Did some searching for reviews of the Rigid 14" bandsaw. Not too promising.

Are they really as bad as the posters are saying or is this just the
people who have been unlucky to get bad units?

"mapdude" wrote in message
. ..
Did some searching for reviews of the Rigid 14" bandsaw. Not too
promising.

Are they really as bad as the posters are saying or is this just the
people who have been unlucky to get bad units?

Do you really want to take a chance? If I have doubts, I just move on.
There is nothing special about Ridgid that another brand does not offer.

mapdude wrote:
Did some searching for reviews of the Rigid 14" bandsaw. Not too promising.

Are they really as bad as the posters are saying or is this just the
people who have been unlucky to get bad units?

The ones I have looked at in person certainly had that made to a low
price Chinese look to them. I'm very happy with my Made in Canada
General woodworking bandsaw and I'm glad I bought a heavy duty unit at
the time instead of one of the lighter ones. I expect to still be
using that saw 20 or more years from now.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
t...

"mapdude" wrote in message
. ..
Did some searching for reviews of the Rigid 14" bandsaw. Not too
promising.

Are they really as bad as the posters are saying or is this just the
people who have been unlucky to get bad units?

Do you really want to take a chance? If I have doubts, I just move on.
There is nothing special about Ridgid that another brand does not offer.
Except price.

Michael Fortune has a 3/4 hp Rigid that he uses to resaw 12" oak on
according to one of the articles he wrote
about tuning a bandsaw.

I tuned my 14" Jet in accordance with his suggestions and it does great.
There is no blade drift and I can resaw 12" oak.
I cut tenons on it instead of my tablesaw. I very seldom rip a board on the
tablesaw.

The Rigid looks a lot like the Jet.

On Nov 22, 10:52 pm, mapdude wrote:
Did some searching for reviews of the Rigid 14" bandsaw. Not too promising.

Are they really as bad as the posters are saying or is this just the
people who have been unlucky to get bad units?


I picked one up off craigslist in my area for next to nothing.I spent
the time to tune it up and put a Timberwolf blade on it. I'm a home
hobbiest and and it fits my needs. Although the toughest thing I've
probably done with it is re-saw some 8/4 x 6" cherry..it cut smooth
with almost no drift at all. Did a wonderful job slitting the
chestnuts yesterday too. I'm happy.

Frank from Florida

On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:52:44 -0600, mapdude
wrote:

Did some searching for reviews of the Rigid 14" bandsaw. Not too promising.

Are they really as bad as the posters are saying or is this just the
people who have been unlucky to get bad units?

The better bandsaws are Luguna and General. Jet and Delta are not
quite as good as they used to be. If you go cheap, you'll regret it
when you must do a total bandsaw tuneup--one of the most dreaded
operations in the shop.

The better bandsaws are Luguna and General. Jet and Delta are not
quite as good as they used to be. If you go cheap, you'll regret it
when you must do a total bandsaw tuneup--one of the most dreaded
operations in the shop.

This is good information. Take it.
When I had to have a bandsaw I
looked and looked, waited and waited
for one to show up on Craig's lists
within 200 miles and finally bought
the Rigid on sale for $275. After
reinforcing and redesigning the table
supports, balancing the wheels, and
installing cool blocks and a Timberwolf
blade it now works like a champ. It's
similar to buying an old Stanley #5
and spending hours leveling the frog,
chipbreaker, sole etc. or buying a
new platinum designer plane. One way
or another you will pay in time or
money.

On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:52:44 -0600, mapdude wrote:

Did some searching for reviews of the Rigid 14" bandsaw. Not too promising.

Are they really as bad as the posters are saying or is this just the
people who have been unlucky to get bad units?

Depends on your budget, IMHO...
I bought the Ridgid a few years ago for a little over $300 and I just don't see
anything as good for that price..
I added the riser kit, not Ridgid but Grizzly, on the advice of some folks in
this group.. same part, different color and about 1/3 less money..

The only changes I've made are blades, a link belt (which helped a lot) and a 4"
hole in the lower clamshell for a DC port..

I've had no issues with alignment, tracking, etc.. cuts pen blanks square and
bowl blanks round..
I'm a professional turner and use and abuse it a lot.. it always does what's
needed, but slowly on the thicker, wet stuff.. it could use a bit more power,
but as I said, it's a good saw for the price..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Thanks to all for the info.

