Dave Black
Member
- Messages
- 638
- Location
- Central PA
Based on my experience i'd like to emphasize:
1) guides - roller guides are ok, but do clog when working with pitchy wood. What happens then is that the blade starts wobbling around a bit and you can get heat build up - blades and bearings don't like that. I have one saw with roller bearings and one with steel guide blocks with a roller thrust bearing behind the blade. For smoother more consistent results, especially resawing pitchy wood, i use the saw with the steel guide block bearings.
2) I'm a big advocate of buying used machinery, provided you can get what you need at a reasonable price. You have to do a little homework to know what you want and what you're looking at, but i've often found that i get much higher quality for my dollar when buying used. It helps if you don't mind replacing wear items like tires, power cords, and bearings. Be aware of cracked/broken castings, missing obscure parts, 3 phase motors, and former "home" repairs.
3) Motors - there's no substitute for power. I find that 1hp can bog down on a 12" resaw cut and am upgrading that motor to 2hp. For 6" resaw, though, the 1hp works just fine.
4) There's little appreciable difference in the general makeup of the two saws you're considering. They're probably very comparable UNLESS you find a used older 14" saw that's already been set up for resawing.
5) On the used market, i'd widen my net to include other brands. I've got a 1930's 20" Crescent that's a complete beast for what i need. It was quite cheap because the previous owner had no use for it and it was a hassle to move. Another $75 replaced the tires, electric cord/plug, and wheel bearings. My other saw is a late 1800's off brand C-frame. It was a fun little project bringing it back from a pile of rust. There are no parts for it anywhere, so the few missing bits were made, one-off. It works great as well.
6) Don't assume the new Grizzley fixes all of the issues with an older Delta - some improvements, sure, but it's basically the same saw.
paulh
I just picked this up yesterday
http://www.ebay.com/itm/16063662352...AX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_500wt_1257
I think it should saw very nicely and resaw quite well too. I have to replace the tires, and at least the thrust bearings. I will tear it down and paint it replace bearing if needed and probably make a matching base for it from MDF.