Workshop: Kity 613 bandsaw

I finally bowed to the inevitable, realising that my little bandsaw simply isn’t man enough to do the kind of work I need a bandsaw for.

So I started looking for something that’d better suit my needs. And afore long I lit upon the Kity 613 as a potential answer. They seem big enough – re height and depth of cut – very solidly built, and can be bought for about £250-300, which is as much (more, really!) as I could muster, max.

I followed one on eBay, which eventually sold for £260. But with the travel involved it’d have cost me in excess of £300. It also looked in very good condition. However, at the same time there was an even more pristine one listed on Preloved, complete with manual. Advertised at £400ovno, after some haggling I managed to persuade the seller to let me have it for £300.

Adding fuel costs to that – I had to drive to Lincoln and back (the eBay one was even further afield) – it probably set me back about £330 in all. Having only my MX5 with which to transport it, I decided I’d take the passenger seat out. That was relatively easy, thankfully. And it’s a good job I did. Even with the seat out it only just fit.

The seller and I removed the base, a sturdy two-part metal affair, which went into the boot (just!), along with the fence and manual, etc. The saw itself only just went in, leaned back at an angle and strapped in with bungees. Covered with a dust sheet it looked a bit like I had some sort of android under wraps in the passenger seat.

Clearing space for this full on bit of kit in the shed has meant moving a reclaimed table out. Not sure what’ll become of that? If it survives being outside for a while it might wind up in the art studio, if/when I get round to building that! Although I managed to transport the bandsaw from the lounge to the shed on my own, it’s both heavy and awkwardly shaped enough to mean I’m almost certainly going to need help getting it back up on to its base.

I now have two bits of ‘vintage’ Kity gear, this 613 bandsaw, and the as yet to be got functioning planer/thicknesser. As the weather starts to improve, I hope to get into the workshop more, and get these tools working for me. I have sooo many projects in mind!