Rikon 14" Deluxe Band saw opinion

[khaos]

I think I am going to pull the trigger on this band saw (http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2020041/18855/Rikon-14-Deluxe-Bandsaw.aspx). I don't have one in my shop. I use my big radial arm saw for nearly everything. The price is $950 but its on sale for $800 ....

Anyone have experience with this tool?

[harryball]

I used that model saw (or the previous model) for a day several years ago and then bought something a little cheaper. How I WISH I had bought it instead.

I can't give you a detailed review, I just know the one I used worked well, ran smooth and sounded "even" not like a washing machine running.


/RB

[paul_z]

Joe,

I have a 14" Rikon which is an older and smaller (shorter) model. I use it a lot and have had very few problems. I generally use a 4tpi 1/2" blade.

The few issues have been mostly guide bearings wearing out. Replacement is simple and can be very inexpensive. My machine uses the same bearings that are used in roller skates and skate boards. I found a place where one could get 30 bearings for $10 plus shipping. I thought these cheap bearings might wear out quickly but instead, they seem to last quite a while. (I think I have 28 left!)

Paul Z

[Brady Watson]

That's a pretty sweet saw. I like the 13" resaw capability, but I'm a bit wary about how much blade drift there would be at that height. Definitely put a tall fence on it for resawing.

Are these made in N. America or are they re-badged asian variants? Corporate office says Massachusetts, but it doesn't say where they are made. I'd want to know I wasn't getting swindled by ordering a Horrible Freight unit that was sprayed a different color...

-B

[pfulghum]

Love my 18" rikon. Buddy pre-purchased a 14" for this Saturday's saw at wood craft

[khaos]

I purchased this saw!! I have re-sawn some Brazilian cherry to use in an inlay. 3/4 board "1/8 slats. There is a re-saw 'helper?' on the fence. Its just a steel dowel that really helps keep the drift to a minimum by allowing you to pivot the work right at the blade.

I played around with the factory blade so I could appreciate the difference with the new one 3TPI 3/4 timber wolf brand (http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2004810/20907/Timber-Wolf-Bandsaw-Blade-111-x-34-x-3-TPI-Positive-Claw.aspx) I did Not buy the Laguna (http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2084087/36899/Laguna-ProKing-Bandsaw-Blade-111-x-75-x-Variable-TPI.aspx) blade $150 although I probably will as re-saw is primarily why I got the saw.

I will get some pics Online of the re-saws.

[bleeth]

Hey Joe: Check your local saw sharpener. They usually will make up bandsaw blades any length. A good one makes darn sure the weld is ground smooth. Other than the blade that came with it I have never bought bandsaw blades from a saw manufacturer. They just buy them and mark them up ridiculous amounts.

[ssflyer]

I agree - I used to have a saw that had a cutter and welder built in. Buying the blade stock in bulk and welding was way cheaper, and I never had any issues with the blade.

[donchandler]

I bevel the ends of the blade and clamp them together so the joint overlaps.
Put a little silver solder flux in between them. I hammer a piece of silver solder until it is flat and very thin. I cut a piece of this and put it in the overlap. Heat it with a torch until the solder melts. If you get the overlap right, there will be almost nothing to grind flat. I weld 1" blades for my saw that I have blocked up so I can saw something that is 18" high. Almost never breaks in the weld. I also do this when I need to cut out the inside of something. Drill a hole, place the blade through the hole and weld it. After cutting, you have to cut the blade to get it out. be sure to get the teeth pointed in the right direction when you do this. ( don't ask how I know) The blade doesn't cut well with the teeth looking up !

[khaos]

I bevel the ends of the blade and clamp them together so the joint overlaps.
Put a little silver solder flux in between them. I hammer a piece of silver solder until it is flat and very thin. I cut a piece of this and put it in the overlap. Heat it with a torch until the solder melts. If you get the overlap right, there will be almost nothing to grind flat. I weld 1" blades for my saw that I have blocked up so I can saw something that is 18" high. Almost never breaks in the weld. I also do this when I need to cut out the inside of something. Drill a hole, place the blade through the hole and weld it. After cutting, you have to cut the blade to get it out. be sure to get the teeth pointed in the right direction when you do this. ( don't ask how I know) The blade doesn't cut well with the teeth looking up !

cool. I cant imagine how happy you must have been when you figured that out.

[khaos]

OK, heres the final word on this thing. I love it. I did purchase the timber wolf blade for it and I have resawn about a hundred board feet of cherry and 2 or 3 bf each of walnut, pine, and poplar.

The blade out of the box was hysterical. It was complete garbage! But I wanted to experience it myself. You see when I started 'I' didn't know how bad it was. :eek: The blade replacement and setup was really easy. (align, tighten, loosen till flutter, 1/4 turn)

I cut a domestic cherry board 1"x10"x14ish" @ 10". The wander was better than I expected. I planed it with 3 1/16th passes and 1 1/32 finish pass and that removed all highlights. This took about 10-15 feet of practice to get this result. I cast aside the 'resaw' guide dowel thing and went with the fence and magnetic feather board. The feather board is my new best friend. Initial tries had as much as 3/8 variance. :mad: I would also suggest that you mark a cut line on the top of tall boards to avoid cutting slight wedges. I only have the factory fence. 'feel' the blade grab the wood and adjust your feed speed to match.

