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New piece of 'arn! 1981 Rockwell 28-200 (bandsaw gloat inside)

BigRed390

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 30, 2009
Messages
475
Location
Chattanooga, TN
Well, I finally got my latest find home and set up. It's a 1981 Rockwell 28-200 14" bandsaw. This here's a wood-only model, for those who were wondering. :thumbup:

I got it from an older guy who was in bad health and was selling his entire shop, and because I like to sleep at night, I didn't get a steal of a price on it. It is, however, a pretty damn good saw, or it will be after some tune up work. Enclosed base, 3/4 hp Leeson motor (likely to be upped to 1 1/2 hp at some point in the future), 6 1/4 inch resaw capacity (likely to be upped to 12" when said motor upgrade is worked into the budget), and it came with a handful of brand new cheap blades!

The worn rubber tires will soon be replaced with urethane, the metal guides will be replaced with Cool Blocks, and I'll probably add a Kreg fence at some point, but for an old saw in a moderately bad state of tune, it cuts surprisingly well!

Enough yap. On with the pics.

Here's the base and Shoe, the shop dog.
CIMG1125.jpg


After removal from my Honda. The guy laughed at me when I told him I didn't have a truck. Got it home just fine, thank you. :thumbup:
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Front
CIMG1190.jpg


Back
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Gratuitous trunion shot
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And if you crane your neck to the side because I forgot to flip the pic, it appears to have a U.S. Coast Guard barcode on it.
Kind of weird for a Tennessee saw. (if this relates to another entity you know of, please let me know! I just assumed USCG = coast guard.
CIMG1129.jpg
 
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kb2tha

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 4, 2010
Messages
495
Location
Delaware County, NYS
These are great saws. You will love it. I have bought, rebuilt and sold several of these over the years. Presently have a 14" Rockwell with riser block, closed base, carter guides, etc. The riser block models take a 105" blade.
Ken
 

Greatbear

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
1,702
Location
Columbia/Fulton, MD
The best 14" bandsaw made IMO. I have a 16 year old Delta closed stand version, it's been a workhorse. I added the riser block to mine when I bought it. Parts are plentiful, accessories galore from all sorts of manufacturers, it will never become obsolete. A little TLC and it will be as good as new.
 
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Bruce/CT

Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2014
Messages
6
Rockwell 28-200 bandsaw

I know that this is an old thread BUT.... I might buy one of these SO...... how does it cut sheet metal? 14 guage would be the absolute thickest.
Thanks for your comments.
Bruce/CT
 

scw1991

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 28, 2010
Messages
506
i've had the pleasure of owning and rebuilding several of these models including both wood and wood/metal versions. They are nice machines. Good score!

both vintage models had an 8" pulley on the band saw driven shaft and a 2.75" pulley on the motor shaft. The pulley you have seems to be quite a bit smaller than 8" and does not appear to be OEM. however, Delta may have opted to increase the blade speed in FPM over the years.
 

jpittssr

Member
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
8
i've had the pleasure of owning and rebuilding several of these models including both wood and wood/metal versions. They are nice machines. Good score!

Don't mean to hijack the thread but wonder if you know of best place to buy a riser kit for this model?
 
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