Craftsman 14" bandsaw discontinued

[Denny Rice]

I made a purchase last winter of Craftsman 22401 14" bandsaw, to my surprise Sears has discontinued this saw, even after all the really good reviews it had received. Anyone know why? I received my 2008 sears tool catalog last week and this bandsaw is no where to be found and it is not listed on their website either. I've had this saw for over a year and all I have had to do is replace the 6 guide bearings with"quality" rollerblade bearings but other than that, its been a quality bandsaw for 400.00....I'm glad I bought it when I did. Is his saw made by Rikon? The 10-320 looks identical to the 22401, do they share the same parts? It would be nice to know if in the future I need parts..

[John Lannon]

Thats my biggest complaint about Craftsman. They get a decent tool and disco it after a couple of years.

I would see if I could download a Rikon parts list and compare it to the craftsman list.

[Curt Harms]

The reviews for that saw were overwhelmingly positive. Same with the Bosch clone router. They finally had a good router combo. Continue with what works? Nah. Colorful plastic over quality functional tools every time. Too bad. It makes me wonder how the "Zip Code" saw line has survived as long as it has.

[scott spencer]

...I would see if I could download a Rikon parts list and compare it to the craftsman list.

I did just that with either the 12" or the 14" (don't recall), and there were many identical part numbers, but I've also read strong denials that Rikon makes the saw for Sears. But if you consider that Rikon is owned by Richen Enterprises, it's very possible that the Richen is involved with supplying the saw to Craftsman without directly involving Rikon. Just speculation on my part...I still don't know the scoop. It is too bad they've dropped a very popular tool that was helping restore a good reputation for Craftsman.

In addition to dropping the Bosch router last year, I also noticed that the Freud-made Craftsman blades are not in the 2008 catalog after receiving a good rating in Wood's blade review.

[Tim Malyszko]

I have the 12" version of that bandsaw and have been extremely pleased with it. Its too bad that Sears is discontinuing one of their good power tools.

[Don Bullock]

I'm not surprised at this move by Sears. You have to remember that they are now owned by K-Mart. It's really too bad. but I'm glad that I got mine.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Searsparts.com seem to support everything Sears' ever made. At least, that is my experience. It's a nice peace of mind. Their repair parts (with shipping) are not cheap though.

-Jeff