Tough Band Saw Choice: Rockwell v. Shop Fox

[Steve H Graham]

I already posted about a 19" Shop Fox W1729 some guy is Craigslisting for $900 (hopefully $800 with some haggling). Today I found another interesting buy, and I wanted to ask what people think. It's a Rockwell 14" saw; I believe it's a 28-200. The owner claims it cuts metal as well as wood, although he does not mention any modifications in the ad. He says it's in very good shape. Cast iron construction and so on.

I have read up on these things, and evidently you can add a riser and get 12" of height, so resawing should be easy. And the price is $165, so if I'm not happy with the motor or whatever, I can modify the saw a lot without making a big investment.

What would you do? I'm just getting into woodworking, so I don't know if I'll ever need 19", but my general philosophy is never to underbuy, and it has served me well. I would very much like to be able to resaw raw wood; I'm hoping to get some boards from a barn that used to belong to my grandfather, and maybe I'll be able to pick up mahogany from the local trash piles.

I suppose the Rockwell is the better buy; I can use it for now, and if I don't like it, I'll still be able to cut while I watch Craigslist like a hawk.

One nice bonus: it has casters.

I have read that these things don't have dust collection. Would it be possible to add this, by cutting a hole in the cabinet and doing a little welding? I assume the cabinet itself is sheet steel, so I wouldn't have the problems cast iron presents.

Edit: looks like I totally misunderstood the design of this thing; I see now that dust would not go into the cabinet.

[Joe Chritz]

Apples and oranges.

I have a Rockwell saw similar to that one and it is a good saw. I don't have experience resawing anything big since I don't have a riser block.

If you think you will be doing lots of wide veneer then you really need the Shopfox but personally having a smaller saw is handy. You can always have two if you later decide to start doing veneer work.

$165 leaves a lot of room for improvements.

Joe

[Paul Ryan]

Steve,


I am no band saw expert, but I think that 19" is a pretty good deal at $800. If you have room for that big of a saw I would buy it. Deals like that don't come around to often. I think you will find that you need a smaller saw for more intricate work, but those 14" saw deals will be easier to find. I just bought a G0555 and it is a really nice 14" but I am kind of wishing I would have bought a 17". At the time I didn't want to spend the money it was almost double to go bigger. Think of it this way. If you don't by the 19" will you be kicking yourself latter. If so I would go for it. I don't think you will regret it.

[Robert Strebler]

I'd go for the 19".

As mentioned, deals like that are rare and you will be able to tackle a much more broad range of projects with it.

The Rockwell is a good bandsaw, but a good used 14" bandsaw can be had cheaply very often.

If it was me, I'd buy the Shopfox.

[Jim Becker]

No question...the ShopFox.

[Bob Slater]

That is a very good price for the metal wood bandsaw (if it is the one with the transmission). I paid $350 for one a while ago and from my research that was also a decent price if it is in good shape. I doubt it can do everything the newer bigger one can, but it is a nice saw. Plus it can cut metal. I just bought a whole bunch of metal blades for cutting aluminum and steel this week for the saw.

[glenn bradley]

+1 on the ShopFox. Many folks here do well with 14" machines but just as many throw hundreds of dollars in new guides, risers, etc. at them to get what they're after. I sold my 12" and got a 17" and a little 9" for small stuff. Best of both worlds ;-)

[Ron Jones near Indy]

One could make a good argument for getting both of these if space and $ allow. The SF will make a very good resaw machine while keeping a smaller scrolling blade on the Rockwell.

[John Bailey]

I think the Rockwell is probably the best deal of the two. However, it sure is nice to have the larger saw. If you'll only have one saw, and you have the money, the Shop Fox is the way to go.

John