rikon vs grizzly

[karl credeur]

im in the market for a new band saw 14 inch I was sold on the grizzly g0555 then read about the rikon 10-325 the rikon is more money any one have either of these saws and can give me suggestions im a smallshop person16x24 this is the first real band saw I purchase I had a sears 12 inch before for years...is the quality there with grizzly or is rikon over stated thanks for your help

[Cary Falk]

I don't have either saws but I have a lot of Grizzly equipment. I would buy the 10-325 over the G0555 in a heartbeat. It cost more because it is a better saw. Larger motor, larger table, larger resaw out of the box just to name a few things. After owning a Delta 14" BS I would never own a CI BS again. I hope that helps.

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi Karl. Welcome to the Creek! I have the Rikon 10-325. I love that saw - its a lot of bang for the buck. Id gladly buy it again.

If you google the saw, youll find good reviews and a few negative ones. I suggest you read them all, just for cognizance. My interpretation of the negatives is that they had some quality control issues when they first came out. I bought mine a year ago and its been a good machine. I recently had a clicking noise in the drive pulley area. I called Rikon ("Rod") and he had me check for a loose set screw on the drive pulley. That corrected the problem. I felt they were knowledgable and responsive on a couple other "hey while Ive got you" questions on the saw. As I said, Id buy it again. That saw is a pleasure to use.

Good luck!
Fred

[Bryan Lisowski]

I have the Grizzly and am extremely happy with it. I bought the riser block so I could have a 12 inch resaw capacity. My biggest issue was cost and I didn't think the Rikon was that much better at twice the price at the time I bought it. After getting it aligned and a better blade, I would recommend it.

[Art Mann]

You are comparing two wildly different saws. The Grizzly is a cast iron saw whereas the Rikon is of welded steel construction. The Rikon is designed for resawing whereas the Grizzly is not, although it can be used to do so after a fashion. If you want to compare equivalent machines, compare the Rikon with the variety of 17 inch Grizzly machines with numbers like G0513***. While you are at it, also take a look at the Laguna 1412, which is my current favorite for a low cost resaw band saw. There are many other choices in this class of machine.

[Richard Coers]

No question in my mind, get the Rikon!

[karl credeur]

thanks for the information.. I guess the grizzly 513is more in line with the rikon and at that its almost the same price. I have a grizzly cabinet saw I bought at a very good price it had only 20hourson it... I was not that familiar with their bandsaws... I wanted a saw stop but the price was more than I could afford at the time.... just built a new shop I finaly retired and want to do more wood working.. so im in the market for a dust collector also.. again thanks and I am looking forward to being apart of this site..

[Jim Andrew]

Welcome Karl, this is the place for retired guys doing woodworking.

[Curt Harms]

thanks for the information.. I guess the grizzly 513is more in line with the rikon and at that its almost the same price. I have a grizzly cabinet saw I bought at a very good price it had only 20hourson it... I was not that familiar with their bandsaws... I wanted a saw stop but the price was more than I could afford at the time.... just built a new shop I finaly retired and want to do more wood working.. so im in the market for a dust collector also.. again thanks and I am looking forward to being apart of this site..

I have a Rikon 10-325. It was between that the the Grizzly 0513. I have a basement shop and felt the Rikon would be easier to get down the steps and would take a little less space. I suspect that for serious resawing the Grizzly might be better - more power and I think larger table. The Rikon has done everything I've asked of it though. I've seen very few complaints about either model that didn't involve shipping damage.

[Mark Andrew]

I have a Grizzly 513P. It's a great bandsaw. It doesn't have the cast iron wheels nor cast trunnions of its sisters, but that hasn't hindered me one tiny bit. It is super smooth, and with a WoodSlicer blade from Highland, it resaws beautifully. I imagine the Rikon is similar. I was all set to pimp out a RIDGID cast iron saw, but then realized that after adding new guides, urethane tires, riser block, tension release, new blade, and fence, I would be within $100 of the Grizzly (it was $695 at the time). I haven't regretted the decision.

[Bernie May]

I have had the Rikon for five years. absolutely love it and it's baby brother, the 10". I will keep both when I buy a minimax mm20 (or something similar) later this year.

[Guy Belleman]

Many threads on this very topic. Suggest doing a search for all of the good information.

Depends what you want a bandsaw for. If it is for resaw, you want the bigger saw, like the Grizzly 0513. If you are wanting to cut curves or small items, then a 14" might meet your needs, although a scroll saw may too. After owning a 14" for years, I regret not getting a 17" Grizzly sooner.

[Anthony Moumar]

You should also take a look at the laguna 14-12. I'm currently looking at buying a new bandsaw and it's by far the best saw I've tried in that price range. Rikon and grizily aren't avavible here but the laguna was much better than the Jet, powematic and other genetic bandsaws I've looked at.