Hi All:
I have been looking to buy a larger band saw for re-sawing and had pretty much made up my mind to buy a Grizzly g0513x2 17″. This weekend I spoke to a gentleman who highly recomended the Rikon 18″ saw (model 10-345 I think).
In going through the archives, both saws seemed to be highly thought of and the specfications are very similar. It would appear that either would be a good choice. But most of the comments are several years old.
I would appreciate hearing from owners of either machine to hear what they think of them after one or two years. Are they still great or is the honeymoon over?
Thank you for any info
Dennis
Replies
I have the Rikon. It is a nice saw. However, be prepared to adjust everything on the saw... Starting with the wheels and moving to the table. Beyond that, it has worked as advertised.
Edited 4/2/2008 9:24 am ET by Tbagn
I can't speak to the Rikon, but I have the previous version of the grizzly before they upgraded to the cast iron trunions. I've had mine for several years now and zero issues. I posted a review here. I use it regularly as a hobbyist and its great. I can also reccomend the timberwolfe blades. I threw the stock blade away upon unpacking. They have made some nice enhancements for not much more money. So go for it. Take care and post a revew here no matter what you get.
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Dennis-
We have been using the 18" Rikon at our jobsite for the last 14 mo. and it is the most frustrating machine I have ever used. It's hard to track the blade which makes the guide bearings very hard to set. Also, the lower guide assembly broke when a 1 1/4" blade was installed for resawing. My Delta 14" BS with a riser block and Carter guides out performs the Rikon by a long shot.
Maybe our Rikon is a "Monday Machine", but I'm not interested in upgrading my shop with one. I am, however, very interested in a Grizzley 21" BS. I looked at one up close at a Grizzly store and I was impressed with it.
Regards, Sean
Tgagn, bones, Sean2112, Willgeorge:Thank you all for responding, I appreciate it. I know these "which saw should I buy Delta or Jet" questions get old and repetative but it's an expensive decission.Sean, I was quite interested in your post where you say that you have trouble getting the blade on the Rikon 18" to track. Another poster from a year ago was having a similar problem. I'm surprised that this can't be fixed with careful tuning. I would be interested in hearing your ideas of what the problem is?Dennis
On occasion I use a 1/2 inch width blade and it tracks OK.. Pain in the butt adjusting the guides but you will have to with any bandsaw!
getting the blade on the Rikon 18" to track. ..
I would think it is the same on any bandsaw with large diameter wheels.. ANY adjustment made goes ALONG way!AND KEEP THE WHEELS CLEAN!
The trouble with the blade tracking can be tracked to the wheel alignment. It took me an hour or two to make the adjustments... but it all works well now.
Overall, the Rikon was a nice buy for 1K - however, as I said earlier, you will need to be prepared to spend a day or so checking over the factory settings. Start with removing the table, checking the wheel alignment, move on to the table adjustments, set and tracking the blade and finish with adjusting the fence for drift.
Once properly tuned - it should provide many years of trouble free service - as any tool should. As my dad used to say "... you just need to be smarter than the tool..."
As you step up in BS class, you should expect to make fewer adjustments - but expect to pay a premium.
"As you step up in BS class, you should expect to make fewer adjustments."
I have the MM16. After I took off the shipping crate and moved it off the skid, I put on the band and adjusted the guide wheels to it. Works perfectly. Well, yes, at $2500 including shipping and a $220 blade you would expect it too be a little better. I haven't even used that blade yet. Since I had almost no experience with the band saw, I thought it best to not try that blade right away.
Dennis-
If it were my BS, I would tune it up to high tolerances, however it is owned by my customer ( I am a trim carpenter ) and I am paid to install trim, not tinker with his machinery. I'm sure it would perform much better with a tune-up.
Regards, Sean
Sean, I was quite interested in your post where you say that you have trouble getting the blade on the Rikon 18" to track.
Wide tire AND.. turn the knob ALITTLE! NOT in a half turn or more!
Sean,
I've got 1HP General 14" bandsaw and am looking to upgrade. Is it worth the $150 to upgrade this saw or should I look at a bigger saw? I resaw lots of 6-8" thick hardwood.Chris @ flairwoodworks
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Chris-
The Carter guides are well worth the money if you plan on keeping your BS. My Delta's wheels are aligned, tires clean (thanks in part to my Carter wheel brush) and it will absolutely hog through wood without any trouble when I set it up to resaw. Of course a good 3tpi hook blade helps, but that on its own won't make quick clean cuts.
Regards, Sean
I do not have a Grizzly.. But I have one of the first Rikon 18".. Most problems I have had were the operator!
I really have no complaints. Well, except for trying to compare it to a huge metal cutting bandsaw I have used in the past. However I think it cost more than my house did at the time!
I would think you would do well with either.
In fact, I think it works great! But I usually just use it with a Lenox 1 inch, 3 tooth for resawing only.
It is strange I saw this post. Yesterday I called Rikon for a part I expected to pay for.
Lower casting for the ball bearing blade guides that broke. I think MY fault. The young man was very nice. I told him I would pay for the part. He said 'it is in the mail!'
May be here in a day or two... We will see, but I think it will..
