Record Power BS250 Benchtop Bandsaw

Product Information

The Record BS250 Bandsaw is a great bandsaw that is more than capable of doing all that I will ask of it. It is extremely well made and the overall frame is very stiff – the most important thing to look for with any bandsaw. The guide bearings on this bandsaw last around 12 months before getting full of dust, especially the lower ones. The lower guides are again three ball bearings that can be moved once you release the caphead bolts, a bit more fiddly as there is not so much room, but nicely made and again strong. In the box is a DVD “Bandsaw Master Class” by Alan Holtham – I was advised in the shop that it is worth watching and totally agree. The DVD goes through the basic features, adjustments and settings, maintenance and making cuts.

I needed a bench top machine with a bigger capacity than my little old Power Devil which had seen twenty years service and was now getting a bit worn. I chose the Sabre 250 based upon the good features, cast iron table, two speeds if I wanted, and so on. It took longer to arrive than expected as it was trans-shipped from one haulier to another more local to my home. The machine needed to be set up nicely; out of the box some of the factory assembly was not well aligned, but if you've had a bandsaw before you know what to look for. The machine runs very well but wobbles no-matter where I position it as one of the four mounting feet is higher than the other three and this is part of the main welded body of the machine so it is not adjustable.A compact machine designed to offer those with limited space or budgets a real bandsaw with sensible capacity and performance, as an alternative to lightweight hobby machines. The machine can be bench mounted or fitted to the optional stand and wheel kit (NOT SUPPLIED) providing great flexibility in a tight space. In this image you can see the underside of the table, cast iron and very heavy. There are slots in the fixings that will allow you to square the table up to the blade.

I have resisted buying an up-rated fence from a third party and have got used to always have to set it against an engineers set square every time it is fitted or moved as it cannot be adjusted or set to stay at right angles to the machine table.I upgraded the small drive belt to a better quality one and changed the supplied saw blade to some that are made in Wales and the machine now runs like a sewing machine and cuts beautifully - it is superb and a real pleasure to use.

Record Power have designed this machine to offerthose with limited space or budgets a real band saw, with wheel kit soldseparately (RPTBS250AW). The extract is set in the lower front portion of the case. The saw comes with an adapter so will work with 58mm or 100mm extraction systems.The BS250 was delivered safely with no damage to the outer box but the complete lower blade guide assembly was missing and the motor housing was dented. The stand and wheel kit have still not been taken out of the box yet as I am using the machine on a workbench. In addition, we believe that the capacities, power and performance upgrades, combined with the unique SABRE features now found on this machine, make it a real contender in the general purpose floor-standing bandsaw category when combined with the BS250-AW stand and wheel kit. In this configuration it has quality and features well ahead of many of the lower cost floor-standing machines available in the market.