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Ran across an older (10 years old) Delta 14" band saw locally. The fella bought it new and has used it lightly in his hobby wood shop. Are these a decent saw. It is light blue with an open matching stand. He says it is only 1/2 horse which seemed a little light to me.

A very good saw. The workhorse of the industry. Almost any bandsaw will give you good results if properly tuned with GOOD guides. There are many resources available for tuning....just google.

DEan

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Dean

It should be a fairly good "general" saw, but I don't think 1/2 hp will handle resawing.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

[QUOTE=old man]It should be a fairly good "general" saw, but I don't think 1/2 hp will handle resawing.

Ron[/QUOTE]

I was thinking that myself. After a little research, I think he might be a little high at $275.00 as well. I can pay online through lowes at $399.00 and pick up locally and get a 3/4 hp. Not a lot more power but better than 1/2 hp.

The delta 14" is a great saw. I got one in 1980 and it is still going strong.

The only weak point on mine was the part that holds the guide blocks. They were cast metal and subject to cracking if you tightened the screws too tight. Be careful of that.

Mine has a 5/8 hp motor and handles resawing just fine. It is not as fast as a bigger motor would be, but it still does the job.

$399 at Lowes??? I think I paid that much for mine 27 years ago !!

Mark

Joe, we have some real band saw experts on the forum so I'd wait for a few more responses before deciding. So much depends on set up and using the right blade for the job. However, if you plan on doing much resawing, I probably wouldn't buy anything smaller than 1 hp. Of course you could always buy a great saw and put a larger motor on it.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

The new tubular steel frames support much higher blade tensions than the cast saws do. I had an old Rockwell 14" saw with the riser block, and although I swapped out the motor to a 1hp, and added a high tension spring etc, it still wasn't up to much resawing. Two or more hp might have given it better results though. Seems like by the time you spend the $275 and do the upgrades, you could get into that Rikon which is so highly rated as Todd has suggested. BUT, if you want a light-duty bandsaw for cutting things out and not doing any resawing, the old Delta is the industry standard, and a very good saw. $275 is not too much for it if it's one of the older USA made bandsaws.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I have this saw USA made. We used them in my Building Trades Classes. That convinced me to buy one immediately for general purpose work. I keep an Olson 1/4 inch blade on it. It's one of the finest pieces of equipment I own and am proud to use it.

The guide blocks on one at school did as Todd suggests, overtightening of the cast aluminum caused that.

The new Delta's are Chinese made. I really don't know if they are as good, but haven't heard otherwise. $275 is a great price and the 1/2 hp motor will work the pants off that saw.

I just think a heavier saw is needed to do resawing. Why try to do heavy work with a light saw? Buy a saw based on what you want to do.

The thickest cuts I make are neck blanks about four inches. Performs flawlessly following the pencil lines with that same 1/4 inch blades, which last for months at a time.

It's always fun to bring home a nice piece of equipment, and used doesn't matter if it's a good saw.

Another fine shop piece of mine is a used 1945 Craftsman Drill Press, I wouldn't take for it.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Bruce and Todd have some good advice.......

[QUOTE=ToddStock]- Swap out the tension spring for a new Carter Cobra Coil or Iturra ($25) [/QUOTE]

You may want to let the seller know how much work it needs and try to get a better price.

Peter

Lots of great points to consider! As for use, I don't plan to re-saw back and tops but neck blocks and molds are very possible. This one is ine if the older USA models so I can assume that the quality is better than the imports?  I have a fairly new Delta 10 inch fitted with cool blocks and Timberwolf blade. It is primarily for small cutting assignments 

Not sure if you could get it in time for the July 28th sale, but if you apply for a Woodcraft credit card, you can get 12 months no interest, plus they credit your card $20.00 once it's approved plus you get 4% back on Woodcraft purchases. So you would kind of save around an additional $28 on the 4% of $700. Not sure how they credit the 4%. It could be gift cards or it could be a check or just credit your account...

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

Woodcraft sale:

"*Excludes All Power Tools, FESTOOL Products, LEIGH Jigs, SawStop, Steel City & Gift Cards."

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I could be wrong (I'm trying to go on memory here since I'm not at home and don't have my sale flyer), but I think the July 28th sale was for 10% off everything in the store (possibly with some exclusions, but I thought I remembered looking at that and thinking that the Band saw would be included in the sale). But then the extra discounts for the scratch off had more exclusions.

Again, I could be way off since I don't have the coupon in front of me. This is just what I thought I remembered reading.

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

[QUOTE=joe white] I have a fairly new Delta 10 inch fitted with cool blocks and Timberwolf blade. It is primarily for small cutting assignments [/QUOTE]

Buy the 14, sell the 10. They both are handy as a pocket on a shirt. You'll love the 14.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Sawing 9" wide Brazilian on a 14" Delta with a 1/2" 3 tpi blade and a 5/8" hp motor. The saw has a homemade 3" riser block.

I had two of these billets and sawed 18 sets.
It was not fast, but the results were very good.

Mark

Great photo Mark!

I have been using a 15 inch Delta Bandsaw that I purchased in 1978 Still
works great! I have a block extension on it for resawing. I have changed the
motor out to a 1 1/2 horse. I have roller guides on it in plase of the original
guides. The saw cuts iike a dream on even the hardest woods.

The secret of getting a great cut is to compensate for the blade drift and to
feed the wood at a speed the saw can cut without strain. Taking your time
and paying attention to what you are doing is the key.

I highly recommend this saw.

Somebody help me wipe up the drool over that block of BRW

Frank Finnochio has one of the Delta 14" bandsaws in his shop and it works good. I dont think he uses it for resawing, but for most shop operations it works like a dream.

I have the 14" Jet bandsaw with the riser block, carter guides and cobra spring. I bought it on ebay for $300 and it was like new.

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Reguards,

Ken H

I'm pretty sure the 7/28 sale at Woodcraft includes power tools, which are usually excluded in their sales, including the birthday card.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

The Woodcraft card I have has a scratch and save thing on the front and the 10% savings on the back.  I think the added savings for the scratchers which is on top of the 10% won't apply to power tools, festool, Leigh, Sawstop, Steel City, and gift cards, but the initial 10% does include power tools.  The fine print on the 10% side does not exclude power tools, only the fine print on the scratcher side says power tools.

I got one of those Woodcraft Sale cards at my office over the weekend.  The difference in it, from the one I got at home, was that someone, somewhere, didn't put the gold stuff on the little rectangular areas - so FYI - Top left is an additional 10% off a gallon of any Titebond Product;  Botton Left - an additional 10% off any quart of General Top Coat or Stain Product; Top Right - an additional 10% off all Freud Saw Blades;  Bottom Right - an additonal 10% off any 8 BF Hardwood Lumber Pack.  Now you can scratch off with confidence, assuming they are all the same, and they probably are.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I have a bandsaw like that also, probably about 16-17 years old with a riser block. It's US made including the motor and I also can resaw on it. It a great saw. With a good blade and set up, resawing should be a problem. I don't do a lot but it does do it just fine.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com