How much should I be asking for for this Walker-Turner bandsaw?

[dylan]

Hi Folks,

I've got an old Walker-Turner bandsaw that I need to get rid of. It runs just fine for the most part, but the bottom wheel needs some maintenance. The blade pulses forward/backward, and it seems to be caused by the rubber on the bottom wheel breaking down unevenly. (No amount of adjustment of the tracking on the top wheel or blade guides fixes it. Though fixing it seems somewhat straightforward, it belongs to a high school club, and it just seems safer for the kids if we replace it rather than try to repair it. I have no idea what to list as an asking price though (considering it'd also need to be picked up, since I am not figuring out how to ship it). It's not so urgent that I need to take pennies on the dollar for it to get it out tomorrow, but I don't want to be holding onto it for years waiting for the perfect buyer.

Does anyone have thoughts on what I could reasonably list it for?

Additionally, are there platforms that you think are better for selling this kind of thing compared to ebay/craigslist?

Thanks so much for the advice,
Dylan

 

[Whitworth]

Owwm.org is a site for vintage machinery enthusiasts, and has a buy and sell forum.

You'll have to sign up and I don't know if there's a waiting period for classifieds.

Also, don't ask there about valuations as it's against the rules.

 

[lafester]

I would list it at $450 if it's a 16 inch. Cl and fb are plenty. Where is it located?
I would fix it and keep it.

 

[gleman]

I'd fix and keep it.

I did the tire change on my 14" Delta clone and it's running like new. It was fairly cheap to do with about a easy hour of labor.

That saw will be expensive to replace with a modern equivalent that won't be any safer.

 

[Roberts210]

Just put some new tires on it and it'll last another few decades. Teach your class how to maintain old machinery instead of buying new pieces of junk.

 

[Roberts210]

Where are you located? Let us know, and also post the location on OWWM, and ask for help on OWWM replacing the tires. Believe me, you'll have a MUCH better saw than any you can buy new.

 

[dylan]

Thanks for the help, everyone.

It's in NJ. I was assuming anything that could be construed as trying to sell it here would be against forum rules, so I didn't think it mattered much where it was. If you're asking because you're interested, I'm happy to give you a link to where I do sell it if that's okay on the forum.

I did consider trying to fix it, and if it was mine I would. It's my employer's though. I've already sunk too much time into trying to figure out which model it was and finding the manual for it, but it's not like that really did me any good as far as fixing it. I'm just not knowledgeable enough about machinery like this to determine exactly what I need and how to implement it, and I just don't have the time to dedicate to figuring it out (though it does sound fun). Since it's mainly kids using it, the odds that I screw it up aren't worth taking. A machine from a company that still exists so I can call tech support and order replacement parts... that's both safer and more cost effective in this context.

Believe me, if I actually had a place to keep it, I'd probably buy it off the school myself.

 

[bb29510]

there a salvage house that been selling them for about $150 but the shipping will kill someone.

 

[Hoorn]

@dylan does it have the metal cutting gearbox? It would look like this:

 

[dylan]

@Hoorn
The belt drive that can step to different gear ratios? Yes. The belt itself looks like it's seen better days.

I think yours looks identical to mine on the back, but I can grab another picture of it later if that helps.

 

[Hoorn]

@dylan that would help. All pulleys can step to a different speed, but the metal cutting gearbox has four gears within to further reduce the speed by a ratio of 10 to 1 and would make a difference on value.

 

[Whitworth]

If it's a fixer-upper, ask for $200 and it should move quickly.
Trying to fix it can be opening a can of worms. Shop class should have something new. You fix it, you screw it up, someone gets hurt; fair or not, you get ownership of that.

 

[crguy]

If it has the optional slow speed gearbox for metal cutting, it's worth 2-3 times what the wood only models are. That one could be either a 14" or a 16" and that affects the value. Changing tires on those is more complicated than on a 14" Delta saw. If you post pictures of the drive side, we can tell you more.

 

[crguy]

If it's a fixer-upper, ask for $200 and it should move quickly.
Trying to fix it can be opening a can of worms. Shop class should have something new. You fix it, you screw it up, someone gets hurt; fair or not, you get ownership of that.

$200. is too low for that saw.

 

[Hoorn]

The cast iron base alone is worth more than $200

 

[lafester]

I'm not sure what you are expecting for tech support on newer band saws. youtube already provides everything you need.

