Help with Bandsaw choice

[Alan Greene]

Yesterday my 12" Hitachi (CB13F) Bandsaw's motor decided to take a permanent vacation.:eek: So I have to get a new Bandsaw.:) I have gone back through the threads and read previous posts and narrowed it down to 2 saws (maybe 3). Can I get some input/suggestions on which you believe is the better saw for a hobby woodworker. I plan on doing some resawing up to 10" for a (near) future project Suggestions on other saws are welcome but they must be under $1000 delivered. Before I found the Creek I made 2 bad decisions on tool purchases this was one the other was a bench-top drill press (LOML suggested I buy the better ones, I should of listened).

The saws are the Rikon 10-325 on sale at Woodcraft for $750 + tax ($808.45) and the Grizzly GO457 $895 delivered.

Here is the tool nut in me, is the GO513X2 at $100 more a better buy?:D

Thank You for your input.

[John Hedges]

Alan, if your looking at around 1K I'd suggest moving up to the Rikon 10-345 which is on sale for only $150 more than the grizzly. It is an 18" saw whereas the grizzly is a 17". Not only should that help with how it runs larger blades but it gives you more room from Beam to blade by 2 inches according to the specs. The Rikon also has a larger motor, which is important in resawing. Lastly if you are going through Woodcraft you can get it locally so you will not have to deal with shipping and have local support should anything go wrong. I've seen the Rikons at my local woodcraft and they look like a very good value. The reviews I've read here and elsewhere seem to support that as well.

[Michael Wildt]

You could check with a local electrical motor company would take to fix or replace the motor. May make the old bandsaw usable again and potentially bring in more $$ when selling for the upgrade.

Michael

[Alan Greene]

Michael, There is a gentleman a few miles down the road that rebuilds them. I have used him before for my AC fan motor. He is very good and reasonable.

[Mike Wellner]

Yesterday my 12" Hitachi (CB13F) Bandsaw's motor decided to take a permanent vacation.:eek: So I have to get a new Bandsaw.:) I have gone back through the threads and read previous posts and narrowed it down to 2 saws (maybe 3). Can I get some input/suggestions on which you believe is the better saw for a hobby woodworker. I plan on doing some resawing up to 10" for a (near) future project Suggestions on other saws are welcome but they must be under $1000 delivered. Before I found the Creek I made 2 bad decisions on tool purchases this was one the other was a bench-top drill press (LOML suggested I buy the better ones, I should of listened).

The saws are the Rikon 10-325 on sale at Woodcraft for $750 + tax ($808.45) and the Grizzly GO457 $895 delivered.

Here is the tool nut in me, is the GO513X2 at $100 more a better buy?:D

Thank You for your input.

You can get the same thing as the Rikon 10-325 for http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00922401000P
$503.99 you are getting ripped off paying for the "Rikon" name

Made for Sears by Rikon.

I'd go with a Grizzly

[Carlos Alden]

This Sears is not the same. The Rikon 325 has a much larger resaw capacity. This Sears seems more equivalent to the smaller Rikon, the 320.

Carlos

[Mike Wellner]

Sears is the same thing as Rikon, but Rikon has more models.

[Mike Wellner]

Sears 14"
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00922401000P
Rikon 14"
http://www.rikontools.com/productpage_10-320.htm

Same thing but more resaw capacity
http://www.rikontools.com/productpage_10-325.htm


Sears 18"
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921538000P

Rikon 18"
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=3487&BASE

[Paul Ryan]

The sears band saw only has 8" of resaw capacity, the rinkon has 13". Since you cannot add risers to these machines I think the money is better spent on the rinkon compared to the sears. And with the direction sears has been heading lately I wouldn't buy tools from them unless I was in a real pinch, or got a great deal.
I would still opt for the grizzly though. they know band saws well and make some really nice machines. I would definatly go with the 0513X2 over the 0457 band saw though. I think I would buy the 0513 over the 0457 also. The only person I know that has bought the 0457 band saw was a guy that couldn't get the larger 17" saw in his basement. But for $131 difference for the 0513 and 0523X2 I would spend the extra $$. You get a larger table, a resaw fence (even though you can build you own), cast iron wheels, and a a cast iron trunion. the cast trunion is the real nice difference. If you go with the grizzly you have to worry about shipping. But I would take the chace, just dont wait till the last minute.

