need info on old delta BS

[Stephen Edwards]

There's a Delta BS for sale near me. I have pics of the saw but haven't yet seen it. They guy who owns it gave me the following info:

On the Delta Bandsaw plate on the front of the saw it has this:

Model number 95C92901
Catalogue number 28-303

The small box that protrudes from the back of the base of the saw has this:

serial number 95D93096
Catalogue number 52-704

I've searched everywhere that I can think of, including here at SMC, and can't find any info on this saw. Photos are below. Any info on this saw would be appreciated. Thanks.

delta-bandsaw1.jpg

delta-bandsaw2.jpg

delta-bandsaw3.jpg

[Joe Chritz]

Looks remarkably similar to mine which is a 28-203 with a big "made in america" sticker on it.

I haven't "tuned" it to do any heavy work with it but it seems like a nice saw.

Can't help other than that.

Joe

[Stephen Edwards]

Thanks Joe. Any idea of how old this saw might be?

[Joe Chritz]

I found a couple reviews on the 28-203 and I found some parts schematics at tool ace or something like that.

It appears that the 28-303 is listed as a metal cutting bandsaw and the 28-203 is listed as a wood cutting bandsaw. They appear fairly similar otherwise.

I did a little checking and found this on the Delta site. It is 6 meg and locked up when I was downloading it so I didn't check it out. Maybe I was impatient but here it is. Should be a link to the instruction manual for that saw.

http://www.dewaltservicenet.com/docu...3-651-0010.pdf


Need to work on your googlefu.


Joe

[Dan Boschen]

Stephen-
That is a wood - metal bandsaw made in probably the 90's. The transmission in the base is the only difference between the 28-303 and the 28-203 listed above. Check the transmission for smooth shifting from metal to wood mode. It is done by pulling or pushing on the knob in the center of the large sheave in the back of the saw. There are teeth in the back of the large sheave that engage into a collar on the mainshaft when you pull the knob out to wood mode. Check the teeth for rounded corners which would mess up the meshing of the two. The saw is designed to be able to be operated with both belts installed on the saw. In metal mode, the large sheave is disengages and freewheels on the mainshaft via a bushing while the saw is run via a step pulley on the lower transmission of the saw. Ensure the large sheave does not have excessive play on the mainshaft. Run it for awhile in both modes to see if it pops out of gear. If possible, take some metal to cut if he has a metal blade.

The wood - metal transmission makes it a very desireable saw.

[Stephen Edwards]

Stephen-
That is a wood - metal bandsaw made in probably the 90's. The transmission in the base is the only difference between the 28-303 and the 28-203 listed above. Check the transmission for smooth shifting from metal to wood mode. It is done by pulling or pushing on the knob in the center of the large sheave in the back of the saw. There are teeth in the back of the large sheave that engage into a collar on the mainshaft when you pull the knob out to wood mode. Check the teeth for rounded corners which would mess up the meshing of the two. The saw is designed to be able to be operated with both belts installed on the saw. In metal mode, the large sheave is disengages and freewheels on the mainshaft via a bushing while the saw is run via a step pulley on the lower transmission of the saw. Ensure the large sheave does not have excessive play on the mainshaft. Run it for awhile in both modes to see if it pops out of gear. If possible, take some metal to cut if he has a metal blade.

The wood - metal transmission makes it a very desireable saw.

Thanks Dan. I appreciate it. It looks like a fine saw. It's in the Knoxville CL for $550.00. However, when I do the math to bring up to par for 12" resaw on wood (I'm not a metal worker) looks like I'm back to deciding between the Rikon and the Grizzly.

Thanks again both of you guys!

[Robert Conner]

Those are very expensive saws new--$1800 I have heard.
They will do anything the wood model will do plus the capability of cutting metal. You could use the standard riser kit on it for higher resaw as well. Think twice about passing on it. They also hold their resale value.
As was said, they are simple top check, the gear box is very strong, only weak link is the engagement you must engage the modes slowly and carefully no forcing and make sure the machine is off.
Robert