Quality Machine, Quality Customer Service, Highly Recommended!

Great blog on the saw. My only issue is with your statement on tensioning the blade “you only tension the blade when putting a new one on”. I have always been told to not leave the blade tensioned , particularly as I may go months between using the saw. For all I know this is an old wive’s tale, but there are aftermarket blade de-tensioners available. Of course that might be someone cashing in on a popular misconception.

Or of course, the Rikon may have an integrated blade de-tensioner, in which case please ignore this misguided rant ;-].

-- Chris

So I went and looked at an ad for the Rikon, and it does appear to have an integrated quick tension release. Please ignore my earlier post. Great looking saw.

-- Chris

Thanks Chris for pointing that out, everything about this saw is so intuitive and simple, that I forgot to mention that one as well… I edited it in.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Excellent review. I have been looking into this BS for some time now and also have put it off due to financing. But was going to purchase it with our tax return, that was of course until my wife’s van broke again. So now it’s either a new car or the Rikon…..hmmm, I think I am going to get my wife a bus schedule.

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

Nice review. I’ve had the Rikon Deluxe for over a year now and really like it. I also appreciate the customer service. There may be a little trick you’ll have to learn to reset the tensioning assembly. The whole assembly is held in place by a square bolt that can be unscrewed if you over tension or don’t release the quick tensioning bar. It is not a safety issue and won’t happen when the machine is running. Just something that can happen when tuning or changing blades. Basically you insert a larger slot screwdriver tip through the spring to hold the bolt in place while threading it to the assembly. I don’t know all the part names so this is not clear. Once I fugured it out it was simple and the guys back at Rikon will help. BTW, same thing can happen with the 18” bandsaw.

-- tim hill www.newcalshop.com

Thanks newTim thats a good tip, never really had any issues with the tensioning assembly though, mine works pretty smoothly (and I don’t always remember to release the quick tensioning bar… read- mostly not)

3fingerpat – does you wife REALLY needs to leave home? (I know…that was bad…lol)

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Very cool. I’ve been thinking on a bandsaw—I think I can get my grandfather’s old one to see how it all works, but someday I’m sure I’ll be on the upgrade path. (It’s an older Craftsman 14” I believe.) Nice review!

-- Bradley Miller, Blue Springs, MO - http://myoldgarage.blogspot.com

Nice review! Thanks!!!!

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Hi Purplev;

Great review.

Glad to see a good company review.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Purplev – I was interested in your experiences with resawing – obviously by the pictures it looks like this machine excels at resawing. I bought a junky harbor freight bandsaw so I am nervous about jumping into another 14 inch bandsaw and I am thinking of getting a 17 inch bandsaw just because I had a horrible experience trying to resaw with the HF saw – the blade had too much drift and I felt I had to really push the wood, the machine screeched through the cut and I just gave up on resawing. I was wondering how happy you are with the speed of resaw cut and the ability to saw a straight enough line on your resaws and do you think your machine can handle dense wood resaws to your satisfaction – if you were mainly going to use the bandsaw for resawing, would you still recommend your machine or go to a bigger model? – Tomas

If it,s so quiet I hope you remember it,s running if you walk away. I,ve read about a guy who wired a light on to his saws on/off switch to remind him it was on because it was so quiet he would simply forget. Not that you should walk away without switching it off first, but we,ve all done it. Good indepth review.

-- if the hand is not working it is not a pure hand

Tomas, One of the main reasons I got the bandsaw was for resawing – as I stated in my first paragraph, I received some Apple Logs that I had to slice down (I still have them by the way… and should really get down to cutting them up already… too many things have higher priority right now and little time at hand). but I did resaw this 11'' laminated board with extreme ease, and with a very good looking cut – both in precision, and in smoothness of the cut faces. I resaws a ~1 1/8” thick material into 2×1/2” boards , and I’m even able to use the 1/16” leftover veneer “cutoff” from that resaw for my front face of the box (I laminated it onto 1/4” birch ply for added thickness) – so, yeah, I’m extremely happy with the resaw capacity and capability of this saw – this is why I chose this one over others, and I’ve never had to regret it. the more I use it, the more I like it.

kiwi – I never forget to turn it off when I step away …. I do it on purpose ..lol (ok, j\k my workshop is so small, that you can’t really walk ‘AWAY’ anyways)

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I too have this saw and love it. ...and I abuse things!

