Rikon Sale

[Paul Gilbert]

I have been looking for a larger band saw for awhile. I finally settled on a Rikon 18" (10-345). When I went to my local Woodcraft I was told to wait a week, and they would be on sale. They sell the 10-345 for $1499 now and the sale price will be $1049 starting next Sat. Does anyone know if this is just a Woodcraft sale, or is it a National Rikon sale?

What about keeping my vintage ('50's) 14" Powermatic when the new saw arrives? How many of you have two saws? I can sell my old saw for the price of a OneWay Strong Hold chuck for my wood lathe. I only have one chuck and would like to have another so that I am not frequently changing jaws. I guess it is a choice of blade changes or jaw changes.

[Joe Angrisani]

That's one helluva sale, if true.....

[John Bailey]

I, for one, would love to have two bandsaws in my shop. Not having the room, I settle for one. If you've got the room, I'd say get the second larger one. You've already got, just about, the best 14"er. Add the Rikon and there'll be a lot more green (with envy) around the Creek.

[mreza Salav]

Keep your old saw. I have a 14" and when I bought my bigger saw I dedicated a resaw blade on it and keep the smaller saw for curve cuts. It is very convenient/fast not to swap blades (uncoil/coil, adjust tension, drift, etc etc).

[Paul Gilbert]

Joe - I'ts for real. I saw the mail out that you will soon receive if you are on their mailing list.

[Jay Yoder]

How long will it be on sale? A month?

[Peter Aeschliman]

That's an insane sale... Now you have me thinking....

[scott vroom]

The sale starts April 1; shipping is "free" except there is a $125 adder for "excessive weight". Total delivered excluding state sales tax will be $1,174.99.

The Rikon 14" 10-325 will be on sale for $874.99 delivered including a $75 excessive weight charge.

[Matt Day]

But if you have a somewhat local store you could buy it there and not have to pay shipping, just tax. Right?

[scott vroom]

I just checked...there's no Excessive Weight charge if purchased at a store. Price for the 18" would be 1,049.99 + tax. Seems like a great deal....particularly if you have a pickup to haul it home in.

[Doug Ladendorf]

Keep your old saw. I have a 14" and when I bought my bigger saw I dedicated a resaw blade on it and keep the smaller saw for curve cuts. It is very convenient/fast not to swap blades (uncoil/coil, adjust tension, drift, etc etc).

This is what I would do as well. I have a 1971 PM 141 that I would love to dedicate to curved cuts and resaw with a larger one like the Rikon. That's a great deal IMHO.

[Mike Cutler]

Paul

I have a 14" Jet, and an 18" Rikon 10-340, the predecessor to the 10-345 your looking at. The sale is legit, and I don't regret buying my Rikon, nor keeping my Jet one bit.
My Rikon is set up for resaw only, and the Jet for the other stuff. I have put some of the hardest woods available through my Rikon. Jatoba, cocobolo, ebony, padauk, bocote, wenge, bubinga, and it's never hiccuped. It is also dead on, very minimal deviation. I tend to do more long resaws, than short. Longest being a 22' 12/4 piece of Sitka Spruce. So it is a saw that can take it.

[Wade Lippman]

The sale starts April 1; shipping is "free" except there is a $125 adder for "excessive weight". Total delivered excluding state sales tax will be $1,174.99.

The Rikon 14" 10-325 will be on sale for $874.99 delivered including a $75 excessive weight charge.

Not nearly as good as 2 months ago when I bought my 10-345. But I guess you gotta take what's available when you need the tool.

[Ryan Baker]

I've got the 10-345, and it's great. But I would have kept my old smaller saw if I had the space for both (I barely have the space for the 18" alone). It is nice to be able to keep the smaller saw set up with a smaller blade for curves instead of swapping blades on the big saw. Of course, you'll have to decide whether the Stronghold would be more useful for you.

