Rigid 14" bandsaw, riser kit worth it?

[Jon Shank]

So I ran into a pretty great deal on a NIB Rigid 14" bandsaw and I grabbed it. I was planning on holding out for a bigger saw on CL but the deal was good enough and my current bandsaw bad enough I couldn't pass it up. Even with the short cutting height as is it is a nice upgrade from what I was using. What experience has everyone had with it generally and more specifically has anyone put the 6" riser kit on it and how is it? Any tips or useful mods I should plan on? Any input is appreciated.

Jon

[Joe Shinall]

I had a Rigid 14" about 4 years ago and put the Grizzly 6" riser kit on it. Don't expect to cut 11" thick walnut with ease or anything but it does pretty good with the right blade and feed rate on most woods. I would recommend it. To me, it was nicer having that extra clearance anyways just to see better and allow for taller fence and larger push blocks, etc...

I wish I wouldn't had sold it so I could have it setup for curves and leave my 19" for resaw only. It's a great saw for the buck, especially since I only paid about 150 for mine new.

[Lori Kleinberg]

I have had that band saw for at least 5 years. It does not get alot of use, but did need a bit of work to be able to resaw. Although this is the only band saw I have ever used, I do feel it is under-powered.

[Jon Shank]

I'd heard that about the Grizzly riser kit. So it is a direct replacement? Whole lot cheaper than Rigid wants for theirs, wow they're proud of their kit! I'm not planning on going crazy with resawing but I want to do some and probably bigger than the 5.5 to 6 inch of the stock saw. And I'd hate to spend the coin on good quality 93 inch bands just to make them obsolete when I put on the lift later. It doesn't come with a fence at all, what are you guys using for a fence and particularly for a tall resaw fence? Make something or bought a fence to add on? Again it's still siotting in the box right now, any tips are appreciated.

Jon

[Joe Shinall]

The Grizzly kit was a direct fit and went on very easily. Do a search on here and you will see some pics of some and the exact model number for the one that fits. Took about an hour if I remember correctly.

Mine came with a fence but I bought a Kreg fence on ebay for it. Didn't care for the stock Rigid fence. Loved the Kreg fence and had the resaw guide attachment for it as well.

If you're ever feeling the need for more power, we put a 1.5HP motor on mine and it cut awesome. My dad runs an electric motor repair shop so it was really cheap for us to do. I had a guy offer me 600 bucks for it, only reason I sold it. With that motor and resaw kit it was just as good as a 17" Jet that we run at work.

[Bill Geibe]

IIRC, there are two 14" Griz riser kits. I think the kit for the G0555 is the one you want.

To figure it out and for more suggestions on getting the Ridgid up to speed, you can check out the Ridgid Woodworking forum https://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/f12/ . There's a lot of information about their BS on there. Do a search for BS1400 (or 1402 if that's your model) and all sorts of tips will show up. From what I understand, after wheel balancing and improving the motor mount bracing, this is a decent saw.

Bill

PS: Here's a post that explains the riser block situation: https://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/t16402/

[Jon Shank]

Thanks guys, good info. Just got it today and honestly sort of by accident so I just haven't had time to dig around. That's great news on the Grizzly kit, I'll take a look at the Ridgid forums to make sure I get the right one and save myself a couple bucks on shorter bands in the meantime. It's the BS14002 model. I actually have a couple of motors floating around the shop if I decide to upgrade that after I play a bit. I know I have a 1hp speed controller and matched DC motor out there somewhere, should be pretty easy to put my hands on. I may have a 1.5, but it's a little deeper in the pile if I do. Servicing industrial equipment makes for interesting bits and pieces floating around. Of course the next problem is all the crap piled up out there and making room for it. I think this officially pushes me past the limit of tripping over stuff to get to other stuff. If nothing else SWMBO made it clear we have to do some "rearranging" to make sure she can get to the tools she likes to use without crawling over stuff she doesn't. I need a bigger shop, not the worst problem to have, but it's still an issue. Sorry rambling a bit, great info, thanks for the help.

Jon

[Jon Shank]

Thanks guys, going to order the riser kit and probably a couple blades. I've seen that the correct blades with the riser kit are 105" but I'm wondering about width. The manual and saw say it will tension a 3/4 inch blade, will it run well with one? I know 1/2" should be no problem, just wondering if it's a hefty enough machine to run the 3/4"s. Also, any particular brands of blades? I know you can't really go wrong with the Starrets or Lennox blades, but what else and any particular model of blade? I'm planning on mostly using it for cutting turning blanks and some re-sawing, so probably 6-8 inches or so of blade in the wood on average with occasional taller re-saws. So lets say cutting a circle out of an 8" thick log side for a goal.

Thanks again for the advise.
Jon

[Paul Murphy]

I'm not so sure about the 3/4" blade, but on my Delta 14" a 1/2" "woodslicer" clone blade does well for me. Have a look at FWW 159 pg 44, they go into a tune-up on the 14" saws like the Rigid and have layout plans for a stabilizer underneath the table to aid the aluminum trunions.

[Joe Shinall]

+1 on the wood slicer, though mine's an actual wood slicer, not the clone. I have a 3/4 for my Grizz and I will NOT switch blades after buying that one. I ran 1/8 timberwolf for curves and 1/2 Wood slicer on my Rigid when I had it and it worked fine before and after the motor upgrade. They make some really nice blades for the cost.

[Mark Churay]

Found this band saw setup on YouTube. You may find it helpful. I'm with the others on the Highland WW's Woodslicer. I found that a 3/4" blade too wide for my 14" saw though. Timberwolf blades are also very good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU

Mark