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Well it's finally here and now safely in my shop.... I only have to spend some time with it and set it up, properly and then I am good to go.

We picked up my new Rikon 14" saw at Woodcraft in Toledo this morning shortly before they opened. This is an independently owned Woodcraft store owned by some of the nicest folks that I have met. They graciously arranged for me to have a very easy time picking up my saw and they loaded it in our truck with a fork lift truck.

Interestingly they included in my owner's materials a substance that induces clotting... dressings, and a first aid kit.... Although I am happy to get this stuff it kind of put a damper on some of the excitement.....

My buddies helped me pick-up my new saw and get it in my basement shop. I wanted to share a few pictures of my friends with my OLF pals...

Here is Scott and Brad always very happy to help out their old pal Hesh....



And here they are enjoying some Everclear as we figure how to get the sucker out of the box....



Once the saw was placed on it's cabinet and in it's rolling base the rest is up to Sony the wonder dog and I to do the set-up and assembly.



Thanks for looking!

Looks Like they think Your # 1

Reminds moe of the old saying * with friends like that , who needs enema's *

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Hesh: Nice looking piece of kit,not sure if Sony the boss is going to let anyone use it ....! Wonder if this is the first acquisition from money saved as a result of your resent cessation? When I finally quit that was a motivator that I used,money saved was used to buy tools.To this day some of them have not been used but it worked at the time. I'm sure this is not the case with your bandsaw,no doubt with in a few days it will have had a good wookout. Just make sure the extra goodies they dished out with it remain in pristine condition.Have fun.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Nice saw Hesh! What was your previous one?
My saw is supposed to be ready for pickup this week (thats what they said for the last two weeks, but I think this is the one).
Happy sawin!

Hesh-Looks great! That saw should keep you busy!! I just ordered one last week..delivery late Feb......can't wait!!. Let us know of any set-up tricks/tips.

Thing's too dang clean. Think you'll ever use it?

James is that what that gesture means? Well heck then wherever I go folks seem to think that I am number 1.....

Tom my friend actually you are more correct than you know. Since I quit smoking I have saved nearly $600 (if you don't count the 9,000 candy bars.....) and that nearly paid for this saw.

Thanks Edward - what kind of saw do you have coming? And congrats to you too!

Doug I think that we will both really like this saw. I spoke to at least 5 folks who have them and one of them teaches bandsaw classes at a Woodcraft. They all love this saw and one guy reported resawing 10.5" red oak with out missing a beat.

I'm still setting it up and taking a break at the moment. So far it's all very simple, the parts fit well, they give you tools that you need, and the instr*ctions are good enough for me. If you are considering a Wood River wheeled stand get something else the wheels interfere with the cabinet door opening up and the only fix that I can think of is to mount it on a couple of 2 X 6 laid into the wheel stand. Problem is for me that I am not all that tall and getting shorter by the minute it seems and that extra almost 2" makes it kind of high for me. I don't need to wheel it around very often so the levered side is going on the back side for now.

I wondered why the integral light has it's own power cord making me lose another outlet but then I had the ah ha moment thinking that the folks that run this saw at 220 are going to need the light on it's own cord. Also the light hood is so short that a standard bulb sticks out beyond the hood. I wanted to use one of those fat-a*s Al Gore light bulbs which I have all over my shop to be greener AND keep the heat down but that sticks out past the hood too. So for now I have an oven 40w bulb in it.

Anyway so far so good, nothing has broke, parts fit, everything is there, and it was packed very well I will add too. Everything is extremely greasy though and of course I understand why but hey even I don't typically wash my hands as much as I have been all afternoon.....

Haans my friend give me some time and I might get this one dirty!!!

Hesh, check out the past discussion on the modifications for it. Especially removing the plate inside for the vacuum.
viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=24710

You'll like that Rikon, I took advantage of the Woodcraft sale as well.

Bob

Right-you-are Bob I do like this saw a great deal! Thanks Chris I read that thread and read some comments on other woodworking forums about the plate. For my use and with my Festool vac the plate in place does not obstruct the port too much so I'm leaving it where it is for now.

Well I got the adjustments done and took her for a test run and I am very pleased with this saw! It's powerful, smooth, although the micro-adjustments are sloppy and not really IMHO micro-adjustments with some trial and error you can get it set up as per the specs.