 

[Whitworth]

The cast iron base alone is worth more than $200

Then you buy it. Part it out. And ship various parts at top dollar all over the country.
But you won't, because the saw is too far away and that's alot of work.
The OP has only a relative handful of local potential buyers that might be interested. And many of them are low-ballers and flippers, and throw in some dumb yokels who use the Harbor Freight circular as the gold standard for tool prices.
The OP wants to sell it at the best price he can, but relatively quickly.

 

[RoninB4]

Nice looking saw, wish I was closer.

 

[Hoorn]

Then you buy it. Part it out. And ship various parts at top dollar all over the country.
But you won't, because the saw is too far away and that's alot of work.
The OP has only a relative handful of local potential buyers that might be interested. And many of them are low-ballers and flippers, and throw in some dumb yokels who use the Harbor Freight circular as the gold standard for tool prices.
The OP wants to sell it at the best price he can, but relatively quickly.

"Then you buy it"
I live on the other side of the country, and currently have a W-T bandsaw with a cast iron base. The first image I displayed is the one I currently have, the second is a gearbox assembly I parted out and sold to a fellow GJ member. I've owned six W-T bandsaws and have sold, or parted out all but the one I currently have and can speak intelligently, and with experience on the matter.

Rather than lash out at a fellow member who rightly corrected your "sell it for $200" opinion, you should have regrouped, and re-read the OPs original post. He does not want to sell it for pennies on the dollar, nor wait years for a perfect buyer.

On the GJ vise thread, periodically we see a newbie ask what his 1944 Reed made 5-in Craftsman vise is worth, and there's always that one guy who replies, it's a vise! sell it for a dollar a pound (because that's how it was back in my day!). And then someone will step in and say don't take less than $400 because you'll get that.

I am awaiting information from the OP as to whether or not it has the gearbox accessory and if so, that, like the cast iron base, has added value to the overall price. If it does, $200 is literally giving it away for pennies on the dollar. It's what guys like me look for -someone selling a vintage machine dramatically undervalued. I know exactly how hard it is because that's what I do, I buy, flip, restore, part out vintage machines.

As it sits currently, $400 is not unreasonable as it sounds like it just needs new tires on the wheels, if it has the gearbox, I would add $100/200 to the sale price. And keep in mind it's the more valuable 16". I'm waiting until I have all the facts before providing an educated opinion.

I have sold two gearbox assemblies for $400+, two cast iron bases for $300 and $350, and a 14" W-T band saw with a base for $500 and they all sold quickly. They all sold hours or days, and never more than a week after I posted them. Most sold via eBay with the local pickup only option.

 

[Whitworth]

"Then you buy it"
I live on the other side of the country, and currently have a W-T bandsaw with a cast iron base. The first image I displayed is the one I currently have, the second is a gearbox assembly I parted out and sold to a fellow GJ member. I've owned six W-T bandsaws and have sold, or parted out all but the one I currently have and can speak intelligently, and with experience on the matter.

Rather than lash out at a fellow member who rightly corrected your "sell it for $200" opinion, you should have regrouped, and re-read the OPs original post. He does not want to sell it for pennies on the dollar, nor wait years for a perfect buyer.

I am awaiting information from the OP as to whether or not it has the gearbox accessory and if so, that, like the cast iron base, has added value to the overall price. If it does, $200 is literally giving it away for pennies on the dollar. It's what guys like me look for -someone selling a vintage machine dramatically undervalued. I know exactly how hard it is because that's what I do, I buy, flip, restore, part out vintage machines.

As it sits currently, $400 is not unreasonable as it sounds like it just needs new tires on the wheels, if it has the gearbox, I would add $100/200 to the sale price. And keep in mind it's the more valuable 16". I'm waiting until I have all the facts before providing an educated opinion.

I have sold two gearbox assemblies for $400+, two cast iron bases for $300 and $350, and a 14" W-T band saw with a base for $500 and they all sold quickly. They all sold hours or days, and never more than a week after I posted them. Most sold via eBay with the local pickup only option.

Figuring 10 cents on the dollar puts my terrible-low-estimate of $200 at a valuation of a $2000 machine. That's not a $2000 saw.

I'm sure you've done alot of buying and selling of tools in the past. So have I, probably more.

$200 for a quick sale is what I stand by. Doesn't matter what the parts are worth, I get the impression the OP is too busy to make a hobby out of taking the saw apart.

I agree you can make some money parting machines out, but how oily were those gear boxes, how much time did it take to dismantle? How long to pack and ship? And when you open up a gear box and there's a stripped gear, your valuable part you spent so much time on just dropped to scrap value.

