14" Rockwell Woodcutting Bandsaw ($450) on craigslist (Irvine, CA)

[John]

take a look.

[Toller]

John, I bought a new Delta just like it for $400 from Amazon. Does being 10 years old somehow enhance it?

[Swingman]

I doubt seriously the one you got from Amazon was "just like that" under the hood. Delta made some serious "value/price point engineering" changes in the last few years which are not apparent on appearance, and few for the better.

Just looking at it, I wish I was closer to go have a look, I would be tempted. I don't need another bandsaw, but they simply don't make them like that anymore ...

[Lowell Holmes]

I doubt seriously if a contemporary $400 Delta band saw is the equal to the Rockwell. :-)

I also doubt that the Rockwell saw is only 10 years old.

Being Rockwell does enhance it in my opinion (and it is just my opinion).

[Woodworker]

I am still looking for an old Delta in SFO and there were three used

14" Delta bandsaw for sales (craigslist sfo). All were sold within a few days above the $200 range. I suggest you make offer above $200. I would pay as much a $300 for a real good one if I can find one in the Bay area. I sold my Grizzly G0555 recently after I moved and promised myself not to buy another China or Taiwan made bandsaw. .

[Prometheus]

In a word, yes.

It's probably older than 10 years, but that's beside the point. About a year ago, a contractor I was working with drug an old Rockwell 14" bandsaw into the shop to cut some rafters for a curved roof. The thing had been sitting in his brother's garage unused for about 20 years, had no cord, and was covered in scales of rust.

He let me take a few hours to clean it up and put a new cord on the beast, and after it was polished up a bit and had a new tail, that thing ran as straight and true as any bandsaw I've used before or since. Anything that can take that kind of abuse and still do an excellent job at it's intended purpose is worth whatever the seller is asking for it- if I lived near enough to make it possible to buy the one the OP is selling, I might even break my golden rule, and borrow money to buy it.

There's nothing particularly wrong with the new Deltas, but they don't have the same level of engineering or material quality as the old Delta/Rockwell or Rockwell labels. It's hard to explain if you haven't used one of those old tools, but there is a qualitative difference.