Need some help on price of a bandsaw

[Mike Henderson]

A woodworker in this area passed away and his widow is selling his tools. One thing she has for sale is a Minimax Centauro 20" bandsaw. I haven't gone to see it yet so I don't know what size motor it has. She reports that it's in very good condition and I suspect she's correct.

I did some searching and I can't find any good information on what that bandsaw might have sold for. She doesn't know either, so I want some basis to make her an offer.

Can anyone give me some guidance? If you're familiar with the saw and have an opinion of what a used one is worth, that would be of interest to me. If you know what it might have cost new, that would help, also.

Thanks for any help.

Mike

[ken masoumi]

There was a Centauro bandsaw CO600 for sale here in Ontario,for $1500,I have heard it is the same Italian manufacturer that makes Minimax,according to a fellow member (Mreza):it is" the best of Italian saws"

[Mort Stevens]

The rule of thumb is 1/2 of new as a starting point. But, if she is trying to sell it, that sounds to me she may financially need the money, so you may want to be a little more generous in your offer.

[David Kumm]

I'd say the range is 1500-2200 if condition is good. If it is the older lighter model towards the lower end. if newer and heavier, towards the top. 2200 would be pretty pristine. Dave

[Mike Henderson]

The rule of thumb is 1/2 of new as a starting point. But, if she is trying to sell it, that sounds to me she may financially need the money, so you may want to be a little more generous in your offer.

I'm pretty sure she's not hard up financially - she just wants to get rid of it. This is from a friend of mine who knows her well. She just doesn't know how to sell it and my guess is she doesn't want to do Craigslist because she's home alone. So she's putting the word out to try to find woodworkers who might want it. I'm pretty sure what she's going to do is take "bids" and make a decision in a couple of weeks. So I just want to make an offer that's fair to both of us.

The problem is that neither of us knows what the "new price" was.

In my communication with her she said that she has a lot of other tools that she needs to get rid of so I'll see what else she has when I visit. I suspect most of the "other" things will be hand tools and small power tools. The kind of things that a woodworker would have in the shop. The kind of things my wife will have to get rid of when I kick off.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

I went to see the bandsaw this morning. It's been sitting for a while so there's surface rust on all the unpainted metal surfaces but that should clean up okay. We negotiated and came to an agreeable price, which I think is fair to both of us.

She also has a Unisaw that she wanted to get rid of. I'm not interested in it because I already have a SawStop PCS. But she really wants to get rid if it. So after we finish negotiating for the bandsaw, she said to me, "I really want to get rid of that saw. I give it to you as part of the bandsaw deal - no extra charge."

So it looks like I'm going to get a bandsaw and a Unisaw for the price of the bandsaw. The Unisaw also has a lot of surface rust but should clean up okay.

No pictures yet. I have to arrange transportation. I'll take pictures when the tools are in my shop. Hope nothing happens to make the deal fall out.

Mike

[She didn't have any other tools - such as handtools. She said her children came and took all that but didn't want the large tools.]

[Matt Day]

So what price did you negotiate to?

Man I wish people would just throw in Unisaws when I bought stuff!

[John McClanahan]

So now you will be able to sell the Unisaw and make the bandsaw price extra sweet without felling like you ripped her off. Nice!

[Mike Henderson]

So what price did you negotiate to?

Man I wish people would just throw in Unisaws when I bought stuff!

A bit less than $2K. She just really wanted to get rid of the tools and get her garage back. If she kept the Unisaw, she'd have to find someone else to buy it (or take it). I think her attitude was "Just make this stuff disappear."

But, as usual, until the stuff is in my garage, the deal is not done. So something could happen before I close the deal, such as a son or daughter coming along and telling her not to give the Unisaw away.

Mike

[Jim Becker]

You have an excellent band saw for your shop and a great "flipping" project with the Unisaw! Congrats on a nice buy all around.

[mreza Salav]

That's a great saw and a very good deal! Post follow up pics once you get them home.

[eugene thomas]

Boy. When I buy a tool I get it home asap??? Hate losing sleep over the fear the deal gets away.....

[Mike Henderson]

Boy. When I buy a tool I get it home asap??? Hate losing sleep over the fear the deal gets away.....

Well, me too. But I have to get some help to get these into a truck. The bandsaw, especially, is HEAVY. I think the specs said about 750 pounds. Right now, I'm planning to rent a truck with a ramp, and maybe use a come along to pull them up the ramp. I'm aiming for the Sunday after Christmas for pickup.

Wish me luck!

Mike

[I wish I could have picked up the tools today.]

[Mike Cutler]

Mike

Nice deal, very nice. That's an impressive bandsaw you're getting there.

The Unisaw is a nice kicker, but I can see that she would just want it gone.


PS
She probably offered you the Unisaw because you weren't a jerk just trying to take advantage of her on the bandsaw. She obviously knew the value of the machines, and which machine had the greater value.

[Jim Becker]

Mike, you should be able to tip the bandsaw into the truck bed ( or on a trailer) onto the spine with no issues. That's how I got my MM16 home years ago. Yes, it's heavy, but with a little help it's doable.