Rikon 10-326

[Mark Rainey]

Neanderthal woodworker moving into power tools, purchased Rikon 10-326 from Lee Valley in July. It seems to be a very a popular 14 inch bandsaw. I have been doing basic rip cuts and a gentle curves. Looking to fine tune it and notice at least 5 degrees of blade lead angle/drift. It seems the rip fence can only tilt in one direction, that is the far end of the fence can tilt towards the blade, going from 90 degrees to perhaps 75 degrees. The rip fence cannot tilt in the other direction, that is the far end of the fence moving away from the blade. My blade drift requires me to have the far end of the fence tilt away from the blade 5 degrees. I called Rikon and they said the only way to get the fence to move in that direction is to adjust the guide rail on the front table edge with the two fence bar nuts and washers. I did that but it is a pain to do. Any fences out there that can tilt to the right and to the left? Thanks Mark

[Wade Lippman]

I've used a variety of BSs and only get drift when my blade is too dull. Is that anyone else's experience?

[Mike Kees]

Mark I suspect that your bandsaw table is not square to your blade. The miter slot and blade should be parallel to each other. To adjust this you loosen the bolts on either the table top or trunnions depending on how your saw is made. Shift the table and tighten the bolts. Your fence should now be able to be aligned. Mike.

[Andrew Hughes]

First start with a new blade.A good blade properly sized for the thickness of the wood your cutting.
I recommend Olsen that's what I use on my 14 inch bandsaw.

[Frederick Skelly]

First start with a new blade.A good blade properly sized for the thickness of the wood your cutting.
I recommend Olsen that's what I use on my 14 inch bandsaw.

Hey Mark - that's really important - you arent using the blade that came on that saw, are you? When I bought my Rikon 325, the dealer told me specifically to buy another blade immediately and not even use the blade that came with the saw. A crappy blade will cause you no end of grief.

I second the Olson. I have one on mine.

Fred

[Nick Decker]

Mark,

I also got the 10-326 a couple of weeks ago, and noticed the fence problem you mentioned. Like others said, if you're using that 5/8" blade that came with the saw, ditch it.

I've tried several other blades and the saw seems to like a 1/2" blade best. I bought a "sample pack" of KERFmaster blades from Spectrum Supply, which included 1/2, 5/8, and 3/4" blades. Haven't tried the 3/4" yet, but even the 5/8" seemed too much for this saw. The 1/2" cuts beautifully and I see no reason to go larger than that. (Van Huskey, in an older post, pointed out that the KERFmaster from Spectrum is cut from the same stock that Highland Woodworking sells as the Wood Slicer, but the Spectrum blade is quite a bit less money. I also have a Wood Slicer, and I concur.

Anyway, the limited adjustability of the fence hasn't bothered me since switching to the 1/2" KERFmaster/Wood Slicer blades. If there is blade drift, it isn't enough that I notice it.

As for other fences, I tried a Carter MagFence and immediately sent it back. When locked down, it wasn't square to the table. No way to adjust it, and I didn't want to be shimming it all the time.

The Kreg fence apparently will fit our saw, but requires that the whole fence rail be removed just to change the blade. No thanks.

[Nick Decker]

In thinking about Rikon's "fix" for adjusting the fence, it actually should work, and you should only have to do it once.

The fence rail is held in place by two bolts with washers and nuts. Facing the infeed side of the table, add a washer or two to the left hand bolt. This will make the fence default to a certain degree left of parallel to the miter slot on the table. Shim it enough to make that, let's say, 10 degrees left. The fence mechanism will let you adjust it as far right as you need to from there. Should work, and I'll try it later today and report back.

I find it mildly amusing that Rikon is proud enough of the fence mechanism to stick a big "Patent Pending" sticker on it. Might have waited to refine the adjustability before doing that.

The fence thing aside, I'm liking the saw. Seems like most tools I own have a foible or two, I can live with that as long as there's a work around.

[Curt Harms]

I've used a variety of BSs and only get drift when my blade is too dull. Is that anyone else's experience?

That's pretty much been my experience. Drift can sometimes be corrected by adjusting where the blade tracks on the top wheel. Moving the blade tracking forward on the top wheel moves the 'drift' one way, moving the blade tracking back moves the 'drift' the other. Mark, if you haven't done so, you might watch a video featuring Michael Fortune's technique for controlling band saw blade drift. Here's one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTjwPo0VtaQ), the first one that came up on Google.

