Advice: Used Steel City 18" (50250) bandsaw vs new Rikon 14" (10-326 or 10-324TG)

[James Dudley]

Steel City one is about an hour/75 minutes away and $1,000 used.

New Rikon 14-inchers are $1200/1500 at Woodcraft, haven't looked around for pricing.

Ideally I'd like to stay at $1K or under. But I'm not super familiar with Steel City, though a quick search seems to think that's a decent saw.

14 inches is likely enough for me, frankly. My bandsaw needs aren't huge or super common, but enough that I'd like to find something.

Is the Steel City overkill? I have a 2-car garage as a shop, so decent space but not exactly swimming in open space.

Are the new Rikons better because they're newer with tool-less features?

One review of the Steel City noted that their example had some bad issues w/the table not being flat.

Thoughts?

[Bryan Lisowski]

Is the Rikon actually in stock? I would prefer to go bigger, you may never use the extra capacity, but there if you need. Also you would have a couple hundred bucks to use on blades or any other maintenance.

[James Dudley]

That I do not know. I'm not in any particular rush, not needed for an immediate job. Just saw the Steel City listed (C-list) and figured that it's worth considering. Ad says "like new" but...you know how that goes.

[James Dudley]

Plus obviously steel city is no longer in operation....not sure if that's a big deal or not. But it's part of why I'm asking the question--I assume from time to time parts might be needed and a defunct company isn't gonna have parts around. Or are these things kinda/semi-universal, so a replacement wheel or thrust bearing or whatever will be available if/when needed.

[Frank Pratt]

I would want to be sure of parts availability. Steel City did a lot of things differently that the typical Taiwanese/Chinese generic machinery. For example, my son's Steel City table saw has the joint between the table & extension tables right at the miter slot. That's a double edged sword. It allows for fine tuning the miter slot, but it's a huge PIA to do so. Anyway, I digress. The point being that they did a lot of things differently. It's a shame the company didn't survive because they made some good stuff.

[Matthew Hills]

A bigger table is nicer on a bandsaw.
And so are easy blade changes.

From the review on FWW, it didn't sound like the steelcity was a resaw monster.
I'd consider it if the price was good and you're looking for a general-purpose bandsaw.
But the Rikon good too.

As far as buying used bandsaws:
You will want to check it out pretty thoroughly to ensure trunnions and other parts are in good working shape.
Blades, tires and bearings are generally consumables, but should be able to find without too much work.

Matt

[Bill Dufour]

I will throw in my warning to remove the table so you do not break the trunnions. I have seen many bandsaws for sale with broken tables and/or trunnions.
Bill D

[Mike Kees]

I used to own that exact Steel City saw. It is an excellent bandsaw. Everything is adjustable ,it has cast iron spoked wheels, a foot brake and a nice large table. Steel City is still out there. They have a website and are currently available in Canada, Quebec specifically. I have no idea if these machines are part supported currently, it would make no difference to me. 97% likely the only "parts" you would ever need would be bearings or a new switch/electrical. Bearings are available at any Auto parts or bearing supply . This saw is the only tool that I have sold that I wish I had not. I also bought a Steel City shaper and used it for ten plus years before I sold it. It was also a very solid machine ,with a much better build than the typical 3h.p. shaper . The fence on that shaper in particular was head and shoulders above anything in it's class.

[Mike Kees]

Do not put any faith in the FWW review. That was a sham. The guy basically received the saw late for the review and" mailed it in". Was quite a bit of controversy on that "review" back in the day. Search this forum ,was a guy who went by "Sarge" on here who had a big write up about this bandsaw. He owned one and highly recommended it.

[James Dudley]

Thanks, fellas, for the input. Definitely helpful!

[Christopher Charles]

I'll just add that table flatness is much less critical on a band saw than maybe any other tool since the cut surfaces is almost never the finished surface.

I'd take a look at the SC

[Randy Heinemann]

I've owned the Rikon 10-325 14" for more than 5 years and have not found any task that would have made the 18" version worth it. I have never resawed anything taller than 8" (can't usually find hardwood wider than that) and for curved sawing, the extra capacity isn't needed. The only reason to get an 18" would be for the added power and possibly the added momentum heavier wheels give to keep the saw from bogging down. However, with a little patience, my 14" does a great job resawing which is what I use it for most. Resawing is a little slower with the 14" but I don't find it a problem. With any bandsaw, set up is the key for resawing. If I were looking at this used bandsaw, I'd be sure the motor is actually bigger than on the Rikon 14" and that the saw tracks properly, table is flat, guides are not worn, etc. If you have to replace worn parts, the cost difference will be eaten up quickly, if you can get the parts. I just don't see a 1 1/2 HP motor as a resawing issue and I would personally feel better knowing that any use of the bandsaw was mine because I know how I use and take care of tools.

[Tom Trees]

Bigger wheels would be my preference just as long as were talking cast iron??
Think some of those might have granite bits?

Hate that slot in the table, but sooner 18 inch wheels at the end of the day, and would think the shortcomings if any
would be better should one feel like beefing it up a bit.
Probably don't need more than a single thrust guide if ripping, say the old ones were seized, compared to a smaller machine which would need them.
beam tension from a heftier blade takes care of that if the saw is set up well.

[Mike Kees]

SC wheels were cast iron, spoked though not solid disks. Two h.p. motor. Double tension springs, yes two.I did not Resaw a lot but did cut up 10 or so pieces of tree trunks between four and eight feet long. I mostly left a 4tpi 3/8'' wide band on this one as I had purchased a 540' coil on" the Bay". I have no experience with the Rikon except for a real good long hands on look at Lee Valley's show room in Calgary. I was quite impressed with this machine ,it has a lot of real nice features. I would say the fence on the Rikon is a better one. For me it would come down to budget and how long you would have to wait for the Rikon. Either saw will be an excellent general purpose machine and capable of a reasonable amount of Resawing. If you were going to resaw all day every day then you would want more machine. Rikon has a great fence, SC has 18'' wheels pick your poison.

[James Dudley]

So I called about the saw, hoping to check it out tomorrow. Good ole boy gave me a 20-minute background on the thing (he was a powertools salesman before he retired). Long story short: he's helping a widow sell her husband's stuff, and the husband rarely used the tools. She's on vacation for a few weeks, and will be back late in March. He said he has a few interested people, and will call them back in the order they inquired, so if no one takes it before me I'll go check it out. I'm in no rush so that's fine.

I feel like the 14-inch saws were like $1K-1150 12-18mos ago, and now they're more like $1500 so this is appealing. But we'll see. I'd be surprised if it's still available when he gets to my name in the list. Appreciate the feedback everyone!