Background: I'm currently about to begin construction of a 32' x 40' (I think) hobby shop / lumber drying building. I'm strictly a hobbyist at this point, but I'm planning to work towards some small scale sawing, drying and milling of specialty woods for sale to crafters.

The current issue is: I have a 12" band saw from my father that I don't love. Plastic everything and the band jumps off the wheels with any pressure at all. Most importantly, the maximum thickness it can cut is only about 5.5" and I want to be able to resaw and slice up small logs. As a result, I've been looking for an upgrade at a reasonable price for a while. (I like old iron) Yesterday I found an auction with two saws and was bidding on both, hoping to win one of them; and of course as these things happen, I won them both. Now I have to decide what to keep.

Saw 1: Rockwell 28-200. Picked it up for $235.Rockwell b.jpgRockwell a.jpgRockwell d.jpgRockwell c.jpg
If I were to keep Saw 1, I'd probably need to replace the table (which looks to have a broken bracket) and find a riser kit.

Saw 2: Delta Model 20 Vertical Band Saw. Picked up for $500. Delta 20 a.jpgDelta b.jpgDelta c.jpg
This is 3 phase I believe, so I will need either a single phase motor or a rotary converter cause 3 phase power isn't available. It's also MUCH heavier and obviously bigger in general.


Options:
  1. Keep Saw 1 and sell Saw 2. Given the prices I see the Delta Model 20 listed for, I'd hope I could even clear a profit here, which would pay for repairs to the Rockwell.
  2. Keep saw 2 and sell Saw 1. I don't think I would get much more than what I paid for the Rockwell unless I got lucky. Unless of course it cleans up amazingly.
  3. Sell both saws because there's something else I really should have been looking for.


P.S. I'm also open to any comments about things to look out for on the saws I ended up with, problem areas to watch or great improvements I could make.