Mini Bandsaw - Mini Gloat

[Bruce Page]

Well, I went down to the local Woodcraft Saturday morning to take a look at the Rikon 10” bandsaw and I was suitably impressed to take it home with me. Reference my earlier post; http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=23933 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=23933)
Other than the cheesy cast aluminum table, it appears to be pretty well made and runs smoothly and quietly. I think it will come in very handy for those little bandsaw projects and save me the hassle of changing out the resaw blade & guides on the Minimax. I’ll need to make some sort of adapter for the dust port to allow me to hook up the Fein vac (I don’t know why the manufactures can’t get the port/hose size right :confused: ). Thanks again for the great responses to my earlier post.
Pic 1. Mounted to the clamping baseboard.
Pic 2. Doors open. The wheels have been balanced.
Pic 3. Kinda looks like the back of the Minimax.
Pic 4. On the little dolly I made so I can tuck it into a corner.
Pic 5. Along side it's bigger brother. :rolleyes:

[Joe Mioux]

....and the baby bandsaw said to the big bandsaw, MOVE OVER!!!!


Congrats on the new band saw, Bruce

[Dave Malen]

Great combination. Hear Rikon makes quality tools for a reasonable price. Good luck with your new saw.

Dave

[Maurice Ungaro]

It's cute! Looks like it got left out in the rain and shrank! Hope it serves you well, as I've heard nothing but great reports on the Rikon line.

[Howard Rosenberg]

gloat's a gloat!

There's no mini-gloats here.

Congratulations.
Howard

[Jeff Sudmeier]

I love it! I agree with you that a smaller bandsaw would be handy. I have a resaw master and would also love to have a 14"...

[Jim Becker]

Very nice...but those green doors would have to "go" in my shop. Hello, Krylon?? At any rate, I'm looking forward to your comments about how well it works for the projects you intend. Please write it up for all the boys and girls!

[Gary McKown]

...but those green doors would have to "go" in my shop.

One side green for the Griz fans, other side grey. Just turn it around so the Delta grey faces out?

[Tim Sproul]

Bruce,

Be sure to post some follow-up on the bandsaw after you've used it once or a few times. I'm interested in this 10 inch Rikon for use more as a scroll saw than a true bandsaw. For a mere $150....sure beats the heck outta needing to change bands in a larger bandsaw.

[Bruce Page]

Bruce,

Be sure to post some follow-up on the bandsaw after you've used it once or a few times. I'm interested in this 10 inch Rikon for use more as a scroll saw than a true bandsaw. For a mere $150....sure beats the heck outta needing to change bands in a larger bandsaw.

Tim, I need to order some Timberwolf blades for it before I'll really know what it can really do. The 3/8" OEM blade that came with it is not that great.
I'll keep you posted.

[Bill Antonacchio]

How does the 10" Rikon on sale at Woodcraft compare to the Delta BS150LS? They are both 10" throat but the Delta has a 7" resaw height.

My local hardware store in West Palm says they can order it for me with a price of $199.00 + tax.

Regards,
Bill

[John Renzetti]

hi Bruce, Nice little bandsaw. Congrats. Almost looks like the Hitachi resaw.
take care,
John

[Jason Tuinstra]

Good for you Bruce. Looks like a nice little bandsaw. I'm sure it will make life easier for you. Have fun.

[Mark Singer]

Very nice and for the $$$ you have a real helper... Its great not to change blades.

[Bruce Page]

How does the 10" Rikon on sale at Woodcraft compare to the Delta BS150LS? They are both 10" throat but the Delta has a 7" resaw height.

My local hardware store in West Palm says they can order it for me with a price of $199.00 + tax.

Regards,
Bill
Bill, I have only seen the Delta in pictures so I can’t really compare them. The Delta sells for $70 more on Amazon and that was a factor. I wasn’t at all concerned about resaw height; I use the MiniMax for that. I did read one review where the guy said that the ½ hp motor on the Delta didn’t have enough power to resaw more than about 4” in hardwood.

[Robert Mayer]

awwwww, its cute.

[Bill Antonacchio]

Thanks Bruce,

I realize you have the big boy to do the resawing, just trying to figure out why nobody sells the Delta BS150 right now.

Regards,
Bill

[Tim Sproul]

Bruce,

You resaw any 36 inch boards with that 'bad boy' 10 inch bandsaw yet :)?

[Bruce Page]

Bruce,

You resaw any 36 inch boards with that 'bad boy' 10 inch bandsaw yet :)?
Tim, I’m in the process of building a new timber frame home with all the lumber coming right off of the Rikon! :p Seriously, I haven’t had much time to play with it but I did scrap the cheesy cast aluminum table for a new shop made one. I also made a aluminum adapter for the dust port that allows me to hook up my turbo III. I have the coming weekend to myself so I plan on playing with it some.

[Guy Germaine]

Bruce, Have you had a chance to play with this yet? I am considering either this one or the Craftsman "knockoff" and was wondering how they compare. I like the cast iron table on the Craftsman, but I don't think the blades are a common size. Any opinions?

[Charlie Plesums]

...but I don't think the blades are a common size.
Don't worry about blade size... the "good" sources weld them to any length as you order them, no extra charge. Try www.suffolkmachinery.com (http://www.suffolkmachinery.com) for Timberwolf blades, for example.

Watch out for the smallest Delta benchtop ... if it has been discontinued, Delta is doing a service. Not strong enough to properly tension a blade; cut straight when I wanted a curve, cut curves when I wanted to go straight. I had to use a jigsaw whenever I wanted to follow a line. The person who bought it said how wonderful it was, but I saw he sold it again a month or two later. I couldn't find out enough about the BS150 to tell if it is the same, but it is more expensive, so may be ok.

I now have a 14 inch (Grizzly G0555, replacing my 14 inch Jet), which I feel is minimum until I get a professional grade bandsaw.

[Bruce Page]

Bruce, Have you had a chance to play with this yet? I am considering either this one or the Craftsman "knockoff" and was wondering how they compare. I like the cast iron table on the Craftsman, but I don't think the blades are a common size. Any opinions?

Guy, I haven’t had a chance to play with it much but I will be testing it out this coming weekend and will post a mini review. You can purchase both Woodcraft and Timber Wolf, 67” blades from the Woodcraft website. My local Woodcraft where I bought the saw doesn’t carry them. :confused: