Rikon Power Tools 10-305 10-Inch 110 Volt 0.33 Horsepower Bandsaw with Fence $274.99 + FS

Good small bandsaw well built and runs super smooth. I've had pretty much all of the small ones , ryobi (total crap) , craftsmen (smaller version than this, they had a version of this too), most don't know alot of the craftsmen bandsaws and rikon parts were interchangeable depending on model. i think they stopped selling their versions when it was acquired which is too bad as due to that bandsaw prices have been jacked up.

Only thing i can fault with this saw is the fence is cheesy and aside from clamping your own diy one (8020 would work well for that) i don't know an alternative and the miter slot is non standard slot size than you would normally by a miter gauge for for a tablesaw and such (can't remember the size) but otherwise everything else feels well built. These size tables are not really all too conducive for miter gauges anyhow, you can find the small miters but you're not using an incra,etc (which would be too big anyhow)

I sold mine for a larger craftsmen 14" bas350...but ran out of garage space sold that and now am bandsaw-less, wish i'd kept this one! May need to consider it but given how little i use bandsaws , i'm thinking a diy jigsaw table , i do more tracing out ply than i do resawing.

You'll need a good blade for resaw, hp isn't much but for other stuff it's fine, largely depends on softness and thickness of wood you're resawing.

With an appropriate blade can this do a decent job resawing hardwood? Say 12/4 hard maple or walnut?

Really sucks they put a 5/8" miter slot on this instead of 3/4", I can't understand why they would do that.

Quote from bcg27 : With an appropriate blade can this do a decent job resawing hardwood? Say 12/4 hard maple or walnut? Really sucks they put a 5/8" miter slot on this instead of 3/4", I can't understand why they would do that.

I have a 14" jet w/ a 3/4 HP motor and it doesn't fair all that well.
I would say with how low the power is on this...it's probably worse.

I have never heard of VMInnovations. Is this like a woot? They are selling all kind of stuff. It looks suspiciously refurb.

Quote from Electricalsushi : I have a 14" jet w/ a 3/4 HP motor and it doesn't fair all that well. I would say with how low the power is on this...it's probably worse.

Fair enough, the power does seem kind of low. One of these days maybe I'll kick my car out of the garage and I'll have space for all the floor standing tools, but for now I'm pretty limited in space so something like this is my only option. If it's that weak it might not be worth getting over my jigsaw that I have now.

Quote from bcg27 : With an appropriate blade can this do a decent job resawing hardwood? Say 12/4 hard maple or walnut? Really sucks they put a 5/8" miter slot on this instead of 3/4", I can't understand why they would do that.

3" hard maple is going to really strain that 1/3hp motor. Cutting tenons or small parts, maybe, but breaking down a 12/4 board into furniture parts is going to be very, very slow at best. Good blades make a giant difference, but id still think that's 14" saw territory with at least a 1hp motor.

i did try resawing some soft maple one time with it,....but it was also max height capacity... very slow going and the fence wasn't hot, i really didn't spend all that much time on it since i don't resaw....just tested to see what it would do.

I wouldn't buy for resaw unless it's small projects. Used it for cutting small parts quickly, aluminum, king starboard, resaw small pieces for width, that sorta small project stuff, excellent for that stuff though as all the other small bandsaws i had vibrated like crap, this was smooth like butter.

Quote from bcg27 : Fair enough, the power does seem kind of low. One of these days maybe I'll kick my car out of the garage and I'll have space for all the floor standing tools, but for now I'm pretty limited in space so something like this is my only option. If it's that weak it might not be worth getting over my jigsaw that I have now.

Yes, this will be a LOT better than a jigsaw! Especially with a good blade. It won't cut as fast as a bigger saw... But as long as you're patient, resawing 12/4 hardwoods should be doable. I used to have a 10" Ryobi bandsaw, and it was adequate... With careful setup, slow feed rate, and a good blade, I cut various hardwoods up to nearly the max height capacity. I made a big white oak bed frame with 3" legs, all cut and squared with that little bandsaw. And this Rikon should definitely be more capable than the Ryobi. If this is all you have space for, I'd get it!

Anyone have any recommendations for a fence on the Rikon 14"?

Highland woodworking has it for 269, but that doesn't include shipping.

https://www.highlandwoodworking.c...ndsaw.aspx

How is it any different from the one at Menards that's selling for $249.19 with free shipping?


https://www.menards.com/main/tool...321111.htm

I was looking at this one and the WEN 3962 @ $263 and decided to go with the latter because it a non-problematic fence (#1 complaint for the Rikon), a miter gauge included, and a 6" versus 4.5" for the tallest piece you can run through it.
Does anyone has experience with the WEN or even better with both for a comparison?

Quote from reelbusy : Good small bandsaw well built and runs super smooth. I've had pretty much all of the small ones , ryobi (total crap) , craftsmen (smaller version than this, they had a version of this too), most don't know alot of the craftsmen bandsaws and rikon parts were interchangeable depending on model. i think they stopped selling their versions when it was acquired which is too bad as due to that bandsaw prices have been jacked up. Only thing i can fault with this saw is the fence is cheesy and aside from clamping your own diy one (8020 would work well for that) i don't know an alternative and the miter slot is non standard slot size than you would normally by a miter gauge for for a tablesaw and such (can't remember the size) but otherwise everything else feels well built. These size tables are not really all too conducive for miter gauges anyhow, you can find the small miters but you're not using an incra,etc (which would be too big anyhow) I sold mine for a larger craftsmen 14" bas350...but ran out of garage space sold that and now am bandsaw-less, wish i'd kept this one! May need to consider it but given how little i use bandsaws , i'm thinking a diy jigsaw table , i do more tracing out ply than i do resawing. You'll need a good blade for resaw, hp isn't much but for other stuff it's fine, largely depends on softness and thickness of wood you're resawing.

http://www.searshometownstores.co...0-Band-Saw
I got that one years back ($169.99 -$115.12 Points = $58.72), looks the exact same. Why so much more money? I don't get it.

What about $230 https://www.wttool.com/index/page...ng+Bandsaw

Quote from zerox6679 : http://www.searshometownstores.co...0-Band-Saw [searshometownstores.com] I got that one years back ($169.99 -$115.12 Points = $58.72), looks the exact same. Why so much more money? I don't get it.-

Exactly, you can order rikon parts for it too for the most part. The table trunion on my bas350 i broke...order it from rikon was the same. Some small differences for sure in looks and a few pieces but most part from same factories.


But yeah with craftsmen bandsaws off the market unfortunately the prices are high now. I didn't want to do get rid of the bas350 because of that...but ultimately needing space and low bandsaw usage won out but about the only steel frame one you can get now is wen, the rikon 14's are all really high priced now.