# The Rikon 10-345, 18 inch Bandsaw



## Wildwood (Jul 22, 2012)

Other than fence sounds like a great ban saw good luck with it!


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## TimberMagic (Mar 4, 2015)

I think you get a lot for the money with Rikon. I have one of their midi lathes, and it has performed without a hitch for 5 years. I have a Powermatic 14" bandsaw, and would like to have a 2nd bandsaw dedicated to resaw, and use the Powermatic for "scroll" cuts. I'd definitely consider a large Rikon.


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## Grumpymike (Jan 23, 2012)

Back in 1988 I bought a Craftsman 12" bandsaw and was happy as a pig in mud for several years making all kids of stuff and being proud of it.

Well in 2011 I wanted to do some resawing, and that little Craftsman with the 1/2 HP motor and 1/2" blade was just like trying to build the golden gate with an Erector Set. ... So I started looking at bigger band saws.
As luck would have it, Woodcraft Supply had the 10-325 Rikon 14" with a 1-1/2HP on sale for about $300 off the retail price so I ordered one.

Thinking that I would sell the old Craftsman for a hundred bucks in the near future, I set up this new monster.

Well, both band saws made the move in 2012 to Arizona and I have learned that I will never give up the "Little Guy" because I really hate changing band saw blades.
I do a lot of resawing and just leave the Rikon set up for that, and keep a 1/4" blade on the "Little Guy".

So, *TimberMagic*, for my two cents worth, you are on the right track in your thinking.


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## WoodNSawdust (Mar 7, 2015)

Thanks for the review.

I admit that I am not familiar with the Rikon line of products. Are there multiple 18 inch models? The reason I ask is Tim Yoder on his woodturning show showed off his 18 inch Rikon saying it would resaw 16 inch high pieces.


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## rad457 (Jun 15, 2013)

I have a 14" Delta and just picked up a Rikon 10-305. I was going to get the 10-325 for a matching set but have been seriously looking at the 10-345 but the 220V has been standing in the way, really do not want to rewire the shop and not sure if the difference in the saws is worth it? Of course the $400.00 dollars in price differenc and more costly blades need to be considered?


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## tomd (Jan 29, 2008)

I bought my Rikon 10-345 seven years ago in 2007. It was my first and still is my only bandsaw, I agree with you the only stinko on it is the fence. I do very little resawing, being a turner I use it mainly to cut large bowl blanks out of green wood. Have fun with your new saw.


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## Oldwest (Sep 22, 2010)

I have the same saw I purchased 5 years ago and have never had a problem. You are correct the
fence is very weak. I tried to put a Kreg band saw fence on it and it wouldn't work so I moved to a Carter Mag fence. I also have 6" ducting throughout my garage and hooked both 4" pipes into a 6" tee and get
great dust collection from the band saw.

It's a well built saw you should have lots of fun with it, great for re-sawing.


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## CyberDyneSystems (May 29, 2012)

The first Rikon tool I ever laid eyes on ended up in my shop. It was this bandsaw, selling at a going out of business/floor model price at my local Woodcraft. I got it for a steal, and it's been a solid performer.

The fence has held up fine so far (going on 6 years) but if needed I could upgrade that and still be far ahead in dollar for value.


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## newwoodbutcher (Aug 6, 2010)

Don,
I would greatly appreciate your advice.
I'm new to Resawing, I've been struggling to get my new 10-345 to cut straight or to resaw anything close to 12" hardwood. I've gone through the set up … who knows how many times. I've watched and followed the Snodgrass video at least four times, once with a very competent mechanic (not a woodworker) at my side every step of the way. I am using a 3/4" Wood slicer blade, I have two and they both perform the same. What happens when I try resawing a 10" piece of Mahogany or Walnut is that the blade starts going left, way left. When I try resawing with out the fence, free handing and following a drawn line, the top edge of the board looks fine but if I keep going the blade will come through the right lower side of the board. The top of the cut is straight and true and the bottom of the cut tapers out the side of the board. Mostly the cut is straight, not very bowed, it 's just extremely tapered top to bottom. I'm going to call RIKON technical support this week to see if they can help. I see a lot of reviews praising this saw(like yours) yet …... So my question to you, and anyone else with this saw is; is this saw ever going to perform the resaw where I can actually make shop veneers from hardwood ? Is anyone doing that with hardwood using this saw? I don't want to spend a lot of time and emotional energy on this if it's never going to really perform? Your advice????