I agree with your assessment. I've had my 18" for going on two years now. I've never had trouble getting even the blade that came with the machine to track correctly. I even use that blade for resawing but I admit that I haven't used it to much for that. Recently bought a Timberwolf blade to do some more work but haven't got around to installing it yet.
We get to soon oldt und to late schmart
I have to disagree about the tracking problems posted here. I just bought an 18" Steel City Bandsaw and I have absolutely no tracking problems at all. The guides are so easy to set that it takes less than a minute after putting on a new blade. I have been resawing some large chuncks of Mesquite recently and it just slices through that stuff like butter. If you saw doesn't cut straight right off the truck, it doesn't match up with the SC Band Saw I bought.
Had you considered Laguna?
Chris @ flairwoodworks
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Dennis,
We bought the 5013X about a year and a half ago. It's seen a lot of use, we've gone through a number of blades. I think I'll order carbide tipped blades and see how they do.
I don't have any real problems with the saw. We did replace the blade guide bearings once and, when they needed to be replaced a second time, we bought the ceramic disk guides. The original bearings were shielded and I feel like they should have been sealed. We haven't had any problems since. I do wish the saw had a foot brake because it takes a while for the thing to idle down after shutting it off.
The main difference between the saws appears to be the new version has two speeds and cast iron trunnions.
on edit:
I forgot to mention we also have an older Laguna 16" band saw. We paid more than twice as much for the Laguna about 10 years ago than we paid for the Grizzly. I think the Grizzly is a better saw.
Edited 4/6/2008 5:02 pm by lwilliams
Mornin' Dennis,
I have an 18" Rikon (10-345) and I find it is one kick butt saw that will devour anything I feed it (woodwise). Having wrote this I must add that I almost sent the saw back, at first. Once I started fiddling around with the machine, I was able to bring out it's full potential. You may have seen them already, but if you research previous posts I've made about this bandsaw, I explain some of the improvements I made and things that could be done to make this a better saw. If you buy it on sale, and you do a little fiddling, it is a great machine.
You won't go wrong with a Griz either. Their eastern store is 3 1/2 hrs. away and I have gone there to buy equipment and check out their machines. The 17" Extreme is a nice saw, I was impressed. I also like the 19" Extreme; this machine and the Rikon are essentially the same machine.
So, buzz through my old posts on this issue and if there is anyway I can furthur help you, drop me a line.
Good day, Chris.
Hi Dennis. I have the Grizzly band saw that you are thinking of buying. It's wonderfull. I can't compare it to the Rikon because I have never owner any of their tools, but I can tell you that the Grizzly has guts! 2HP motor requires 220 wiring, so you may need to make some adjustments for it but you will be pleased with this saw. Mine came with the resaw fence and I have been able to resaw 12 inch red oak boards with NO hesitation using a 3/4 inch Timberwolf blade. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you have but overall, I'd give it a 10!
One word of caution, if you buy this saw and want a mobile base, Grizzly will offer a Shop Fox that goes with it. Opt for a different one or make your own. I bought it and it was junk. It bent and made it difficult to move the machine around.
How heavy is your saw? I have the 16" G1073 that weighs well over 400lbs. I originally had the saw on a delta mobile base, saw much to heavy for the mobile base.I bought the Shop Fox reccomended for the saw and the saw moves easily.
mike
I would say it is just under 400 pounds. The problem I had with the Shop Fox was that the metal brackets inside the square frame (where the saw sits on it), bent. To make things worse, the wheels couldn't handle the weight and were stalling when I tried to move the machine. I returned it to Grizzly and they confirmed that it was the right model base for the saw. Maybe I just got a bad one, but whatever the case, it didn't work for me.
i had the 18" rikon bought a 1 1/4 resaw king blade for it could not tension the blade tight enough for it sold the rikon for what i paid new for it now i have a mm20 problem solved
the rikon for what i paid new for it now i have a mm20 problem solved.
I resaw ALL the time on my old Rikon; Old as in one of the first ones.. It WORKS!
I can slice off 'sticks I can see through!' EDIT: As in light not as reading a book!
Edited 4/11/2008 8:45 am by WillGeorge
I want to thank everyone who responded -- your advice is appreciated and was helpful in making my decision.For a number of reasons I have decided to purchase the Grizzly g0513x2.
I had a chance to use the lighter g0513 with a 1" carbide blade and was very impressed with the saw. I have also ordered and received a set of heavy duty casters from great lakes casters. Here is a link to them. http://www.greatlakescaster.com/products.php?cat=262
Be sure to click on details and see the casters on a Mini Max.Since each caster can be raised or lowered, they can be used to level the band saw. They will be much slower to engage than a mobile base, but that wont be much of an issue since I don't plan to move the saw very often.The saw is on back order and won't arrive until mid May, So it will be awhile before I can report my experience with the saw Again thank you all for your help
Dennis
Edited 4/10/2008 3:30 am ET by dennis2
with a 1" carbide blade That can cost as much as the bandsaw!
Hi WillGeorge:Grizzly sells the Lenox 1" carbide blade for about $160.00. I thought that a 17" saw couldn't handle carbide blades, but when I went to see a Grizzly g0513 in person thats what the saw had and it cut wonderfully.I don't think I'll get one now, but it is an option.Dennis
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