# Rikon 10-325-14" Band saw



## Surfside

I've looked into this machine before. The common issue with this saw, ( most reviews say) , is the bearing guides. The guide adjustment is a bit tricky.


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## Kroden

I've had mine for about 6 months now and I'm actually liking it more and more. It's not perfect, but I accept its faults. I've looked at the replacement parts I could get, and I don't feel it's worth it.

One thing I just got around to fixing last week was the guidepost itself. It was a little crooked, so the guides were actually a little off-center and at a slight angle to the blade. Took a little looking to figure out how to adjust that, but now that I have things are much smoother. Even though the angle was slight, I think it was enough to put some pressure on the blade in one direction and caused some chatter.

I did remove the little plastic safety guard under the table though. I think that annoyed me more when changing blades than adjusting the guides.


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## smokie

Good call on the plastic guard Scott. I think I'll try that as well. Good call. And yer right about accepting it's faults, but it really pisses me off when you pay yer hard earned dinero for a "quality product" (not just wood working) and it comes with a warning. I know this rant is ongoing on this site so I'll just drop it.


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## dustyal

Interesting… I have the Craftsman clone of this Rikon saw and have similar design issues… fine saw but the guides are tedious to adjust… and that little plastic guard on the lower door is a nuisance… didn't know if it was there for safety or dust collection so have been hesitant to remove.

I've got to get some hours on my saw before I would make any investment in different roller guides… but so far is hums along fine. While it resaws okay with my new blades, I think I need a drum sander to run the stock through afterward…

The Craftsman has cast aluminum wheels or other non-magnetic metal, and not cast iron… so I would suspect the Rikon runs a bit smoother and that is where some of the money difference is… ?


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## NiteWalker

That and the longer warranty.
If I spent that much on a bandsaw (and I do have my sights set on the 10-325), I'd most likely upgrade to carter guides or blocks.


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## PurpLev

interesting.

have this saw for the past ~4 years now - all stock (no after market parts on it) and never "noticed" those issues before. saw tracks and cuts clean - which is where it counts. resawed some 12" boards straight through.

then again, I don't change blades daily so maybe it doesn't affect me as much.


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## smokie

PurpLev. I'm not sawing it doesn't cut well, cause it does. With the right tension it slices pretty clean. Maybe I'm just being anal 'bout the guides?


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## Momcanfixit

Nice review, thanks.
I have the same saw as well. I find that it runs very smoothly and quietly. I find the guides are 'fiddly' but it's my first bandsaw so I don't have anything to compare it to. When I have it adjusted properly, it tracks nicely. 
There's a youtube video posted by Jumbojack showing the Carters guy tuning a bandsaw. That was very helpful. Now instead of my blade in the middle of the wheel, I make sure the gullets are in the middle. This helped significantly.

At the moment, I'm having some issues that I'm pretty sure are related to my electrical system, not the saw. My garage is in desperate need of it's own circuits, or subpanel or something.


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## vegeta

i instaled carter guides on mine and blade changes are great i also posted a review on this saw awhile back great saw even better with upgraded guides


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## smokie

Hell ya It's not a bad tool at all. It does what it's supposed to and very well…..But the point is, taxes in it's about$1000. Ya get it home and ya throw out the blade, then ya throw out the guides????
But I knew that going so I should stop whining.


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## rroselavy

Laguna recently came out with a similar bandsaw (the 14|Twelve) for $1095 before taxes/shipping. Does not even come with a worklight. That price point is as low as Laguna is willing to go without sacrificing too much quality. IMHO, this $800 bandsaw is bound to come up short somewhere.


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## Spunk4ya

Hi, I wanted to share what Purplev shared- although only have owning this saw a year ( I own the blue version) I too have had no issues. Yes, it's a bit to change blades but I upgraded from a smaller Deltal 10" saw and that too required "tweaking" as the blades are difficult to have track exactly the same after removing and installing. I chose to keep my original one around for scrolling and the larger one for resawing. It's a great saw and good investment, not needing any extras just time to setup.


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