My Band Saw Search Over?

[Mike Cruz]

Well, not sure if I ought to call this a gloat just yet... Yeah, I got it home. Yeah, I got it safely in the shop. But I haven't fired it up yet.

While I have an old Grizzly 18" band saw, I've been looking for something with more resaw capacity. My 80's Grizzly only has a 9" resaw. I've seen 20" Deltas come up for sale recently in 2 auctions and one on CL. At the one auction, it went for $800, the next auction, $750. The CL ad had it on for $800, no idea what it went for, but I sent the guy a couple emails with lower offers and he didn't even return my emails.

So, last night, I saw this ad... It simply said Industrial Band Wood Saw, and the guy's number. I emailed him asking him the brand, size and age, then realized there was a number. Called and left a message. This was at 8:30 in the evening. Well, this morning I got up, did all my chores, it was 9 am, I hadn't heard from him. I just chalked this one up to another loss. He calls me at 9:15. He says he doesnt' know any of the info I wanted. He got it in an inheritance. He thinks the brand is an A & B. Hmmmm, I wondered... Never heard of that one. I asked about the distance from the blade to the "arm" to the left of the blade. After a couple minutes of rumaging around, he found a tape, and responds, "20 inches". And the distance from the table to the bottom of the upper wheel? (If I had said resaw capacity, I know he would have NO idea what I meant.) "12 inches", he replied. I told him I was on my way.

Turned out to be (after a little reseach) a Delta 28-350 made in 1966 (I was unaware of the model number and date until after I got home. There was a plate with a serial number, but no other info on the saw.) The wheels moved freely. It had a blade on it and it tracked quite well. Spinning the wheels it was rather smooth and quiet. It needs new belts (there are two in line with one another). There are a couple of minor parts that I've noticed that it needs/could use, but otherwise, it is in decent shape. Heavy bugger... The only real bummer thing about it, is more of a self kicking that I didn't catch it at the time. The motor is a replacement. It is 1.5 hp single phase 220/110 wired for 220. The motor is WAY too big (meaning actual size, not hp) for the inside of the base. So whoever put the motor in (which is still a bit of an old motor) cut a whole in the front of the base (where you stand) so the motor could "hang out" a little so it would work/fit. This also leads to the other problem with the motor size...it interferes with what I believe to be the foot brake because it rests on it. So, I am considering putting a 1.5 hp motor that I already have (long story, but basically new) on it, or maybe swapping out the 2 hp motor on the Grizzly to put into the Delta 28-350 and putting the spare 1.5 hp onto the Grizzly. 1.5 hp is WELL enough for a 9" resaw.

Hehe, didn't much think about it fitting into my shop until I got home. Foot print wise, yeah, I thought about that. Getting it into the doorway, didn't think of that! It baaaaaarely fit. But I got her in. Glad I have a tractor. Don't know how I would have unloaded this thing by myself otherwise.

Some quick picks. Maybe others to follow when she gets cleaned up and back together. Yeah, I have the table, it was taken off for transport. And NO, this will not be a rehab project like my lathe. I don't mind that there are scratches etc on her.

And I picked her up for a cool $575... :cool:

[Victor Robinson]

Congrats, looks like a great score! But you didn't tell us the price paid, which I am guessing is the best part...

[mickey cassiba]

Nice score Mike!

[Fred Belknap]

Mike I like it. I also like your equipment mover, green my favorite color. I got more snow than you and I'm south of you a couple hours. Sounds like you are having fun.:D

[David Nelson1]

Nice score Mike. That is why I have a 12' garage door LOL Oh and by the way I'm certain you are glad ya didn't get rid of them motors yet huh????

[Roger Bullock]

That is one big piece of machinery. You must be ramping up to make some ....OVERSIZED.... golf clubs with this baby. :D

[Curt Harms]

I dunno...... Looks kinda flimsy






















:D :D :D :D :D

[Mike Cruz]

Sorry, Victor. I added it to my OP...$575...:)


Congrats, looks like a great score! But you didn't tell us the price paid, which I am guessing is the best part...

[Baxter Smith]

Nice bandsaw Mike. Has character! Looks like someone once wished it was a powermatic or my monitor is off. Saw one for 400 on the Maine CL this summer. Too big and too far to haul it back but I would have loved to have had it.

[Brad Patch]

This is a great saw. Have one like yours, made in 1957. May not have all the bells and whistles of newer saws, just a good basic USA built machine. The table is very heavy, the table trunnion is massive. My previous saw was a 14 inch Delta, a good saw, but not in the same league as the 20 inch machine. It will tension any blade you put on it. I smile every time I use mine.

When you get it set up and running post a comparison between it and your Grizzly saw.

