Bandsaw price, delta Rockwell

[andrew whicker]

Is this guy way out there? Seems fairly reasonable with the moving base. Not excited about the super old motor.

14" Rockwell Bandsaw Metal/Wood http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=44431200

[Mike Manning]

Depends on what kind of shape it's in now. This looks like it could be a 70s or 80s Delta Rockwell band saw. Is that light rust in the miter slot? If so is there rust elsewhere? If the bearings haven't been replaced you'll likely need to do that. We're likely talking 4 pairs of bearings although the thrust bearings are probably ok. How are the tires on the wheels? They may need replacing. Does it come with any extra blades? Does it include the fence? It isn't pictured. My personal thought is that it's a bit high at $400. Depending on answers to what I mentioned above, $300 is about what I'd offer and probably wouldn't be willing to pay much more than that. However, prices are highly dependent upon our local areas. In Central Texas where I live you don't see these come up on a daily basis but I know I could find a good one in 6-12 months of looking. Patience is a virtue. I'm a big fan of OWWM (Old WoodWorking Machines). The American made stuff is very well built and can last several lifetimes. Not sure this qualifies but it might. If you have the serial # you can contact Delta and they can give you the manufacture date and place. That's my $0.02. Remember, free advice is likely worth what you paid for it. Good luck!

[andy bessette]

If this is the combination wood/metal cutting bandsaw it should be well worth the price.

[Bill Dufour]

Is that a foot brake on the bottom of the cabinet or is that part of a rolling base. If it is a brake it may be a metal/wood saw with a transmission. If it is then it is worth the 400. For a straight wood only saw maybe 200-300.
Bill D.

[glenn bradley]

The foot pedal is the elevator for the mobile base. Poor design and most are found broken. Mine survived for years on my Delta Contractor saw but man, was that a poor mobility kit. The guy who bought it broke one of the pedals within a month ;-) I think the price is reasonable. It will be more reasonable or less reasonable depending on the actual condition. The pics look decent. I would just base it on the fact that a Grizzly Anniversary clone is $600 and change to your door.

[Matt Day]

That box on the side is likely the cover for the gearing. Older ones had a more rounded belt guard. See this link for an example like the one in question:
http://woodworking-power.com/2016/07/31/delta-28-303-14-wood-metal-vertical-band-saw-bandsaw-5-speeds/

$400 is a decent deal for the wood/metal, but only if you plan to cut metal!

[John Lanciani]

It's definitely not a wood/metal saw with a gearbox. If it was there would be an oil fill port on the right side of the base casting down near the foot like the one Matt posted. At $400 for a Rockwell era saw it is about $100 to $150 over priced IMHO.

[Matt Day]

John, what do you think the box is for then? Electrical?

[John Lanciani]

John, what do you think the box is for then? Electrical?

The box on the back is just the belt guard. Rockwell used the same guard for the wood only and the wood/metal saws that had the step pulleys that worked in conjunction with the internal gearbox to get the multiple low range speeds. Like I said, no oil filler is the giveaway that it is a wood only saw.

[Doug Garson]

My Asian clone of the 14" Delta has the same identical box on the side as a belt guard. Oddly it is labelled as a wood/metal saw but is single speed. I guess it could be converted to a multi speed with the right pulleys.

[Bill Dufour]

My rockwell wood only bs has that exact same box with only one pulley inside.
Bill

[Chris Hachet]

It's definitely not a wood/metal saw with a gearbox. If it was there would be an oil fill port on the right side of the base casting down near the foot like the one Matt posted. At $400 for a Rockwell era saw it is about $100 to $150 over priced IMHO.Sadly, I see these all of the time on Craigslist for $750-1000. Asinine as one can buy a lot more band saw for a thousand bucks than that...

[andrew whicker]

The 'carefully' cut metal part in the ad description made me wonder

[andrew whicker]

I also just made a stand for my deep throat portable bandsaw. So, I'm sorta good to go on the metal side of things

[Ted Reischl]

What the seller has is an older Rockwell in fairly decent shape. The price is not about how well it stacks up against other saws, but about its age. He is looking for someone who like to buy "old arn" as they say over on OWWM.

I just cruised CL in my area, his price is not out of line at all based on what I saw in a 200 mile radius. In fact, most of the saws did not have closed bases and were not in decent shape, yet the prices were between about 300 to 500. So he is right in the park

Us old guys have a very nasty habit of thinking everything should be worth what it was about 40 years ago.

[Larry Edgerton]

I have that saw with the gearbox, and I would not sell it to you for $400. What are you going to buy for $400?

[andrew whicker]

Apparently the guy used this bandsaw for cutting metal exclusively. It runs slow. He used another bs for wood, but says this one works with wood too.

Hmmm.

Makes me want it