Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey guys,

I had a packard precision bandsaw given to me broken. I attempted to order parts for it but was unable to. If you have not heard of the company that is because it is a no name. It has two motors that work fine but the sliding bracket for the upper wheel is broken. I found some similar parts and ordered them but making them fit requires ordering more parts. About 200.00 in parts and it still might not work.

I was thinking about getting the rikon 14 deluxe and found it for 659.00 at opentip.com
http://www.opentip.com/Tools-Auto-Indus ... 49680.html
I have not heard of the company and wanted to see what you guys thought of the situation.

would you buy new or put money into the old.

Awesome price!!! If you do a search on this forum for that bandsaw, you will find alot of info.

Glenn

buy the rikon and save the old saw for a "special Machine Project" U never know what good can be built out of motors and wheels and pullys etc:

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If you aren't in a hurry, old 14" Deltas come up regularly on your local Craig's List.

_________________
Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

What Howard said on the old Deltas. I have the Zootman's decades old 14" Delta with a riser block and it is as solid as a rock. That was before he started using that monster horizontal bandsaw.

The old Deltas were built like a tank and just keep going and going. In addition, there are tons of accessories and parts always available.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

A 14" Rikon would be a good all-around choice for a luthier. I have a 14" (somewhat underpowered) Jet that is fine for small stuff, but went to an 18" Rikon for resawing.

The 13" resaw capacity plus the 1 1/2 hp motor would be the deal clincher for me. I bought my Rikon used, which saved me a ton. Craigs List is your friend.

I have the Rikon 14" Deluxe bandsaw and love it. Great quality!

However, I wouldn't purchase it from opentip.com. I just checked and you'd be paying $187 for shipping bringing it to almost $850 total.

I purchased mine from Woodcraft when it was on sale and also got a discount for signing up for their credit card with no interest. Just paid it off before the no interest period ended and all was good. You might look into something like that if you have a Woodcraft in your area. You might even ask them if they are able to give you a 10 or 15 % discount if they're not running any specials at the time. I've always learned that it never hurts to ask. The worst they can do is say no.

If you don't have a woodcraft in your area, then yes, looking online at places like opentip.com might not be a bad idea.

Good luck!

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

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

I emailed opentip and they said it would be 96.00 for shipping. I am going to see if woodcraft can do anything for me.

thanks
matt

Also just found a 20" Delta Vertical Band Saw...for Wood & Metal on craiglist for around the same price. Are there any cons to a larger bandsaw when it comes to guitar building.

I think it may be nice to have a big band saw and a small one set up with different blades of course. I think if you can check out the Delta and it's not in disrepair, you couldn't beat it.

Darrin

Yeah - what do you have to plug it into in terms of electrical>

I have a Rikon 14" Deluxe on order from Woodcraft (store not the web site) and it is supposed to be in around the end of this month. It was recommended to me by several OLFers who have them or who checked them out and made the recommendation.

The two long walls in my shop have 20A circuits each so this saw will plug-in fine to my existing 110 which is what I wanted not wishing to install 220. I don't have resaw plans but it will be nice to know that I can resaw and since I am a huge Sopranos fan cutting up and disposing of banjo player bodies should be easier now...

Expect the Rikon 14 to go up in price soon - that's what I was told and it makes sense too if you follow global economics...

BTW I recently set-up a Rikon 6 x 48 x 10 sander in my shop and this was my first exposure to Rikon. The sander works fine, dust collection kind of sucks, and it looks like, the castings I mean, like it was made in China.... But it was so no big deal... So far I am pleased with the value and utility that I am receiving from Rikon stuff. Woodcraft only charged me $99 for this sander that usually sells for about 4 times more because they were out of the smaller one that I ordered. Wish I could do that every day.....

Oh yeah I forgot to add that I decided to buy from a Woodcraft store because I like the owner of my new store where I live now AND it was going to be about $160 to have it shipped to me. When it's in the guys at the store will load my neighbor's truck for us and then I have several beer drinking redneck neighbors/friends who are going to get it down in my shop for me. It was between sales tax or shipping and paying the sales tax was far cheaper for me.