Help Spending Bonus Money

[Peter Melanson]

Wow! got a bigger bonus than expected (about a thousand). I am looking at getting either a Steel city Bandsaw or Rikon. I was wondering from any of you that own those brands what your thoughts are. I was originally going to go 14 inch but may look at the SC 16" and Rikon 18" or 14. Any adivce with these parameters would be much appreciated. Never owned a bandsaw before so I am bandsaw virgin. I will be doing most general woodworking, resaw, etc so versatiltiy would be good.

[alex grams]

Why no consideration to other brands?

I own the GO513x2 from Grizzly and have been very pleased. With a good diameter, good resaw fence, and nice 12" resaw height, it has a lot of features.

What would be your main purpose for a band saw? that would be important to know to see which saw would suit you best.

[Peter Quadarella]

Is that before or after tax? No interest in a Grizzly? Your choices so far are pretty good candidates.

[Lee Koepke]

I could use a lunchbox planer :D:D:p

[Travis Gauger]

I have a Griz BS too and love it. I also own a rikon sander that is nice, but I feel overpriced. I also have a SC Jointer that completely impresses the h**l out of me. Of all of the brands that I currently have in the shop, When I start to look for my next tool, I will start looking at Steel City before anyone else. I have just been completely floored by the setup, the packaging, the instruction manual, etc of SC tools. My $.02

[Kurt Bird]

Hi,
Don't forget to look at the Jet 16". Although it will max out at about 11" resaw, it is a quality bandsaw. You should also get change back, especially if you catch a sale at Woodcraft.
Kurt:)

[Mike Monroe]

Pay down all credit card debt first, then put the leftover amount Roth IRA or 529 plan. You also might consider taking the family out for a nice dinner and a movie to celebrate.

[Adam Cavaliere]

Pay down all credit card debt first, then put the leftover amount Roth IRA or 529 plan. You also might consider taking the family out for a nice dinner and a movie to celebrate.

What an unfun thing! :) But good advice none the less!

IMHO Steel City has impressed me enough to go from buying one of their Table Saws to purchasing one of their Jointers. Next on the list for me is a Planer which I also plan on purchasing the Steel City brand.

[Mike Heidrick]

Steel City 18" is a nice looking saw.

[Peter Quinn]

Send some to this forum! I did and it made me feel good.

[Rick Levine]

Buy the band saw, make something nice for your wife and you'll both be happy.

[Paul Johnstone]

I bought the Rikon before steel city came out. It's a fine machine.

However, if I was starting over, I'd seriously consider paying a little more for the Steel City. I've only seen one once and it was a while ago, but if I recall correctly, the Steel City had a better fence and a foot break.

Consider that I'm in the process of jerry rigging a Kreg fence to the Rikon.. that's about another $150-200 or so (fence plus longer fence bar plus resaw attachment), plus the time to do it.. That about eats up the difference.

Again, it's been awhile since I've seen the Steel City, but those were the two pluses I remembered.

[Roger Warford]

Jet's "Woodworking Event" is still on. 18" bandsaw 1099.99 after $100 rebate. 1 and 3/4 ponies. $200 more gets you another 1 and 1/4 ponies.