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I am going to be buying my first bandsaw in the next few days. I have a budget of $1500 max, and this includes shipping costs. For a while now I have been eyeballing the Rikon 14" deluxe bandsaw (10-325). I like the smallish size coupled with the 13" resaw capacity. But the 1.5hp motor is where my concern is. I was hoping to eventually be able to re-saw some of the harder tropical hardwoods like rosewood, coco, etc. I understand that good setup of the saw is also a huge factor but think the 1.5hp motor may be underpowered for some jobs I throw at it once in a great while. So my other option I was checking out is the Rikon 18" bandsaw (10-345) with a 2.5hp motor. This saw boasts and inch less of cutting height at 12". This is all in all a bigger saw and will be a challenge getting it up a flight of stairs where my shop is currently. I will also need to figure out getting my 220V line over to it.

95% of my work is with handtools and I've just grown tired of resawing these hardwoods with a 4.5 tpi Diston rip saw. I've done a Honduran rosewood re-saw that was 8" wide by 3' long with this beast of a saw. Had to stop and sharpen half way through but was impressed with the results.

Anyways, I am looking for suggestions from some people with experience with either of the saws or something similar. I just can't go above the $1500 budget. I apologize if this subject has been pounded to death.

I've got a 14" Rigid saw with a 3/4 HP motor, and I'd like more power. My experience, although pretty limited, has led me to believe you need about 0.1 HP for each inch of resaw depth for most hardwoods. I've resawn 10" sapele, with no troublle, but it was pretty slow. I've also cut 9" wide mesquite and 8" wide cocobola with pretty decent results. With a good blade & setup, 1.5 HP should cut just about anything you would use on a guitar.

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I have the 10-345 18" saw. I got it all set up for resawing late last year, and it's
doing a great job for me. I agree with Rodger that the smaller deluxe saw may
be fine for resawing most guiter sized lumber, since you really only need about
8-9" of resaw capacity. I will comment on moving the bigger saw. I moved
mine about 100 miles last year. I had to carry it around behind the new house
to my workshop. I took it partially apart- took off the motor, took off the table,
and was able to move it with a refrigerator dolly. You could go further and take off
both wheels to cut down the weight of the frame a good bit further. This sounds like
a lot of reassembly work and realignment work, but you have to verify & set the wheels
parallel anyway as part of the setup for resawing, so it's not all that much extra.

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

The Rikon 10-350 14" Deluxe has a 2.5hp motor.https://www.canadianwoodworker.com/webs ... get=10-350 . Should be available cheaper in the States.

Alex

Sorry, it is the " Professional "

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

The 10-350 14" Professional is very similar to the 10-345 18", but with four inches less throat capacity, and two inches more resaw capacity. The speeds of the 14" are also slightly slower than the 18", but I don't know if you would really notice in a practical setting.

I was also looking at the professional as well but I can actually get the 18" slightly cheaper. Like I said the budget is pretty strict at the moment as I will need a couple different nice blades to go with the purchase.

I have the Rikon 14" Deluxe and love it.

It has worked great for me. I have never used anything better so I don't really know where it falls behind.
I have used much worse though and because of that, I know that it is a great saw.

In my opinion, I would say as long as you think you'll fall within the measurements of the 18", I'd go with the 18". More power is never a bad thing.

Good luck with your purchase.

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

Anthony for bowsawing I use a 5 pt german 28in bowsaw for KD hdwd. I also made a 5 ft frame saw like a square frame with a tensioned 1.5in timber wolf 2-3 tpi bandsaw blade in center, which quickly resawed spruce an hd maple for vln making. If you check around on forums some are not too crazy abt the rikon 18in . I have an scmi s- 45 ,18in bandsaw for 17 yrs it/s 1,8hp , but frankly. I would personally get a bigger saw with more HP. Especially to cut vy hdwds like locust and O. orange. I have a craftsman clone of rikon 10in a great small saw. If your future sees lots of resawing .I would INVEST in something with more HP like an italian BS or big Grizz. You will be a lot happier.If on the other hand you only resaw occasionally the rikon will be OK , but more HP is always easier for resaw . My 2 cents.

Anthony, I would consider the 16" 10-336 as well, if that fits within your budget constraints. 12" resaw capacity, 2HP motor, and slightly less expensive than the 18", at least at regular price.

However, sometimes Rikon will offer certain products to their dealers at "Special" prices, so you may still be able to get the 18" for less than the 16". Check with your local dealer.

I had the Rikon 18" for a few years and really liked it. Wide (10"+) boards of softer woods like mahogany and cherry were absolutely a breeze and even harder woods like wenge and pau ferro were pretty easy to resaw. It was pushed to its limits with some of the extremely hard, wider boards like Honduran rosewood and really wide macassar ebony... you just can't tension it enough to reliably resaw those woods every day, but with a very good setup and a lot of patience the occasional set could be worked through. I can't imagine the 14" could be made stiffer, so if you're looking to primarily resaw, given the choice I'd go with the 18".

Get an 18 inch bandsaw, 1500 should be enough in any case. Weaker motors can always be swapped at some point into the future. While you can get good result with a deluxe 14 inch bandsaw such as the Rikon, the smaller wheel limits your options as far as blades goes (which makes all the difference). The extra throat width is welcome when doing contour work.

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Typhoon Guitars
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So now thanks to Todd, I have another option to throw in the mix. The Grizzly G0513X2B, which I originally considered but they have been out of stock for shipping to my area and they said they weren't going to be back in for another couple of months. I just happened to check them out yesterday and sure enough they are now in stock.

I honestly now have this saw at the top of my list above the 18" Rikon. The grizz just makes it in under my budget by the time I throw in shipping to a residential location. Now only if I could talk those guys to lugging the 400lb saw up my stairs, I might actually find the crazy shipping charges worth while. Oh well.

The big plus I see with this saw is the braking mechanism. The blade stopping 3 seconds after shutting off the saw sounds like a nice feature to have in a bandsaw. So I might be pulling the trigger on this beast unless someone talks me out of it before tomorrow.

I/ve been humming and hawing abt upgrading to a better resaw bandsaw.Think todd and some of the others might explain the benefits/differences between e.g. the laguna 16hd vs grizz 514x or similiar saw vs the huge $$$ difference. Thanks