I have the predecessor to your saw, Rikon 10-325 and find that if I center the band on the top wheel and have a good blade, drift is minimal to nonexistant. I've seen suggestions to center the bottom of the band's gullet on the top wheel but centering the blade works for me. I've also seen suggestions for determining drift by drawing a line parallel to the edge of a piece of scrap about a foot long. Cut that line freehand and after a few inches shut the saw off while the blade is in the kerf. The difference between the edge of scrap piece and the table edge/miter slot/fence/whatever is the drift angle. You could play with this and blade tracking and see if the drift angle changes. Plus you get to play with er become more familiar with your new machine.

[Nick Decker]

Curt,

Does the 10-325 have an adjustment for the angle of the fence (drift)?

FWIW, I just fiddled with mine, and you can adjust the fence rail like I described earlier. Pretty easy, and you don't need extra washers. Just use the existing nuts and washers to move the fence rail out of parallel with the table, then use the mechanism to adjust the final position of the fence to your liking/blade.

It's odd that Rikon doesn't mention this in the manual. In fact, they tell you to make sure the fence rail is installed parallel to the table, which introduces the problem that the OP first mentioned.

As for centering the gullet of the blade on the upper wheel, doing that with a 1/2" blade on this saw will have the blade awfully close to falling off that wheel. Myself, I just center the whole blade.

[Mark Rainey]

Thank you all for the helpful support. Mike, I did square my table to the blade when setting it up but will check it again. Nick, Rikons "fix" may work, that is adjusting the fence rail, but it may be a pain because I adjust for drift angle, & also have to adjust to keep fence in same plane as blade. May be doable, but may be a pain. Let me know if it works for you. I will play around with it. Curt, I will look at that video. I will probably get a new blade.

[Nick Decker]

Mark,

Keep in mind there are two different planes you need to consider for the blade: Vertical, which aligns the blade square to the table, and horizontal, which aligns the blade parallel to the fence. Both are affected by how that fence rail is attached.

I assure you, if you're still using the blade that came with the saw, you'll be much happier with a better blade.

[Mark Rainey]

Mike, my bandsaw blade is square to the table. When I set the saw up a few weeks ago, I did that, and just rechecked it and it is fine. I watched Michael Fortune's video on changing the position of the blade tracking on the upper wheel. Moved it almost to the edge and not much change in drift. Nick, my blade is vertically square to the table in both the side and back of the blade as well as horizontal ( which, I assume, is what Mike means ). I may play with the fence rail, but am leaning towards getting a new blade. I called Lee Valley and they do stock Rikon blades, and usually they carry quality, but I may have to try a different brand.

[Nick Decker]

I'm a fan of Lee Valley myself, but I'd take a big pass on Rikon blades. That's what came with the saw and, IMO, it's part of the problem.

Let me ask, is your saw loud and screechy when it cuts? Mine was, until I got rid of that Rikon blade.

[Curt Harms]

Curt,

Does the 10-325 have an adjustment for the angle of the fence (drift)?

FWIW, I just fiddled with mine, and you can adjust the fence rail like I described earlier. Pretty easy, and you don't need extra washers. Just use the existing nuts and washers to move the fence rail out of parallel with the table, then use the mechanism to adjust the final position of the fence to your liking/blade.

It's odd that Rikon doesn't mention this in the manual. In fact, they tell you to make sure the fence rail is installed parallel to the table, which introduces the problem that the OP first mentioned.

As for centering the gullet of the blade on the upper wheel, doing that with a 1/2" blade on this saw will have the blade awfully close to falling off that wheel. Myself, I just center the whole blade.

I have the original style fence so can't speak about the fence that comes on the 10-326. I've never messed with setting the fence for drift. That would change with every blade change. IME a blade in good condition running centered on the upper wheel will have no appreciable drift when resawing. If the blade gets dull or damaged all bets are off.

[Mark Rainey]

Nick, my blade is screechy. Time to try a different one.

[Nick Decker]

Mark,

I'm anything but an old pro at bandsaws, and found this thread extremely helpful:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?149862-Lets-talk-bandsaw-blades

Van's advice hasn't steered me wrong yet.

[Mark Rainey]

Thanks for the link Nick!

[Nick Decker]

No problem, Mark. Apart from Rikon blades, I'd steer clear of the Powertec blades from Amazon. Don't know who makes them, but for me they were noisy and unimpressive. Don't know what kind of cutting you're planning to do but if you have questions, fire away. I'll be happy to give my opinion on what's worked well for me on this saw.

[Mark Rainey]

Thanks for all the support from helpful Sawmill Creekers! The consensus advised a new blade. I picked up the 1/2 inch woodslicer, and it cuts beautifully with negligible drift and no screeching. I have some 7 inch side rails for a king sized bed, and would like to cut some tenons. I am optimistic it will turn out good.