-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings

Rikon 14 is a good saw and dollar 4 dollar worth the money. Just a few problems I didn’t like was the light was on the wrong side, back lighting. Also the bearing blocks we made from aluminum and were a problem from poor taping. Set screw on one was crooked but the Customer service was great and sent a new one the same day. 2 days later I was up and running. Nice machine and Rikon is really trying to put out a good products for the price.
BigStick

-- Tommy, Pa, www.bigstickmfg.com

Good review

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Hello Purplev, I purchased the same saw after it received good marks in a wood working magazine. I mainly purchased it because I liked the resaw capacity. However, after putting it together ( and I agree with you about the poorly written manual ) I wasn’t happy. I cannot hold a straight line even cutting in soft wood when resawing. I have used different blades, changed the speed but stilll no luck. I currently have it running with a Timberwolf resaw blade. Is there anything I seem to be missing?

Mike:

quote: ( and I agree with you about the poorly written manual ) I actually didn’t have any issues with the manual.

now for the problem – have you checked the wheels to be coplanar to each other? you may need to readjust the lower blade to get a better cut. I can only assume tension on the blade is sufficient yet nor overly done? are the guides close enough to the blade to support it yet not touching it (unless pressure on the blade is excerted)? are the guides (top) close enough (1/4”) to the piece being resaws? if it’s too far that might cause the blade to drift.

there are different causes with a bandsaw for different behaviors – what exactly happens with your cut? what does “not straight” mean? does it mean you get a wavy cut but in a set direction? or does the blade drift into the fence? does the blade drift away from the fence? ( this would be better discussed in a tool setup forum, but since we’re on the subject – might as well address it here)

can always call Rikon (they are here in MA) and get a very good and helpful support from them. they would know more than anyone the mechanics of their units. they helped me.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Purplev, thanks for the quick response. I will check on what you have mentioned. I do remember that the blade drifted from the fence. As for the other things, I wont be able to check out until Sunday, but will let you know how I make out. Lastly, I apoligize for the manual comment, must have been another review that I read.

PurpLev, hello again. I had some time between work and little league to look at my Rikon bandsaw. If you remember I had some problems with resawing. I found that the bottom guide bearing was way off and re-adjusted it. Everything else looked fine. So, I started her up and found a piece of Oak (9” wide) and sliced it in half. Although it cut much better, it still took more effort then I think it should have, it took nearly 5 minutes to cut through at a lenght of 10”. Maybe I am expecting to much, at least the high pitched sqeaul is gone.

5 minutes for a 9”x10” – no , thats not right. should be more like 30-40 seconds at most. what blade did you use for that cut (brand, TPI, hook type, width)? was the cut straight? was the cut clean or had ripples? was there burning in the wood? did the wood not feed any faster? or you didn’t try?

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Purplev, I cant remember what brand, but timberwolf sticks out in my mind. The blade is 5/8”, 5TPI and is a Hook style blade. There was no burning but there were many ripples. As for the feed rate, I was already nervous that I was using to much force. Do you think a wider and a skip tooth blade might help. Which would you recommend? Thanks again.

Mike, for resawing – and especially such thicknesses (9”) you should use a 3TPI blade, with 5TPI you have too many teeth in the lumber at one time which adds resistance, and also means you have less gullets to clear the wood dust away. 5/8” should be ok. I would start with a different blade if you believe the saw is tuned up properly – I started using this bandsaw with the factory supplied 5/8” blade, and was getting poor results (not as slow as 5” to resaw- but still some resistance) and the cut would have ripples, and really rough edge. I then switched to the Woodslicer 1/2” thick blade from highlandwoodworking.com and the results are night and day – I now can pass along 11” thick material with ease, and the cut is almost jointed smooth.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Purplev, I ordered the blade, let you know how it works. Thanks for the help.

Purplev, I got the new blade today. I installed the 3/4in. 3tpi Woodslicer blade. I started with a good 10” inch wide piece of Oak. It was like night and day. I was so amazed, it took no effort at all to feed the work into the blade—if I wanted to, I could have pushed alot faster and the saw never skipped a beat. The finished cut was so smooth that little sanding would be necessary. I am very grateful for the assistance and very happy that I stumbled upon this fantastic web site. Thanks again, I can’t wait to find a nice log to re-saw.

haha, welcome to the club. driving around now will never be a “it’s just a fallen log over there” anymore :o)

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Purp, how has the saw been for you now that you have had it a while?
Have you put a mobile base on it yet?
Any changes or recommendations from your experiences so far?

