Aldi bandsaw – bad or dangerous, keep or return?

I ordered my £150 10″ bandsaw from Aldi and wasn’t expecting a top quality tool but when trying to set up the rear top blade guide I was shocked with the amount of play in the frame and the fact the sliding part of the frame that allows you to take larger or smaller pieces did not remain the same distance from the blade.

Is this just poor quality or actually dangerous. More to the point, is it worth keeping?

There are two bolts that fix the sliding part onto the frame but these are simply bolt, spring washer and nut so once tightened a certain amount they simply spin meaning you cannot tighten the frame up any more.

Your thoughts*?

*Yes, buy decent tools is top of my thoughts too but this was a Christmas present from WCA that arrived early and she wanted me to check it was okay. If you can use polite words in your replies then I can show her this thread to explain that it is not just me dismissing her beautiful gift.

Yes that doesn’t seem right to me.
I wouldn’t use it like that.

I’ve not seen that saw in the flesh but you’d certainly think that there should not be play in the top guide assembly.
Was it pre-assembled? Could it be that it’s just been assembled incorrectly?

It’s very important for that to be solid as when cutting the blade bears back on that bearing.
You don’t want that moving about.

Maybe you just got a Friday afternoon one 🤔

Is it this one?

Yes – that is the one

Given your username, return it for a better one or face the consequences

I was just doing the unboxing video if anyone is interested. Not sure it will continue as I will be talking to Aldi tomorrow

That bloke in the video sounds too posh to be shopping in Aldi….

Is it this one?

I do like Peter Millard’s stuff, sponser him via Patreon.

Can you take some pictures/video of exactly how the guide assembly slider is attached and secured?

That fact you say it’s not travelling plumb sounds like it’s not in position correctly.

For you I would imagine it will be very dangerous.

It does look very shonky, not that I’m an expert on powered saws.

Mine arrived today too. It was still in the box, your post prompted me to open it. I’ve done zero setup, just took it out. Nowhere near the amount of movement in that blade guide assembly as yours. It is pretty solid once the blue hand tightened nut on the front is done up. Loosen it off and there is similar movement.

Thats well ****. I’d return it if you can, but might as well check the inner mount for it see if something is amiss in there. The rise and fall blade support runs in a track, a simple bar inside presses against it.(those 2 bolts) fix it in place. Could be that they’ve either been drilled wrongly, or something has moved.See if you ,by loosening off the 2 bolts and see if you can move the pressure bar running against it.

If it helps, this one is a copy of the older record power RPBS 10″ saw. Same guides, cut depth etc etc, and if it helps I took that entire upper guide assembly off a fair while ago as it increases the depth of cut, from 120mm to 165mm,I left the rise and fall mechanism in place, but if i take that off too, I can further increase it to 185mm. It wont mean the blade slips off the wheel, the lower guide does more there and I did that as i needed to deep rip some maple and didnt fancy using my saw bench for the double cut method, given its 80mm each, and a  1 1/2kw 10″ spinny blade, unguarded and buried deep in the timber. It was simpler and safer to increase the bandsaw depth of cut.

With the upper guides removed I’ve not had a problem since, even cutting to the max depth in hard and soft woods. I use a 3tpi rip blade.

I like the extending table on that saw, its a good feature and a better fence and support. . It looks like the only difference is the RP has a cast table to this alloy one.

I’d say its a good basic saw and well worth the money.

I will have another look tomorrow / Wednesday and then call Aldi if there is nothing obvious.

There are two nuts and bolts with spring washers that are meant to hold the slider plus the blue adjuster knob which tightens fine. Still just moves side to side.

Bit worried there has been no update on this. @WorldClassAccident and broken power tool, what could possibly have gone wrong…

Bit worried there has been no update on this. @WorldClassAccident and broken power tool, what could possibly have gone wrong…

It’s all a build up to his next vid.
Are you bored enough to watch me sew my own hand back on.

He’ll likely have taken his finger off at the neck.

Bandsaws are one of the safest tools out there for 99.9999% of the people using them.

😯 Oh yeah….

MrsWCA here – I will be setting up a WCA memorial page on Just Giving shortly

😂 ^^^

🙂

That was a joke BTW, I was just in London yesterday so didn’t get a chance to look at it

I have just popped down to the garage and the careful application of an impact wrench to the two bolts that wouldn’t tighten properly are now held firm and the slidey up and down bit now slides okay and the blue knob tightens it.

The two bolts above and below the blue tightening knobs held the sliding channel in place while the blue knob tightens the bit that slides up and down within that channel. The problem was not the slidey up and down bit moving but rather then channel it was sat within was moving.

Hope that makes sense and the unboxing video may now resume – or might when it warms up a bit

^^ Glad to hear you got it sorted mate. Got a first project lined up for it?

1at – A wiggly lamp stand made by cutting a square length of timber with a curvy cut down the middle of one side, rotate 90 degrees and repeat to get 4 sections. Flip the 4 pieces round so the outside corners form the centre and the cut edges form the outside. Basically rip this idea off : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAD5yGaHunw&ab_channel=WorkshopCompanion

2nd – A bandsaw box. Just because it is the law that you make one of these when you get a band saw.