Metabo 400W Band Saw - Bas 261 Precision

This is a well made Bandsaw but the motor is just not powerfull enough. It will cut up to 100mm wood with an absolutely brand new blade but once the blade is anything less than 100% perfect the motor just stalls. As received nothing at all that needed adjustment was anything like correctly adjusted. The only exception was the drive belt on the motor but this went slack after one hours use. I am having to constantly fit new blades just to keep the bandsaw working.This obviously is expensive and time consuming. The truth is get the biggest and most powerful bandsaw you can justify the cost of. Just because the specifications say the bandsaw will cut a certain maximum size of wood does not mean it will actually do that in practice. I would say you need a 3/4 ... MoreThis is a well made Bandsaw but the motor is just not powerfull enough. It will cut up to 100mm wood with an absolutely brand new blade but once the blade is anything less than 100% perfect the motor just stalls. As received nothing at all that needed adjustment was anything like correctly adjusted. The only exception was the drive belt on the motor but this went slack after one hours use. I am having to constantly fit new blades just to keep the bandsaw working.This obviously is expensive and time consuming. The truth is get the biggest and most powerful bandsaw you can justify the cost of. Just because the specifications say the bandsaw will cut a certain maximum size of wood does not mean it will actually do that in practice. I would say you need a 3/4 horsepower motor as a minimum. Buy a saw with at least one and a half times the maximum capacity for size of wood you will be cutting just to get something capable of the work you will be doing. Think also about dust extraction, bandsaws make an incredible amount of dust.

This bandsaw is a solid bit of kit. Is really heavy, basically silent and looks the business on my workbench. The factory installed blade is set up and balanced, all you need to do is adjust the bearings and install the table. The fence is rock solid, the mitre fence is a little wobbly but nothing which throws off a 45° cut enough to be noticeable. The led work light is good, not a pointless glow but a proper wide beam bright light.

A good tool for home use

This is a good tool for domestic environments that is simple to operate. I liked the essential safety interlock feature that turns the machine off if either the upper or lower housing door is loosened while the machine is running. The [ON] / [OFF] switch also has an under voltage relay fitted. This means when the power is lost for some reason, that the machine will not just restart when power is restored again. It requires a deliberate press of the [ON] switch before it will run again. The fittings and finish are adequate and it is possible to tilt the saw table by around 45 degrees. The angle is indicated by a small adjustable arrow against a fixed scale so that the angle setting could be repeated. The saw table was ground flat and had chamfered edges. There was an ... MoreThis is a good tool for domestic environments that is simple to operate. I liked the essential safety interlock feature that turns the machine off if either the upper or lower housing door is loosened while the machine is running. The [ON] / [OFF] switch also has an under voltage relay fitted. This means when the power is lost for some reason, that the machine will not just restart when power is restored again. It requires a deliberate press of the [ON] switch before it will run again. The fittings and finish are adequate and it is possible to tilt the saw table by around 45 degrees. The angle is indicated by a small adjustable arrow against a fixed scale so that the angle setting could be repeated. The saw table was ground flat and had chamfered edges. There was an extension scale, marked in millimetres, which is fitted to the saw table and an aluminium rip fence is attached to this scale as well as the saw table. A single lever locks the rip fence into place. The machine also had a plastic mitre fence that can be angled left or right. There were no positive stops and it had a slightly embossed datum line to indicate a selected angle. It was fitted into a groove machined into the saw table. The quality of this piece of equipment could usefully be improved. I intend to make myself a better mitre fence. Setting the saw table flat is aided by a depth stop that can be set ensuring that the saw table sits flat at 90 degrees to the blade. An inclinometer is a useful way to set the angle absolutely but you could use a small engineers square and check the rip fence for being perpendicular to the saw table and the saw table for being at a right angle to the saw blade. The rip fence holding system required some adjustment because as it was being locked tight, the opposite end of the fence to the locking handle moved about 1~2mm out of true. After I had made some adjustments to the tension of the sprung end and its direction (it was not completely perpendicular to the rip fence) I got it to stay in place with careful placement and locking it without moving the rip fence. This is less than ideal because reliance on accurate placement of the rip fence is fundamental to cutting the material accurately. I will check with the manufacturer and see if anything can be done because keeping the material square is vital to many construction projects and if the rip fence prevents this then it is a major point of failure. The guide and thrust roller adjustment at either end of the blade is as expected and should be used to keep the saw blade operating safely for the life of the blade. The blade can also be adjusted for tension and position on the blade carrying wheels. The external finish of the machine is average. Some rough points of surface finish on the column supporting the table. I also purchased the supporting table for the machine and this was a very worthwhile investment. It gave the machine some additional stability and saved me bench space, while putting the saw table at a comfortable working height. At this price point the machine is good value but if you were considering buying a bandsaw for a production environment, you would want more accuracy from the rip and mitre fences and a quick release and accurate system of setting the saw table angle. The Metabo name should be a guarantee of good quality and the machine will deliver reasonable results if you set it up carefully. Don't expect high volumes of super accurate work from this machine. It is suitable for home use and you should keep that in mind when making your choice.