Woodcraft runs that Rikon deal twice every year. Pick it up in the store if you can to save some money -- but make sure you have a way to move that saw around. It's not light, and a bit tall and tippy. Assuming you don't have some sort of forked lift, an engine crane works a treat for getting it out of your pickup.

[Joe Angrisani]

The sale starts April 1....

Oh really.... April 1st? Is someone joshing us?

[Curt Harms]

I just checked...there's no Excessive Weight charge if purchased at a store. Price for the 18" would be 1,049.99 + tax. Seems like a great deal....particularly if you have a pickup to haul it home in.

For $75, I wonder if it'd pay rent a truck with a lift gate and not have to worry about shipping damage & being home to accept the shipment. Of course there's also mileage ......

[Joseph Tarantino]

That's an insane sale... Now you have me thinking....

not as insane as december, 2012 when the 10-345 was $999.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Rub it in why don't you! ha ha

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Oh really.... April 1st? Is someone joshing us?

No Joshing! unless your name happens to be Josh....

I picked up the 14" (10-325) today from Woodcraft (for $799), and I can't wait to get it set up. I really debated getting the 18" (for $1099) but for what I do, the 14" will suit me just fine and I'll be able to use the extra $$ for some blades and other accessories. I almost got the Kreg fence, but I first want to see how the stock fence works out.

[Peter Aeschliman]

No Joshing! unless your name happens to be Josh....

I picked up the 14" (10-325) today from Woodcraft (for $799), and I can't wait to get it set up. I really debated getting the 18" (for $1099) but for what I do, the 14" will suit me just fine and I'll be able to use the extra $$ for some blades and other accessories. I almost got the Kreg fence, but I first want to see how the stock fence works out.

Congrats!

I read a review in one of the recent woodworking magazines (Fine Woodworking?) on aftermarket bandsaw fences. They recommended the Grizzly fence, which give you a tall resaw fence as well as a few other configurations (low fence options). They liked it more than the Kreg... something to look into if that time comes.

[Curt Harms]

No Joshing! unless your name happens to be Josh....

I picked up the 14" (10-325) today from Woodcraft (for $799), and I can't wait to get it set up. I really debated getting the 18" (for $1099) but for what I do, the 14" will suit me just fine and I'll be able to use the extra $$ for some blades and other accessories. I almost got the Kreg fence, but I first want to see how the stock fence works out.

If you're in the "gotta adjust the fence for drift" camp, you probably won't like the fence that comes with the saw. I'm more in the "run the blade in the middle of both wheels and use a good quality blade. It won't drift." camp. I bought a second bar so can use the fence across the entire table. I also changed out the bolts and knobs on the fence. My bolts are T bolts and my knobs are common jig knobs that I find much easier to grasp.

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[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Curt - good idea on getting the second bar for the fence. I'm already not impressed with the fence, but neither am I upset by it. it is what it is. I still have to complete the setup and tuning, so I'll cross the 'drift' part when I come to it.

[Art Mulder]

What about keeping my vintage ('50's) 14" Powermatic when the new saw arrives? How many of you have two saws?


This is what I would do as well. I have a 1971 PM 141 that I would love to dedicate to curved cuts and resaw with a larger one like the Rikon. That's a great deal IMHO.

Listen to Doug, Paul. +1 on keeping it.

A couple years ago I picked up a 17" (used). At the time I was advised to also keep my old 14" bandsaw. I have a fairly compact (11x22) basement shop, so I was loathe to squeeze both in there. But I figured I would give it a try. I'm glad I did. I managed to find the space. I keep a small blade on the 14" and use that mostly for curves and small cuts. I keep a big blade on the 17" and it is primarily for resawing or straight cuts. I find it very convenient.
Then I also considered the the fact that my 14" was an off-brand (now-defunct) plain old taiwanese/chinese import, so I would not get that much upon resale. As such the decision to keep it was pretty easy.

Paul, Just try it out for a couple months with two saws. You can always sell the other one in September, if you decide you don't want two.