I am in a quandary here cause I just won some gift cards to Home Depot.
I already have a Rigid table saw and absolutely love it. I got a Rigid
15" drill press a couple of months ago and love it too. I have had a
Rigid planer/joiner for a couple of years now, so I have been happy with
their stuff for a while.

I just play in the shop at night and on weekends, so this is not going
to be used in a production environment, and I am in the process of
replacing all the 25 year old Craftsman stuff I inherited from my dad
when he passed 5 years ago.

The Rigid band saw looks like it is solidly made, just wish it came with
a fence.

Lowes has the Delta 14" open stand band saw on sale in my area for $399,
but that is still more than the Rigid sells for. Wonder if they will
honor a HD gift card?

I just don't think the Delta is that much better than the Rigid, and my
budget (think SWMBO) won't allow me to climb into the $500+ range at
this time....







bookman wrote:
The better bandsaws are Luguna and General. Jet and Delta are not
quite as good as they used to be. If you go cheap, you'll regret it
when you must do a total bandsaw tuneup--one of the most dreaded
operations in the shop.

This is good information. Take it.
When I had to have a bandsaw I
looked and looked, waited and waited
for one to show up on Craig's lists
within 200 miles and finally bought
the Rigid on sale for $275. After
reinforcing and redesigning the table
supports, balancing the wheels, and
installing cool blocks and a Timberwolf
blade it now works like a champ. It's
similar to buying an old Stanley #5
and spending hours leveling the frog,
chipbreaker, sole etc. or buying a
new platinum designer plane. One way
or another you will pay in time or
money.

I had a feeling that most of the reviews I had read on the internet were
from people who had problems and were basically the exception to the
rule for these machines.

Worst case scenario, I will have to put a 200 lb. machine back in the
SUV and take it a block back to the HD for a refund or order a Delta off
the HD website...


mac davis wrote:
On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:52:44 -0600, mapdude wrote:

Did some searching for reviews of the Rigid 14" bandsaw. Not too promising.

Are they really as bad as the posters are saying or is this just the
people who have been unlucky to get bad units?

Depends on your budget, IMHO...
I bought the Ridgid a few years ago for a little over $300 and I just don't see
anything as good for that price..
I added the riser kit, not Ridgid but Grizzly, on the advice of some folks in
this group.. same part, different color and about 1/3 less money..

The only changes I've made are blades, a link belt (which helped a lot) and a 4"
hole in the lower clamshell for a DC port..

I've had no issues with alignment, tracking, etc.. cuts pen blanks square and
bowl blanks round..
I'm a professional turner and use and abuse it a lot.. it always does what's
needed, but slowly on the thicker, wet stuff.. it could use a bit more power,
but as I said, it's a good saw for the price..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

mapdude wrote:
Did some searching for reviews of the Rigid 14" bandsaw. Not too promising.

Are they really as bad as the posters are saying or is this just the
people who have been unlucky to get bad units?

I've had mine for about 2 years, and it's performed well for me. I
added a riser block and use Timberwolf blades, and when it's properly
adjusted I've been able to resaw various hardwoods up to 9" wide. I
agree it could use more power, but overall I'm happy with it.

I added a Kreg fence I bought from Woodcraft:

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5244

It's $115 US, But I don't think I paid that much for it. I bought the
7" resaw guide separately, but it comes bundled with the fence now.

--Steve

On Nov 23, 11:13 am, mapdude wrote:

Worst case scenario, I will have to put a 200 lb. machine back in the
SUV and take it a block back to the HD for a refund or order a Delta off
the HD website...

FWIW, I seem to remember this being reviewed by one of the wood mags/
rags a year or two ago, and it did well for the saws in its class. My
old commercial rep from HD sold a lot of those and the folks seem to
like them, especially when considering the bang for the buck.

As long as you know what you are getting and have realistic
expectations, seems like a pretty good buy to me.

Having seen the fit and finish of the Delta over at Lowe's, I would
probably make my own bandsaw from wood before buying that. The
castings were so rough they used something like a thick plastic
coating on the unmilled faces to fill in all the voids rough areas on
it. The whole machine just looked like a primitive Chinese effort
from one of those knockoff companies that come around from time to
time.

Just my 0.02.

