Band Saw and Planer

[Justin Edmonds]

I'm in the market for a good 14" band saw and a 13" planer but am kinda limited on funds. I can't decide between the Porter Cable or the Craftsman band saw. Both have pros and cons.

For the planer, I'm thinking the Rigid would be best.

What's your thoughts?

[Matt Day]

Have you looked at the used market?

You could probably get a much nicer classic Delta 14" saw for $300 or so with some extra accessories.

[Justin Edmonds]

Where? I don't know of anyone around here with anything like that.

[Randy Bonella]

You don't list where you are located but Craigslist is your best bet for local stuff. You would need to be patient and wait for stuff to show up but you can get some really good deals there, but you must be patient. I see Older Delta/Rockwell 14" bandsaws on a regular basis here in Portland usually between $150 - $350 depending on condition. I picked up 2 Older Delta/Rockewell 14" Bandsaws, one for $100 the other for $150 and had to put about $120 back into each of them to get them running and safe to use. I see 6" jointers listed quite often and 8" sometimes. Just an option. One trick is to do the craigslist search from the top level and not in tools, reason being is sometimes stuff shows up under antiques or business and you miss out if you don't. Also search for "bandsaw" and "band saw" you get different results with each.

Good Luck on your search.
Randy...

[Justin Edmonds]

I'm in East TN, just east of Knoxville.

[Jim Matthews]

https://knoxville.craigslist.org/tls/4813920020.html

Get this one.
Clean it up.

Use it until you can joint and plane by hand.
Sell at profit.

[Justin Edmonds]

I did find a Powerline bandsaw on Craig's list, though I can't give anything on it.

[Matt Day]

To find used equipment you have to be diligent about checking CL frequently and be ready to pick up right away. Hesitate and it might be taken. And you may need to drive a bit. I Generally monitor a couple areas within about 100 miles if I'm really looking for something.

Buying new lower end equipment doesn't seem to be worth it to me. Likely you'll want to move up quickly and loose money. That's why I suggest you take some time to try and find a nicer machine.

[cody michael]

I had a ridgid lunch box style planet and hated it, it almost made me give up woodworki ng it was so slow, 1/64 a pass is all it could handle.

I bought my jet bandsaw for I think 200$ a few years ago, around me there are quite a few bandsaw around that price.

Check out the website searchtempest.com it searches all craigslist around you, you can search bandsaw 100 miles and see most if not all the results.

[Rob Holcomb]

I've had the Craftsman BAS350 14" bandsaw for two years now. I bought it because its a clone to the Rikon 10-320. It's a good saw for the hobbyist and I haven't had any issues with it whatsoever. I bought the Rikon fence for it and other than having to add a 1/16" shim under the table (Rikon table was a little thicker than what the Craftsman has), it fits like a glove. You can wait and try to find a bandsaw used, spend more money for a new bandsaw you like or buy the BAS350. Only you can make that decision.