Hello all!
I am in the market for a new bandsaw. I received $600 for a new bandsaw as an x-mas gift, and I've narrowed down the list to the Craftsman 22401 or the Rikon 10-325.
I currently own a Hitachi 12" CB13F bandsaw. It was my first bandsaw, picked it up on clearance from Lowe's, and it is now broken! The bottom wheel snapped off. I do plan to repair it at some point and throw a small blade on it for cutting tight curves.
I used the Hitachi for doing curves, which is seemed to do fine, and for re-sawing (had a 5" re-saw capacity), which it did very slowly, but managed. I did manage to stop the blade a couple of times, notably when trying to re-saw 4.5" hard maple. Was trying to go too fast.
I am trying to decide between the Craftsman which has 8" re-saw and goes on sale for $400 (curretnly on sale for $470, normally $499) or the Rikon which has 13" re-saw and is $750 (does this ever go on sale??). I'm not sure what direction to go. I don't really plan on re-sawing anything much bigger than 6", as I only have a 6" jointer, and I'm not a turner. Also, the little 12" Hitachi did almost everything I needed it to, so I am leaning toward the Craftsman. I have recently been wanting to get into bent laminations, and so I am also interested in a drum sander at some point. If I purchased the Craftsman, I'd be $350 closer to a drum sander.
However, I don't want to make the mistake of buying a too-small bandsaw, or wishing in the future that I had purchased a bigger model. Does the Rikon offer other advantages besides re-saw capacity? I know it has a quick-release tension lever, which would be really nice, and 1/2 hp bigger motor. Am I missing something else? Does anyone have experiece with both of these models? Are there other models I should be considering?
I am in the market for a new bandsaw. I received $600 for a new bandsaw as an x-mas gift, and I've narrowed down the list to the Craftsman 22401 or the Rikon 10-325.
I currently own a Hitachi 12" CB13F bandsaw. It was my first bandsaw, picked it up on clearance from Lowe's, and it is now broken! The bottom wheel snapped off. I do plan to repair it at some point and throw a small blade on it for cutting tight curves.
I used the Hitachi for doing curves, which is seemed to do fine, and for re-sawing (had a 5" re-saw capacity), which it did very slowly, but managed. I did manage to stop the blade a couple of times, notably when trying to re-saw 4.5" hard maple. Was trying to go too fast.
I am trying to decide between the Craftsman which has 8" re-saw and goes on sale for $400 (curretnly on sale for $470, normally $499) or the Rikon which has 13" re-saw and is $750 (does this ever go on sale??). I'm not sure what direction to go. I don't really plan on re-sawing anything much bigger than 6", as I only have a 6" jointer, and I'm not a turner. Also, the little 12" Hitachi did almost everything I needed it to, so I am leaning toward the Craftsman. I have recently been wanting to get into bent laminations, and so I am also interested in a drum sander at some point. If I purchased the Craftsman, I'd be $350 closer to a drum sander.
However, I don't want to make the mistake of buying a too-small bandsaw, or wishing in the future that I had purchased a bigger model. Does the Rikon offer other advantages besides re-saw capacity? I know it has a quick-release tension lever, which would be really nice, and 1/2 hp bigger motor. Am I missing something else? Does anyone have experiece with both of these models? Are there other models I should be considering?
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