Best $1000 Bandsaw

[Dan Drager]

I've been blessed with a good year at work and thus, a nice bonus. You know what that means......New Tool!

I have about $1000 to spend on a Bandsaw. Main function will be to resaw a bunch of quilted and birdeye maple I scored at an auction last year. I'd like to go to 12" resaw capacity.

I know that isn't much considering what the best saws go for, but surely there must be something that will do the job for the money.

The $1000 needs to cover the cost of Carter or Iturra upgrades.

Any experiences will be greatly appreciated.

[Doug Shepard]

If you actually want to cut 12" wide stock, I'd bypass getting a 14" + riser block setup and go for a bigger saw. This probably means you'd also not need to factor in Carter & Iturra upgrades. I upgraded from a 14" Jet with Riser Block, Carter guides, Duginske Fence, etc. to a Minimax MM16. I know there are folks that claim to get good resaw results from 14" saws but I could never get consistently good results sawing past about 6". I know I wasn't alone in this. In the price range you're talking about, I think you might want to take a look at Grizzly or Rikon or even Steel City. They might cost you a little bit more than $1K but I think you'd be much happier in the long run. I've read a lot of good comments on those 3 makes.

[JayStPeter]

I'd look at the Grizzly G0513 and Rikon 18".

[Frederick Rowe]

Dan,
I was in the same boat and selected the Rikon 10-345.

http://rikontools.com/Products/Bandsaws/10-345.html

If you google this model, you'll hit some complaints about the early version of this saw (produced in late 2005). One SMC member posted strong opinions on the 10-345's de-tensioning system - which I find flawed and disagree with. The only problem I encountered was with a mis-welded Timber Wolf 1" resaw blade. But I'm glad that happened because it caused me to call Rikon's customer support. I was tremendously impressed by the level of expertise, courtesy, and care exhibited by their staff. After identifying the problem, Rod Burrow (the Rikon tech support) told me about numerous nuances related to the band saw, improvements made to the saw since introduction, and encouraged me to call back after I had made the recommended changes to see if it was all working properly.

I've been a hobbiest woodworker for 10 years. Until a month ago, the only band saw experience I had was a Craftsman 12" with a factory blade used for cutting a radius. The band saw is not like a table saw. It is much more demanding in terms of set up, blade selection, and technique. I suspect there are many woodworkers in my level who buy a large band saw expecting to make a few tuning adjustments and start resawing with poor results. Some take the time to looker deeper, some blame the machine/blades and either return/sell it with little to show for it but frustration.

Regardless of your choice, take the time to read up on proper set up and blade selection. You will find quite a bit of contradictory opinions and information, so be prepared to experiment and find what works for you. In SMC I've read positive experiences with Rikon, Grizzly, Jet, and Bridgewood 17"-18" range band saws. With me, it came down to a sale at Woodcraft.

Enjoy whichever you end up with.

[Ron Blaise]

That is the link to the review, just misspelled the name of the saw. In my opinion it is an excellent, $1,000 saw. Check it out.


http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=52120&highlight=Rikno

[richard poitras]

Take a look at the grizzly 514x I have this saw and am vary happy with it. It does run more than $1000 about $1250 to your door I think now, but it has a lot more to offer in that price range than others .... good luck

[Russ Massery]

I have the G0513. A great saw that you can resaw with and put a 3/16" blade on for "scrolling". I saw Rikon at my local Woodcraft. Looks like a good saw can't really say how good or bad never used one. I bought the grizzly because I got it at the end of the year before the price increase. pay something like 875.00 delivered.

[Dan Drager]

Great advice as usual guys, Thanks. I am a grizzly fan but Ron's review of the Rikon is complelling. This one may come down to Customer service and ease of delivery.

[Brian Ross]

I also have the Grizzly G0513. I bought it mainly to resaw for drawer boxes. Having looked at some of the European bandsaws and their price I was hesitant in purchasing a saw for $795 but decided to take a chance. It has exceeded all my expectations. I replaced the factory blade with a good quality resaw blade and it will rip 10 inch oak like it was butter. The power seems more than ample and having watched in amazement many demos at wood shows where blades sales people are ripping very thin strips of veneer, I can now do that. If money were no object I would have bought an Italian machine but this saw is excellent value for the money and I am one happy camper.
Brian

[Ron Blaise]

Dan:
Wood Craft loaded mine on my truck for me and I was able to man-handle it in my shop by myself and set it up, but I wish I had had someone to help me unload it! As far as service, Wood Craft's has always been excellent but I have had no service issues with this machine, going on three years now.

[Rob Diz]

I also ended up with a Griz 513X, and have been very impressed with it. My delivery went very smoothly, although a few days early. At least my wife was home and was able to get the guy to wheel the crate into my garage shop.

All in all, in my few months with the machine, I have been very pleased with it. In fact, I used it just a few hours ago and was yet again impressed by how solid it operated.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Dan, there was a similar thread a couple months ago. My response then, and now, is that you should try to find some saws to put your hands on and look at first-hand, even if you don't get to try them out.

In the +/- $1,000 category you have some very similar products that vary in their features. Some have been really happy with the new Steel City 18". Personally I thought the fence was wimpy and don't care for the cast aluminum trunnions. It does have a foot brake, however.

For the most part it seems that for this price range it comes down to fence, trunnions (both material and adjustment), and guides (euro/disc vs. roller bearings). It is a matter of deciding what is most important to you and see which strikes you as the "best".

I have a Shop Fox 19" that has been a good saw, and is essentially the clone of the Grizz with a few changes. I would have likely gotten the Rikon bu Woodcraft pulled a boner and told me they wouldn't have any in stock for some time. So I order the SF online and the week it arrived I went to Woodcraft only to find a new Rikon on the floor. DUH! They also couldn't bother to find a 220 outlet to let me turn it on and see how smooth it was (I didn't tell them I already bought something else).

The Rikon has some nice features and to do it over I would probably go that route. But in the end I don't think you can go wrong these saws in the price range. And as someone else said, no need to go for the Carter/Iturra upgrade; just get the saw with the guides you prefer.

[Rob Russell]

If you're patient and don't mind used, you could get a heck of a saw for $1000. Wait and look, you could end up with a $2-3000 saw for that money. This is especially true ifyou have the height for a big saw, like one of the 28" models, because many basement folks can't fit a saw like that in their shops.

[Ryan Bess]

I have limited experience with other brands. I can only report that I am very pleased with the performance of my Grizzly 514x. It arrived in perfect condition and has operated flawlessly thus far. I have resawed 10" wide figured walnut and 8" wide curly cherry with great results. For the money, I say Grizz is a great machine.