Rikon 10-353 vs. 10-342

[Joe Lazar]

Hey, not sure if this has been covered elsewhere, but I couldn't find any info. Here's the basic question:
Rikon sells an 18 inch 2HP saw and a 14 inch 3HP "premium" saw for the same price. Both have similar resaw capacity and, from what I can tell, similar bells and whistles.

What do you make of those models? And if anyone has any experience with either one, particularly the ease of blade changes, I'm especially interested in your experience.

Thanks!

[Wade Lippman]

I have the 18". While another HP for the same price would be nice, it isn't worth the 4". My opinion....

Changing blades is a pain, but no harder than other bandsaws.

[Van Huskey]

On a very basic level take stock in what cuts you do most if it is resawing get the 353 if it is contour cutting get the 342. For resawing the extra vertical height, 3hp motor, higher blade speed and slightly lower table of the 353 is better for resawing. It also has a brake which I am a big fan off.

As for changing blades, the 353 has the advantage. When both have detensioning levers, the same guides and both blades exit from the table at the same place (in this case toward the fence) the shorter blade will generally be easier to change. That said the 342 will have a slight advantage with wider blades since it is designed to mount a larger blade than the 353, in that case, they are about equal.

In general, I prefer the 353 as it has lots of advantages and is built beefier (they have very similar weight even though one is an 18" and the other a 14"). The only reason I would pick the 342 is if I did a lot of countour cutting that required the deeper throat. The best way to deal with changing blades is to have 2 (or more) saws.

[John K Jordan]

I have the 18" Rikon. I have often used it to the 18" maximum to cut things my 14" bandsaw wouldn't handle. I think the 2hp has plenty of power - I often saw 12" thick dry and green wood. The blades for the 18" might cost a bit more.

JKJ

[Joe Lazar]

Wow, this is great information, thanks guys. I resaw a lot, but also cut a lot of contours. And on that note, I agree, 2 bandsaws is the ideal, but shop space is making me rethink that plan. That said, the thing I have the least of is time, thus the question about blade changes.

My instinct is to get the 14" saw, and maybe even downgrade to to the 10-326. I actually already have a 1HP Grizzly and a 3/4 HP Delta so I'll keep one of those for contours and sell the other. The extra 4" on the throat would be great, but we can't always have it all.

Thanks for the input!

[Jacob Reverb]

I have the Rikon 10-345, an 18" saw, and I'll throw this out there for consideration, as well.

Shortly after I bought that saw, Rikon released another model which was essentially identical to the 10-345 – except it also had a gear reduction unit allowing the bandsaw to be used to cut steel.

The cost of the "wood or steel" cutting saw wasn't all that much more than mine, but unfortunately there was no retrofitting my saw with the gear to give it the dual capability.

If I had the decision to make again today, I would definitely get the dual-purpose unit, since I also do a fair amount of metalworking.

[Van Huskey]

I have the Rikon 10-345, an 18" saw, and I'll throw this out there for consideration, as well.

Rikon no longer makes the 10-345, they make the 10-370 which has a two range variable speed drive suitable for meal and wood. Most people don't mix metal and wood cutting on the same machine due to having to clean the machine completely when switching over to wood. Rikon has released a neat DVR motor as a retrofit for some of their saws, I do not think it fits the 10-345. It is a digital variable reluctance motor, it runs from under 100 fpm to over 4000. They were showing it at IWF this summer.

To the OP the 326 is an excellent saw for the money but as the price would suggest it is significantly less saw than the two you have been looking at. If you do a lot of resawing the 50% more hp and 25% more blade speed of the 353 will be highly appreciated. Don't get me wrong, you can resaw with less horsepower and slower blades speeds but it isn't always fun, but I am sure you know that from your current saws. If you want "it all" there is the 10-347 which has an 18" throat, 19" resaw capacity and 4hp for around $2k.