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## ncdon (Jul 11, 2010)

Ken I typically don't cut veneer, I did cut 1/8 to 1/4 strips of walnut maple and oak from 8-10 in stock. I don't have the problem you describe Don't know if it will help, but I added a 6 inch piece of 1/2 Baltic Birch ply to the 
face of my fence to give me some extra support on thicker stock. It sounds to me as though you may have some deeper problems with the saw. Contacting Rikon tech surely can't hurt.


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## Grumpymike (Jan 23, 2012)

*KEN*
do not trust the tension indicator on any band saw … Is your blade truly 111"? I'll bet it's not. Blades will vary just a bit, enough to make your tension be off. That gauge is just an indicator that you are close.
In Fine Woodworking magazine there is a great piece about the tension of band saw blades … With the top guides raised about 6", there should be about 1/4" deflection in the blade.
I found that my Rikon needed to be a bit tighter than the gauge said, and as I adjusted it correctly, most of the drift went away.
Snodgrass covers it in the video … But there is so much information there in that video that it's easy to miss.
Also, I once had a new blade that was sharper on one side than the other, this will cause blade drift.
Listen to Snodgrass when he aligns the top wheel so that the gullets ride at the center of the wheel, if the blade is centered on the wheel, the teeth are free to wander and they will. Another cause of blade drift.
I hope that these tips will help you. my Rikon saws very straight and yesterday I cut some maple burl into veneer using the fence.
Hang in there, and don't get discouraged, it takes some time to learn to tweak …


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## newwoodbutcher (Aug 6, 2010)

Mike,
Thank you. It's getting there. It's been complicated. Tim Wadley Product Development/Tech Support with RIKON has been very helpful as have you and the rest of the folks here. There were lot's of variables , I had to replace the lower casting due to a crack that stopped me from locking down the bearing settings unknowingly for a few weekends, also had a bad Woodslicer resaw blade jumping back and forth. The guide post was misaligned causing bearing skew, AND, I have no experience setting one up. I'm close though. Tomorrow I get a new 1/2" Woodslicer, I'll have the guides set, new blade tension-ed with gullets in the center of the wheel. I've wondered along the way if I bought the wrong saw, now I don't think so. The support has been great, and it's looking very promising tonight. The great reviews here are also encouraging. Thank you again.


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## Grumpymike (Jan 23, 2012)

Ken,
Keep us posted on your progress and how you made it your favorite tool.


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## newwoodbutcher (Aug 6, 2010)

Hey Mike,
Thank you for following up. Worked on it a bit today, feeling better about what will be possible but not there yet. I think I need a check list before I even turn the saw on. Blade tensioned, check, guides aligned, check, table level, check and like that. I keep forgetting stuff and getting sub-par results. I guess once it set up properly there won't be so many opportunities to mess up as it will only be for resawing. Thought I was going to have success on a ten inch wide piece of hard maple cut 3/16" thick. Came close but there was a taper from the top to the bottom down to 3/32nds. I had replaced the blade with a new one this morning which required removing the table to set the guides. I forgot check the blade for square to the blade, duh. Done for the night, will get back on it tomorrow. Thank you again for your advice and follow up.


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## Grumpymike (Jan 23, 2012)

You know, that once you have the saw all set up and aligned, blade changing is a snap. the only adjustment you will need is to adjust the rear thrust bearing to suit the blade size.
That thought will make the morning coffee taste a bit better …


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## newwoodbutcher (Aug 6, 2010)

Hey Mike,
Thanks. that's reassuring. I was able (after I squared the table and adjusted for drift) to cit 3/16" slices off of an 11" red oak board this afternoon. Even cut top to bottom, 3/16". I'm happy. Thanks for your help and encouragement.
Now that it's working properly I feel good about the purchase.


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