Is this Bandsaw Any Good? 14" Porter Cable at Lowes

I work in Lowes tool department so I have lots of time to compare the tools. We sell it for $449.00.
Honestly, it reminds me of a tin can spray painted grey. For that price nothing about it impresses me. Maybe if it was $299 it would be worth buying.:dunno:

You can get a Grizzly or a Rikon on sale for about the same $. I think I paid Under $400 for my Grizzly GO55P.
 
I'm with Bob. You could probably get it to work for you, but at $449 you shouldn't have to force the issue. I'd be inclined to either upgrade, or pay less and downgrade to an HF or a Ridgid and make one of those work.
 
Not to beat up on PC but I would wait around for a Grizzly 0555. Holiday sales should be coming up and maybe a good deal or two.

I do have the PC drill press from Lowes and it is a fair machine.
 
I upgraded from a Delta 10" to a Jet 14" to a Grizzly G0555. The G0555 is a great saw, especially for the money, so I kept it when I bought a MM24 for resawing. (Hint - I don't know any 14 inch bandsaw that is great for resawing. Adequate maybe, but not great)
 
I would certainly wait for the new model--- should be introduced soon. I bought same china built saw a year agoo The castings were so far off I could not line up top and lower blade guides.After hours of work and grief the dealer took it back and refunded my money. Bought the Rikon light duty saw which I really like
 
Speaking of new Bandsaws...I bought the Grizzly GO555LX Bandsaw on August 8, 2012... at time of purchase i also wanted to order the Riser kit for it so i could Resaw as needed.
At the time of purchase it was out of stock so i said dang i really want to get that. I went ahead and bought the saw with intentions of getting the riser kit later. It is now October
26th and after several emails to Grizzly they say the riser kit is supposed to arrive November 23rd. If i do my Math right that is 3 frikking months and 15 days..That is totally UNEXCEPTABLE t

Thanks for listening to me Vent

Nash Ranch
 
Hi Al Welcome to the forum. I think the bandsaw you bought will work just fine for the average homeowner depending on what you want to do with it. There are other options out there that will also allow you to do more. I had a very cheap small Craftsman band saw for many years. It never did track the blade very well and it was not much good for anything over about 3/4 inch wood. But it worked. It served its purpose. When I wanted to start cutting bowl blanks I had to buy another saw. So the saw you have will indeed work. It's just a matter of how much it will do for you. Every tool has it's limits. However as Bob suggested in the second post of this thread...there may be better options for your money.
 
Hi Tom,

Thanks for the timely response. I didn't realize you had responded when I deleted the post & submited it as a new new thread. Sorry to mis-direct anyone.

The saw packaging has not been opened yet - can't do that until Christmas, so I'm on the fence. I don't want to spend any more $$$, but I don't want to make a mistake I'll regret either.

Also, there was reference to wait for the new model. Will it still have the same model#, and if so, what feature/improvements will make the new model better? Any additional comments about its quality & functionality?

Decisions, decisions!

Al Out!
 
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As posted in another thread, a number of you experienced woodworkers convinced me to returned the Porter-Cable and considered a Grizzly. I was thankfully overwhelmed & bought a G0555LX. Now I can't wait for Christmas to open it up & get it set up. I really appreciate all the meaningful advice given me on this forum.
 
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