Robert

mapdude wrote in
:

Thanks to all for the info.

I am in a quandary here cause I just won some gift cards to Home
Depot. I already have a Rigid table saw and absolutely love it. I got
a Rigid 15" drill press a couple of months ago and love it too. I have
had a Rigid planer/joiner for a couple of years now, so I have been
happy with their stuff for a while.

Don't forget you need wood to play with. ;-)

I just play in the shop at night and on weekends, so this is not going
to be used in a production environment, and I am in the process of
replacing all the 25 year old Craftsman stuff I inherited from my dad
when he passed 5 years ago.

25 year old Craftsman stuff... That might be some good stuff. Make darn
sure your replacements are truely superior before you "upgrade."

The Rigid band saw looks like it is solidly made, just wish it came
with a fence.

Lowes has the Delta 14" open stand band saw on sale in my area for
$399, but that is still more than the Rigid sells for. Wonder if they
will honor a HD gift card?

I just don't think the Delta is that much better than the Rigid, and
my budget (think SWMBO) won't allow me to climb into the $500+ range
at this time....

It might be something you have to take home and play with a bit before
really deciding if it's good or not.

Puckdropper
--
Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it.

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

Don't forget you need wood to play with. ;-)

Part of what I inherited was about 1500 BF of wood that my dad bought
from an old woodworker up in middle tennessee where he lived who had
gotten too old to use it. He bought a Foley Bellsaw planer and some hand
tools and two pickuploads of wood for $400 in 1987. I still got 3/4 of
it when we moved him back to town after he got too old to stay at the
farm by himself. Some of the stuff I had never seen before. Zebra wood,
lots of mahogany, walnut, oak, cedar, maple. Had to leave most of the
cedar and some of the walnut cause it had gotten warped beyond use cause
my dad did not store it very well (read in a big pile next to the barn).
I grabbed the best stuff and left the rest.

25 year old Craftsman stuff... That might be some good stuff. Make darn
sure your replacements are truely superior before you "upgrade."

Yeah it held up for a lot of years, but it was starting to wear out. The
arbor on the table saw was bad, could not aligne the blade for nothing.
10" band saw has a vibration since the tires rotted off and were
replaced. The size of the cut is too small to resaw anything of an
adequate size.

Puckdropper

I have the Ridgid BS and really like it. IMOHO, its a great value for the
money.

Like others, I added the riser and timberwold blades. The fact that it
dosent come with a fence is a plus, in that you can get a really nice after
market addon that does a much better job that the factory fences on bandsaws
of this price range.

Skip
www.ShopFileR.com

"mapdude" wrote in message
. ..
Did some searching for reviews of the Rigid 14" bandsaw. Not too
promising.

Are they really as bad as the posters are saying or is this just the
people who have been unlucky to get bad units?

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 19:20:53 -0800, WD wrote:

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 03:27:25 -0800 (PST), Frank wrote:

On Nov 22, 10:52 pm, mapdude wrote:
Did some searching for reviews of the Rigid 14" bandsaw. Not too promising.

Are they really as bad as the posters are saying or is this just the
people who have been unlucky to get bad units?


I picked one up off craigslist in my area for next to nothing.I spent
the time to tune it up and put a Timberwolf blade on it. I'm a home
hobbiest and and it fits my needs. Although the toughest thing I've
probably done with it is re-saw some 8/4 x 6" cherry..it cut smooth
with almost no drift at all. Did a wonderful job slitting the
chestnuts yesterday too. I'm happy.

Frank from Florida

I love craigslist. You can buy anything at a fraction of the original price. I
bought a Delta's 28-262 premium edition Made in USA (lightly used), with
Carter's guide for $250 at SF's craigslist. For the last six months, I came
across a brand new un open Delta hollow chisel mortiser for $100, an Atlas's
lathe with full accessories for $250. How about a Performax 22-44 Pro Drum
Sander for $250?

You suck. Around here, they want higher than retail for old rusty POS
tools. "Good" used tools are generally not available at any price.

Bob the Tomato wrote:
On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 19:20:53 -0800, WD wrote:

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 03:27:25 -0800 (PST), Frank wrote:

On Nov 22, 10:52 pm, mapdude wrote:
Did some searching for reviews of the Rigid 14" bandsaw. Not too promising.

