So I kinda bought two Band Saws...Which one should I sell and which should I keep.

[Christopher Boggs]

I have been a rider for a long time, but this is my first post :)

So I buy and sell machinery, and occasionally I get a hold of some single phase stuff that I can use in my home woodshop. In an attempt to get my first band saw I kinda bought two at the same time. Which one do you guys think I should I keep?



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[Matt Day]

I think you should post more information about each one. Manufacturer, model #, motor hp, accessories, etc.

[John McClanahan]

Keep the Delta, sell the green one.

John

[Ron Kellison]

Ditto for Delta.

[Christopher Boggs]

The Delta is a Model 28-203. The "Green" saw is a General which is a Canadian brand which is made in Canada. I don't know what model it is, but I will find out soon

[Greg Peterson]

General is a good brand. Are they both 14" band saws? What is the resaw capacity of each?

[Jamie Buxton]

If the green one is General (that is, made in Canada), not General International (that is, made somewhere overseas), I'd keep it. Delta has had troubles over the years, so support and parts for old saws is nonexistent.

[Rick Gibson]

Is it General or General International. General is made in Canada, General International is made somewhere in the far east. they both look like 14" saws and assuming the same resaw height I would keep the General.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Chris
Delta has swing open blade access doors and rail set up for Delta fence, as the General does not. I like the closed stand on the delta. There both good band saws. I would go with the one with largest motor if it was me. Tom

[david minnery]

I'd give them each a workout. Are they coplaner? which table and fence are better?
what's the HP?
I wouldn't get hung up too much on brand, performance is more important, IMHO.

[Herr Dalbergia]

Well...I would keep both, one with a narrow blade for cutting curves and one with a wide blade for resawing...yolo....

[Bob Lang]

Age has a lot to do with not. Not wear and tear, but older saws were not subject to "value engineering". Band saws also seem to have a personality, some are helpful and easy to get along with and some are cantankerous. Long-term testing of both (with good intentions of eventually getting rid of one) would be the best approach.

Bob Lang

[Jim Matthews]

IF they run the same, AND they perform the same -
put them both up for resale.

One will sell first.
Keep the other.

If you've got other saws, what will this one be for?
Freehand or setup cuts?

[David Eisenhauer]

Test run/test cut with both. Biggest motor (or power delivered to the blade) is important, but also, find out which one has the most vibration. Sometimes chasing vibration issues in a BS is time consuming and not as easy as it seems it should be. Which one is heavier?

[ken masoumi]

I would sell both and buy a 17" or bigger bandsaw for my shop.

[Myk Rian]

Delta has had troubles over the years, so support and parts for old saws is nonexistent.
That's a bunch of BS. Parts for Rockwell/Delta are all over the place, and are more easily obtained over most other makes.

[Jamie Buxton]

That's a bunch of BS. Parts for Rockwell/Delta are all over the place, and are more easily obtained over most other makes.

Have you tried buying repair parts from Delta recently? There are threads on this forum in which people report that Delta can't/won't supply parts for machines they are currently selling.

[David Kumm]

You very seldom buy parts for older machines from the manufacturer. Ebay, forums, or make your own if not off the shelf. The old Delta Rockwell 14" are so common, parts are all over the place. Dave

[Jamie Buxton]

You very seldom buy parts for older machines from the manufacturer. Ebay, forums, or make your own if not off the shelf. The old Delta Rockwell 14" are so common, parts are all over the place. Dave

If I already own a Delta machine, I'm going to try to keep it going with whatever parts I can find. That's the case with my Unisaw. But if I didn't own already own one, I wouldn't buy into what I know is a challenging situation.

[John Downey]

The green one does not look like a Canadian General to me, looks like an import saw. The 590 I have is a cast frame saw with a hinged cover, that saw looks more like a C-frame saw with two screw on knobs to hold the cover. There is also no big maple leaf sticker on it. The 490 saw was the same frame as my 590, just less height... 490 was their original saw, they made the 590 for a few years when tall 14" and 15" resaws were all the rage.

[Peter Kelly]

As above, dump the green Chaiwanese one and keep the Delta. Parts are easy enough to come by, just not from Delta.

[David Kumm]

General made a 15" bandsaw in Canada which is a keeper but that isn't it. No one has talked about condition but cracks in the castings or wheels would negate any model differences. Dave

[Edward Oleen]

I agree: dump the Delta. They are apparently no longer able to supply replacement parts for their machines.

[Peter Aeschliman]

I agree with the others who said that you should USE both of the saws and decide for yourself afterwards. You have a big advantage here over most purchasers, who have to hope that the saw they want to buy will perform well. You already have both of them in your position. Take advantage of that. Brand name matters very very little at this point. All that counts is results and usability.

Get two identical blades, run some curved cuts, some resaw cuts, etc.

Also, I would look at guide post alignment to the blade. My biggest gripe about my Jet 14" is how horribly misaligned the guide post is to the blade. Every time I raise the guides for a taller cut, I have to get out the alan wrenches and adjust the bearings. It's extremely annoying, and my saw has literally no adjustment capability for the guidepost.

Food for thought.

[Jim Wheeler]

I'd keep the Delta. Even the newer Deltas that were made in Asia are better than the various Asian-made clones of Delta.

Jim

He who welds steel with flaming pine cones may accomplish anything!

[Roger Chandler]

If you have checked them both out, then think about the features. The green one looks to me like a generic Tiawainese saw that the company made for several of your lower end vendors [Trendlines, Harbor Freight, etc] I had one from Trendlines. Now if the Delta has cast iron wheels, and not cast aluminum wheels you have a more powerful saw because the cast iron wheels put more torque in the cut than aluminum wheels do.

Most 14" saws have interchangable parts and you can get aftermarket parts from several sources, and the Delta likely has a better quality motor. Run both saws and make sure bearings are good and check to see if wheels are co-planar, and if they are, then the Delta is likely a better saw. If the green one is indeed a General, then you might have a good one on your hands as well, but it looks like a Harbor Freight saw from the pic, although I cannot tell for certain.

[Harold Burrell]

Oh...hmmm...yeah...I have 2 band saws. I don't ever even think about selling one. :D

[Mike Heidrick]

i would sell both and buy a 17" or bigger bandsaw for my shop.

qft!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ken Frohnert]

If that is a General Canada BS - I would keep that over the Delta. And I Did! If it is a General International - well I guess you need to evaluate them side by side.

I had a General Canada 490 and a Delta. The Delta had all the bells and whistles - carter quick release, cool blocks, carter spring, urethane tires. I put new bearings in the 492 and new rubber tires - I could not find 15" urethanes. I recently put an aftermarket fence on the 490 - the original was not true across the face. The 490 is so much more machine than the Delta was,Iron vs Aluminium wheels for example. But the whole 490 saw is just heavier. It just purrs like a kitten - no vibration.

Said Bye to the Delta.

General is not making BS in Canada any longer - they are all made overseas now. The cost of production was just to great. When I called General about it the guy on the phone said"you have one of the "Last of the Mohicans" - we are not making those any longer." But they do have parts - I needed the table zero clearance which had gotten lost sometime in the saws life.

I kind of like looking across my small shop and seeing that maple leaf sticker on the side of the cabinet. I would love to find an General Canada Table saw to replace my Delta Unisaw (which I like but if the build quality on the 490 is indicative of the quality I would easily part with the Delta and a few dollars to boot). Doubt I will ever get that lucky!