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

pat- I got the mobile base that woodcraft sells (the one you install on a 3/4” plywood platform). I got it before I bought the saw, and it works great. I don’t really move the saw much as it has a designated spot that works great for it -but from time to time I’ll have to move it and the base moves freely – no tipping over or anything of that sort, also not top heavy.

changes to the saw – not really unless you consider replacing the blade a major change- I’m still using all the “factory” parts. no upgrades – everything works like it should, smooth, and without a hitch. I’m using the saw quite often, resawing, cleanups, mortises, ripping, dovetails, curves. it is still quiet as the first time I used it, and still as powerful, hasn’t slowed down at all.

as I mentioned – I did get a 1/2” woodslicer blade from highlandwoodworking.com – as the name suggests – it slices wood like butter – pretty remarkable. see MikeinNJ’s expression about it 2 comments above – it’s THAT good.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Thanks, I did read his comments. Okay, that seals it for me, Rikon it is. Thanks again for your review, very helpful.

-- "You get what you inspect, not what you expect"

Purple,
I bought the 14” Rikon Deluxe last week and didn’t get a chance to set it up till last night. No offence meant but your going to ruin your body lifting things like that saw. I’m a big guy. but there was no way I was goimg to take a chance, lifting it by myself. Who knows maybe I’m wimpimg out in my old age.
First off Rikon should hire someone who knows how to write a manual, that is one of the worst manuals I have ever seen.
We got the saw fastened to the base and I was sitting in front of the saw looking at where the Trunion sits, thinking about how the table mounts to the Trunion. Then I noticed that the Lower Trunion Assembly is broken in Two places. If you look in your manual on page 20, it is part number 180. You will see there is a bolt in the front of the Trunion that attaches it to the saw frame. The Trunion is busted on both sides of that bolt hole. So others with this saw may want to check their saws, to make sure this isn’t a weak point.
I called Woodcraft about the problem yesterday and they were great about it. I live 50 miles away from there store, so it’s a good bit of the day going to their store and home again. They said they will be at my house at 8:00 am tomorrow with a new saw that they will assemble for me.
Hopefully I will be as happy with my saw as you are with yours. The reason for buying the Rikon was based on the positive reviews it has recieved. As well as the great features it has, such as the Resaw ability.

-- Ed - Milan, IN

EdC – no offence taken :) thanks for sharing you experience- I’m sure it’ll help he overall feedback on this machine that others can benefit from.

as far as weight – I highly recommend getting help putting this together, no questions asked – however, I myself (and I’m sure others as well) sometimes don’t have that available at most times, and as such, I merely suggested that although not recommended – it IS possible to put this things together by youself – most definitely not with brute force though! I used several lifting jigs (pullies, and straps) to assist me with that.

sorry to hear you ran into manufacturing defects, but esp. in todays economy it is expected for each brand to have some errors – Rikon shines when it comes to backing up their machines, and taking responsibility for it – as you can see for yourself. hopefully Woodcraft will make it easier on you, as this is a great machine to have at your disposal. Enjoy!

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Hey PurpLev. I just wrote a review for this bandsaw on L.J. You have a little more experience with it than I do so I’d like to ask you a few questions. I’m now noticing a little vibration and I can surely tell that this bandsaw is on when standing a few feet away. Is everyone elses Rikon lack ANY vibration and so much quieter than mine? I just tried to rewaw a plain old 2×4 and it was kind of slow going through. I’m using a 3 tpi 1/2inch Lenox. That was my very first cut with a bandsaw and I didn’t know what to expect. Maybe I need a 6 tpi or more blade?
Thanks.

congrats woodplay – this is a good quality machine. Yes – mine is vibration free – even though it’s on a mobile base! the only noise I started hearing as of late has to do with the wheels squeaking – but it’s just noise, without vibration.

make sure everything is nice and tight – also the lower cabinet bolts needs to be tightened down. and try to run the saw without a blade in it – if you still get vibration – it’s the motor, if not – than something with the wheels is causing it.

as for the Lenox blade and quality of cut – I only used 3 blades on my saw – the factory supplied one which is a crappy blade, I’ll only use it for backup if I must. but for all other cuts I use the woodslicer 1/2” 3tpi. after reading good reviews on it here on LJ I picked one up (highlandwoodworking.com) and could not be happier – the saw slices through 12” boards with ease, and produces a very clean cut. for resawing you want the least amount of TPI because there is a lot of material that is being removed, and you need lots of gullets to take that material away.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

PurpLev, Great review! I am saving up for a bandsaw (convincing the wife that I “need” it) and this one has been on the radar. Im glad to hear that its working well for you.

-- -Spencer, Gilbert Az (http://www.azwoodshop.com)