Band Saw

I now have a band saw.  Home Depot had a 14" RIDGID  band saw, but the only one they had was the floor model.  It was $50 off and came pre-assembled, so I bought it.  In theory, this thing can resaw material up to 6" wide.  While that's not enough for backs and tops made the usual way -- joined in the middle -- it's enough to make them in thirds. It's also useful for sides and cutting out the curves.

The problem with buying a pre-assembled saw is that you're assuming that whoever assembled it was competent and didn't end up with pieces left over that they just threw out.  I got the thing home and found that there's supposed to be a little plastic key that goes on the power switch so that unauthorized personal can't turn it on. Of course, if it's missing, nobody can turn it on.

Fortunately, I found a site on the internet that had the part, and it's only 89 cents.  Shipping was $10.  So I ordered 5 just in case.

Having ordered that, I checked out the rest of the saw to make sure it was setup right and the blade aligned correctly and everything.  Found several other parts missing, including the lower blade guide and the rubber tire that goes on the lower wheel. Arg!

I went back to Home Depot and asked if they could look around to see if the extra parts were stored somewhere. They couldn't find them, but they gave me an extra $40 discount which covered having to order the parts.