Are they really as bad as the posters are saying or is this just the
people who have been unlucky to get bad units?

I picked one up off craigslist in my area for next to nothing.I spent
the time to tune it up and put a Timberwolf blade on it. I'm a home
hobbiest and and it fits my needs. Although the toughest thing I've
probably done with it is re-saw some 8/4 x 6" cherry..it cut smooth
with almost no drift at all. Did a wonderful job slitting the
chestnuts yesterday too. I'm happy.

Frank from Florida
I love craigslist. You can buy anything at a fraction of the original price. I
bought a Delta's 28-262 premium edition Made in USA (lightly used), with
Carter's guide for $250 at SF's craigslist. For the last six months, I came
across a brand new un open Delta hollow chisel mortiser for $100, an Atlas's
lathe with full accessories for $250. How about a Performax 22-44 Pro Drum
Sander for $250?

You suck. Around here, they want higher than retail for old rusty POS
tools. "Good" used tools are generally not available at any price.



Similar situation in parts of Canada. Or
at least around Ottawa. There are other
lists that abound in tools with some
very good deals. But craigslist has very
few postings.

Tanus

"WD" wrote in message

I love craigslist. You can buy anything at a fraction of the original
price. I
bought a Delta's 28-262 premium edition Made in USA (lightly used), with
Carter's guide for $250 at SF's craigslist. For the last six months, I
came
across a brand new un open Delta hollow chisel mortiser for $100, an
Atlas's
lathe with full accessories for $250. How about a Performax 22-44 Pro Drum
Sander for $250?


I have found many tools/accessories on Craigslist also. One thing for sure,
you can always find Craftsman Bandsaws and Craftsman radial arm saws, at
least in my area. I see one of each about once a day or every two days.

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 19:20:53 -0800, WD wrote:


I love craigslist. You can buy anything at a fraction of the original price.

Depends on the area.

My local Craigslist is mostly scammers.

My local Craigslist is mostly scammers.

And the vast majority of the items listed under "Tools" are lawn and garden
equipment.

Lee

--
To e-mail, replace "bucketofspam" with "dleegordon"

_________________________________
Lee Gordon
http://www.leegordonproductions.com

Bonehenge (B A R R Y) wrote:

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 19:20:53 -0800, WD wrote:


I love craigslist. You can buy anything at a fraction of the original
price.

Depends on the area.

My local Craigslist is mostly scammers.

In our area, it's mostly low-end tools. I've been looking for a welder
for a while. I can find the cheap 110v Hobart or other Chiwanese brand
welders and an occasional high-end industrial grade welder with an
accompanying generator, but nothing in between.


--
If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 11:09:50 -0600, mapdude wrote:


The Rigid band saw looks like it is solidly made, just wish it came with
a fence.

IMHO, band saw fences are way over rated...
We have them on router tables and table saws, so we figure that a BS needs one
too..
I used a friend's kreig (SP) $150 "micro adjustable" fence kit with t-track
brackets and was unimpressed..

I've used an oak 1x3" and 2 quick clamps for years for pen blanks and thin
stuff, a 2x6" on end for resawing and done as well as I think a fence kit would
do..

I made a new one last year... 2x2" oak with a "T" on the back end and a toggle
clamp on the front.. works great... YMWV


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 16:30:07 -0800, mac davis
wrote:

IMHO, band saw fences are way over rated...

I'm with ya'!

I used a friend's kreig (SP) $150 "micro adjustable" fence kit with t-track
brackets and was unimpressed..

I've used an oak 1x3" and 2 quick clamps for years for pen blanks and thin
stuff, a 2x6" on end for resawing and done as well as I think a fence kit would
do..


I got a Kreg as a thank you gift, and don't think it's a real
improvement over my clamped, jointed board, tapped with a hammer for
fine adjustments..

So there, I somebody gave me a $150 fence, and I still wouldn't buy
one. G

WD wrote:
On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 08:09:12 GMT, Bob the Tomato wrote:

You suck. Around here, they want higher than retail for old rusty POS
tools. "Good" used tools are generally not available at any price.

Here, in the SF Bay you can buy anything from craigslist. You need to wait for
the right item and at the price to pay to show up.

You also have to jump immediately or fight 1000 other people.

