# Harvey Alpha Series Bandsaw Review



## Foghorn

Thanks for the review. That's a very robust looking saw. The Chinese are improving manufacturing of tools all of the time. A lot of nice features and pretty snazzy looking too!


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## cmmyakman

Awesome review - thank you.


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## mckenziedrums

> Thanks for the review. That s a very robust looking saw. The Chinese are improving manufacturing of tools all of the time. A lot of nice features and pretty snazzy looking too!
> 
> - Foghorn


Like anything, it's all about the tolerances you allow at the factory. The owners at Harvey apparently hold their factory to a higher standard on these Alpha tools for the US market. I can tell you they wasted absolutely no time in contacting me back stating exactly how they were going to improve the pieces I pointed out as in need of some attention. They even offered to send me the replacement pieces when available… I have no affiliation with them other than being brave enough to try a new saw and they took it very seriously.


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## tvrgeek

Just ordered their C-14 band saw I will report on it as it progresses. No footprint in NC, so no sales tax and free shipping made it not just what looks like a very good buy to an excellent buy. Very nice to talk to pre-sale even with the pandemic shutdowns. I have great hopes. If it works out, they will probably sell me a new table saw too.

The Chinese can make any level of quality the market will pay for. If a manufacturer is bidding on a Horrible Freight tool, it is going to be really sloppy with crap bearings, poor machine work, and the cheapest motor they can find. If they are bidding on something, say SawStop industrial, they can use the better processes, better parts, etc. as it is being paid for. You don't always get what you pay for, but if you don't pay for it, you won't get it.


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## mckenziedrums

> Just ordered their C-14 band saw I will report on it as it progresses. No footprint in NC, so no sales tax and free shipping made it not just what looks like a very good buy to an excellent buy. Very nice to talk to pre-sale even with the pandemic shutdowns. I have great hopes. If it works out, they will probably sell me a new table saw too.
> 
> The Chinese can make any level of quality the market will pay for. If a manufacturer is bidding on a Horrible Freight tool, it is going to be really sloppy with crap bearings, poor machine work, and the cheapest motor they can find. If they are bidding on something, say SawStop industrial, they can use the better processes, better parts, etc. as it is being paid for. You don t always get what you pay for, but if you don t pay for it, you won t get it.
> 
> - tvrgeek


Not sure where you are in NC but I'm in Waxhaw if you ever want to check out this one or their t40 lathe


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## MrRon

Looks like a nice band saw; unfortunately it's made in China. With the latest misinformation from China and their stealing of interlectural property, I don't want to help support their economy.


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## Steveeeej

This may be a terrific product but buying tools made in mainland China feeds the communist party regime. The same regime that loosed Covid 19 on the world and has persecuted and murdered untold numbers of their own people.
You really want to aid and abet a sworn enemy of everything we hold dear?


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## Hondo03

I get what your saying about buying from the Chinese. Please name the quality bandsaw or table saw that is made in the US,


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## Steveeeej

Grizzly is made in Taiwan. Taiwan is not "mainline" China, in fact they are sworn enemies. Never had any issues with Grizzly


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## mckenziedrums

I'm not here to discuss politics but to review tools. You should know that the better grizzly lathes are actually made by Harvey…

In any case, we're still using this saw in our production shop daily. Have dulled at least a dozen carbide blades and I'm still absolutely thrilled with the purchase. I do sort of wish they'd had the 14" one released when I bought this. It's basically the same saw and at 1400 it's a steal. Just a smaller table and I think it lacks the door safety switches. Same motor though.


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## AndrewZetts

Any speculation as to what the equivalent model would be for Laguna et al? Seems like it outclasses the 14 SUV in terms of table size, in more ways than just an extra inch for 15".


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## HarveyIndustriesIntl

Thanks for this review!


