I have had a harbor freight 14 inch saw for at least 25 years now. used it in my career as a wood worker, making cabinets and furniture cutting all species of hard and soft woods of thicknesses to 6 inches and anything else you can cut with a band saw and it has performed perfectly,.... all the time. don't let anyone tell you HF tools are all junk. their band saw is as good as any high dollar brand name saw there is on the market, today. all band saws of any brand of this size, 14 inch, are made in China, and most of them are identical from brand to brand, with different name plates. so save some money and by a real band saw. for cutting balsa I wouldn't get any blade other than a 1/4 in 16 tooth ( actually a metal cutting blade). even that shows a lot of tearing in such a soft wood.