Rikon bandsaws ???

[Tom Mitz]

Ok guys... I had almost placed the order for a 20" Agazanni. The more I thought about the 1299 price tag of a Rikon 18" Bandsaw at Woodcraft I just had to ask on here. THEN I saw pictures of the 19" extreme Grizzly... geee....

Now I KNOW the Rikon isnt an Agazanni - my question is the Ag 2 times better because I can buy more tools I need with the 1500 differance.... or translated what can I do with an Agazanni that I cannot do on the Rikon....

ANYONE feel free to post a comment but please lets stay on track and only talk Rikon and Grizzly based on experiance...

Thanks my fellow wood workers ! :D

[Andrew Joiner]

Tom,
Sounds like you've got "bandsaw fever" I had it for a while so I'll share my experience.
I had a 1950 vintage 14" Delta with riser I bought used in 1978. It did every thing I needed a bandsaw to do. I even sawed a few logs into boards. I sold the Delta and got out of woodworking for a while.
In 2005 I started lusting after a bigger bandsaw and ran across the FineWoodworking magazine review that gave the 18" Rikon a best value. I got it in the shop and it had several issues. Rikon was nice about shipping me free parts, but I finally got tired of rebuilding a "new" saw and took it back to Woodcraft. I may have gotten a lemon or I'm to much of a perfectionist as I see lot's of people are happy with 18" Rikons.

In April of this year I got a Grizzly 21". It's a great saw. Many people on this forum have 17" and 19" Grizzly bandsaws and love them.

[Michael Panis]

Hi Tom,

I'm not sure where you were going to order the Agazanni, but I noticed that Eagle Tools carries both the Agazanni and Rikon. It might be worth a call to see what they would say. (And if you do, please post it!)

I own the Rikon 18". Admittedly, it is my first bandsaw, so my experience is limited. Overall, I'm very pleased with the saw. I'll mention a few "oddities," but nothing that would cause me to spend an extra $1500.

When I first received the saw, the top wheel was unbalanced. Rikon customer service was great. They replaced it right away, no questions asked.

Minor gripes:
o Couldn't they have designed this thing so I would only need one allen wrench to adjust all the guides?
o The fence is pretty good. It's adjustable and rock solid horizontally. But don't think about resawing with it. It doesn't have the strength to not tilt a bit during resawing. That Agazzanni fence looks beautiful.
o I find that the tension release lowers the top wheel so much that it is resting on the saw's frame. I'm not too sure how good this is for the tires.
o When adjusting the height of the upper guide, you need to unscrew the lock ALL the way, or it will interfere.
o The little window on the upper guide assembly that sits between you and the blade can't be closed all the way with a 1" blade, or they will touch.
o I could imagine a saw with a smoother rack and pinion tilt.
o The door hinges can interfere with the blade as you change it in and out.

As you can see, these are all minor issues, and really have nothing to do with the quality of the cut. As a hobbiest, I wouldn't pay $1500 to fix them.

---Mike

[John McClanahan]

We recently got a 19" Grizzly Extreme at work. We needed 18" capacity, but for thin work. Ours has a single phase motor and electric brake. Seems well balanced and of good quality. Blade guides are big and easier to adjust than on small saws.

John

[David Romano]

I have an 18" Rikon and I like it. I got it from the Rikon headquarters in Woburn, MA. If you live within driving distance, maybe you can do the same. Occasionally, they sell "new" equipment at a big discount. I paid $900 for mine.

Anyway, the saw is well made, but as others have said, it has it's flaws. The 2 most annoying to me are: The need to retrack the blade everytime I retension the blade. The quick release is poorly designed (patent infringement issue). The other is the difficulty in adjusting the blade guides.

Some of the pluses are: Lots of power, great customer service, wheel twist adjustment on the back of the bottom wheel, adjustments for making the upper guide parallel to the blade, 2 dust ports, very little crown to the wheels (good for wide blades) BIG table with slot positioned for easy blade changes. If I had the choice between the Griz and the Rikon, I might actually choose the Griz. It's bigger and about the same price, and I think Griz offers free shipping now. That said, I don't regret my purchase and would still reccomend it.

David

[Jeff Willard]

Remember that the Agazzini gives you:

More horsepower

More resaw capacity

A footbrake

Assisted table tilt-on a saw that size, a very nice feature to have

Not trying to talk you into one or the other, just wanted you to be aware.

[Philip Rodriquez]

It all depends on the work you do. For occasional use and resaw, it does a great job. Heck, so will a 14" BS. If I worked on one every day, I'd buy the best I could afford.

[Mac McQuinn]

I'm also in the market for a quality Bandsaw and these questions are a huge benefit to me too, Thanks. On another note, i see no mention of dust collection on the saws recommended. This is very important feature to me. How do the better saws rate in this respect? (Tom, Not trying to hi-jack your thread, just hoping to gain both of us extra info)

Mac

[richard poitras]

Mac McQuinn... Pm sent

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Tom,

In the end, you have to make that decision.

It's like comparing a Cadillac to a Chevy IMHO.

Both will get the job done.

If I was in your shoes, I'd find a way to touch and look at both of them and drive them if possible.

Only you can make that decision.

I made mine. My two sons will fight over my MM-16. My youngest son has already said "I don't want one of the pieces of furniture Dad made. I want his tools!"

[Derrell W Sloan]

One more vote for the 19'' grizzly. I really like the big table and it has a nive fence as well. You can now get it with a foot brake or an electronic brake. It is a great saw.

[Wilbur Pan]

Now I KNOW the Rikon isnt an Agazanni - my question is the Ag 2 times better because I can buy more tools I need with the 1500 differance

Consider this: this type of tool purchase is likely to be the last bandsaw that you buy. I think that a very conservative estimate would be that you are going to use this bandsaw for 10 years, minimum. Over that 10 year period, that works out to 41¢/day for more HP, increased resaw power, larger throat to blade capacity, foot brake, and an improved table tilt.

Also consider that if you sell the Agazanni, you'll probably recoup more of what you paid for it than if you sell the Rikon.