Lots of info on this saw on owwm.com

[Dan Hintz]

Mike,

You know you're allowed to call and request help with moving this stuff, right?








Oh, I'm not saying you can request it from me, I'm just sayin'... :D :p

[Stephen Cherry]

Nice!! I like that tractor also, maybe I'll be asking Santa for one next this Christmas.

[Dino Drosas]

Hey Mike, There has to be one hell of a "fish story" that goes with that little lure you have hanging over your shop door. We've got to hear that one sometime. Nice score on the band saw.

[Mike Cruz]

Yeah, that's pretty funny. Don't get me wrong, I like Grizzly. But back then, their 18" BS's were not, let's just say, anywhere near the league of this Delta. I don't think the comparison will be necessary. And just to be clear, I'm not slammin' the green here...

[QUOTE=When you get it set up and running post a comparison between it and your Grizzly saw. [/QUOTE]

[Mike Cruz]

Seems Santa already has his hands full...

[Mike Cruz]

Uh, yeah, I called you like 10 times yesterday, but did you answer? Noooooooooo.... Peter didn't answer, either... hmmmmm


Mike,

You know you're allowed to call and request help with moving this stuff, right?








Oh, I'm not saying you can request it from me, I'm just sayin'... :D :p

[Mike Cruz]

A Christmas gift from my neice and nephew. My shop was, let's say, the most appropriate place to hang it. Now, that said, I have caught fish that would have taken that without thinking twice...Mako Shark, Swordfish, Sailfish... One of my Makos was 180 lbs. Yeah, still not a huge one, but I fought him for over an hour.


Hey Mike, There has to be one hell of a "fish story" that goes with that little lure you have hanging over your shop door. We've got to hear that one sometime. Nice score on the band saw.

[Mike Cruz]

Baxter, it has been repainted. Whatever color they chose was an "off Delta" grey if you asked me. Sure I would LOVE to refinish her, but I just don't have that kind of time. I know what it took/is taking with my lathe, and I just can't do it. This one is going to get the performance tuning, not the facelift.

Fred, yeah, the only problem I have with this "equipment mover" is that the bucket is 6' 3" and my doorway is 6' even. :mad: So, I have to put the equipment on the left or right side of the bucket and come in at an angle. There are modifications in the works... :rolleyes:

Yeah, Roger, still waiting to see how that turned out for ya... :D Actually, I wanted the larger resaw capicity for turning...logs and blank cutting. Although, I wouldn't NOT use it for clubs...;)

[Dan Hintz]

Uh, yeah, I called you like 10 times yesterday, but did you answer? Noooooooooo.... Peter didn't answer, either... hmmmmm
I see you called twice (once during work where I told you I don't get reception worth a nickel)... and you never left a message. Are Peter and I suppose to be mind readers? Hold on, I've got another call coming in... it's Amy, she calling on her psychic hotline... and she says you need to keep the line clear, it's only for her.



And a Mako? Makos are like the Liza Minnelli of the sea... lots of flash, but no real substance. Wuss! Maybe we could have David Gest stop by and give you some pointers on how to handle one... oh wait, that's right, he was slapped around by a wussy one, too!

[Mike Cruz]

Um, Dan, Mako is if no the fastest, the second fastest fish in the ocean. It is basically a small Great White. Not a wuss fish by any means. Here's are a couple that I've pulled in. This is the 180 pounder. Its mouth, on the back of the boat (the owner of the boat, Robert, whom I've known since 1st grade on the left; my brother Marc in the middle; and me on the right), and at the weigh station.

[Dan Hintz]

Meh, it's stuffed... not real ;)

[Tony De Masi]

Nice score Mike. I must have been to busy to answer the phone when you called here for help. :rolleyes:

[Mike Cruz]

No, Tony, I didn't call you. You are in the opposite direction of it. And I would imagine I'm all out of favors to ask of you anyway... The bright side is now I don't have to scour the auctions for a BS! I hope I'm not speaking too soon...I still have to go fire it up. I'm on my way out to the shop to do so in a few minutes.

Hey, thanks for getting this thread back on track. No more shark tales.

[mark kosse]

Mike, Strangely enough there is one for sale here, in the same color and about the same price, 625.00.

Care to have twins?

It makes me wonder if Delta made them in that color. I didn't think so but now I'm wondering...

They're nice saws.

Mark

[Mike Cruz]

Mine looks like it was painted with a brush, so, I doubt Delta did it.

[Stephen Cherry]

Mine looks like it was painted with a brush, so, I doubt Delta did it.

Nice fish, is that a tuna?

