Official Luthiers Forum!

I got a woodcraft flier yesterday the rikon 18 is on sale for 1045 plus 8 % tax .The grizz 19in is abt 600$ more. here in MO. I/m ready to buy a bigger bandsaw..I know some OLF/ ers have bought either one or the other.I want it strictly for resawing.I /ve heard a few remarks abt the cons of the rikon, but is the grizz really worth the extra 600$$. or do you think the rikon will do.Thanks

I've not used the Rikon, but I have an older 20 inch 3 hp Grizzly that has been great with anything I've ran through it. I think the Rikon has a 2 1/2 hp motor. I have a feeling I might like that extra 1/2 horse when cutting slabs of Osage Orange, but depending on the build and manner in which the ratings were derived there may not be an appreciable difference. They are both imports, so you'll find the occasion misfit, but FWIW I've had very good luck with Grizzly's customer service when things aren't quite right. I have no experience with Rikon's customer service.

_________________
Aaron Craig

Thanks aaron .I had a discussion with my local sawyer. He has the same BS that you do and he explained the differences in the duty ratings between motors. Which is stamped on the motor plate . who knew?? he said they were divided into abt 3 categories like .5, 1, and 1.5 , and he felt that the grizz chinese motors were abt a .5 duty rating vs a farm type baldor motor with a duty rating of 1.5 which could be run all day without overheating.

I just got the new Highland Woodworking catalog and they have the Rikon 10-345 18" band saw for $999.00 and the 10-325 14" band saw for $799.99. Wish I had the money for the 18". Their website is www.highlandwoodworking.com

Max

_________________
Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Go read this thread. It isn't over a month old, as I recall. Answers all your questions.
viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=39721&p=521117&hilit=Grizz#p521117

Don't quite get why you are asking again, when you participated in the last discussion, at least at the end. The advantages of the Grizz were specific, and the difference between a blade break on the Grizz, vs none on the Rikon, was a big difference.

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks waddy your right, I reread it, and I am probably getting old an very forgetful I totally forgot that thread , so thanks for the reminder . So, for saving or spending 600$ more or less you get more noise on rikon. I have earplugs/phones and no motor brake on rikon , which frankly doesn/.t bother me. Also I/m guessing the wheels on the grizz are slightly larger , and the motor is slightly bigger by 1/2hp. Are there any other signifigant differences . Like fences , electrics, customer service, etc. etc.

I was torn between the two fo a while before I sprung for the Grizzly. The reasons:

1. It's about 40lbs heavier. Not sure where that 40lbs is since they are pretty close to the same design but I like the heavier build
2. 1/2 HP more. I've only ever bogged my 3HP down once while cutting 9" of gabon Ebony
3. The Grizz will take a 1/8" blade. Rikon says it will only take 1/4"

I still don't know if I'd be happier had I saved the money, but I've been very happy with my purchase and I have no regrets about going with the Grizzly. I also liked that they are based in PA (although built in Asia), which I used to be close to before leaving NY/MD.

I've got the Rikon 18", and I have no complaints. I've resawn mostly "easier" woods so far, Koa, Hog, Zebrawood, Walnut. No problems
with any of these. I'm using a 1" Lenox Woodmaster CT. I did do a careful setup on the saw before starting resawing- mainly making sure
both wheels were co-planer. Also did a careful adjustment of the blade guides, and set up a sliding table to hold and move the wood.
With that, I can take very accurate cuts as long as I don't push the wood into the blade too hard. Would that be different if I had 1/2 hp
more? I don't know, but unless I find a very good deal on a Grizzly locally on Craigslist, I'll be keeping the Rikon. I don't find the lack of
a brake and the extra horsepower enough reason to spend the extra money.

_________________
Gene

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

Thanks gene , that is what I was wanting to know. Unfortunately one only finds out the quirks and quarks of a large purchase once you start using it on a continuous basis. May I ask, Do you have a sliding mdf type set up that runs in the BS guides ?? or ?? . I use a large fence on the left side of the blade and use the armstrong method,/push sticks and keep flipping the board over after each pass to flatten out the inconsistencies rather than flattening the face of the board for each pass.

*+1 bingo, thanks todd..Now if I can sell another gtr for that extra 600$$ hmmm!

I ended up getting the 17" Grizz with the motor brake and have been surprised by its quality and performance every step of the way. I have yet to actually try anything difficult with this saw as I'm still waiting on good blades in the mail but everything was top notch from the start.

When initially putting the saw together and setting it up they tell you in the instructions that the wheels are aligned at the factory and the process of aligning them shouldn't be needed. But I ignored the instructions and figured while the table was already off I might as well make a proper straight edge and check it. Well they weren't kidding when they made that claim. My wheels were dead on! I tried like crazy to find just a touch of light to tell me they weren't co-planer and true but I just couldn't make them better than they already were.

The saw is very quiet and runs smooth as silk. Even with the blades I do have, they all seem to ride exactly on the center of the tires and I have had no need to adjust my fence for drift. The other nice feature is the blade stops within seconds of shutting the saw off due to the motor break. I REALLY like that feature. The table and fence is perfect and the fit and finish of the saw is really nice. I wasn't expecting Powermatic quality but this saw sure comes close when you consider the cost.

My only complaint with this saw so far is the blade guide adjustments. The guides under the table are hard to get to and see for a real close tolerance. I'm still looking for an efficient method for adjusting these guides close to the blade. Even the top guides are difficult with the blade guide in the way. Very small complaint though.

