Anyone have a Wilton horizontal bandsaw?

[Matt Shade]

I did a search and it looks like a few of you guys have their big vertical bandsaw. Thats not quite in the cards right now,but I am giving a little thought to finally getting a bandsaw for my shop. Still not sure, I have the money at the moment but not much time to work in the shop right now anyway. Might have the time later and not the money

I'm looking at their model 3130, dry horizontal 5"X7" saw. Its about the same size machine as the harbor freight saw alot of folks use. I've looked at the HF saw and didn't like it. I do a fair amount of welding along with the knifework and will, on occasion, need to cut some pretty big hunks of steel (seem to get into building and repairing farm machinery fairly often). I want something thats going to run a long time for me.
Any experience with one of these guys? By the specs (and the price ) I get the impression that its well made, and built heavier than the HF saws. Wondering if its worth the money or not

The other option, is for about the same money I would spend on the wilton with shipping, I could locally pick up a central machinery 7"X12" bandsaw from harbor freight. This is a much heavier, 1 hp unit, with coolant system. Bigger than I probably need, and definitely going to take up more space than would be ideal.....but if it will cut accurately and handle being run hard it would be worth it.
Anyone have one the big HF saws?
Any other suggestions?

 

[Matt Shade]

Any opinions on Wilton machinery in general then?

You fellas with the vertical wilton saws happy with them?

 

[btboone]

I had a small cutoff bandsaw, but it wasn't a Wilton brand. I eventially burned out the motor on that one. I used to cut a lot of 2" bar aluminum with it. The cuts were not that square, so a wider blade, like 3/4" would have helped. The larger saw and coolant might make the 7 x 12" a better machine. Sounds like it might handle a wider blade too.

 

[mlovett]

The Wilton machinery was always first rate!

 

[Matt Shade]

Thanks guys

Glad to hear that wilton carries a good reputation.

Still can't decide though. The wider blade is something I had been thinking about. Coolant probably isn't a huge issue since I'll mostly be cutting steel, and I can always add it down the road if I decide I really need it.
Guess I need to go hit harbor freight and give the 7X12 a closer look.