I hope this helps someone

The resawing in conjunction with my new :D Dewalt 2 speed planer are great additions to my shop. Now I need a real workbench and a table saw. Money is like oxygen, the more you need the more you think about it. ;) So many tools, so little time.

[bleeth]

Building workbenches is fun. In another life I did a few for "dilettante" professionals like lawyers and doctors who wanted one for their garage tinkering area. Kept saying I'm going to do one for myself. :o Keep saying it too!:( I like Ash for that. Hard and stable and more interesting looking then maple.

[khaos]

Building workbenches is fun. In another life I did a few for "dilettante" professionals like lawyers and doctors who wanted one for their garage tinkering area. Kept saying I'm going to do one for myself. :o Keep saying it too!:( I like Ash for that. Hard and stable and more interesting looking then maple.

Sounds like fun. I'd love to make a buck on one. But I havent finished this one yet. :)

[rhfurniture]

Bandsaw blades: anyone here use carbide tipped bandsaw blades? I've had one (just one) for near six months now - lennox tri-master 19mm x 4tpi - and it works really really well (but costs a lot). I can almost use it as a dimension saw - in fact I am going to try a sliding table on it. You need a heavy bandsaw frame (mine's an old cast iron one) and crank up the tension.
Workbench tops: Made a few. I've tried plywood, but now I stick to beech or elm. Any sound heavy close grained tough timber would do it.

All best from over the pond,

Ralph.

[bleeth]

Ralph:

We can get Beech over here but Elm is a tough one. The whole country lost them a long time ago to Dutch Elm Disease. A few years back I recall seeing an article about a resistant strain developed but it's not back to lumber quantities yet. So all Elm and Elm Veneer here is imported and pricey.
Here's a link to current status:
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Newintro/american.html

[myxpykalix]

I had saw a report somewhere in they talked about using DNA to help breed the Elm and Chestnut back from near extinction.

[bleeth]

Yeah-Just like they have already done with most of the corn grown here they identify the gene(s) that create the susceptability to the disease and then modify it. It's actually a "short-cut" to what they do with selective breeding. Of course the bucks available for the tree research is not as hefty as what is spent on food crops.
The motivation for solving society problems on a large scale is always a direct proportion to money made. A favorite saying in New York is "Can you imagine how fast the rats would be gone from the city if they discovered each one had a bit of gold in them!" Down here it would be the pythons in the Everglades.
Of course our current Congressional majorities don't believe in spending much money on "Tree-Hugger" issues.

[khaos]

Bandsaw blades: anyone here use carbide tipped bandsaw blades? I've had one (just one) for near six months now - lennox tri-master 19mm x 4tpi - and it works really really well (but costs a lot). I can almost use it as a dimension saw - in fact I am going to try a sliding table on it. You need a heavy bandsaw frame (mine's an old cast iron one) and crank up the tension.
Workbench tops: Made a few. I've tried plywood, but now I stick to beech or elm. Any sound heavy close grained tough timber would do it.

All best from over the pond,

Ralph.

I think i may take the plunge into that realm. My forst thought was that the blade is thicker but if I can get a truer cut then I actually wind up with less labor and mor finished material. :)

[michael_schwartz]

I would run carbide blades on saw dedicated to resawing, and ripping.

Otherwise, for general cutting on a 14" saw, I prefer regular blades. Mostly because risk of breaking, or damaging the blades prematurely goes up.

[darrell]

I think I am going to pull the trigger on this band saw (http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2020041/18855/Rikon-14-Deluxe-Bandsaw.aspx). I don't have one in my shop. I use my big radial arm saw for nearly everything. The price is $950 but its on sale for $800 ....

Anyone have experience with this tool?

I have had that saw for about 3yrs now and use it a lot and have had zero problems with it. I did up grade last year to a set of carter bearings which I love but rikon bearings not to bad just a little harder to adjust.

[Brady Watson]

For you guys that own a Rikon - How has the fence worked out for you? It looks pretty flimsy compared to the rest of the tool.

I've got my eye on the 18" model, which is $400 off until the end of the month...

-B

[paul_z]

The fence does look flimsy (even in your hands); however, it has served me quite well. If I were going to do a lot of resawing, I'd build a couple of full height fences and clamp them in place.

Paul Z

PS My Rikon is several years old and we could be talking about different fences.

[waynelocke]

I have used a 1" carbide blade on my 20" bandsaw for several years now. It seems worth it to me. It does seem like the transition from high speed circular saw blades to carbide 35 or so years ago. They have a dramatically long life and I have found them to be cost effective. Factoring in the number of regular or even bimetal blades I would have gone through and the time I would have spent installing those blades I find it a money maker. It also is a remarkably good blade. I have been planning on trying a 1/2" carbide.

