I haven't heard of this brand until I recently got a mailer from
Woodcraft. They are pushing the 6" model for only $399 right now.

That is an AWESOME price compared to the Steel City which I was
originally looking at for $600 (after mail in rebate).

Does anyone have experience with them?

One of the big differences I am seeing between the two is the
Warranty. The Rikon has a 2 year warranty while the Steel City has a 5
year warranty.

What do you guys think?

"Airedale" wrote

What do you guys think?

Ping Leon ... IIRC, his hands-on experience was not very good. There seems
to be a real mixed bag of reviews on Rikon equipment .... the preponderance
not being all that favorable, is my impression.


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www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 12/14/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On Mar 6, 9:36 am, "Swingman" wrote:
"Airedale" wrote

What do you guys think?

Ping Leon ... IIRC, his hands-on experience was not very good. There seems
to be a real mixed bag of reviews on Rikon equipment .... the preponderance
not being all that favorable, is my impression.

My buddy at WC seems to agree. He likes their new revamped mid/mini
lathe, but they struggled with quality control issues of fit and
finish. He likes one bandsaw they make, but not another. I think
Rikon is one of those tool guys that simply job out what they need and
assemble the parts like Jet/Powermatic, Delta and most others.

As they have gotten more popular due to their pricing, they seem to be
getting better, but then some of the mag reviews only put them in the
middle of the pack. The only way they seem to be up top on the list
is due to price.

Robert

On Mar 6, 9:43*am, "
wrote:
On Mar 6, 9:36 am, "Swingman" wrote:

"Airedale" wrote

What do you guys think?

Ping Leon ... IIRC, his hands-on experience was not very good. There seems
to be a real mixed bag of reviews on Rikon equipment .... the preponderance
not being all that favorable, is my impression.

My buddy at WC seems to agree. *He likes their new revamped mid/mini
lathe, but they struggled with quality control issues of fit and
finish. *He likes one bandsaw they make, but not another. *I think
Rikon is one of those tool guys that simply job out what they need and
assemble the parts like Jet/Powermatic, Delta and most others.

As they have gotten more popular due to their pricing, they seem to be
getting better, but then some of the mag reviews only put them in the
middle of the pack. *The only way they seem to be up top on the list
is due to price.

Robert

Well price is a big consideration, but quality is another key too. It
is hard with the WAF to convice that the extra $200 is buying me a lot
more. The one other benefit I missed on the Steel City is the bed is
68" long versus 46" for the Rikon. While that is a great benefit, in
my smaller shop, it may be more of a pain.

"Airedale" wrote in message
...
I haven't heard of this brand until I recently got a mailer from
Woodcraft. They are pushing the 6" model for only $399 right now.

That is an AWESOME price compared to the Steel City which I was
originally looking at for $600 (after mail in rebate).

Does anyone have experience with them?

One of the big differences I am seeing between the two is the
Warranty. The Rikon has a 2 year warranty while the Steel City has a 5
year warranty.

What do you guys think?

Not real sure what piece of equipment you are talking about but do you think
6" is big enough for you? ;~)

I bought their 18" band saw about 2 years ago and returned it. I wanted a
total upgrade from a 12" Craftsman band saw and IMHO did not get that. I
view Rikon as a reasonably priced brand but you will probably want to
upgrade later if you are going to use the machine very much. Yuh get what
you pay for.

"Airedale" wrote in message
...
On Mar 6, 9:43 am, "
wrote:
On Mar 6, 9:36 am, "Swingman" wrote:

"Airedale" wrote

What do you guys think?

Ping Leon ... IIRC, his hands-on experience was not very good. There
seems
to be a real mixed bag of reviews on Rikon equipment .... the
preponderance
not being all that favorable, is my impression.

My buddy at WC seems to agree. He likes their new revamped mid/mini
lathe, but they struggled with quality control issues of fit and
finish. He likes one bandsaw they make, but not another. I think
Rikon is one of those tool guys that simply job out what they need and
assemble the parts like Jet/Powermatic, Delta and most others.

As they have gotten more popular due to their pricing, they seem to be
getting better, but then some of the mag reviews only put them in the
middle of the pack. The only way they seem to be up top on the list
is due to price.

Robert

Well price is a big consideration, but quality is another key too. It
is hard with the WAF to convice that the extra $200 is buying me a lot
more. The one other benefit I missed on the Steel City is the bed is
68" long versus 46" for the Rikon. While that is a great benefit, in
my smaller shop, it may be more of a pain.

The space it takes up may be a pain, but I'll bet not as big a pain as a
machine that doesn't perform up to standards.
IIRC, Leon's issue with Rikon was with one of their larger bandsaws. He
sent it back.

Joe
Pay for quality and only cry once.

On Mar 6, 11:07 am, "joe" wrote:
"Airedale" wrote in message

...
On Mar 6, 9:43 am, "
wrote:



On Mar 6, 9:36 am, "Swingman" wrote:

"Airedale" wrote

What do you guys think?

