10" Bandsaws.....is the Rikon 10-305 still the best choice?

[George Farra]

Hi All,

Happy holidays. I've decided to purchase a 10" bandsaw to compliment my Rikon 14" (10-325). I'm getting tired of changing blades and resetting the guides. The 14" saw will stay set up for small resaw jobs, while the 10" will be set up with a 1/4" blade for general curve & joinery cutting tasks.

I'm happy with my Rikon 14" saw so figured thier 10" is a shoe-in decision. I'm just wondering if I should be considering any others for advanced features, etc.

Thanks

George

[glenn bradley]

The Jet 10" gets good press but, with a price pushing $400 it gets shot down by most. I notice the Rikon is on sale for $199 at Highland Woodworking. A belt drive would be nice in case you wanted to give it some power.

[Mac McQuinn]

I like the Jet for fit and finish. While there might not be a significant different in overall design, I'd go the Jet route if I could find a deal on one, JMO
Mac

[George Farra]

I was looking at the Jet and the most significant difference is the motor. 1/2hp versus 1/3hp on the Rikon. I've did learn that the Jet does not have a standard sized miter guage. Do you guys know if the Rikon does?

Also, is the craftsman 10" the same exact saw (fence, guides, etc)? If yes, Sears has the 10" on sale at $199 and I can do in store pick up. Highland Hardware is charging $43 for shipping due to its weight

Thank you

George

[Michael Mahan]

I was looking at the Jet and the most significant difference is the motor. 1/2hp versus 1/3hp on the Rikon. I've did learn that the Jet does not have a standard sized miter guage. Do you guys know if the Rikon does?

Also, is the craftsman 10" the same exact saw (fence, guides, etc)? If yes, Sears has the 10" on sale at $199 and I can do in store pick up. Highland Hardware is charging $43 for shipping due to its weight

Thank you

George
does that Sears one have the standard miter slot ? gotta link on that model ?

$199.oo is hard to pass on I need a small BS to match the huge one one I'm getting

[George Farra]

Michael

I sent you a PM

Regards

George

[George Farra]

Glenn

The more I look at that Jet and its price, I simply revert back to the base 14" grizzly that can be had for $375.....its soo much more saw for the same money

[James Combs]

I have both Rikons, the 10" and the 14". Not had any problems in the 3 years of ownership. However, the 10" DOES NOT have a standard miter slot but the 14" does. I don't recall but I had to buy the miter gauge separately for one of my tools but I don't remember if it was the Rikon or not.

[glenn bradley]

Glenn

The more I look at that Jet and its price, I simply revert back to the base 14" grizzly that can be had for $375.....its soo much more saw for the same money

This was the position of most of the reviews I read. The saw gets high marks but, Jet is just a little too proud of it. I have one of those 1970's Rockwell Mfg. 10" saws with the fiberglass shell that I picked up used. The motor is rated at 1/3HP but, kicks out more steam than the 1/2HP C-man I had before it. I made the mistake of getting rid of my smaller saw once I got a large one and had to back fill its position with this.

278125

You will enjoy having a little guy for the quick curves and cut-offs and keeping the 14" for other duties as you describe.

[Michael Mahan]

I got that Craftsman 10" Rikon clone 217.99 out the door it's stouter than it looks 78+lbs
amazon wants $300+ plus for the Rikon with no miter , granted the Sears miter is nothing to brag about . :p
It will work fine for little cut needs my MM 20 will do the heavy lifting

[Ron Schmidt]

I picked up one of these right after christmas for $259 delivered:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GGP5VLQ/ref=s9_simh_gw_p60_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0CHHP5G25GHT4DP5MV1E&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

Brand new from steel city, I don't have the room for a 14" machine and the the relatively small resaw on the craftsman/rikon kept me away from it.

The steel city has 6" resaw which sold me on it. Unfortunately I haven't had a ton of time to mess with it but it seems like a solid machine, I resawed a 5" piece of plywood with the stock 3/8 6TPI blade just fooling around and got decent results, with a new blade who knows. Even at it's current price it's cheaper than the jet and I can't see any reason it's not a better machine.