Who has a good 10" bandsaw?

[Rich Engelhardt]

I'm tossing the idea of getting a small 10" bandsaw.

I had a 14" saw that I bought used. I took the table off to transport it home & 5 years later, when I sold it, the table was still not put back on the saw.

I had pretty much no real reason to use a bandsaw - so - I sold it.

I do have some things coming up I'd like to make - but - nothing that requires anything more than a 9" or 10" saw.

From what I've been able to see so far - there's a ton of 9" saws & they are nearly all just toys.

The 10" Rikon, Jet and Wen saws - seem to be decent machines that are built for doing actual work.

I would normally just get the Rikon and forget about the Wen and Jet - - but - - I just picked up a Wen drill press & I'm pretty impressed with the quality of it - for the money I paid for it.

[glenn bradley]

In the small machine category the Rikon seems to always win the bake-offs. I bought the previous model when they were being blown out after the announcement of the 10-306. The improved fence on the 10-306 would certainly be welcome but, my use of a 10" is strictly curves so the 10-305's lackluster fence didn't bother me. I notice the 10-305 is still being sold but is now AMAZINGLY well over double what I paid for it 3 years ago??? At that price point I would have a hard time making the purchase but, maybe that is the cost in today's market. The Rikon is certainly head and shoulders above the others in that herd. If your use is occasional, get something cheaper but looking for something that isn't toy like in a small bandsaw can be a stretch. The 9" Grizzly gets good grades but is focused on being portable for the job-site trade. Good heavens, I just looked at the current price on that saw . . . also showing the pricing of the times. With prices where they are I would seriously consider getting by with a Bosch JS572EBK or similar. JMHO

[Tom M King]

I have two of the same saws as the Rikon 305. They're nice little saws. I keep a 1/4" blade on one, and the other a 1/8" with a Carter Stabilizer. The one with the 1/4" blade is my most used bandsaw. My 14" is mainly only used for cutting circles, and big curves. The 24" stays dedicated to resawing.

[Stewart Lang]

The 9" bandsaw from Grizzly is EXCELLENT in my opinion.

https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-9-benchtop-bandsaw-with-laser-guide/g0803z

I had a serious 21" bandsaw previously and this feels like the same saw, just shrunk down. It's built very well, and I wouldn't consider it a toy by any means. Give it a look, I'd recommend it. There's way more steel on it than plastic. Quick tension release, fully adjustable upper and lower guides. It's a serious woodworkers saw for sure, if you just want a little one.

The air blower thing is kind of gimmicky, same with the laser. I never use them, but everything else on it is top-notch.

[Larry Frank]

I have the 10" Rikon with the Carter Stabilizer. What a great tool.

[Tom Bussey]

You will have to do some real looking. I would guess ebay or even advertise that you are looking for one, but the Inca and I believe it to be a 11inch saw is the best around.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I use my Rikon 10-305 saw regularly and am very pleased with it. I keep a 1/4" blade in it mostly, and always a 1/2" in my 18" bandsaw. The 10 sometime struggles a little to cut curves in 3" thick hardwood, but that's not surprising.

[Kevin Adams]

You will have to do some real looking. I would guess ebay or even advertise that you are looking for one, but the Inca and I believe it to be a 11inch saw is the best around.

The Inca is a fantastic saw if you can find a nice one. They are out there. They come either direct drive like mine or belt driven. Direct drive is incredibly smooth and powerful for a smaller (10.5”) saw. I keep a 1/4” blade on mine, although they also do fine with 3/8” or 1/2” for some fine resawing.

Thanks.
Kevin

[Tim Andrews]

Another vote for the Rikon. I did a lot of research, and I purchased the 10-3061 earlier this year when Woodcraft had their 15% off sale. Since they already had the lowest price, I got a great deal. I have limited space in my garage shop, and this benchtop model may be small, but looks to be very well made. This is my first bandsaw, but after following the setup in the manual and watching a few Youtube videos, mine cuts very clean with no drift. It’s my favorite tool purchase in quite a while.

[John C Bush]

I have an Inca 10" and it is very well made band saw. Great for fine scrolling. Don't do much scrolling projects now but use my circle jig on it mostly-- wish you lived closer--it needs to be used more..

[Rich Engelhardt]

Menards has the Rikon 10-305 right now for about $350 - 11% rebate.
I'm torn between getting that or waiting on a Rikon 10-3061 to go on sale somewhere.

Im not in any hurry for this & price really isn't an issue - so - I think I'm going to go with the 10-3061 Rikon with the better fence & a little more power.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll keep an eye out for an Inca & possibly a Grizzly.

[Randall J Cox]

I have an old Delta 10" that has been totally rebuilt. I keep a 1/4" 3 tpi blade on it for whatever. Great little machine. I also have a Minimax S45 18" for larger stuff with 1/2" blade on it. By the way, I picked up a couple of Lenox Diemaster 2 new old stock for a song on ebay some years back. Just recently changed out one for the other after using the first about 5 years. Great blades, just a little hign on tpi for what i do but, they work. (hobbiest) Randy

[Osvaldo Cristo]

I have a great 10-inch bandsaw: Makita LB1200F (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Makita-MAKITA-LB1200F-Stand-Wheel/dp/B004TCVNOW)

Great machine with a robust motor at 900W. I am plenty glad with my experience with that little gem.

[Dave Sabo]

I have a great 10-inch bandsaw: Makita LB1200F (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Makita-MAKITA-LB1200F-Stand-Wheel/dp/B004TCVNOW)
Great machine with a robust motor at 900W. I am plenty glad with my experience with that little gem.

I don’t think that saw was ever available in North America.

[Donald G. Burns]

I purchased the Craftsman 10" equivalent to the early 10" Rikon some years ago because Sears was offering a 10% discount to veterans. Other than some minor details it is the same machine. Works great and I put mine on the Rikon stand. I even purchase spares from Rikon's parts website. I believe the WEN 10" bandsaw is also from the same factory and might be worth checking out. I see on Amazon there's two versions (2016/2021) and I don't know what's up with that.

[Tom M King]

That Craftsman saw is what I have two of. It's the exact same saw as the Rikon 305, except the doors are painted a different color, with a different brand badge on them. I helped a friend unpack a Rikon, and they were even in the same packaging. My new Craftsman was on sale for $169, and I bought the other one off CL for $90.

I bought the first one to use up on a roof, because it only weighs 65 pounds, but was surprised at how nice of a saw it was. That saw is my most used out of the 4 bandsaws I have.

I think it was 2016 when I bought my new one. I think that was pretty soon after they came out with that saw. Maybe that's what the 2016/2021 is about. I don't know what the 2021 version is.

[Mark e Kessler]

The Inca is a fantastic saw if you can find a nice one. They are out there. They come either direct drive like mine or belt driven. Direct drive is incredibly smooth and powerful for a smaller (10.5”) saw. I keep a 1/4” blade on mine, although they also do fine with 3/8” or 1/2” for some fine resawing.

Thanks.
Kevin

I second this, I have had the small direct drive Inca for the past 29 years - definitely not as good as it was new but it got beat up a bit when I had my business...