GET THE GRIZZ. I have Chris and Todd to thank for this excellent purchase.

Anthony thanks for the timely report on the grizz.FYI if you ever decide to upgrade your guides , there is a local co. here in KC called paddocktool. which sells a vy high quality upgrade bearing sets for BS. Allegedly better than carter ? I/m getting 2 sets to try on fri for my old s-45 . cheers ernie

Going to woodcraft, to check out rikon ,and next week the grizz. Thanks for sharing your views/opinions.

Rikon report ,Just got back from woodcraft a 1hr round trip from the shop.I was impressed with the rikon for the price on sale at woodcraft for 1045$ it is a lotof BS for the $$ 12in resaw good upper/lower bearings .Though it seems a little tough to adjust lower bearings.The sales rep says rikon has excellent CS so if your top is warped you can get it replaced any day, they CS, are open 7 days a week on the east coast.. What I did not like was the poor quality of the trunnions under the table, and the small fence, it does not come with a brake. The packing crate is huge , one needs a large pickup or trailer and add your local sales tax, or if you need it delivered from Woodcraft, you/ll pay the shipping fee to your door minus the sales tax unless your in w va.Overall I have a positive view of this BS . You get a lot for your money and for someone who uses a BS for resawing and other tasks this would be a great buy IMHO. But for me I am looking to upgrade from my minimax s-45. Next stop Grizz or laguna ??

Ernie,
I agree with your assessment of the Rikon. The bottom bearings are a bit difficult to adjust, and the trunnions are smaller than I'd
like to have. So far it hasn't been a problem, but IMHO should be beefier.

As far as resawing, I use a sled that runs on rails. The base with the bearings for the rails is clamped to the BS table- so I can set
it for drift. I've attached a picture.

_________________
Gene

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

Gene that is one fancy fence . Thanks for the pics .Could you post some drawing of it for olf ers?? How much offset do you usually have to do get the ct blade running straight or does it vary with the species your resawing ? BTW.

I have the Rikon 18". I think it is a good saw for the money. I resaw with a Woodmaster CT blade and it works well with most woods. However, I cannot resaw an 8" Osage Orange back with this blade on this saw. The Woodmaster CT hook angle draws the wood in faster than the saw can cut (either because of lack of horsepower or frame stiffness or both) and the saw momentarily jams and bounces the wood. It can cut 5" of Osage orange for sides without this problem. The Lenox Trimaster blade solves this problem, but barely. When I bought the saw, it was a significant upgrade from the 14" Delta clone that I was using. It looked like all the saw I would ever need. Knowing what I know now, I would buy a stiffer and more powerful saw. I would also like blade guides that are easier to adjust than those on the Rikon (although they work fine once adjusted) and I would like a blade brake. It takes a long time for this saw to spin down. I have another Rikon tool (the belt/disc sander, which is excellent) and have used their customer service department--they do a very good job. I have never seen the Grizzly saw, so I can't comment on it. I have had mixed results with their cheaper power tools which seem only a step above Harbor Freight.

+1 on that!

Grizzly Makes a lot of lines for their stuff. Small tools I can't comment on because I prefer to buy Milwaukee and Bosch.

Some of Grizzly's smaller saws come with Cast aluminum parts and are generally not very useful for resawing (or much of anything for that matter). Their highest end 14" is a nice saw. The widest range of quality is available in 17" where they offer the mostly aluminum "Polar" Series for $895 (It's pretty much a piece of junk) ---> then some more rigid cast iron saws for around 1000 up to the extreme line with is 1200 or so. Their "Extreme" line is very nice and nothing like Harbor Freight. Once you get into the 3HP+ everything is very good quality for the money. They don't offer any cheap cast aluminum or shoddy options at that size or larger. I have the 19" and if I had it to do again I'd probably spend the extra 4 or 500 bucks and spring for the 21" 5HP Industrial saw because I know that it would likely outlive me.

I talked to hutch, last week. He has the 21in grizz and likes it. The old adage you get what you pay for really applies.Bob don/t know if this will help, but I cut 7in by 3in by 22in osage with a 2/3variac bi- metal blade from timberwolf last week it/s for dry hdwds only 60$ I used a 16-17 yrold minimax s- 45 1.8hp BS seemed to work ok , not as quick as the MM2o with 5 hp but got her done. I found the tech staff vy helpful in figuring out which blade to get for the aging BS.

I used to cut Osage Orange with my old 14" saw and a bimetal blade (usually the Woodslicer--it seemed to last longer than the Timberwolf). It worked fine but the blade needed to be resharpened every 4' of cut or so. (I could resharpen it 3 times before it was trash.) The bigger saw with a carbide blade is a big improvement.

Right Ernie,
The 21" Griz is a dandy saw. 5hp motor has never bogged down. I'm using a Woodmaster CT blade. I slice a lot of wood with it but when the blade goes dull the blade drifts a bit. The fence system left a lot to be desired though.


Sent from my walkie talkie using Tapatalk

_________________
"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

FYI , grizz has an internet 5 % coupon discount for web orders plus the 514x2b is 100$ less.Thanks for heads up abt fence .hutch., there are a nunber of youtube videos on bandsaw blade drift . I use a simple 2by 3 stick with the drift angle on it to figure out how to tilt the fence.