[Steve Demuth]

Tension also matters. If your blade is sharp, reasonably centered on the tires, and you have adequate tension, you'll have zero blade drift. I have the 10-325, and you can adequately tension up to a 1/2" blade to 15,000 - 17,000psi. I don't think you can go beyond a 1/2" blade and get adequate tension.

If you're going to resaw on that saw, my recommendation is the 1/2" Highland Wood Slicer, with the tension cranked as far as the saw will permit. On mine, that gives me about 17500psi, and I can cut 1/16" veneer from an 8" board that is almost glue ready - generally I cut slightly oversize and give one pass with 220 grit in the belt sander set to take off 1/64" Rarely a second pass is needed on the show face.

[Nick Decker]

Correct tension is something I'm still unsure about. I know about the flutter method, deflecting the blade 1/8" or 1/4" or whatever. From the factory, I'm pretty sure the tension gauge was way off, so I "recalibrated" it. Can't be sure if I helped it or made it worse.

I do agree, though, that this saw is happiest with a 1/2" blade for resawing. Even a good 5/8" blade (not the one that came with it) seems not as smooth, but again, I can't be sure about correct tension. From what I've seen, a good gauge is almost half what I paid for the saw, so I doubt I'll go that route.

Yesterday, I tried to resaw a piece of Jatoba with the half inch blade. Not good. The same blade, at the same settings, sliced off African Mahogany beautifully. I know Jatoba can be hard to work with, but would more blade tension help?

[lowell holmes]

Watch this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU

[glenn bradley]

Thanks for all the support from helpful Sawmill Creekers! The consensus advised a new blade. I picked up the 1/2 inch woodslicer, and it cuts beautifully with negligible drift and no screeching. I have some 7 inch side rails for a king sized bed, and would like to cut some tenons. I am optimistic it will turn out good.

Taa-Daaa! Congrats on that.

[Steve Demuth]

Good tension gauges are indeed awfully expensive for a hobbiest. My substitute is a good digital scale with which I can calibrate the spring to know its actual force, and then some simple math based on the thickness and width of the blade to get actual blade cross section tension. Not perfect, but probably good to +/- 10% or so.

[Nick Decker]

Watch this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGbZqWac0jU

Thanks, Lowell. I've watched that one, and a few others by Mr. Snodgrass. I guess what I think I need is to be around a correctly tensioned saw, feel what the blade feels like and know that it's right. Kind of an AHA moment.

Then again, maybe I'm overthinking it.

[Barry McFadden]

I got the 10-326 a few months ago and even using the blade that came with it I have 0 drift at all. I was cutting a 10" high half round log of spalted birch the other day and slicing pieces about 3/64" off it and all were right on end to end. I did buy a smaller blade as well and no drift with it either.

[Mark Rainey]

I got the 10-326 a few months ago and even using the blade that came with it I have 0 drift at all. I was cutting a 10" high half round log of spalted birch the other day and slicing pieces about 3/64" off it and all were right on end to end. I did buy a smaller blade as well and no drift with it either. I am glad you had success with your original blade. When setting up my Rikon, I noted my guide post to be not vertical with the bandsaw blade, and when I tightened the guidepost lock knob, it shifted forward. The bearing guides shifted forward ( because they are on the post ), and perhaps when I ran the original blade they rubbed against the set teeth. I do recall some sparks when I was running the saw at first. The guide post is supposed to be pre-set at the factory to be aligned vertical with the bandsaw blade, but the operator's manual does give guidance for adjustment. I did adjust it, but it was a pain. It is vertical now. ( when I tighten the guidepost lock knob it still shifts forward, but this time locks in vertical position ). And my new wood slicer blade is running fine. So maybe I did alter the set on my original blade. In any event, it seems a good blade is essential to good bandsaw performance.

[Nick Decker]

"... it seems a good blade is essential to good bandsaw performance."

I would guess that Rikon knows that. Why they ship it with anything otherwise is a mystery to me. If it's cost, that could be easily passed on to the customer.

When you get ready to replace your Wood Slicer, have a look here:

http://www.spectrumsupply.com/kerfmaster-2.aspx

Same blade, but they don't cut and weld it until you order it. Takes a couple days once you order, but good stuff and good service. Nothing against Highland, I like them as well.

Edit: Not sure why the link doesn't work, but you get the idea...

[Mark Rainey]

Thanks for the helpful info Nick. When you tighten the guidepost lock knob, does your guidepost shift?

[Nick Decker]

Yes, it does, but it locks it into vertical alignment with the blade. I haven't needed to change the factory setting.

[Nick Decker]

As an aside, one thing that annoys me about the saw is how far that fence mounting rail sticks out in front. Can't tell you how many times it's poked me in the stomach as I move around the front of the saw. I finally stuck a raquet ball on it. It sometimes still nails me, but at least it doesn't leave marks. :)