Best Bandsaw in 2010?

**catta12** · 01-15-2010, 09:50 PM

I went through the same dance several months ago. I finally settled on the Rikon 10-325 when it was $699 at Woodcraft after turkeyday. Actually, I bought it at a local shop that matched the Woodcraft price. The Rikon is very good with an upgraded Woodslicer blade. It needed very little tuning (but some). I have done a little resawing, mostly oak and purple heart and it never skipped a beat. I would buy the same saw again in a heartbeat.

**Mr__Bill** · 01-15-2010, 11:40 PM

The GRIZZLY G0636X Band Saw made Popular Woodworking's list of best tools to 2009.

Take a deep breath before you click the link and see the price.

Bill
nothing is too expensive for someone else to buy.....

**Hoakie** · 01-16-2010, 12:42 AM

! tH!�K dr00l $H0rt �!r�u!t3d m� K3�b04rd

**sweensdv** · 01-16-2010, 10:29 AM

I'm biased towards the 10-325 as I have one. When I was trying to decide which one to buy my choices were basically the same as yours. The primary reason I went with the 10-325 was that I wouldn't have had to add anything to the saw in order to resaw over 6". My feeling was that when you add a riser block to a bandsaw you increase the possibility of the column having a little flex to it. Although that possibility could just be my imagination I figured a one piece construction unit was the better choice in this case.

**toolguy1000** · 01-16-2010, 11:39 AM

there is a similarity between the rikons and the better band saws offered by sears. i'm not sure if this is good or bad, just pointing it out. the rikon definately gives you a lot of saw for $700 or $800. if there was one thing i'd add to the discussion, it would be to try to get a saw that doesn't require table removal to either change the blade or adjust the lower guides and thrust bearing. the only way to properly do it on my 18" jet is to remove the table and that is annoying.

**mpc** · 01-17-2010, 03:45 AM

I haven't tried the Griz but the Rikon 10-325 is a sweetheart. I received one as a gift a little while back - I'd been wanting it for a while ever since seeing it in a bandsaw comparison in some magazine 2 or 3 years ago. The Rikon won hands-down, including besting a more expensive Laguna. Many Woodcraft stores have a copy of this comparison displayed with the Rikon. A year or so later a different mag tested the 14 inch bandsaws... again the Rikon won. The Griz model in those comparisons was a closed-frame style like the Rikon... not the newer G0555 however.

I like the blade guide bearing setup, especially the fact that the bearing behind the blade is oriented so the blade rides on the outside of the bearing - not along the "face" like most saws - Rikon's setup is how bearings were designed to be stressed. The blade changing slot in the table lines up with the blade too, making blade changes easier. Most bandsaws have the slot oriented perpendicular to the blade's installed orientation so you have to twist/flex the blade a bit more... just more chances of personal injury. With the Rikon setup the blade just goes straight in. Everything about the Rikon felt solid/beefy, even the box stand. That stand looks like simple sheet metal... it's THICK metal with several folds so it ends up quite rigid. That stand takes a while to assemble too - lots of bolts & nuts. You'll need agile, little fingers, to reach some of the nooks and crannies. The main body of the saw comes pre-assembled: case, wheels, and motor.

Mine works quite well, I can't imagine what the Griz might do better. I doubt anybody would be disappointed with the Rikon. And, since the Sears bandsaws appear to be mostly clones (or built in the same factory), you can probably get replacement parts from Sears once the saw is out of warranty.

mpc

edit: I know the reason most bandsaws put the slot facing the side of the table, rather than the front like Rikon, is supposedly to keep the front part of the table flat. With the slot facing the front of the table, it's theoretically possible the two parts could drift slightly so the part of the table you use the most (the infeed support) would not be flat... the Rikon has a simple, beefy, metal bar underneath to eliminate any mismatch; you loosen one bolt on that bar and pivot it out of the way to change blades. On other bandsaws, the slot points towards the right side of the table; you could theoretically end up with a step up or step down as your workpiece passes the blade. Such saws have a tapered pin/plug that fits into a matching cone-shaped cutout in the table to bring the table flat. My Rikon table was dead-flat across the slot without that metal bar underneath. So I'm not worried the forward-facing slot will be a problem. It wasn't a problem on my 10 inch Craftsman bandsaw - the one that looks like a baby Rikon.

**Hoakie** · 01-20-2010, 11:08 AM

Thanks all for you suggestions/comments. I pulled the trigger on the Rikon this morning. I really looked hard at the Gizz models again but to get the "equivalent" features it would be at least as expensive as the Rikon after riser kit and freight. I also looked at the 17" models and the 14" with a 2hp motor but I'm not sure the power in my shop would play nice.

I decided to get it from Amazon for $799 w/free shipping (too impatient to get back up and running to wait for sale). After calling Woodcraft in MN, they only had the floor model on hand and would take 1-2 weeks to get a boxed one in stock. It would have also added 6.5% sales tax + gas so it is about a wash in terms of $$.

**catta12** · 01-20-2010, 12:07 PM

I am sure you will like the 10-325. It is a solid performer and a great value when you start comparing features and upgrade costs to get to the same level. Just be forewarned that the included manual is pretty crappy (the only real negative about the saw). Here is a slightly better version from the Rikon website:
http://www.rikontools.com/images/Manuals/10325.pdf
You will probably also need to adjust the upper blade guard to be parallel to the blade (not covered in manual). This is done with set screws and isn't too hard, just omitted as a setup step IIRC. Adjusting this eliminates having to adjust the bearings every time you move the guard up or down.

I was able to assemble mine solo, but having a helper would have been a big plus.

And congrats on the new dust maker!

**mpc** · 01-23-2010, 02:02 PM

Originally posted by catta12

I was able to assemble mine solo, but having a helper would have been a big plus.

Ditto. As I noted in my prior post, the main portion of the saw is pre-assembled. Lifting it onto the base cabinet is not a one-person task. I cheated:

I slid a hand truck under the main saw body and strapped them together (with a flat board between them to give the bandsaw something to lean against). Then I leaned the whole shebang onto the back of the hand truck... onto a step leading from the garage into the house. This lifted the saw's bottom foot about ten inches off the floor. A quick pile of scrap boards brought the base cabinet even with the saw making it easy to bolt them together. Remove the scrap wood pile and carefully lift/tilt the hand truck to stand the whole assembly up again... into the mobile tool stand. I never had to physically lift much weight this way.

Once on the stand, I then installed the beefy cast iron table.

I did have a helper getting the saw out of the box though. I doubt I could have done that myself. Unlike many bandsaw shipping cartons, the Rikon 10-325 allows the saw+carton to lay flat. Most have to stand up like an old telephone booth so you need an open pickup truck or big van to carry/deliver it.

mpc

**sweensdv** · 01-23-2010, 02:24 PM

Originally posted by catta12

.....................
You will probably also need to adjust the upper blade guard to be parallel to the blade (not covered in manual). This is done with set screws and isn't too hard, just omitted as a setup step IIRC. Adjusting this eliminates having to adjust the bearings every time you move the guard up or down.

catta12, can you describe how you adjusted the upper blade guard assembly? Having to readjust the bearings every time I move the blade guard is an annoyance to be sure.

**catta12** · 01-26-2010, 01:37 PM

Originally posted by sweensdv

catta12, can you describe how you adjusted the upper blade guard assembly? Having to readjust the bearings every time I move the blade guard is an annoyance to be sure.

I answered your question in a new thread so that others can read/find it too. Let me know if you have any questions.

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=49408

Best Bandsaw in 2010?

Best Bandsaw in 2010?

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