Common question: which band saw?

Here is a review of my Rikon, also if you go to tags, click on bandsaw, for more bandsaw threads.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

I don’t know what to tell you. I have an old Rockwell/ Milwaukie/ Delta 20 inch. It rattles and hums and cuts a lot of wood. I don’t think I could get by with a 14 inch. Before this I had one that went with the ShopSmith. It was better than no band saw. It seemed that I was always bumping into the column. I’ve recentl looked at some of the top end Deltas. They look pretty good. You might check out a web site called IRS Auctions. That stands for Industrial Recovery Services. They auction off whole furniture factories. They always have big band saws and small ones. If an auction was close enough it could be a real money saver. By the way most trucking companies will arrange to deliver to your home. I know Grizzly will.

Good luck,
Tom

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Lots of Grizzly fans on the site as well. Laguna is top rated in latest review. They are a bit expensive.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I have a Delta 14” with the 6” riser. Most all bandsaws are based on it.
I have had no problems with it at all.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

That Rikon is no slouch. I have a generic 14” with riser block. It’s not my favorite tool in the shop, but it does what I need it to do.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Fine woodworking just did a review. I’m not sure if it is in the current issue or the one prior. It is a good read.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

You might consider the newer frame style that has the long steel back support rather than the older cast style. All the ones I see have better features than the older cast types like delta , rRgid, and the low end offshore types.
Rikon, Laguna, Grizzly etc all have the newer style.
Try for a big hp motor too.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

What about Rigid? I have been batting around the idea and HD floor model retails for about $469. Delta is about $649.

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

I have looked at the Rigid. It seems well made and the fit and finiish is great but… it has the old style castings, it does not appear to take a riser, and it is exclusive to Home Depot.
Those three in combination would make me think twice about the saving.
Remember you will have to deal with your purchase for probably 5-15 years so consider the whole picture when you make the choice.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Thanks for the input recieved so far.

I’ve read both of the recent articles on band saws from Fine Woodworking and Woodworkers Journal magazines and they both have high marks for the Laguna. I can’t consider this model because of the 220 volt motor and because I can’t take a common carrier delivery. Whatever I buy must come from a local dealer;
most have staff who will come along on the delivery (extra $) to help move the equipment off the truck and into my basement shop. I have easy access through the back door, but need extra hands to go from the tailgate to the shop.

Using these electrical and delivery requirement limitations as a guide my short list is down to the Rikon (14”), Powermatic (14” cast iron) and Steel City (14” cast iron and their 16” steel frame) . All of these machines have a 1 1/2 hp motor so they should all easily handle the load here.

The Powermatic never scores badly with anyone, so I’m sure it will do everything I need 95% of the time. But it doesn’t have the stiffness of the steel frame models, so it may not grow with me in the future. By comparison the Rikon scores well with many people, but the FW article complains about it having poorly made guide mechanisms and comments that blade changing is very difficult. I do a lot of blade changes so ease of setup is important and I’m concerned about these comments. If the guides are poor there is always the option of changing them, but why add the cost if it can be avoided up-front. Has anyone had significant experience with this Rikon model?

My last option is the Steel City. I would consider either their 14” with a riser block or their 16” steel frame machines. These are available here locally and have a nice 5 year warranty, but they haven’t been out for very long and haven’t been a part of FW mags side-by-side reviews. Does anyone have any extensive experience with either of the Steel City machines?

As noted above my criteria for selection is based on a requirement for 110V electrical, availability at a local dealer and also good, easy to use guides and easy blade changes.

Thank you all for your suggestions,

JW

I’ve used the powermatic a few times and really liked the saw. Smooth operation and the fence are high points.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I have the Rigid, and for the money it’s a decent machine. Bob is correct about the old style castings, but you can get a riser block for it. My only complaint is the vibration, but that can be easily fixed as shown in this thread about bandsaw vibration. I know that modifying the bandsaw right out of the box to stop vibration is a big negative for the Rigid, but I guess you get what you pay for.

-- JP, Shelbyville, KY

I have the Rigid and really don’t care for it in fact I think I would go with the Grizzly at this point. It received great marks from FWW and based on what my lathe has done for me I would buy from the Grizzly line again, no problem.

