Band Saw Purchase Advice

That’s a great looking saw. But I can’t decide if it’s worth $250 or could go less.

-- "someone has to be wounded for others to be saved, someone has to sacrifice for others to feel happiness, someone has to die so others could live"

If talking about a 10 year or older Delta Bandsaw for $250, and it ran okay would say jump on it.

Rigid BS1400 gets mixed reviews and new one now only cost $369. Having said that once tweaked owners happy with them. Go look and see & hear it run before you decide. Do not expect much from that ¾ HP motor.

-- Bill

Thanks, you two! I’m leaning against…

no. $150 -200. of all the stationary power tools with the ridgid name, the BS is their weak link. go here:

https://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/forum.php

to check out all the threads on ridgid BSs. they can be made serviceable, but some effort may be required. BUT, if that saw is 10 years old, and it’s gray colored, it predates the change of manufacturing from emerson electric to OWT. and it carries a lifetime guaranty, regardless of who owns it. and if the “mobile casters” is a herc-u-lift (ac9950), that’s +$50 as it’s the best mobile base ever made. BTW, the pic in the CL link is a file photo and not a pic of the actual saw.

-- there's a solution to every problem.......you just have to be willing to find it.

I have the new, orange version of that saw. It was nearly unusable out of the box, but works ok after some tweaks (but just ok). I bought my saw new, on clearance, for $175. To be honest, I wish I would have held out for a used Delta/Jet. I thought I was stealing the saw for $175, but I now wish I would have saved $300-400 and bought a better saw off the used market.

Thank you, everyone, for your input. I saw the poor reviews, too, but decided to ask the question nonetheless.

Funny, though, the fellow emailed me to let me know that while he’ll honor the $250, he’s RAISING the price to $300 on CL. I said no thank you and wished him luck.

Thank toolie for the rescue.

-- "someone has to be wounded for others to be saved, someone has to sacrifice for others to feel happiness, someone has to die so others could live"

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/tls/3272191988.html (good reviews)

http://goldcountry.craigslist.org/tls/3272372850.html (great saw)

is it me or do those last 2 CL featured BSs (the HF and the Delta) look overpriced? or is that what those tools customarily sell for on CL in california?

-- there's a solution to every problem.......you just have to be willing to find it.

Common woodworking machines are selling for very attractive
prices in So. Cal. Of course some sellers overvalue their
machines and some buyers want a plug-n-play experience
more than they want the most machine for their money.

Different people, different plays, Loren.

-- "someone has to be wounded for others to be saved, someone has to sacrifice for others to feel happiness, someone has to die so others could live"

..

-- "someone has to be wounded for others to be saved, someone has to sacrifice for others to feel happiness, someone has to die so others could live"

” I also don’t want to go to my local home depot and drop $250 on something that I’ll outgrow very quickly and can’t do the job for me.” “I ran across a Rigid BS1400.” “He’s willing to sell it for $250”

Doesn’t HD sell the Ridgid BS anymore ? Last time I checked , they weren’t much more for a brand new saw.

-- When did quiet and quite become the same word ? I'm guessing about the same time as your and you're did.

Thanks, y’all. Yeah, it’s a tough market here for a quality machine.

Loren: I really appreciate your feedback! Some of us who are newer to woodworking and aren’t familiar with the ins and uts of the machinery itself have to do plenty of research to determine if the machine is actually running properly. My biggest fear is dropping a bunch of $ and coming away with a machine that needs a bunch of work. So plug and play works well for me, but the reason I asked is because I want to do as you say…get the most machine for my money. It’s a balance.

Thanks everyone! Definitely not touching the Rigid. I offered the guy with the Delta $400 (just to see what he’d do) and he emailed back a big NO. SO we’ll see if I can come up with $500!

What do folks think of this opportunity?

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/tls/3279543207.html