Do you ever look at all the furniture (and other things) you’ve made from wood with love? Well, most woodworkers do. The credit for that goes to both you and your tools. As a nod to the tools, here is a Harvey Ambassador C14 bandsaw review.
Bandsaws are every woodworker’s staple. When it comes to buying one, there are a lot of options. This article will cover the features and possible upgrades of bandsaw.
Features of Harvey Ambassador C14
It’s an unwritten rule to look through reviews of a product before buying it. Customer reviews are always your best friend.
The Harvey Ambassador C14 is known for its smooth user experience. Here are some features that cement the positive reputation of the bandsaw.
- Versatile Blade Width
Blade width matters when you’re trying to keep the cut straight.
The narrowest blade width will help you with contour cuts and the widest blade will help you with straight cuts.
So if you want a tight radius on your cut, go for small width. If you want less curve you go for a bigger width.
The Harvey Ambassador C14 comes with a minimum blade width of 0.32mm. The widest blade width is 25.4mm.
You can easily go for a precise contour cut or you can go for a straight cut. The blade width range will work in your favor either way. If you compare Harvey with Laguna bandsaw, you can learn more about this.
- Smooth Blade Guide Adjusting
Blade guides keep the bandsaw blade steady. This helps you in getting the exact cut you want, straight or not. If your blade is drifting, the first thing you should do is check and fix the blade guides.
A bandsaw has three blade guides to hold the blade in place. Two guides are on each side of the blade and one goes behind it.
The positioning of the guides is important. If the rear guide is set too forward, it will touch the blade even when it isn’t cutting anything.
The same goes for the guides on the side of the blade. If the guides are pressing too hard on the blade, the cut will be bad. Tightly pressing side guides also reduce the blade life.
Whether it is the side guides or the rear ones, you’ll have to adjust them properly to get a straight and high-quality cut. Regular blade guides are made of metal plates. They get rusty after a while and adjusting them becomes harder.
The Harvey Ambassador C14 replaces the metal plate guides with ball bearing guides. This makes the adjustment process smoother. Ball-bearing guides also take more time to catch rust which is a plus.
- Quick Blade Tension Release
Blade tension is another factor for a precise cut. Your blade tension has to be precise, otherwise, your cuts will be low-quality.
In the worst-case scenario, your bandsaw blades can snap because of inaccurate tension.
The common notion about blade tension is “the more the better”, but that isn’t entirely true. Blade tension has a range. The amount may be the same for most blades but it is still the threshold.
If your blade tension is too low, your blade won’t stay still. And of course, it is going to ruin your cut. If your blade tension is too high, there will be hairline cracks.
This is why de-stressing your blades is important. When you cut the planks, your blade heats up and extends slightly. When you turn the bandsaw off, the blades try and go back to their original shape.
If you don’t release the tension in your blade, the shrinking process can cause breakage.
Harvey Ambassador C14 makes de-tensioning your blades easier. The device comes with quick tension release technology. You can release the tension instantly and be done with it.
- Easy Glide Fence
A fence is what holds the wooden plank down. Fences also act as guards to stop the woodworkers from injuring themselves. Bandsaw fences are handy when you’re resawing a plank and making it thinner.
A fence helps with cutting joints and toning down the kickback of the bandsaw machine.
Harvey’s Ambassador C14 has heavy-duty fences. They are made of aluminum but they glide super smoothly. This is possible thanks to the chromed steel guides.
The aluminum fences have two settings- high and low. The low setting is for cutting thin planks and the high setting is for cutting thicker planks of wood.
What Could’ve Been Better With Harvey Ambassador C14 Bandsaw?
As good as the bandsaw device is, there are some small changes and upgrades that can make it better. There are only some minor issues so far so fixing them won’t be hard.
- Instruction Manual Sequence
The Harvey Ambassador C14 comes with a step-by-step instruction manual. This is to help the person using the bandsaw set up the machine correctly. The current instructions put the table first and then place the motor.
The problem with the current sequence is that if you put the table before putting the motor then you won’t have much room. When you go to fit the motor, you can easily bump your head on the table.
If the sequence changes to fitting the motor first, you won’t need room and definitely won’t bump your head on the table.
- Lower Bracket Adjustment
The lower door of the Harvey Ambassador has a bracket inside it instead of inserting blocks. Unfortunately, the lower bracket sticks out more than it should. The bracket touches the band and it makes cutting a little uncomfortable.
This can be fixed with an angle grinder but it is still a manufacturing issue. The bracket needs adjustment so it doesn’t stick out that far.
Should You Go For This Bandsaw?
The Harvey Ambassador series is known for its accuracy and rigidity. C14 picks up right along this reputation.
The adjusting mechanisms are smooth. The separate parts of the machine are made of high-quality material.
Considering the price, this is one of the best options if you’re looking for a bandsaw. Sure, there are some minor issues so far but they can be easily fixed.
The pros outweigh the cons so yes, this is a win for the consumer. Watch this video to see what people are talking about it.
Conclusion
A bandsaw is a must for a woodworker. There are plenty of options, but most of them are pretty expensive. As this review of Harvey Ambassador C14 bandsaw tells you, this delivers the same output for a much lower price. If you need a bandsaw, feel free to go for this one.