Bandsaw prices?

[Lou Griffin]

I have been looking into a 14” bandsaw purchase and am seeing that the cost has risen significantly in the last couple years? Seems like the average retail is up about $500 from only two years ago when they seemed to be around $1000 now they are $1500. Does anyone know what is driving up the increase (I know COVID but jeez that much?) and is it expected to continue? Does anyone know if there is a price increase coming this year? Specifically looking at the Laguna or the Rikon, but open to others if they are the same caliber….

[Bryan Hall]

Everything is up and still going up. Buy now and feel good about your savings when you check the price in a year. My jointer went up 2k in 6 months.

[Michael Schuch]

Personally I doubt we are going to see prices come down at all in the next few years. Inflation is up and there are no magic bullets to speed up the supply chain. The Taco Bell in my town has closed do to lack of workers willing to work for what they pay.

I don't buy new tools but even the used tools that I look for are up signifigantly.

[Steve Eure]

Another cog in the supply chain wheel is the tariffs that were imposed on imports from China to try and fair-up the trade in-balance. These companies have found that the consumers are willing to pay these prices, so I don't think they will ever come back down. Look no further than the construction lumber prices the last two years. In my area of the deep south, there have been an over abundance of timber being cut, with the local mills running as much as possible, with no decrease in price. Until people stop paying these exorbitant prices, we won't see any decrease.

[Curt Harms]

Another cog in the supply chain wheel is the tariffs that were imposed on imports from China to try and fair-up the trade in-balance. These companies have found that the consumers are willing to pay these prices, so I don't think they will ever come back down. Look no further than the construction lumber prices the last two years. In my area of the deep south, there have been an over abundance of timber being cut, with the local mills running as much as possible, with no decrease in price. Until people stop paying these exorbitant prices, we won't see any decrease.

It's probably going to take an economic downturn for prices to level off or decline. If I can raise my prices and still sell as much as I can produce, why shouldn't I keep raising my prices.

[Scott Barrera]

I have been looking into a 14” bandsaw purchase and am seeing that the cost has risen significantly in the last couple years? Seems like the average retail is up about $500 from only two years ago when they seemed to be around $1000 now they are $1500. Does anyone know what is driving up the increase (I know COVID but jeez that much?) and is it expected to continue? Does anyone know if there is a price increase coming this year? Specifically looking at the Laguna or the Rikon, but open to others if they are the same caliber….

Lou
I just went through this. If you contact Laguna the have units that were lightly damaged in shipment that they fix to as new. You can buy the 1412 for $1100 delivered to your door
Thanks

[Robert Hayward]

I cannot help you with a cheaper price but can empathize with you. I recently paid $1700 for an edge sander that was $1100 less than a year ago when I started looking at them.

[Keegan Shields]

Skip the 14” and look at the next size up. I looked forever for a 14” a few years ago and ended up with a used 19” Grizzly. Great bandsaw. I would have gotten there eventually.

Where are you located? Here’s a great deal on. 19” Grizzly. Looks like it might need a replacement table trunnion:

https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/tls/d/dallas-grizzly-g0514-bandsaw/7444517414.html

Here’s a newer, more expensive used Grizzly that you might be able to negotiate down:

https://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/tls/d/mckinney-grizzly-industrial-19in-3hp/7443783719.html

Or if you want to be fancy, here is an SMCI:

https://houston.craigslist.org/tls/d/richmond-scmi-minimax-s600p-bandsaw/7448150425.html

Just some examples from major metro areas.

[Lou Griffin]

Thanks guys for the replies, I have considered going bigger as it seems to be a recurring theme in tools :) but I am a wooden shipmodeler and really all I need is to resaw dimensioned lumber into thinner slices - I do get some boards with live edges etc, but usually not much more than 6-8” wide and 4/4 to 8/4 thick maybe 12/4 but that is rare, I’m processing Swiss Pear, Castello Boxwood, Holly, Padauk, etc.. so hardwoods for sure but final sizes are small - most sheets won’t be thicker than 5mm and my planking is 1mm thick by 4-5mm wide - I use a Jim Byrnes 4” table saw for that but need the band saw for getting larger boards down to workable size for me…. I have been using a 10” Ryobi and my 10” table saw but the table saw eats a lot of wood and it’s kinda scary as well on some thinner sheets… So I think a 14” is plenty…. I might call and check on that refurb though - sounds like a good option.