I have a good sorta problem. I currently have a 14" rockwell that I restored and it works great. The only issue I have with it is power and I could fix that, the power is a issue because I would like to resaw larger chunks of wood. I don't really want to buy the riser block and go thru all that but I will depending on reviews here.
On the other hand I have a old man who will sell me this 18" Sears Craftsman bandsaw (6'3") for $150.00, it works fine. Its probably 220 which is not much of a issue but I would need to run a dedicated wire to it, so a little more work. It would get the job done as far as resawing goes.
Question: Stick with the Rockwell 14", Buy the 18", or Just buy the riser block for the 14" ?
Buy the C-man for re-sawing, and keep the Delta for use with a smaller blade. Also, AFAIK, that C-man can be wired for either 120v or 240v (and looks like it's plugged into a standard wall outlet, so probably wired for 120v currently). Manual can be found here: http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=570
Cheers,
Brad
PS: That machine has open race ball bearings with oiler caps for lubrication. If they have been run dry or with infrequent lubrication, you may need to replace them. I have read of several others who swapped them out with sealed bearings which eliminates the oiling problem. Something to keep in mind.
The 18" saw gives you a deeper throat or cutting width and is usually a heavier machine. They will usually
be able handle a wider blade, and in most cases the wider the blade the easier it is to resaw, and if you
want to cut wet wood, you can get bigger teeth that can cut through the wood easier. Just my opinion.
Unless you have some financial issue or space issue that prevents you from owning two bandsaws, I would definitely consider buying the second for resawing only, and keep the Rockwell in finer blades for close work.
That is what I did years ago, and since then have upgraded both saws, using a large Grizz for resawing, and a Powermatic for close work.
Stay with the 14" and buy the rising block. Not only will you avoid the frustration that comes with that Craftsman 18", but you'll have a better time wood working. I have had the 18" craftsman and found it to be a pain in the butt for use, been wood working for over 40yrs now and will always go on the side of the Rockwell/Delta products of the past over any Craftsman machine. Craftsman products are where most wood workers start out and seek good machines after using the Craftsman. As far as the bigger the blade the better resaw capability, never really agreed with that either. I had a 1938 Delta 14" band saw for wood/metal and I could resaw with a 3/8" blade. If you want to look at a big piece of equipment in your shop, then buy the Craftsman, if you want to accomplish good work, I'd say go with the riser block and consider the foot print it, the 18" takes up. Now for the most part it is the man behind the machine and his experience, but I have never had good experiences with Craftsman. Have fun, make some dust.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
LumberJocks Woodworking Forum
2.5M posts
96K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to professional woodworkers and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about shop safety, wood, carpentry, lumber, finishing, tools, machinery, woodworking related topics, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!