I would agree about Craig's List, but don't forget about auctions. I've seen several that went for around $200.
But back to your original question. Back in 2003 I decided to build my grandson a 12 ft. wooden skiff. One of the tools that makes this a lot easier is a bandsaw. I spent a lot of time looking and comparing prices of different makes and models. I pretty much eliminated the Powermatic and Delta because of their high cost. I finally settled on a 12 in. Jet. Back then they were under $300 by quite a bit and were made with a cast iron frame just like the 14 in. model. Aside from the loss of 2 in. in the throat, about the only other difference was the inability to put in a riser block. This wasn't a big deal for me since I wasn't going to re-saw with it. It came with a 1/2 hp motor which was more than large enough. It was also capable of running a 1/2 in. blade.
I used it quite a bit after that when I started building a 14 ft. boat. That one required that I re-saw some 5 in. stuff and it worked fine for that. More than adequate hp. The only problem I had was with the tires. They got loose on the wheels so I replaced them with urethane ones...end of problem.
I would not have a problem buying another Jet, It is a quality piece.
Regardless of which brand you get, make sure you have a dust collector, or shop vac hooked up to it. They generate a lot of saw dust. On my Jet, if you use it with-out the vacuum, the dust gets all over the tires which can cause the blade to run out if it builds up too much. Using the vacuum also keeps the work piece cleaner so you can sea your cut line easier...but then you probably already knew this.
Good luck in your search and Welcome to Tool Talk!
Mike
