I am in the market for a new bandsaw and was looking at the new Rikon
Md # 10-325
http://www.rikontools.com/
Does anyone here have one and do you have any feed back on it?

"Richard L. Rombold" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am in the market for a new bandsaw and was looking at the new Rikon
Md # 10-325
http://www.rikontools.com/
Does anyone here have one and do you have any feed back on it?


One year ago I bought the 18" model and returned it 2 weeks later. I bought
it sight unseen with the understanding that I could return it if not
satisfied.
If you are going for a "first" BS it is probably well spent money. If you
are looking for something better, I suggest you look a bit higher up the
ladder. I up graded from a twenty two year old Craftsman with a 1/2 hp
motor. I was not impressed.
More than anything I was not pleased with blade tracking and the guides. I
had a continuous problem of the blade tracking and it moving forward and
backward up to 1/8" against the thrust bearing. Regardless of where the top
wheel angle adjustment was located the blades would not track properly.
Roller guides make sense on paper but in real life they are troublesome. If
cutting wood like pine or green wood the roller bearings tend to pound and
almost permanently attach saw dust to the sides of the blade. With the
pounding comes a lot of noise. the ceramic guides are a far better
alternative IMHO.
When I upgraded I was looking for a saw that required little involvement on
my part to keep in adjustment. The Rikon required constant adjustments.
The Rikon offers a lot of value if you can overlook its short comings.
I expected too much from the Rikon and finally bought a Laguna. I have been
very pleased with the Laguna although it did cost one and one half times
more than the Rikon.
Compared to the larger Delta and Jet, I would say that the Rikon is of equal
build quality.

Do a "find" or "search" of this news group for "Rikon" in the Subject line.
There was a similar question posted by someone early on 1/3/07 in this
newsgroup. There were several responses to the question.

"Richard L. Rombold" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am in the market for a new bandsaw and was looking at the new Rikon
Md # 10-325
http://www.rikontools.com/
Does anyone here have one and do you have any feed back on it?

"Richard L. Rombold" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am in the market for a new bandsaw and was looking at the new Rikon
Md # 10-325
http://www.rikontools.com/
Does anyone here have one and do you have any feed back on it?


I have the Rikon 10-345 and love it! Very beefy. Rikon also has excellent
customer service. I have read some very unpleasant remarks regarding
Laguna's customer service (i.e.
http://www.songofthegreatlakes.com/laguna.htm and here under bandsaw:
http://www.joewoodworker.com/tools_and_accessories.htm)


Here is mine:
http://www.garagewoodworks.com/Bandsaw.htm

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com

[...snip...]
I had a continuous problem of the blade tracking and it moving forward and
backward up to 1/8" against the thrust bearing. Regardless of where the top
wheel angle adjustment was located the blades would not track properly.
[...snip...]

FYI, that can be caused by the top wheel not being coplanar with the
bottom wheel. This is a very commonly needed adjustment with a shim
behind one of the wheels to bring it coplanar with the other;
hopefully the top one, much easier to do.

In my case, I installed a riser block on my 14" Grizzly and the wheels
were coplanar but the blade that came with the kit still did the
dance. I got a new blade (NOT a Grizzly blade) and since then all has
been well..

So there's a couple of reasons this happens that do not mean the saw
can't be tuned up and work well.

"Jim Weisgram" wrote in message
...
[...snip...]
I had a continuous problem of the blade tracking and it moving forward
and
backward up to 1/8" against the thrust bearing. Regardless of where the
top
wheel angle adjustment was located the blades would not track properly.
[...snip...]

FYI, that can be caused by the top wheel not being coplanar with the
bottom wheel. This is a very commonly needed adjustment with a shim
behind one of the wheels to bring it coplanar with the other;
hopefully the top one, much easier to do.

Understood, however approximately 1/3 of my blades tracked OK. I believe
the tires were the problem as adjusting from one extreme to the other had no
effect on most blades.

In my case, I installed a riser block on my 14" Grizzly and the wheels
were coplanar but the blade that came with the kit still did the
dance. I got a new blade (NOT a Grizzly blade) and since then all has
been well..

In my case the blade that came with the saw and a locally made blade tracked
good but "most" of the Timberwolf blades wandered.



So there's a couple of reasons this happens that do not mean the saw
can't be tuned up and work well.

I agree that it could be fixed but the other issues came into play.
With my Laguna upper wheel adjustment is not critical at all.