14-inch Band Saw by Central Machinery

The first band saw to make it to our shop was a Central Machinery 9″ band saw which served the workshop well for the projects at that time. As we expanded our products to include cutting boards made from rough lumber it quickly became obvious that just planing boards resulted in too much material waste.

Instead of planing a board down to a smaller thickness, you can use a band saw to re-saw a board, specifically if you obtain your lumber with dimensions that exceed your requirements by more than a quarter inch. Re-sawing also comes in situations where you want to create your own veneers.

The 3.5 inch limit on the Harbor Freight 9″ band saw presented a challenge which was quickly solved by acquiring the 14″ band saw that Harbor Freight sells. We were able to pick this one up for less than $275 during one of their recent sales.

On this page we will list articles related to assembly, upgrades and tips for the Harbor Freight 14″ band saw.

Pros

  • Cheap
  • Options to expand
  • Great customer service at local store

Cons

  • Imperfect, lots of tweaking to get it right
  • Replaced top wheel due to wobble
  • Missing parts
  • Unclear instructions
  • Not ready to re-saw out of the box
  • No fence
  • Dust collection is a joke
  • Max re-saw height is 5 3/4″

Upgrades

  • Expansion Block (I can re-saw up to 11 3/4 inches)
  • Re-saw blades
  • Movable platform
  • Improved dust collection
  • Re-sawing fence

9 thoughts on “14-inch Band Saw by Central Machinery

  1. Jerry Ferriss says:

    Can you give me some parts places to get the items your talking about? I’d love to purchase these and I’m not sure but they also say that the motor is inferior on the harbor freight saw ?

  2. Mathew says:

    This article is amazing but I’m looking for an article about bandsaw blade upgrade tool guide. Do you write an article about this topic?

  3. Lobel says:

    The frame construction is the first thing to look at. Smaller bench top band saws can be pressed metal, plastic resin, steel or cast iron. Larger band saws will be either cast iron or steel. The pressed metal and plastic resin are not as rigid as steel or cast and these saws are definitely meant for light duty hobby and craft work. You are much better off to get one that has a steel or cast iron frame.

  4. Steav Smith says:

    Can you Post a build on the feather board, I have the craftsman 10 also, and not really sure on the maple spring part of the feather board. Thanks.

  5. cody says:

    Where are the upgrades and tips referenced in the article? I just bought a HF 14″ bandsaw and would love to see what you recommended, etc.

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