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Just bought the Rikon 10-305 Bandsaw from Woodcraft for $199.00

I know it's only a 10" but when you have been cutting everything on a Delta Shop Master 9", it is a major upgrade.

After set up, cuts nice and square and true, no crazy drift like the delta. I will even be able to cut brace stock on it now, before, I was having to use the table saw for everything.

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Tim

That's actually a pretty good bandsaw for the money. You'll be able to do necks on it too. Good score.

Chris

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

I really thought about buying one of those, but couldn't really rationalize it. Looked like a good saw to me.
Bought wood instead...

Seems to be really well made. The Delta had a plastic frame that flexed on almost every cut. The Rikon's frame is steel.

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Tim

It is a pretty nice little saw. I have the Craftsman version of it. Now, they are more similar than several years ago. Until this year, the Rikon had an aluminum table with grooves, which I did not like. The Craftsman had a cast iron table. Now they are, essentially, the same saw, unless Sears has discontinued the 10".

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I the price drop last night and was going to post here on OLF to see if anyone had first person experience with it.


Does anyone have the matching stand? Or have you built your own. It's $58.79.
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/208032 ... Stand.aspx

This is a much needed addition to my shop as the only two power tools I own are a lam trimmer and a hand drill.

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rono

Ron,

I don't like these kinds of tool stands. Floor space in my shop is a premium. I only have 10'X12' space to work with and one wall is nothing but windows. I have a full size table saw with a 5' table, an 18" thickness (drum) sander on a stand, 5'X2' work bench, 3'X3.5' work bench, band saw on a cabinet stand, dust collector, a 36" belt sander on a stand and a miter saw on a stand. I also have a removable 4'X2' work bench top that I put on my table saw when not in use, to give some additional working space. Believe me it is cramped but I have rearranged it several times and I think I have it to where there is a nice flow to it. Plus I don't have to go very far for what ever I need.

I am getting ready to build a cabinet type stand for the belt sander and I plan to move the miter saw out to the main shop. These type of stands, just waste a lot of usable space. I prefer to build my own stand, in the form of a cabinet. This allows me to store everything that goes with a machine directly underneath it. Some tools such as my scroll saw, grinder etc., I only use occasionally and prefer to just clamp them to the bench when needed and store on a shelf the rest of the time.

I have a large shop behind the house where I park my irrigation equipment, but I like having my guitar shop in the house. I converted half of my office space for the guitar shop. My wife thought I was crazy, I sold the couch, chairs and conference table and turned it into a wood shop. We now have employee meetings in the great outdoors or at Denny's.

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Tim

I have the craftsman version in my "upstairs bedroom of old house" shop where I can't put a big heavy saw with heavy power requirements. It does great, especially if you use a good blade, take care to set it up, and don't push it on the speed. I've (slowly) trimmed up 3" thick mahogany neck blanks and it's worked like a champ.

If power requirements, weight and money are not issues and you're just going to throw it on a stand, this doesn't really take up any less space than a 14" saw. It does give you the option for storage underneath, though.

Try some Timberwolf blades from Suffolk Machinery, they'll custom make them to length (70"?) and it's not prohibitively expensive.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

Here's a picture. A little crowded.

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Tim

Used it this morning to cut a bunch of stuff for my bender I am making. Cuts straight and square. The miter gauge is a little flimsy though. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a small band saw, just based on the quality of cut. I cut 2 pieces of 3/4" ply, stacked together, which is for the outside plates of my dreadnought mold, and it cut right through it with no hesitation. I was able to follow the outline I had drawn with no problem.

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Tim

I have this bandsaw. It cuts well, easy to change blades, and its size makes it very handy in my shop. My shop is very small and I like to move the work outside whenever possible. I mounted the Rikon on a plywood base that makes it easy to move around. It gets clamped to a portable workmate which functions as a fairly stable base with room for additional plywood work surface.

Joe