mac davis wrote:
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 06:02:56 -0600, Rob Ritch

wrote:

SWMBO has agreed for me to get a new band saw. The two that I am
looking
at are the delta 14" open stand (28-276) and the Rikon 14". I have
heard
good things about both saws so quality comparison is not my real
concern,
although I will closely compare the two. My bigger question is the
different style of the two saws. The Rikon is a European style saw
and
therefore a riser block is not an option. With the Delta I can
obviously
add a riser to allow 12" resaw. I am not sure how important the 12"

capacity will be to me. To date I have done some 5" - 6" resawing
on my
old craftsman 12" but have never had a need for any more than that.
Keep
in mind that I only have a 6: jointer so I can not prep bigger at
this time
unless I learn to do it with hand planes. From what I understand
the
European style saws tend to be smoother, and the Rikon has a 1hp
motor and
roller guides; but I am concerned that I will want to resaw larger
pieces
in the future. Of course my dad already has the 28-276 so I could
always
use his to resaw in the future. What are other people's opinions
about the
two different styles of saw, and these saws in particular? TIA

-Rob

Rob.. you have a lot more band saw experience than me.. I've had mine
for about
2 weeks.. *g*

I have the ridgid bs1402, which seems identical to the griz.. not
sure how it
compares to the Delta.. it was on "sale" at HD for $350..

About the riser block issue.. I just got mine (from griz) and will
install it
this weekend..
My main reason for the extra cutting height is for slicing bowl
blanks, but
there is another issue that you might want to consider..
I want to build a better table and fence system for mine, probably
like
Charlie's..
http://home.comcast.net/~charliebcz/...leDetails.html

I figure that making a NEW table is reinventing the wheel, but adding
a table
such as Charlie's makes sense..
If I add the table to my saw as it is now, I'm probably going to lose
between 1"
and 2" off my max cut, because of the added thickness of the table..
An inch or 2 off 12" is a lot less "ouch" than the same amount off
6"..

Mac, I just picked up the exact same Ridgid about 45 minutes ago. What
are your thoughts on this saw?


mac

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