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## DocFluty

great review! This really helps in choosing. The powermatic bandsaw i am thinking about has a 3-position blade tension release that stops it from truing on when the blade is not under tension, does the Harvey do that? I have started my bandsaw a few times thinking it was under tension and now that I am searching for a new one I would like that feature if I can get it on the harvey. I know they wont let you turn it on with the doors open, just wondering about the tension. Thanks for any help you can give.


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## oldfartbob

Thanks for the review. It was very helpful.

A question: do you think the saw could be moved on a dolly down a flight of stairs?

Thanks!


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## Woodn88s

Thanks for this review, I'm in the market for a new bandsaw and the Harvey looks pretty sweet to me.


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## Woodn88s

I've seen a few reviews where people state they've bought a Harvey bandsaw with free shipping.
Anybody know how to get free shipping, their shipping is high.
Thanks


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## AndrewZetts

I think due to storms and pandemic, the shipping/Import situation on the west coast is a complete mess. Lots of shipping delays across the board for a lot of different companies. I think I'd wait for the summer to hope things calm down a bit. Woodcraft delivery was quoting me June for laguna….

I can't talk, I'm trying to buy a Rikon bandsaw on lee valley for this exact reason…. Patience is a virtue I wish I had.


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## AndrewZetts

I think due to storms and pandemic, the shipping/Import situation on the west coast is a complete mess. Lots of shipping delays across the board for a lot of different companies. I think I'd wait for the summer to hope things calm down a bit. Woodcraft delivery was quoting me June for laguna….

I can't talk, I'm trying to buy a Rikon bandsaw on lee valley for this exact reason…. Patience is a virtue I wish I had.


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## mckenziedrums

Looks like I missed a few comments, my apologies.

If you try to move this on a dolly down stairs, make sure it's strapped in and you've got some help. The 15" one weighs in at 440ish lbs so it's HEAVY.

As for shipping… it's 441 lbs… it's going to be expensive to ship. The price is actually quite reasonable when you consider freight with a lift gate. I did not get free shipping but I did buy when they were running one of their specials. They are always putting something on sale so subscribe and you'll get an email pretty much daily with whatever machine is on sale.

One thing that has changed since my initial review is they came out with their 14" version. At ~1300 it's the best deal going in bandsaws. That motor blows away anything Laguna, etc has and the resaw capacity for a 14" saw is quite good.

For what it's worth, we still use this saw daily in our production shop. It mostly gets used to trim alumilite blanks but we've been chopping up whiskey barrels as well. (5000 cuts in maybe the last couple weeks?) Still happy with my purchase.


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## MedullaryRay

"One thing that has changed since my initial review is they came out with their 14" version. At ~1300 it's the best deal going in bandsaws. That motor blows away anything Laguna, etc has and the resaw capacity for a 14" saw is quite good."

Sir, The only 14" bandsaw on the Harvey site now is the Ambassador line C14. Price is $800 less than the Alpha line HW615. 
I just called Harvey about these saws, and the big news for me is that until recently, they made bandsaws for Laguna. The current Harvey C14 is the current Laguna 14". Except Harvey changed the ceramic blade guides they made for Laguna to Harvey's current ball bearing guides. There were problems with the ceramic guides, the nature of which the agent did not recall. Said when people need parts for their old Laguna bandsaws, they have to go to Harvey.

I am interested in the Harvey Compass MG-36 miter gauge for a table saw. Has anyone here had experience with that miter gauge?
I asked the agent about user feedback, and she said the only problem they occasionally hear about is a little slop in the rear track follower. Said that can be corrected by slight tightening of a component in the front, but that makes the sliding a little stiffer.
Other than that, looks pretty slick.

I am also looking at Jessem's miter gauge. Any comments on that?