Ping Leon ... IIRC, his hands-on experience was not very good. There
seems
to be a real mixed bag of reviews on Rikon equipment .... the
preponderance
not being all that favorable, is my impression.

My buddy at WC seems to agree. He likes their new revamped mid/mini
lathe, but they struggled with quality control issues of fit and
finish. He likes one bandsaw they make, but not another. I think
Rikon is one of those tool guys that simply job out what they need and
assemble the parts like Jet/Powermatic, Delta and most others.

As they have gotten more popular due to their pricing, they seem to be
getting better, but then some of the mag reviews only put them in the
middle of the pack. The only way they seem to be up top on the list
is due to price.

Robert

Well price is a big consideration, but quality is another key too. It
is hard with the WAF to convice that the extra $200 is buying me a lot
more. The one other benefit I missed on the Steel City is the bed is
68" long versus 46" for the Rikon. While that is a great benefit, in
my smaller shop, it may be more of a pain.

The space it takes up may be a pain, but I'll bet not as big a pain as a
machine that doesn't perform up to standards.
IIRC, Leon's issue with Rikon was with one of their larger bandsaws. He
sent it back.

Joe
Pay for quality and only cry once.

I can't speak to quality on Rikon or Steel City jointers, but I can
speak to quality of a Steel City 16" bandsaw: it is a formidable tool
for the price...and for more.

"Airedale" wrote in message
...

I haven't heard of this brand until I recently got a mailer from
Woodcraft. They are pushing the 6" model for only $399 right now.


Personally, I'm going with the 8" and am quite pleased.

A friend has the 4" and wishes he'd gotten the 8", too.

On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 07:27:40 -0800 (PST), Airedale
wrote:

I haven't heard of this brand until I recently got a mailer from
Woodcraft. They are pushing the 6" model for only $399 right now.

That is an AWESOME price compared to the Steel City which I was
originally looking at for $600 (after mail in rebate).

Does anyone have experience with them?

One of the big differences I am seeing between the two is the
Warranty. The Rikon has a 2 year warranty while the Steel City has a 5
year warranty.

What do you guys think?

Not to get personal, but a 6" what?


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 12:38:54 -0500, "Lee K" wrote:


"Airedale" wrote in message
...

I haven't heard of this brand until I recently got a mailer from
Woodcraft. They are pushing the 6" model for only $399 right now.


Personally, I'm going with the 8" and am quite pleased.

A friend has the 4" and wishes he'd gotten the 8", too.

you guys been getting a lot of "manhood enlargement" spam?


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Mar 6, 12:13*pm, mac davis wrote:
On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 07:27:40 -0800 (PST), Airedale
wrote:

I haven't heard of this brand until I recently got a mailer from
Woodcraft. They are pushing the 6" model for only $399 right now.

That is an AWESOME price compared to the Steel City which I was
originally looking at for $600 (after mail in rebate).

Does anyone have experience with them?

One of the big differences I am seeing between the two is the
Warranty. The Rikon has a 2 year warranty while the Steel City has a 5
year warranty.

What do you guys think?

Not to get personal, but a 6" what?

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

LOL! I can not believe I forgot to put Jointer in there! HAHAHA!

On Mar 6, 10:27*am, Airedale wrote:
I haven't heard of this brand until I recently got a mailer from
Woodcraft. They are pushing the 6" model for only $399 right now.

That is an AWESOME price compared to the Steel City which I was
originally looking at for $600 (after mail in rebate).

Does anyone have experience with them?

One of the big differences I am seeing between the two is the
Warranty. The Rikon has a 2 year warranty while the Steel City has a 5
year warranty.

What do you guys think?

Well, I am not sure about all the other posts, but we have the exact
jointer you are refering to in our shop and we bought it over a year
ago for the 399 price. We also have a larger (8") "franken jointer" in
the shop as well. The franken jointer, once setup, you dont fool with
it. It stays set at 1/32". The Rikon however is now used far more than
the 8". We use it regularly for rabbeting, jointing, and light
flattening of wide material. The reason I bought it is because the
fence assy. absolutely smokes any other jointer out there. The fence
adjusts with handwheel, crank tilt. I sometimes change the depth of
cut several times an hour without a single problem.

The absolute only problem we had out of the jointer was that it was
assembled by Woodcraft (a big plus) and when we loaded it to the shop
it would occasionall throw the belt (spline). A couple tweaks of the
belt tension and alignement and it has never happened again. As far as
use, this jointer has likely jointed about 2k lin. ft. of finish trim
in the past year.

My decision was between the powermatic, and "any other brand" and the
only reason I was contemplating the 6" powermatic was for the bed
length. While I would loe to have the powermatic in my shop today, I
am not sad I saved 350+ dollars

Mark