"Mark L." wrote in message
...
Greetings All,
Just came back from the show in Villa Park at the Odeum. What a
letdown. It seems as if it has been slowly shrinking in size lately,
and now it's too small (IMO) to be worth going. I am in the market for a
band saw and drum sander. I was really hoping to do a side by side
comparison of them. Not only were there very few band saws on the floor,
I didn't see a single drum sander. Delta was there, but no sander. No
Jet display to see the potential band saw. I also used to enjoy seeing
the sawmill vendor who slices trees into slabs and sells them at a great
price. Also a no-show....
Not worth the drive, and I didn't have to drive far at all.
I'm looking for a band saw for resawing. At first I was leaning
towards the Jet 16" which Rockler has for $750 (US). But talking to the
seller of the same saw who ran an ad on Craigslist.com, now I'm not
sure. He said he was selling his because the guides are extremely weak
and move with the slightest force. He recommended the Delta 14" heavy
duty. Does anyone have an opinion? I can't justify a Laguna or MiniMax,
for the amount of use it will get. I am torn between the Jet 18" (which
allegedly has been reengineered to be stronger) the Delta 14" HD or the
Delta 18". What ever I choose, I will check it out on the floor before I
buy it.
Just looking the the Oracle for assistance. And yes, I promise to
Google....
Mark L.

I don't know if this will help you, but the Nov. 2005 issue of Wood Magazine
has an article tested 6 different band saws in the 16-18" size from
Bridgewood, Grizzly, Jet, Rikon, and Shop Fox. Among the things they tested
was the resaw speed. I know it isn't the same as seeing it in person, but
maybe it will help.

I also attended the show, but I accomplished exactly what I set out to do.
I purchased some birds-eye maple veneer that I was looking for, but my main
reason for attending was to listen to Marc Sommerfeld talk about how he
makes kitchen cabinets. Afterwards, I was drinking the Sommerfeld Kool-Aid,
because I bought his tongue and groove router bit set in addition to the
Shaker set.

I heard some talk about the Milwaukee show while at the Chicago show. Can
anyone comment on how the Milwaukee show typically compares to the one in
Chicago?

todd