Thank you


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## DBel

> I am interested in the Harvey Compass MG-36 miter gauge for a table saw. Has anyone here had experience with that miter gauge?
> I asked the agent about user feedback, and she said the only problem they occasionally hear about is a little slop in the rear track follower. Said that can be corrected by slight tightening of a component in the front, but that makes the sliding a little stiffer.
> Other than that, looks pretty slick.
> 
> I am also looking at Jessem's miter gauge. Any comments on that?
> 
> Thank you
> 
> - MedullaryRay


I don't have any experience with the Harvey Miter gauge, but I do own the Jessem gauge and can share my thoughts in what I find I wish it did have that the Jessem miter gauge doesn't have. 
1. I can only use the miter gauge on the left side of the blade because of the extension stop. (If there is a way to use it on the right side, it's not obvious to me)
2. The Harvey gauge has a 45 degree bevel at the ends of their fence extension so you can use it closer to the blade when cutting bevelled cuts without any issue. 
3. Harvey has a micro adjustable flip stop on the fence to sneak up on cuts, which the Jessem model only has a flip stop.
Other than that, my Jessem miter gauge is accurate and well machined tool and works great, and if I had to do it over again, I probably would go with the Harvey miter gauge.


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## S0i7

Great review. I'm looking to buy my first real bandsaw, have a little bench top Grizzly now. Have done the scouring of reviews, hit up neighbors who have bandsaws, not many in my part of the country, checked for used, nothing of usable quality, and even purchased some less expensive tools from the various companies to check out their sales and service. Have eliminated Jet and Rikon for my own reasons. Laguna has been somewhat responsive but it's obvious they would rather sell to a fat cat or business; can't blame them there. Powermatic is just too expensive for my use, as is Minimax. That leaves Grizzly and Harvey. Neither can I touch before purchasing. It's fairly obvious to me that Grizzly is the working man's Chevy. Those with some age will understand that.

Not too much on Harvey out there. I don't really care where a tool is made; 95% of our durable goods are imported. Anyway, great write up. I really appreciate someone who has put the time in and stays away from being political and not overly subjective. Thank you!


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## DancesWithBeers

For all those purchasing this Harvey Alpha bandsaw in 2022, beware that they don't bolt or strap to the pallet any longer. Due to this, and living on a hill, I just had a new bandsaw topple over, crashing down in the delivery truck while the driver was attempting to remove. It was extremely frustrating and sad, but I had to send back. I even told the guy to strap it down before moving and he didn't listen. No way I'm going to sentence myself to possible replacement parts repairs, that I'd have to do on my time. I waited two months for this. I'm so disappointed.


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## splintergroup

> I am also looking at Jessem's miter gauge. Any comments on that?
> 
> Thank you
> 
> - MedullaryRay
> 
> I don t have any experience with the Harvey Miter gauge, but I do own the Jessem gauge and can share my thoughts in what I find I wish it did have that the Jessem miter gauge doesn t have.
> 1. I can only use the miter gauge on the left side of the blade because of the extension stop. (If there is a way to use it on the right side, it s not obvious to me)
> 2. The Harvey gauge has a 45 degree bevel at the ends of their fence extension so you can use it closer to the blade when cutting bevelled cuts without any issue.
> 3. Harvey has a micro adjustable flip stop on the fence to sneak up on cuts, which the Jessem model only has a flip stop.
> Other than that, my Jessem miter gauge is accurate and well machined tool and works great, and if I had to do it over again, I probably would go with the Harvey miter gauge.
> 
> - DBel


I wrote a review of the Jessem a while back.

You can switch to the right slot by removing the extension. Unscrew the sliding stop, unscrew the extension lock, then push in the extension lock stud. The extension bar comes out. Reassembly requires getting the stud back in the hole from the inside of the extrusion, a bit fiddly but easy enough after a few times. Wish it was easier, but I generally always use it in the left slot and my older Incra 1000 in the right slot.


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## Peteybadboy

Thanks for the review. I just unpacked and assembled mine. Note I did not find the assemble instructions well done. Example remove the saw blade plate. No Idea there was a spring-loaded clip you had to turn to remove the plate.

Setting up the bearings is really easy!

I agree the sawstop assembly instructions are on another level.

That aside, the saw is impressive.

More later as I use it.


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