Thanks to all for the info.

I am in a quandary here cause I just won some gift cards to Home Depot.
I already have a Rigid table saw and absolutely love it. I got a Rigid
15" drill press a couple of months ago and love it too. I have had a
Rigid planer/joiner for a couple of years now, so I have been happy with
their stuff for a while.

I just play in the shop at night and on weekends, so this is not going
to be used in a production environment, and I am in the process of
replacing all the 25 year old Craftsman stuff I inherited from my dad
when he passed 5 years ago.

The Rigid band saw looks like it is solidly made, just wish it came with
a fence.

Lowes has the Delta 14" open stand band saw on sale in my area for $399,
but that is still more than the Rigid sells for. Wonder if they will
honor a HD gift card?

I just don't think the Delta is that much better than the Rigid, and my
budget (think SWMBO) won't allow me to climb into the $500+ range at
this time....







bookman wrote:
The better bandsaws are Luguna and General. Jet and Delta are not
quite as good as they used to be. If you go cheap, you'll regret it
when you must do a total bandsaw tuneup--one of the most dreaded
operations in the shop.

This is good information. Take it.
When I had to have a bandsaw I
looked and looked, waited and waited
for one to show up on Craig's lists
within 200 miles and finally bought
the Rigid on sale for $275. After
reinforcing and redesigning the table
supports, balancing the wheels, and
installing cool blocks and a Timberwolf
blade it now works like a champ. It's
similar to buying an old Stanley #5
and spending hours leveling the frog,
chipbreaker, sole etc. or buying a
new platinum designer plane. One way
or another you will pay in time or
money.