-- http://rjoneswoodworks.com/

In the $500 range, I belive the Grizzley is the winner. I’ve seen lots of positive discussion here on them.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

You might look at Woodtek from Woodworkers Supply. My step-dad had one in his shop and it ate a lot of oak and kept asking for more. I wish I had it in my shop. Here is their website … http://woodworker.com/

I’ve got the Ridgid and mine doesn’t have much vibration. It’s worked well for me except in the resaw department. I’ve resawed some 6” stuff and it does ok as long as you’ve got a 2 or 3 tpi blade in it to keep the kerf clean. But the little 3/4 hp motor will labor if you try to feed too fast. I can’t imagine putting a riser block in to saw thicker stuff as I don’t think it has enough power. Save your money as I should have done and get a Rikon or a Grizzly w/2hp for just a couple hundred more. Just my humble opinion.

-- Carl Rast, Pelion, SC

Hi,

Steel City has won a lot of quality awards from what I have read. I have recently bought their 6” jointer and their 10” cabinet saw. In my limited experience, and I mean limited, they are both great. Good luck. Oh! at one point I thought I had a real problem with my brand new jointer that turned out to be a simple adjustment problem. But, they were right there ready to do whatever to solve my problem. They were even ready to send me a new fence, if that was the problem. They are good people to do business with.

-- Bob Lance, DE

Fine Woodworking’ 2008 Tool guide lists the Laguna LT14 SE ($1500) as best overall and the Grizzly G0457 ($795) as the best value.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

whatever you do DON’T get a Delta. I bought the 28-206 and it would not stop vibrating and the blade wobbeled severly. Next I got the Minimax MM16 and had lots of trouble with it….switch on blade brake, bowed table…worst of all…..the geometry is wrong so that the blade does not stay centered in the throat plate when the table is tilted. I now have my Agazzani B20 and love it. Not a single problem or dissappointment. I was torn between it and the Laguna LT 16HD or LT 18. I chose the Agazzani because I like the ease of adjustment of the Euro guides. The Laguna guides just seemed like they would be a real hassel to adjust. I have NEVER found a bandsaw that does not have the problem of the guides needing adjustment every time you change the height of the guidepost….....therefore the guides should be quick and easy to adjust. Check out the Agazzani at Eagle tools.

I’m thinking about the Laguna 14. Does not look like Agazzani has anything in that size. I’m trying to keep the purchase price under $2K including accessories, tax and shipping. Anyone have any other thoughts in the 1-2K range…

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Another vote for Grizzly. I purchased the optional riser kit along with some Timberwolf blades and this thing cuts like butter!!

-- Hard work spotlights the character of people; some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all!

I think there was some additional information with the review on the 14 inchers regarding the Rikon… a miss set up or something. Search for it a bit… (I own the 18 inch new Delta and am happy with it.) Got it refurbished for $750 (it was really brand new). I have not had any experience with Rikon tools whatsoever but people seem pretty happy with them. Ultimatly I would say if there was a brand to trust it would be powermatic overall but there are plenty of exceptions.

Drew

-- Drew, Pleasant Grove, Utah

No matter what you buy, Timberwolf gets my vote! GREAT blades. Just install them per their instructions. No need to tune their blades as with some others (especially the cheapies).

-- Dean, Missouri

I see that the Laguna was just the Top Choice in FWW for 14” saws. Some interesting criteria were how easy it is to change blades.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

I own the Rikon 14”. I did a review a while back, but Dick’s is more comprehensive. No regrets with the purchase. I’ve not had any limitations to this point. The biggest flaw, and it could be a big one for some, is that changing blades is not at all fast. The bearing system is awesome, but requires some effort to adjust them with blades changes. The bearings seem far superior to block style guides I’ve used. My opinion is that the performance after the set up, is worth the effort. I don’t change blades too often though. My Bro-in-law has the Grizzly 1HP 14”. He wishes he had the more recent beefed up version. The only issue he has, is that it is underpowered for most resaw tasks. Other than that, great saw. I like the Rikon, but I am very pleased with my Grizzly purchases as well.

And yes, Woodminer is right on. I put a TW blade on a cheap 9” table saw and the performance was drastically better. I hear the Woodslicer blades are great as well.

-- Jeff, South Carolina

I have a Laguna LT16 bandsaw and switching out the blade really isn’t a problem. It is a power horse and when properly setup cuts like a dream.

