# A Canadian review of the Harvey C14 Ambassador Bandsaw



## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

Very thorough review.

I've had my C-14 for a year (or more?) and really like it. I have the same complaints. Under table access is painful. I might look into drilling a hole or 2 to get to the necessary adjustment screws. I also like the idea of pre-connecting the upper and lower dust ports.

One other thing I did was get some magnet backed paper and write a note to remind me the tighten the tensioning arm before turning it on. It is just above the on/off switch. I've broken 2 blades forgetting to do so.

The lighting issue also comes up in most reviews. I bought a battery powered version with a magnet on the base.


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## jayoh (Feb 21, 2019)

Thanks, Earl for your fine comments. I tied a strip of red tree flagging tape to the long handle. If I see it, that means the blade is tensioned. It's the exact opposite of the Rikon and Steel City bandsaws I have owned. With those saws, I had a few blade runoffs that destroyed the teeth. hahaha I also much prefer the fence on this Harvey over the Rikon. I would've appreciated a slightly different design to locate the fence parallel to the table with levers rather than Allen headed bolts. The last ditty I forgot to mention in my review was that I liked how the Rikon had the blade table opening in the front, which allowed an auxiliary wooden extension table to be added to the right of the blade.

Luv your tagline, buddy!


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## JD77 (Apr 2, 2019)

Good write-up John, like Earl I've also had mine for about a year and I've been continually amazed at what it can do. You are right about the handwheels being a weak point, I added a golf ball "peg" and that really made them easier to use. I also neglected to get my dust collection set up right away and found I was getting a lot of sawdust jammed into the rack for the height adjustment. I ended up just sliding a cutoff of 1 1/4 inch pvc over the rack through the top hole and that seems to have fixed it. Have fun with it!
JD


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## jayoh (Feb 21, 2019)

JD, one thing we woodworkers are and that's innovative. We are mostly of the mindset, with some from the generation of if it's broke, fix it, don't toss it. The "Y" dust junction I purchased for $11 CDN is a God-send for this machine.


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## Peteybadboy (Jan 23, 2013)

Jayoh,

I also have a Harvey 14" band saw.

Thanks for the review. Very well done.

I was wondering if your saw came on a pallet. In getting the saw onto a mobile base I just walked it of the pallet onto the mobile base. It was pretty easy.

I have to do something to flag the tension arm as well.

Instructions did not say to remove the grease. I was wondering the same thing about sawdust build up. I will have to go back to clean the rest up.

I look forward to more comments as we all use our saws.


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## jayoh (Feb 21, 2019)

G'mornin' Petey. Yes, the machine came on a pallet, as you can see from the initial image. I described my convoluted story of the three tries at making this machine mobile. If I had known what would work, your solution would've been great.

One thing does bother me though. There is no UL or CSA [Canadian Standards Association] motor approval sticker on this piece of equipment. During the 1980s in ON, motors needed to have an orange OH [Ontario Hyrdo] approval sticker to certify they were copacetic. Has that escaped regulatory capture as well?

Further, on the motor and machine, a local competitor, who tried to sell me a Laguna 14" saw, told me that the Chinese inflate the amperage of their motors using peak power, whereas his Taiwan unit used constant operating amperage. Hmmm, seems lame as one wonders what some folks will do to close a sale. Even if both saws had identical electrical output, the Harvey would get the nod with its heavier weight alone, not even mentioning things like superior side guide adjustment, which I did not touch on. I did start the Laguna. It did not have the "kick" that the Harvey has; so yes, that's anecdotal and hardly good science. hahaha


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## WoodAbuser (Dec 10, 2018)

This saw reminds me a bit of my Grizzly G0513… but I suppose all bandsaws are similar.
To prevent starting my saw before tensioning the blade, I leave the top door widely open.
To date, that has been 100% successful.
I'm planning to design some kind of (magnetic?) safety switch to detect the position of the tensioning arm, but haven't had time to work on it much.


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## Peteybadboy (Jan 23, 2013)

WoodAbuser

I like the door open thought.

I bought my saw for the US market, so i'm sure UL approved is on it, but I will check.

BTW I bought the Alpha model.


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## jayoh (Feb 21, 2019)

Leavin' the upper door open is a brilliant idea! I'm on. Sometimes the most simple suggestion is the best solution. Thanks, heaps!


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## RBG4 (Feb 10, 2021)

I just read your review and want to thank you for your insights , I'm expecting delivery of my C14 tomorrow 7/22/22.
after reading the review and comments I'm excited and know I made a good choice in my purchase

thank you


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## jayoh (Feb 21, 2019)

Thanks for the view and the comment. It's a great saw, with caveats…as there always are. hahaha


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