Delta Unisaw anyone, bit pricey?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/tls/485758264.html


I saw the Unisaw. There was also a PM66 that looked almost new for
$1450. Don't remember exactly where it was though.

Wayne

On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:47:14 -0500, "Lee Gordon"
wrote:

My local Craigslist is mostly scammers.

And the vast majority of the items listed under "Tools" are lawn and garden
equipment.

Lee


Including several interpretations of "Hoe". G

On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 16:30:07 -0800, mac davis
wrote:

IMHO, band saw fences are way over rated...
We have them on router tables and table saws, so we figure that a BS needs one
too..
I used a friend's kreig (SP) $150 "micro adjustable" fence kit with t-track
brackets and was unimpressed..

The only thing a band saw fence is really useful for is resawing,
otherwise they're pretty pointless. It's like having a fence on a
scrollsaw.

"Brian Henderson" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 16:30:07 -0800, mac davis
The only thing a band saw fence is really useful for is resawing,
otherwise they're pretty pointless. It's like having a fence on a
scrollsaw.

I use my Jet with the Kreg fence to rip wood and also to cut tenons for
mortise and tenon joinery. I don't see how you can say that. You obviously
are not using your saw to it's full potential.

When ripping rough cut wood in preparation to jointing and sizing, the
bandsaw is a better tool than the table saw. My saw is tuned to where it
cuts straight and square. All that is needed is a hand plane or a jointer to
make it square and smooth. :-)

On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:35:22 GMT, Brian Henderson
wrote:


The only thing a band saw fence is really useful for is resawing,
otherwise they're pretty pointless. It's like having a fence on a
scrollsaw.


A pointy stick is actually more useful.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 21:07:47 GMT, "Lowell Holmes"
wrote:
are not using your saw to it's full potential.

When ripping rough cut wood in preparation to jointing and sizing, the
bandsaw is a better tool than the table saw. My saw is tuned to where it
cuts straight and square.

So is mine. I can cut directly to a line, without the $150 fence.

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 11:09:50 -0600, mapdude wrote:


The Rigid band saw looks like it is solidly made, just wish it came with
a fence.

IMHO, band saw fences are way over rated...
We have them on router tables and table saws, so we figure that a BS needs
one
too..
I used a friend's kreig (SP) $150 "micro adjustable" fence kit with
t-track
brackets and was unimpressed..

I never saw the need for the Kreg. With that said, I have the tall fence
that came on my Laguna. You need a tall fence for resawing.


I've used an oak 1x3" and 2 quick clamps for years for pen blanks and thin
stuff, a 2x6" on end for resawing and done as well as I think a fence kit
would
do..

I made a new one last year... 2x2" oak with a "T" on the back end and a
toggle
clamp on the front.. works great... YMWV

Laguna has a truely fine BS fence geared toward resawing. Laguna believes
in cutting such that the veneer is not between the blade and the fence. The
feneer falls free and clear of the blade when the cut is complete. The
fence also adjusts for drift and micro adjusts easily and quickly for cuting
the next slice of veneer after every pass.

http://www.lagunatools.com/index.asp...ROD&ProdID=192






mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Bonehenge (B A R R Y) wrote:
On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 21:07:47 GMT, "Lowell Holmes"
wrote:
are not using your saw to it's full potential.

When ripping rough cut wood in preparation to jointing and sizing,
the bandsaw is a better tool than the table saw. My saw is tuned to
where it cuts straight and square.

So is mine. I can cut directly to a line, without the $150 fence.

Ripping to a line would seem to me to be a pain in the butt. Of
course it depends on what I'm ripping. Most woods rip fine with the
fence. Effing Lyptus drifts all over the place.
--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:35:22 GMT, Brian Henderson
wrote:

On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 16:30:07 -0800, mac davis
wrote:

IMHO, band saw fences are way over rated...
We have them on router tables and table saws, so we figure that a BS needs one
too..
I used a friend's kreig (SP) $150 "micro adjustable" fence kit with t-track
brackets and was unimpressed..

The only thing a band saw fence is really useful for is resawing,
otherwise they're pretty pointless. It's like having a fence on a
scrollsaw.

Mine keeps the cat from rolling off the table in his sleep..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:35:22 GMT, Brian Henderson
wrote:


Mine keeps the cat from rolling off the table in his sleep..


Well there you go. ;~)