for the blade length, and fortunately I caught that and got it right. I ordered based on what is on the web site, before I got the manual. The manual is big, but so far, I do not think it is as good as the manual for the MM16 and MM20.
Overall, the thing is pretty dirty. I am going to go out tonight after the kids are asleep and clean it up. I would expect the cast iron table and fence to need a cleaning, but the saw overall is dirty almost like it is covered with soot.
Even with the damages and other stuff, I am still happy with it and do not regret it. Once I get a blade in the mail (hopefully tomorrow)
:eusa_pray :eusa_pray :eusa_pray :eusa_pray I will be cutting some wood if my 30 amp breaker will carry the load.:eusa_pray . If it doesn't, I will again be running wire.:-(
Lastly, I decided to get some spare blades. I called Suffolk machinery and ordered some extra blades. This was my first time with them, and I must say, I will order all my blades from them going forward. They are straight up, thorough, and will tell you what blade you should use to get the job done. They are definitely the way to go in my opinion.:icon_thum
Here is the saw upright and unpacked in my shop. This thing is big. It stands around 7 ft tall. To give perspective, the Delta 14" sitting behind it, is not more tha 1 or 2 ft bac total.
When I got to the depot, they loaded it without much trouble, and everything seemed A ok. It is a big saw, and fortunately, I was able to close the tail gate of my truck (which I didn't think I was going to be able to do.
I signed off on the paperwork, but before I left I noticed some of the crate frame was broken. I told the guy I was going to notate it to be safe, so he went inside to get his camera and his paperwork. While he was gone, I looked some more, and then I began to find some damage.:-(
First, the on/off switch is broke. Both the cover plate and the switch itself is cracked/shattered.
Then the lower blade guard which was in the crate is all bent up.
This was a bit disheartening in and of itself. I called Minimax on the way home and asked what the process would be to get replacement parts. They were very good to deal with and told me to take pictures, make a list, and email to them and they would send me all the parts and deal with payment/restitution from the shipper.
Getting it off of my truck was a job. I had two friends over, and we used 2x10 ramps 9 ft long that went right to my door. We rolled the crate on 2" pipe off the ramp and took it in the building. It is one HEAVY beast at 1000 lbs.
Once we got it in and uncrated, I found that the throat plate was messed up.
I put the mobility kit on, moved it around a bit, and I have come to the conclusion that the mobility kit is an overpriced, useless, POS. Bernard had told me I could order some wheels somewhere that would fit the threads on the saw, and I am DEFINITELY going to do that.
Then I found a couple other items. The dust chute has been warped (probably by the carrier), I am missing one nut and bolt for the dust chute, and the knobs and washers for the lower blade guard are missing.
I put the table on it, and it is HEAVY. The table is quite large. Minimax's site says the table is 36" off the floor. I haven't measured it, but I would say it is more like 28". The fence is cast iron and solid. It is a bit on the short side, but no big deal. I saw some posts on Sawmill creek where a guy made some auxiliary fences for his Minimax, and I expect I will do the same.
The upper guide post assembly and mechanism is impressive. It is telescoping with rack and pinion and the openings on the front make it easy to change the blade compared to my old Delta.
Overall, this is one extremely well built saw. I do have a few negatives that I will share.
First, for the cost of this thing, you would think it would have come with a blade. I have ordered a couple extras, but they are not here yet.
At least for this saw, the mobility kit is worthless. Don't waste your money. Buy a HTC 3 wheel base or get the wheels (Bernard, I will be in contact).
The miter gauge is a joke. It doesn't come with the saw, but it is a real toy in my opinion. Just look at it.
It turns out the manual is wrong for the blade length, and fortunately I caught that and got it right. I ordered based on what is on the web site, before I got the manual. The manual is big, but so far, I do not think it is as good as the manual for the MM16 and MM20.
Overall, the thing is pretty dirty. I am going to go out tonight after the kids are asleep and clean it up. I would expect the cast iron table and fence to need a cleaning, but the saw overall is dirty almost like it is covered with soot.
Even with the damages and other stuff, I am still happy with it and do not regret it. Once I get a blade in the mail (hopefully tomorrow)
:eusa_pray :eusa_pray :eusa_pray :eusa_pray I will be cutting some wood if my 30 amp breaker will carry the load.:eusa_pray . If it doesn't, I will again be running wire.:-(
Lastly, I decided to get some spare blades. I called Suffolk machinery and ordered some extra blades. This was my first time with them, and I must say, I will order all my blades from them going forward. They are straight up, thorough, and will tell you what blade you should use to get the job done. They are definitely the way to go in my opinion.:icon_thum
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