[Van Huskey]

Mike, this is TOO funny I am picking up (well checking out, maybe picking up) a 28-350 tomorrow! I am planning to use it as a dedicated contour saw for less than a 14" Polar bear. "Mine" is a early 50's era and visually not quite as pretty as yours but cheaper. Be aware they may have enlarged the hole BUT a motor hole was there from the factory. The original motors set more or less flush with the hole, depending on the size the buyer purchased (in the era of toll has no motor, pick your power). That is indeed a foot brake, no micro-switch though. I am giving thought to wiring one in but given the foot brake is on the rear of the table side I don't know if it is worth it to go to the trouble.

I haven't decided whether I am doing a ground-up rehab yet but it may just be a guides and paint kinda thing for a while. Haven't decided on paint yet but it will NOT be original, it will be interesting or funky. I may even paint it pink like the big pink bandsaw on youtube (also a 28-350 or 28-365 I can't remember).

If it has the solid metal guide blocks you need to think about replacing them. Cheap and easy would be Lignum Vitae, they are 5/8" square I think and Coolblocks nor ceramic blocks come in that size that I am aware of. For about 200 bills Carter makes a great set but be aware there are 4 "versions" of this saw A,B,C & D and 3 different versions of guides.

That is an excellent saw and you could not begin to get the quality at anywhere near your cost, even with Carter guides and any other "upgrades" you might consider.

PS maybe I will get to look here over if we are able to connect in Feb.

PPS sorry about the little fish, if you ever decide you wanna catch some real fish lemme know, unless it is twice my body weight I prefer just to cut the line, not worth reelin' in. :)

[Mike Cruz]

Ugh, back to the fish are we? My buddy used to have a 27 foot Albermarle, now he has this 34 foot Albermarle. VERY nice fishing boat. The've hooked into some monsters. Really....monsters. We've had some overnight trips that yeilded Mahi-mahi (dolphin fish), Yellow fin tuna, Big Eye Tuna, and Swordfish all in onw trip! Sometimes, fishing with these guys can be as much about fishing as it is about catching. And I don't say that often. Really, I don't. I know that it is. But rarely will I admit it. If I'm not catching, I get cranky. But I know these guys. On and off the boat. They do all they possibly can. If the fish are the, we're on 'em. One day, I'd love to hook into one of the 600+ pounders that they've gotten. Robert and his wife joined my wife and I in Puerto Vallarta one year. Roberta and I took a fishing day. Let me tell ya, UNBELIEVABLE. We got an AWESOME guide that made a day we will never forget. I caught a 60 pound roosterfish that took me nearly 45 minutes (in the rain) to bring in. Second biggest the guide had ever seen. All the meat from all the fish was ours to take home. We only wanted what we could eat that night...a filet from that big roosterfish. Our hotel cooked it up that night. We ate but a small portion of it and offered the rest to the staff. They wouldn't stop thanking us.

Enough about fishing...

I FIRED HER UP TODAY!!!!!!! Purred? Well, maybe not purred. The belts whined pretty badly, but that was to be expected...they are pretty, okay, VERY badly cracked/split. I would NOT cut with the saw with the belts in this condition. One or both are ready to break.Points well taken about the guides. I knew I needed to do something. I have a feeling Carters are out (unless you are just talking about the uppers) because the lower guide assembly is part of the table adjustment. So, at least upon initial inspection, I don't see how you could replace the lower guides without not having the table adjustment.

[Van Huskey]

It sounds like your guide are the ones that attach to a bar on the trunnion mounting. If so they have guides for that, that is a type A/B saw just like the one I am looking at.


Back to fishin' :) I will have to tell ya about the time we had 3 Blue Marlins on line at one time... A puny male and two whopper females or the time I set a hook on a biggun' and it drug me 6 feet on my knees to the gunwale...

[Van Huskey]

BTW did yours have the fence with it? If so that makes a good gloat even better!

PS here is the pink bandsaw video if anyone is interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V8JgIs2d48

[Mike Cruz]

I'll check out the guides. Not sure if I want to drop too much into this. Then the money just starts adding up.

No, it didn't come with the fence, but that doesn't mean that the guy I got it from doesn't have it. I'll email him and ask him to contact me if he comes across it. Thanks for both the suggestions.

[Van Huskey]

I'll check out the guides. Not sure if I want to drop too much into this. Then the money just starts adding up.

No, it didn't come with the fence, but that doesn't mean that the guy I got it from doesn't have it. I'll email him and ask him to contact me if he comes across it. Thanks for both the suggestions.


If he has the fence and even if you have to pay more money for it GET IT! They are very rare and highly prized!

[Stephen Cherry]

For brakes, this is another plus for 3 phase on a bandsaw-- the vfd can be fitted with a resistor to do the stopping as well as doing the going. The vfd could also be used to slow down the blade for cutting up ridiculously large fish who were just swimming around, not bothering anybody except surfers.