Introduction:
After many months of searching the Woodwork Forums, reading comments about various bandsaws, I ended up buying the Basato 4 a 15" BS by Scheppach (German design) built in China. If I had excess cash that I did not know what to do with I would have bought a high end 18" + Branded saw like a powermatic or Jet or Laguna, etc. But my cash margin was (is) tight and I decided that the B4 was the best value for the money (the recent H & F sale pushed me into commitment:wink:).
I decided to post this because I had trouble getting much info on the B4 from existing Users on this Forum. A couple of 'Bandsaw' Forum members discussed their purchase and it was informative.
Purchase and Delivery:
As always painless from H & F Melbourne. The BS comes in a large cardboard box that can be picked-up in a station wagon with back seat down or a 6x4 trailer. It is heavy (about 120Kg) so will need help or some sort of lifting mechanism (I have a forklift so easy).
Unpacking & Assembly:
I laid mine on the ground and cut the box open. All packed well with no damage to any part. The main BS itself is complete but the base (stand) is in pieces. Lay a block of wood behind the BS and lower the BS down backwards. This will make it easier to assemble the base to the underside of the BS then tilt back upright. The instructions are lousy but if you take your time it is quite straight forward. The only parts left over were 4 small "L" brackets but that is normal as they are throw backs from an earlier design and no longer required.
Supplied Blade:
1/2" 4TPI. The weld was clean, ground flat with no distortions and joined between the teeth. A reasonable manufacturer's supplied blade and good enough to tune and practice with.
Setup:
Ok this is where the fun began. There is quite a bit of rhetoric about having co-planer top and bottom wheels and others who say it does not matter. I guess it probably doesn't if it is slight and the tyre width is wide enough. But all things considered I decided that having co-planer wheels (if possible) can't be a bad thing. I used a straight edge and soon realised that the bottom wheel was approx 5mm proud of the top wheel. Now I examined the BS carefully for any adjustment. There is none and no mention of any adjustment in the manual. I removed the top wheel (easilly done by removing a circlip) and found that the axle could be unscrewed. I then shimed the axle out with a washer that was approx 4mm thick (all I had). Now the wheels were as close as co-planer as I could do and good enough as a base line. I placed the saw blade around the wheels and tensioned it up then tracked it close to the crown of the upper wheel. As a result it also rode centrally on the bottom wheel.....nice!
The table was another matter. Placed on the trunion it was miles out of square to the back edge of the blade. Side of the blade could be done easily with the tilt function but to square it to the back of the blade meant I needed to shim the table square. Never-the-less I was impressed by the fact that the table was at least flat all round!
With the table square I then set-up the guides. The BS4 is heavily guarded and this makes it a little awkward to see the guides easily when adjusting...never-the-less it can be done OK. The bottom guides are particularly harder to see. The top guard around the guide fouled the rear thrust washer a little so I had file some metal away for a free movement of the thrust washer.
I expected to make alot of test cuts and tracking adjustments and have to contend with drift elimination or compensation. Surprisingly it worked out of the box with one slight track adjustment ....I'm getting straight rip cuts consistenetly parallel to the mitre slot and fence. No drift to compensate for......:U:U:U. I ripped a piece 500mm long and over that length the width was within 0.2mm....wow even my Table Saw is not that accurate.....can I be so lucky?! I guess a full day of hard work paid off.
My Opinion of the Basato4:
Any Warranty Issues?:
- Although not conventional in looks I like the curved body shape as in my opinion makes for a stronger unit less prone to flex with blade tension.
- The welding is neat and finished well
- Typical of low end saws some bits are flimsy but can be overcome with custom tweaking.
- Typical of low end saws there is little if any advanced adjustment available other than what is required.
- The guides are the washer type and not bearings but seems to work fine.
- Once adjusted well (initially a fiddle) it performs nicely.
- Quick tension release is a nice feature.
- The vertical guide support is moved by a rack and pinion gear and was parrallel to the blade through it whole movement.
- The vertical resaw capacity is just over 200mm, which is nice for a 15" BS.
- The fence is somewhat flimsy but OK
- The BS has retractable wheels built in and makes for easy re-positioning.
- There is a tyre brush on the lower wheel with reasonable dust extraction (but only one port).
- The included blade is quite reasonable and good to practice with.
- The top and bottom wheels are factory balanced and true.
Yes one. The fence locking lever would not lock the fence in place. Took it back to H & F and got a replacement on the spot. Now works OK.
Improvements made:
Yes one. I added a flexible light wired in. Ok probably voided the warranty but a calculated risk. I like the idea of a built-in light. See pic attached. Took some effort to route the wire down the BS internally but got there. Added a junction box and spliced the incoming power to it as the light has its own switch.
Conclusion:
I'm happy with the saw. Works as it should and I have no drift to compensate for. The proof in the pudding will of course now be it's longevity. Will it hold adjustments and handle consistently....time will tell.