Does the OP have time for all that, or wait for the perfect buyer to come along? Or better just move it along at a price that will entice more interest from buyers looking for a project,

 

[dylan]

16 inch with the gearbox, if I'm understanding it all.

From the pictures, obviously it needs some attention anyway, but most of that debris is very recent. For the most part, it still runs very reliably, so I can see why people love these machines. I only stopped the kids from using it when the blade snapped and I couldn't get the replacement to keep from moving. I'm guessing the blade snapped because it was already doing that, but I hadn't really touched it before then. (I'm pretty new at the school, and unfortunately there's nobody else here who knows half of the not much that I do about this kind of machinery.)

 

[dylan]

@Hoorn & @Whitworth, I appreciate both of your perspectives here. Sounds like it's reasonable to post it at around $500, but if the best offer I get after a few months is closer to $200, then I'll have no complaints.

 

[lafester]

It should move quickly at $500.

 

[Hoorn]

@dylan a beautiful machine! That is in fact the metal cutting gearbox I was inquiring about. Walker Turner did not accurately date their machines, but that was made between approx. 1942-44 -so for 80 years that is quite intact. As equipped, you should get top dollar for it.

 

[crguy]

Figuring 10 cents on the dollar puts my terrible-low-estimate of $200 at a valuation of a $2000 machine. That's not a $2000 saw.

I'm sure you've done alot of buying and selling of tools in the past. So have I, probably more.

$200 for a quick sale is what I stand by. Doesn't matter what the parts are worth, I get the impression the OP is too busy to make a hobby out of taking the saw apart.

I agree you can make some money parting machines out, but how oily were those gear boxes, how much time did it take to dismantle? How long to pack and ship? And when you open up a gear box and there's a stripped gear, your valuable part you spent so much time on just dropped to scrap value.

Does the OP have time for all that, or wait for the perfect buyer to come along? Or better just move it along at a price that will entice more interest from buyers looking for a project,

Give it up. You're wrong on this one.

 

[Whitworth]

Give it up. You're wrong on this one.

Not my experience with the machinery auctions I've been to this spring.

 

[quartermeter]

Figuring 10 cents on the dollar puts my terrible-low-estimate of $200 at a valuation of a $2000 machine. That's not a $2000 saw.

I'm sure you've done alot of buying and selling of tools in the past. So have I, probably more.

$200 for a quick sale is what I stand by. Doesn't matter what the parts are worth, I get the impression the OP is too busy to make a hobby out of taking the saw apart.

I agree you can make some money parting machines out, but how oily were those gear boxes, how much time did it take to dismantle? How long to pack and ship? And when you open up a gear box and there's a stripped gear, your valuable part you spent so much time on just dropped to scrap value.

Does the OP have time for all that, or wait for the perfect buyer to come along? Or better just move it along at a price that will entice more interest from buyers looking for a project,

It sure is. $2000 or more for a new saw of that quality.

 

[quartermeter]

Well if you still have this Saw I’ll pay you $200 + shipping to Pulaski TN 38478. Just lay it down on the pallet strap it to it. You can call me at 931-993-7768 thanks Jim

 

[shoot summ]

I see them listed in my area between $600-$1500, they don't sell.

I think it will sell in the $350-$450 range.

It isn't something that sells quick unless you really get aggressive on the price. Most folks are looking for newer machines and don't want to mess around with a machine from the '40's.

 

[quartermeter]

That machine is made 10 times better than anything you’re gonna find today for $2000. Prove me wrong.

 

[jo--el]

I have a 14 inch I'm restoring. Missing handle and bolt that adjusts top wheel left and right. Anyone have a parts machine

 

[crguy]

I have a 14 inch I'm restoring. Missing handle and bolt that adjusts top wheel left and right. Anyone have a parts machine

Parts for those show up on Ebay. If you don't see them now, set up a search and Ebay will notify you.

 

[jo--el]

Back of gear box of 1939 walker turner bandsaw. How in the world do you loosen this to pull gearbox of shaft. My Allen wrench are to wide.?

 

[Dagny]

Is it easy or possible to put new rubber on it. I think it depends where you live. It would not bring 500 around here.

 

[Whitworth]

Back of gear box of 1939 walker turner bandsaw. How in the world do you loosen this to pull gearbox of shaft. My Allen wrench are to wide.?

Grind one down.