Good luck

[Pat Germain]

Here's another vote for Grizzly. I have a G0513X2. It's a great saw and a very good value. What you'll pay for shipping you'd pay in sales tax buying locally. So, buying locally would be more convenient, but not necessarilly less expensive.

If you order a Grizzly, I would recommend ponying up a few extra dollars for "liftgate service". With this option, the delivery driver will lower the saw on a hydraulic liftgate, put it on a dolly and wheel it right into your shop. While it's possible the driver might do this without you paying the extra fee, it's also possible he'll just open the back of the truck and say, "Come and get it".

Grizzly was running a free shipping offer recently. You might check to see if the bandsaw would be included.

The Rikons are also very good saws. I looked at both Grizzly and Rikon. I went with the Grizzly simply because I liked it better and I've received very good performance from Grizzly machines. Take a look at both and decide. It's OK to go with personal preference. :)

As for the Sears machines, it used to be you could count on very good service and parts availablilty from a local Sears. This is typically no longer the case. You'll have to order parts and accessories for a Sears saw just like any other. So, go with Sears saw only if you really like it.

[Doug Shepard]

There's an 18" Jet on the Phoenix CL that might also be worth looking at
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/tls/1016490715.html

[Lance Norris]

I would definatly go with the 0513X2 over the 0457 band saw though. I think I would buy the 0513 over the 0457 also. The only person I know that has bought the 0457 band saw was a guy that couldn't get the larger 17" saw in his basement. But for $131 difference for the 0513 and 0523X2 I would spend the extra $$. You get a larger table, a resaw fence (even though you can build you own), cast iron wheels, and a a cast iron trunion. the cast trunion is the real nice difference.
Good luck

I have the 457. Its an excellent bandsaw. I bought mine for the reason mentioned above, I needed to get it down my basement steps and I have never regretted my choice. I dont know if the above quote was comparing the 513 with the 513x2 or with the 457, but the 457 has all the mentioned features, resaw fence, cast wheels and cast trunions. If I didnt have the limiting factor of a basement shop, I would have gotten one of the larger Grizzly saws, but I have been VERY happy with the Grizzly G0457.

[Peter Quadarella]

You said you wanted to keep it around $1000 including shipping. Well, the G0513X2 is being offered with free shipping right now, and is $950. This saw was an excellent deal before, with free shipping this is a no brainer to me.

[Dave Verstraete]

Alan
I have a Rikon 10-345 18" Bandsaw. I would recommend this saw to any of my friends. I have heard good things about the two saws that you are looking at. I don't think that you will regret either of them.

[Tom Esh]

My BS purchase boiled down to the same choices a year ago. Very similar machines. The Rikon has a few more bells & whistles, the Griz has more power. In the end I went with Grizzly because it's only 2 hrs away and I could avoid the shipping and its damage hazzards. Except for a "lumpy" drive belt (which they replaced immediately), the 457 has been flawless. The 2hp is nice, but I suspect most folks would not need it. I've yet to see strain and I resawed some 10" oak with it last week.

[Fred Belknap]

If you are going to need 10 resaw then go with the larger Griz. I'm thinking they are both good saws. The smaller is advertised as 10"resaw. I have a Griz BS that say it has 8" resaw but in real world I can get 7¾".

[Alan Greene]

Well, I listened to all of the advice, took another look at the Spec on all three saws and decided to go with the GO513X2. The relatively small price difference with the free shipping made it almost a common sense choice. I did get the lift-gate service on delivery, so I busted the budget by $27:D. Again thanks and I will take pictures when it arrives.

[Pat Germain]

Congrats, Alan! You might want to order a couple of blades for the saw. You likely won't find the correct size locally. I ordered Timberwolf blades and I'm very happy with them.