Ty Williams
02-20-2012, 5:03 AM
Let me preface this by saying that the last time I had an actual workshop in which to work, I was spoiled by having a 24" 240V bandsaw that would cut anything. Well, now I don't have a shop. I have a space that I share with my wife among about a dozen different uses. The upshot of this is that every single tool now has to be a benchtop tool, it has to be portable, and I have to be able to move it by myself at the end of each working session so that I can store it and then clean up completely. The consequence of that is that I can't really do anything bigger than a 10" bandsaw since there's about a 100lb jump between a 10" and a 12". In fact, the 10" models are pretty much pushing the limit of what I can pick up (60-ish pounds) because of an injury to my back.
So, confining my search just to bandsaws I can pick up safely, the cream of the crop looks to be the Rikon 10-305 10" model. I've read all the threads about it on this forum and others and the impressions seem generally positive. What I need now is some advice as to wither it's a realistic tool for me. If it will do what I need it to do (with me being realistic about that), it's at a price I can swing. However, if it won't do most of what I want to do, there's no point spending the money on it at all. Here's the kinds of things I want to do:
Rip woods like oak and maple into small rails for the Mission-style furniture everyone and their dog is asking me to build (I don't have room for a tablesaw)
Cut through basically any 19mm sheet good I throw at it
Cut through most woods in a 2-3" slab (making the outside of router-made bowls)
Cut through a 3.5-4" piece of Jatoba (or similar density wood) to make gentle curves (I like to make Krenov-style planes)
Resaw non-insane (no Cocobolo) woods up to the resaw limit of the saw (also assuming a very good blade in good condition)
Is that a realistic set of goals for a Rikon 10-305?
So, confining my search just to bandsaws I can pick up safely, the cream of the crop looks to be the Rikon 10-305 10" model. I've read all the threads about it on this forum and others and the impressions seem generally positive. What I need now is some advice as to wither it's a realistic tool for me. If it will do what I need it to do (with me being realistic about that), it's at a price I can swing. However, if it won't do most of what I want to do, there's no point spending the money on it at all. Here's the kinds of things I want to do:
Rip woods like oak and maple into small rails for the Mission-style furniture everyone and their dog is asking me to build (I don't have room for a tablesaw)
Cut through basically any 19mm sheet good I throw at it
Cut through most woods in a 2-3" slab (making the outside of router-made bowls)
Cut through a 3.5-4" piece of Jatoba (or similar density wood) to make gentle curves (I like to make Krenov-style planes)
Resaw non-insane (no Cocobolo) woods up to the resaw limit of the saw (also assuming a very good blade in good condition)
Is that a realistic set of goals for a Rikon 10-305?