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Anyone have any experience with the 1) Rikon 10-305 (10"), 2)Jet,JWBS-10", or 3)Powertech 10"????

Usual guitar/ukulele stuff (No Re-sawing!) pro's/con's?

Have downsized (sold Rikon 10-325 14")......

Reasoning for these three is no tax/free shipping to Big Island Hawai'i from Amazon......

Thanks in advance....Aloha.

Doug

I can't compare the two for you, but I have the Rikon 10" and I love it. Easy to set up, comes with bearing-style blade guides (my Jet came with plastic). You should buy a zero clearance insert for it because the standard one has a big opening.

I have rikon 10 in clone by craftsman in black way cheaper, esp, on sale and a 17 yr old ryobi 9 ,in which is better for small parts etc.

I have the Sears Craftsman 10" band saw and find it really useful for ukuleles and guitars--especially with a Wood Slicer blade on it instead of the crappy Sears blades. Wish I had a larger saw, but my shop is tiny.

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Kevin Mason
Mason Guitars and Ukuleles on Facebook
http://masonguitars.net

I have the Craftsman 10", and it works fine for me. I rarely put anything but a 1/4" blade on it though. I recommend the Carter slotted bearing guide. Gets rid of all guide bearings and makes blade changing a breeze. It also allows tight curves without binding. Best $80 I ever spent on an accessory. It's called the Stabilizer for scroll cutting, but it works for everything. I have not put the guides back in place since I bought it over two years ago. I get no drift when re-sawing to the max of the saw - about 4.5".

http://www.carterproducts.com/band-saw- ... emo-videos

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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks for the useful information. Rikon 10" it is. Probably can't get Craftsman here on the island, shipping from Oahu is ~$75, shipping from mainland is $$. Really can't beat Amazon Prime here, so long as quality is offered......so 10" Rikon free shipping, no tax.....mahalo nui (thanks a lot)...

Waddy; 'Carter slotted bearing guide' sounds really good.....will try to locate. thanks.

p.s.-really enjoyed that 10-325. Seemed well built/solid.

You'll need to see which one fits the Rikon 10", but Amazon carries them, I believe. If not, Rockler does.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

About those 10" bandsaws, how do you manage to find decent blade for them? Most blades are too thick for 10" wheels, particularly 3 wheeled ones, and they would break the minute you get your guide adjusted. Unfortunately the special thin blades that are only available from the manufacturer of those saws would also go dull within 2 weeks.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I don't know about the rest of the world, but Tuffsaws in the UK do pretty much any length you want and they're excellent blades.

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"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Waddy what blades are you using with the scroll saw bearing setup? I bought 3cheapo crapsman 70.in blades an they suck. The ryobi 9 in uses 59in blades from delta 3/8in 6 tpi which are cheap $5 off e- vil bay but work vy well.Thanks waddy.

The three wheel bandsaws are generally crap. The small diameter wheels put too much strain on blades that are brought up to reasonable tension so they're going to break early no matter what you do. If that's what you're using I would throw it out... even the cheapest two-wheel saw is likely going to give you a vast improvement in blade life.

Yea, I hated 3 wheel bandsaws, they were difficult to use and the blades that work often dulls very fast. I switched to a larger 2 wheel but still 10" bandsaw and thought I could braze 1/4" blades from coil stocks, but even those broke in 5 minutes of use, and not at the weld either! Lenox Diemaster lasted about 6 months but even that broke before it was significantly dull. Now that I got a 18" bandsaw I used the coil stock that I brazed myself, and those never broke... in fact the blade went dull and it showed no sign of strain.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Wud sells some nice blades through his company, White County Abrasives. Diamond, I think, and they can get the Lenox Diemaster bi-metal blades. You can also check the web for Lenox blades. They are pretty good, and stay sharp a long time. Breakage is the biggest problem. I have a local outfit that sells the Lenox blades and will re-weld their own for free or other brands for about $8.00, or get one of those kits and braze them yourself. The Diamond blades are good too.

For normal cutting, I use 1/4" 10 Tooth or 6 tooth. For fine cutting I use 1/4" bi-metal 10 - 14 tpi and 14 - 18 tpi.

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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

thanks waddy tried a bi- metal an broke it on my 10in. vy quickly. any other ideas for blades ?? thanks

If the Rikon is the same thing as the one that Harbor Freight sells, which I think it is because it's just like the one at Sears, thn I really like mine. I have a 14" saw for cutting about electric guitar bodies, etc. but the small one is just so handy. As a matter of fact, I just used it a few minues ago to trim a honing block I made since today is tool sharpening day. Get a good blade for it and take your time setting it up. I've used mine for about 2 years and it hasn't hiccupped once...yet.

I have found the Viking 70.5" 1/4" 8 tooth blade for the 10" Rikon/Sears to be very effective....

Remember that you can't tension a 10" saw like other saws. The tight curve in the 10" wheel makes for faster blade breakage, on all blades. Blades are a supply item. The Lenox bi-metal blades I've used seem to last fairly well.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

For me a Lenox bimetal blade lasted around 6 months, and a 10" can't really tension anything at all so it shouldn't even be possible to over tension any blade. It's just not designed for wheels that small. According to recommendations 10" wheels need a blade thickness of .020" and you're pretty much looking at woodslicers. Blade life is important for me because they can get expensive, especially if you use bimetal blades. I'd say 14" is the minimum if you need a small dedicated bandsaw for scroll cuts.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

If I wanted a bench top bandsaw I would take one of those light weight 12 inch Craftsman bandsaws with the plastic covers, unbolt it from the base and mount it to a 1X6 that I could clamp to my work bench. Mounting the motor behind (beside?) the saw in an easily removable fashion would further improve it's portability. The two wheel, 12" saw with the easily found 80 inch blade is not a bad saw for most luthiery uses.

Clay your right .I got 2 ,12 in crapsman .They are IMHO way underrated an vy useful. Viking in CA,is timberwolf in USA. and waddy thinks for the tips .Will check into the replacement bearings.

I have a Proxxon Micro Bandsaw MBS/E to suppliment the Grizzly 19" with woodmaster CT. If you have a larger bandsaw and want a smaller one for fine work I highly recommend the Proxxon. It has a water tank for wet cutting and they make a diamond blade that you can cut shell with. Or you can use the regular wood blade to cut whatever else. It's been really handy lately with my binding mishaps. I order BWB purfs from LMI and rip them in half. That saves me some good cash because with all my mistakes I would have been out of purflings a long time ago.

Don't forget a scroll saw is a handy tool to have as well. Almost as versatile as a table top bandsaw and much easier blades to deal with, etc.