[jim_vv]

Greetings, Brady

I have had an 18" Rikon band saw for about five years. Rikon really should provide a better fence. I have tried two options. I have added a piece of MDF to make my fence taller for resawing and I also built an auxiliary fence that I clamp in place. Neither solution is ideal. For ripping, the factory fence works O.K., but for resawing I have to clamp it in place so that it doesn't move. There are too many plastic parts in the fence to allow you to get it snug enough. The Laguna Drifmaster (http://www.lagunatools.com/bandsaw-driftmaster) would be a really nice addition, but is pricey. The motor's capacitor died once, but Rikon was helpful and sent a replacement capacitor quickly for free. The factory guide bearings are not the greatest either. I have replaced all of them because I got tired of the squealing. The blade tension gauge is useless, but I think most are. I never thought much about it before, but a brake would also have been nice. I process a lot of 6/4 and 8/4 rough hardwoods and my band saw has become one of my most used machines as it is so much safer and has a much smaller kerf than the table saw. The good news is that once the saw is tuned just right I can slice off some nice thin veneer if I want to. If I were to do it again, for just a little more money, I would purchase a Grizzly 17" or 19" band saw which both have a real fence and a brake.

Kind regards,

JIM

[Brady Watson]

Jim,
Thanks for the candid review....now I am wondering about the Rikon or the Grizzly...AGAIN!!! ****!

I saw the Grizzly 17 & 19s at their MO showroom & I liked the smooth action of their fence. It seemed to be pretty good. I guess I really should look at them again, because I'd rather get something that will last than waste the ducks on something that I'll wish I didn't get. I DO want to cut some veneer, so resaw height, stability and drift are important factors. The Rikon is $1100 now...

A 'vacuum fence' would be cheap and easy to make for resawing...Not that I would want to use it for general cutting, but it clamps solid across the whole table when slicing veneer.

-B

[darrell]

The fence does look flimsy (even in your hands); however, it has served me quite well. If I were going to do a lot of resawing, I'd build a couple of full height fences and clamp them in place.

Paul Z

PS My Rikon is several years old and we could be talking about different fences.

I had bought 2 switch magnets and made a fence out of mdf and works very well for re-sawing

[steve_g]

Have any of you tried the Magfence? I threw away my Jet fence about a month after buying it (yes... in a fit of rage). I have been reasonably pleased with the Magfence, It stays put, is tall enough for most resaws but is not very quick to adjust.

Steve

[bleeth]

Brady: I had one of the Grizzlys for some time. The table lock/tilt mechanism wasn't the greatest and the upper blade guide also didn't lock in place great. That being said it did give quite a few years of decent service. Weighed a ton! The one I got had a "convertible" motor that could be wired 110 or 220 single. When wired 220 it had a very hard start but ran smooth and strong under 110. The fence was OK. At the time I was sawing mostly teak and hondo and it did a fine job. The blades were a non-standard length but my local sharpening shop made up their own anyway so I could easily get the quality blade I wanted.

[Brady Watson]

Do ALL the Grizzly bandsaws over 14" take a special length blade?

-B

[jim_vv]

Regarding a mag fence, when resawing it is often necessary to move the fence just tiny bits (like sneaking up on a dimension on the table saw). Tiny adjustments are a pain when you have to worry about both ends of the fence. I think the best would be a sturdy fence that can be slid as one piece and locked in place.

Regarding the bands, don't worry about non standard lengths. Find a local sharpener that makes them or order them from Suffolk Machinery (http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/silicon-steel-carbide-blade-selection-chart/). Suffolk makes the silicon steel Timber Wolf bands to order and quickly. They will set you up in their system and make your bands the right size every time. What will you be using your band saw for? A carbide tipped blade would be nice, but you can build a nice assortment of carbon or silicon steel blades for the same money. It depends on what you intend to do.

[kern]

Brady,


A 'vacuum fence' would be cheap and easy to make for resawing...Not that I would want to use it for general cutting, but it clamps solid across the whole table when slicing veneer.

Is there a link to using a vacuum fence for resawing? Or can you tell us more about it? Kern

[Brady Watson]

Thanks for the tips, Jim.

Kern - You can machine yourself a 'vacuum pod' that is the length of your bandsaw table. Set it, apply vacuum and it will hold better than any fence on the market.

As Jim pointed out, you do want to make micro adjustments especially if you plan on cutting veneer. One possibility is to use the bandsaw's factory fence no matter how terrible it is, and attach a 90 deg piece of aluminum angle to it. Then attach the vacuum puck to the angle - apply vacuum whenever you need more clamping power on the fence. With your CNC router you can make all kinds of cool & custom fixtures for your shop.

-B

[khaos]

I have been using a magnetic feather board and I like it. The trick is to have the trailing end of the feather board end right at the leading edge of the blade.

I find the fence to be pretty good for a single side clamp. With that said I have only resawn boards up to 6" Longer boards would require a new strategy for me I think. It seems like adding a pair of rails and a double clamp fence wouldn't be a bad addition....