Buying my first bandsaw

[Scott Cenicola]

Anyone have any good info on a delta 28-245 bandsaw? Looking at this one on Cl.

http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/tls/4580965679.html

It's been for sale for around 3 weeks which is unusual for good tools on CL in my area. I've never owned one and I'm thinking this is a good starter. Not much info on the ad, but I like that it's made in the USA. From my searches I'm thinking it's around 20 years old. Owner says he just bought new tires, going to see it Monday. I could not find a recent sold price, and not much info good or bad on Google or SMC searches.

Thanks for your help.

[Myk Rian]

For $180, buy it. I've had 2 of those Deltas. My present one is a 1966 model.
No question, it's your best bet.
Looks like it needs a table insert, but you can a pack of 5 for a few bucks.

[Josh Rudolph]

Definitely one to buy. Never see them for that price here. Very simple machines that can be worked on easily if something is wrong with them. I bought The Bandsaw Book when I got my first bandsaw and it did help with familiarization.

Unless you hear something strange when running it, this is a good deal.

[Art Mann]

Good luck if you need to buy repair parts.

[HANK METZ]

Good luck if you need to buy repair parts.

That being unarguable, most machines have, for quite some time, been fab'd by the same shops overseas, thus replacement parts between manufacturers who simply slap a label on theirs is pretty much an easy fix. My Harbor Freight 14 incher has a 6" riser kit from Jet that was a perfect matchup.

[Josh Rudolph]

Good luck if you need to buy repair parts.

Though I have not bought a repair part from Delta in a while, they did use to stock a lot of parts. Not sure if that has changed.

Being that a bandsaw is one of the simplest machines in a shop, not much to repair.

Wheel bearings, belts, and motors can be found very easily. Guide bearings may be a little harder to get oem, but Carter makes excellent guide bearings that will fit. Rubber bands for the wheels are carried by almost all woodworking shops as this is a very common if not the most common size bandsaw.

[jay gill]

Though I have not bought a repair part from Delta in a while, they did use to stock a lot of parts. Not sure if that has changed.

I tried to order some parts recently for my Unifence and all that was available was the cursor. It took 8 weeks to get. A couple of the parts houses I called (I called a handful of places that my research suggested stocked a reasonable selection of parts, and didn't just pass through orders) told me that getting any Delta parts, even on new stuff was a nightmare let alone on an old out of production item.

I do agree however that there isn't much specialized on the band saw that would need Delta specific parts

[Jim Leslie]

My son has that model. I'd buy it in a heartbeat especially for that price. It's a great saw and big enough for most work. I also have a Delta that is the same size, but with the closed base. The Carter aftermarket parts fit just fine - my son added the guide system and it works like a charm.

[Timothy Wolf]

I paid twice as much for mine, I would consider it a great deal at that price

[Art Mann]

It has been widely reported by members of this forum and many others that when Delta changed ownership most recently, they considered it bad business to stock repair parts for older machines and stopped doing so. There have been examples here of guys who tried to buy parts for machines that were under 10 years old and were told by Delta technicians to look elsewhere. As someone mentioned, it may be possible to buy parts from other sources. Nevertheless, I would not buy under the assumption that some defective part could be easily replaced.

[Josh Rudolph]

I tried to order some parts recently for my Unifence and all that was available was the cursor. It took 8 weeks to get. A couple of the parts houses I called (I called a handful of places that my research suggested stocked a reasonable selection of parts, and didn't just pass through orders) told me that getting any Delta parts, even on new stuff was a nightmare let alone on an old out of production item.

I do agree however that there isn't much specialized on the band saw that would need Delta specific parts

Wow Jay that really stinks. It is a shame that there are so many Unisaws out there still going strong that from the sounds of it are being minimally supported. I know I was looking to buy one to restore, but ended up with a PM66. I guess I can consider that a blessing.

[Josh Rudolph]

It has been widely reported by members of this forum and many others that when Delta changed ownership most recently, they considered it bad business to stock repair parts for older machines and stopped doing so. There have been examples here of guys who tried to buy parts for machines that were under 10 years old and were told by Delta technicians to look elsewhere. As someone mentioned, it may be possible to buy parts from other sources. Nevertheless, I would not buy under the assumption that some defective part could be easily replaced.

Good to know Art. I had no idea that Delta had this new "bad business" philosophy. Not having pride in your line usually leads to a decline in quality. That would be a real shame to see Delta decline (some may say even more). I have recently gotten the itch to restore a table saw as I have been table saw less for a few years now. I was looking for a Unisaw or Powermatic 66 to restore. I was indifferent as to which one. The PM66 popped up first for a good deal and have just recently gotten everything tore down. Consequently i did need a few OEM parts that were in stock via Powermatic, but I ended up buying from a different forum member who sells on the auction site for cheaper.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I picked up the Rockwell "kissing cousin" (28-240) to that Delta for $220.00 about two months ago.
$180.00 seems to be a fair price.

Parts shouldn't be much of a problem since there's a lot of third party stuff out there for wear items & that saw is probably the closest thing to a "standard" that there is.

[Gus Dundon]

It sounds like a good deal for me. The band saw appears to be in a decent condition. Just fair price and parts availability wouldn't be a big problem.

[Michael Yadfar]

I have a new Grizzly band saw about the same size, and it was about $500. This isn't quite something you would use for heavy resawing or anything, but it does have the size and juice to handle a lot. For $180, I think that's a great deal for an American made saw that appears to be in great shape. Parts availability may be your only issue