Can't wait to use it again, so good

I bought this because it has a 4 inch depth of cut where most budget machines have 80mm only. Plus the reviews were good. At 229 it is amazing value, everything except the mitre guide is well made and solid. I followed all the setup tutorials on YouTube and found it invaluable because most of the settings were off as supplied, This machine breezed through cutting tenons in 4" X 2" timber and I'm looking forward to using it again.

Correct product. Quite satisfactory for unprofessional use.

Satisfactory invoice product. The settings were not necessarily obvious, but not too complicated either. Just a little patience. The tray is not very big but sufficient and well made. The lateral guide is very functional, even if the graduations are not precise and require tests. The other guide is out of play. Do not count on the accuracy of the angles. The settings made, the use is simple and practical, although a little noisy. Satisfactory material for non-DIY use.

Great bandsaw, no match for spec at this price!

Delighted with this bandsaw. It has the spec compatible with saws in a higher price bracket. Slightly bigger table and is cast iron! Nice little worklight is handy. The fence clamps down firmly too. The mitre guage perhaps looks like it wobbles but actually there's a simple technique to keeping it steady, so works just fine, It has a couple of holes so you could easily reinfore or extend it if need be. Due to the cast iron table and the metal doors, the machine is rather heavy...but that's a plus ploint! You really want it heavy so it doesn't move around on you. The build quality is really quite impressive. Minimal plastic, mostly alloy and cast iron. The instruction manual is useless but don't worry there are a couple of great videos online for this model, just ... MoreDelighted with this bandsaw. It has the spec compatible with saws in a higher price bracket. Slightly bigger table and is cast iron! Nice little worklight is handy. The fence clamps down firmly too. The mitre guage perhaps looks like it wobbles but actually there's a simple technique to keeping it steady, so works just fine, It has a couple of holes so you could easily reinfore or extend it if need be. Due to the cast iron table and the metal doors, the machine is rather heavy...but that's a plus ploint! You really want it heavy so it doesn't move around on you. The build quality is really quite impressive. Minimal plastic, mostly alloy and cast iron. The instruction manual is useless but don't worry there are a couple of great videos online for this model, just follow those. Only minor defect I had was a rogue rivet head on the fence which was meant the workpiece could never sit tight to the fence to get a straight cut. So I had to get a small file and grind it down until it was flush. It meant I had to scratch up my brand new toy but its' more important that the fence is accurate! Honestly, very satisfied with this machine, I highly recommend it.

Metabo band saw BAS 261

The product is of good construction and good quality for precision work. On the other hand, the factory assembly leaves something to be desired. Number of screws and nuts completely unscrewed. The top drum support was barely screwed. Missing the circlip on the axis of the upper reel. Suffice to say that there has been no test run in the factory. So you have to be a good mechanic to put everything in order. After all, everything is fine.

Nice little saw

The saw comes with everything you need to get started. It is made well and made with good quality components so I am happy with the saw. As always with machinery, it needs to be setup and adjusted before use and I suspect it will become even better after using it a few times. A few observations: - I was a bit surprised to find a mains plug converter lead being supplied instead of a UK plug but that is a minor point. - Surprisingly, the saw is vibrating quite a bit when running, so it must be fixed to a stable surface before use (as per the manual). It is not great for pulling out of the cupboard and leave on the kitchen table. - The safety cut-out switches on the doors are sensitive and I found you had to affirm the doors to be closed before the machine would start. ... MoreThe saw comes with everything you need to get started. It is made well and made with good quality components so I am happy with the saw. As always with machinery, it needs to be setup and adjusted before use and I suspect it will become even better after using it a few times. A few observations: - I was a bit surprised to find a mains plug converter lead being supplied instead of a UK plug but that is a minor point. - Surprisingly, the saw is vibrating quite a bit when running, so it must be fixed to a stable surface before use (as per the manual). It is not great for pulling out of the cupboard and leave on the kitchen table. - The safety cut-out switches on the doors are sensitive and I found you had to affirm the doors to be closed before the machine would start. - Beware of the tilt adjustment on the back, it is very sensitive and will quickly have the band run off the wheels! - The dust extraction point does not have a fitting for normal industrial hoovers, so you need some creativity to make that work, or you must hoover out the dust on a regular basis during use Overall it is a nice little bench saw and I hope it will deliver good value for the money, looking forward to using it for many hours to come.

Patience has a price ...

Ordered on 10/11/2017 and received on 28/11/2017 ... what a torment largely compensated by the price "unbeatable in Belgium". Solid, well-fitting material with suction outlet (3 diameters available). Relatively quiet and ability to protect itself from life saw in operation by an adjustable device depending on the thickness to be cut. The first tests are VERY positive: p. ex. the shaping of tenons is easy and precise. Congratulations and thank you.

Superb small bandsaw at a very good price

Excellent bandsaw, very smooth running, quiet and when set up, which took about twenty minutes, very accurate. Very sturdy build quality and heavy and solid for it's size and price. I would not hesitate to recommend the BAS261 to anyone looking for a good quality small bandsaw at a very good price. Delivery from FFX was spot on also...... I have used this quite a lot over the last few weeks and I could not be happier with it, I have changed the blade for a 1/2 in 6 TPI and the results are outstanding. Absolutely brilliant machine.