# A Great Band Saw at a Great Price



## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

I just got this same saw, yeah at Woodcraft for the sale price. As this is my first "real" BS, I love it, but have nothing to really compare it to!!! I'm looking forward to putting it through it's paces. My only knock, so far, is the light being mounted on the back. Once it vettes out, I'll relocate the light to the front.


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

I have the GO555P and love it, going on two years now without any problems, Cost was in my budget at $525 but what caught my eye on features with the Rikon was this.

• The re-sawing capacity: 13 1/2" without a riser. More than any other in its class.

Without the riser kit that I added to mine, I would of only gotten a 6" with the kit I am now 13" but I did lose 3/4" from the blade to the riser thus it's no longer a true 14" but now a 13 1/4" saw due to the balkiness of the added riser. *shrugs*


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## woodsmithshop (Sep 10, 2008)

here is a great video on setting up your bandsaw, I have tried this method and it works great, taking off the table makes it sooo much easier to adjust the lower bearings, and taking off and replacing the blade


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

Thanks for the review.


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## Surfside (Jun 13, 2012)

This is an interesting review.Thanks for posting!


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## JulianLech (Jan 13, 2011)

I have the same bandsaw; puchased it about a year ago. I agree with your review with one exception. My fence is not very good. Too difficult to adjust for drift and mine is not square to the table. The fence itself is not flat.
Regarding the light. I modified my light so that I can position it infront of the blade. I believe I found the idea on LumberJocks. Lastly; you got a better price than I did.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

I own the G0513X2BF from Grizzly, and I love it. I do not have 13.5" of resaw capacity, mine is 11.825". So you got me there! And the Grizzly was much more expensive, I paid $1295. I do have a good two HP, great tracking double rowed ball bearings both top and bottom, cast iron wheels, cast iron table trunions, and the magnetic brake is wonderful. And to be honest, I love the huge cast iron fence they sent with it. But still, $749? Wow, what a deal…


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## Rockbuster (Apr 5, 2011)

Just put 6 new guide bearings in mine today Two of them was froze up, and two of them were iffy. Bought this at Woodcraft 4 yrs. ago right off of the show room floor, paid full price for it then. Who ever put it together must have been a real amature to band saws. I took it all apart, and took the table off, and spent about 3 hours getting everything lined up like it should be. Can't believe how much quieter it sounds, before, it sounded like a meat saw. It tracks very well now, and I can get pretty accurate cuts right off of the fence. Changing the blade is a bitof a problem, but I don't think that Iwill have to do that very often now. Had to put a new light on it as the one that came with it just fell apart, Called Rikon, and they sent a new one, but it is showing signs of self destructing, Oh well, don't use it very much, as it is located to the back of the saw, and not very useful anyways. The 1&1/2 horse motor seems to have plenty of power for re-sawing hardwood, oak, ash, and hickory, 8" is the most that I have done to date, probably will never need to use the 13" feature. Over all, I am satisfied with the performance , Guess that I should do some routine
maintenance more often then once every 4 years huh.


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## dustyal (Nov 19, 2008)

Anyone compare the Rikon to the equivalent Craftsman? Specs seem the same… resaw is the same, but a couple of hundred less than the Rikon. Seems to be made by same manufacture. They are the top two on my list. Once I find room to put the bandsaw, I will get one or the other. Scroll saw and jig saw just doesn't get close to the performance of a bandsaw, obviously.


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## Gerry1 (Jul 12, 2009)

Bigdawg, congrats on the new band saw. I have the same one, about 1 1/2 years now, and like you, bought it because of the the re-saw capacity and bearing set up. BTW, I've been told by one of the factory tech reps that the bearings on the saw are carters previous generation. That said, I do plan to replace mine with carters micro adjust set up when I can get them at a show price.

Overall, I agree with your assessments. The blade I've found works well for me is the wood-slicer from Highland. Once you tune the saw, I've been able to dial it in and slice mesquite, maple, mahogany, and walnut to 3/32" thickness with little drama, and 5/16" up to 10" wide.

Julian, if you are having trouble with the fence or the saw, give the tech support guys a call. A friend of mine has had some issues with his copy and they ended up replacing the whole saw.I'd also recommend a video I purchased from David Marks, which guides you through the set up. It's called "Band saw Veneers" and is worth every penny spent.


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## Hewy (Jan 16, 2011)

Thank's for the review, I got the same saw about a month ago and after fixing some things
I'am very happy with it. I was thinking of writing a review and was glad to see yours.
I would agree with the things about it that you liked.

These are the things I didn't like about my saw:
1. The guide bar for the fence was just black painted and very rough,it just looked bad compared
with the rest of the saw. I sanded and polished it then used gun blueing to blacken it. Looks
good now.

2. The saw guide beaqrings are not very good quality and were not very quiet. I replaced all 6
with SKF precision bearings the part number is : SKF 608 2RSJEM these are $13.00 each.
These bearings made a world of differance.

3. The block that holds the top guide assembly is only held in with 1 screw from the back
which allows for some side movement when you tighten the side hex nut. I could still 
move the guide assembly with the screw as tight as posible. To fix this problem I drilled
and tapped a hole on the side and put another lock screw from the side to help lock it.
This has stopped the problem.

With these things fixed I'am very happy with this saw, and for the price you can't beat it.

Thank's 
Hewy


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## lumbermeister (Dec 24, 2012)

dustyal - I have the Craftsman - Model Bas350 - I believe this is what you are referring to (14", 1HP, 8" resaw capacity). I have been ripping 7" purpleheart and hard maple quite seamlessly. I am very happy with it and will post a review following my current project (Mary Anne's Cheese Board http://lumberjocks.com/LateNightOwl/blog/18277).


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## BroncoBrian (Jan 14, 2013)

Any idea how often the sales on these saws runs? Now I feel stupid if I buy one this week at $950. Actually, I won't!


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