Having said that, I have to agree with many others on here, if you are on a budget, the Grizzly Ulitimate 14” bandsaw is a great choice.

-- Festool4

This maybe to late but you can have delivey with a lift gate if you ask for it, they charge a extra $35 I think thats what it was.
But if your still looking checkout www.sawstop,com they are going to be bring a bandsaw to market. I use their cabinet saw and it is incredable. The other thing is the safety factor, if there is a chance your daughter will be running it. As for getting it from the truck to the house I would rent a fridge truck that you can strap it to. It worked for me, and I’m limited as to how much I can lift.
One other things is any saw that I would by, I would most likely change it over to Carter Bearings. Due to the things you can do with their set up. Check out their web site.
As for the power requirements that should not present a problem.
Good Luck

-- Ed Collinge- Edmonds, WA.

I have a 14in powermatic with a riser block…. the powermatic is cast iron… so it is rather stiff framed and it came out of the box with the wheels coplaner the drive belt aligned and tentioned properly…....after installing the factory blade that came wth the riser block all stayed alligned and the blade tracked perfectly without any adjustment (apart from tensioning the blade) little to no drift and the fence produces striaght cuts again right out of the box so I would say go for the powermatic…... I tried a Rikkon clone crapsman saw from sears and was really disapointed I am guessing that it isn’t made by rikkon or comes of the “F” production line…..

Now all that said I am a new woodworker so I guess you could take my thoughts for what they are worth LOL but I would buy a powermatic all over again given a second chance….....

-- Hrolfr

I did my research, and am considering getting the Rikon 14” deluxe model as soon as I can afford the extra space needed for it in my shop. (read – as soon as we move in to a bigger place) I like it’s 1.5Hp and the large resaw capacity – I also like it’s construction and seems like you dont need to add any accessories to it (resaw fence standard, no need for extension bar, tension release standard, etc,etc)

from the 3 models you listed I think the Rikon would also be the least expensive (especially when you add up all those extra features that come standard on the Rikon, but might be an add on on the powermatic and steel-city)

Let us know what you chose, and why – Im sure there are others (me included) that could benefit from this bit of information.

-- My Drinking Club has a Woodworking Problem...

I chose the powermatic all accessories included and the Rikkon clone gave me a bad taste fot that style saw

-- Hrolfr

Everytime I see the “new” style saws I remember that Cast Iron absorbs vibration approximately 6x better than steel.

I also have to ask what people are doing wrong with 1+ horsepower being underpowered for resawing. I just resawed 5 inch oak with a dull 1/2 blade on my 3/4 horse Delta without power problems (burning because of the dull blade yes).

marcb… yep the powermatic passes the nickle test

-- Hrolfr

Hrolfr…. from what I hear that sears Rikkon clone is a very poor quality, and just cloned the appearance, but the Rikkon saw is supposed to be really great (also concurred in the FWW stand-off article) and is a good bang for the buck.

I think the Cast Iron does absorb good amount of vibration, but those are a completely different design, I have yet to hear of any issues with vibration on the higher quality (Rikkon, Laguna) Euro style Bandsaws… but that is an interesting point – has anyone ran into such issues?

I personally like the more stream-lined clean look of the euro-style saws… but thats just a personal preference.

-- My Drinking Club has a Woodworking Problem...

PurpLev….. that is kinda what I was guessing with the clone but it was just one of those things when I went to buy another saw that stuck in my mind…..... I have to agree that everything I have read about the Rikkon saws has been positive

-- Hrolfr

A larger saw will allow you to run wider blades.

I have an old Delta/Crescent 20” saw and I run a 1’” Stellite-tipped
blade on it. A wider blade has more stiffness and will cut straighter
with less fussing.

The big throat is a benefit to a large saw as well because the
limitations of the tool are not run into as often.

I most often snap a line on a board, bandsaw to it, then joint
the edge straight and rip the stock to width.

Resawing wide boards, is, in my opinion, over-rated. It’s slow,
requires a very sharp blade, nerve-racking and it takes
time to set up for it.

I’d rather take a 10” board, rip it it half, resaw and joint it twice.
That’s just me. Less stressful than worrying about a 10”
resaw going out of whack.

-- http://amherstcabinets.com - also a marketing consultant with expertise in direct response marketing for woodworking and online business building