I did a test run and killed a 2 X 4... and now my entire shop smells like 2 X 4's.... While resawing the 2 X 4.... the motor never missed a beat and everything was very smooth. Not sure that I like this blade but I wanted to try it out anyway since the price was right.

Take a look.

Hesh, I have a laguna on its way. Actually... it has been sitting in Toronto for 3 weeks now waiting for the safety inspector to come slap a sticker on it because laguna's tools are not approved for Canada.

Nice saw Hesh! I've had mine about 6months now and love it. Just keep an eye on the roller guides as the like to clog up and stop rolling. I've had to spray mine with wd40 and free them back up to keep them rolling. i also keep an external vac near by to clean up when i'm done as you will have saw dust on the floor when you get done.I have a 1750 cfm dust collector hooked to mine and it still doesn't catch all the dust. But for the money, you cant go wrong with that saw.

Nice bandsaw Hesh! Are you going to waste that wood, or make a 2x4 guitar out of it? (painted black, of course)

Great to hear you quit the old cancer sticks also! Smart move sir

Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Um Hesh...

If you just did two rip cuts on that there really nice looking band saw...how come there ain't no saw dust on that there really nice looking band saw?

Just wondering

blessings
the
Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Padma, its Sony's fault. As the shop manager, he's all over Hesh if he leaves one speck of sawdust anywhere. He even has Hesh vacuum himself down before he goes upstairs.

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Aoibeann

Ed-
Finally, something that works better in BC than in 'Central Canada' !
My Laguna came through with no problems, here in BC.

Shhh..Big Bro' may be listening!!

Cheers
John

Padma my friend because I already vacuumed the dust up before taking this pic.... Besides my bench dog, named Sony because I worked for GE at the time..., looks like a powdered donut if I don't vac up the sawdust at once.... You have it easy with a white bench dog where the spruce dust probably doesn't show....

Edward congrats on your Laguna - John too. Very nice saws!!!

Lillian you were correct as usual!

Thanks Dave on a couple of levels!

Hi Mark - I was wondering about that because it seems that when I made my fist cuts dust spilled out of this thing from every conceivable orifice except that the upper wheel house stayed clean. The lower guide bearings are completely covered by dust as you indicated happens.

So with even 1,750 CFM the machine is still dusty - that tells me that I am not going to get decent dust collection no matter what I do so I will just have to clean-up the machine better and every time I use it - no problem here... I would lose sleep over it if I didn't.....

Thanks everyone!

Hesh, I've been thinking about it. It's a long drive from North Caroliner to Meechigan, but I'm going to have to drive up there with a big bag of sawdust to spread all over your shop.


Nice looking saw

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Hey Woody bro I would love to have you and you are always welcome here my friend.

Well the Rikon is all set up and has some paste wax drying right now on the table (thanks Link!!!).

It was easy to set-up, everything works and everything that was supposed to be in the box was here too.

It runs very well I'll add, is easy to use and so far everything has been honky dory.... I think that I am pleased.

I don't understand the resaw bar though and how this little bar is not going to render the fence useless but then I have never resawed any thing either, yet. I also don't know why the slower speed would be used - anyone wanna enlighten me please regarding these two questions?

Nice saw and if asked I would recommend this saw too.

Hesh, THe slower speed is better for resawing so the blade doesn't heat up as bad going through the thicker board.It also has more time to clear out the gussets on the blade.That bar thingy i never use for reasawing but some people use it to control the cut instead of using the fence when the cut is going off they can bring it back by rocking the board on the bar.But if you are set up right and have a sharp blade you really don't need it for resawing.

Thanks Mark - that all makes sense now. So the cabinet under the saw is where to lose that bar thing that neither of us will probably ever use...

I think that is where i put mine, i hope!

Hesh, I`m glad to see your improvements over the last few years, and I take stock in your cleanliness with your operations.
Who else could lay a lunchmeat sandwich on their saw table (and eat it)?
BTW, Sony would be just fine with a dust coat of walnut dust (no shellac).
Good For You, Dude!
Coe Franklin

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Give me 50 cents worth of regular.
Check my oil too, if you don`t mind,,,

Thanks Coe! So if I only cut EIRW and Walnut with this saw maybe Koa too Sony will be fine....

The bearing problem was caused by some saws (including mine) comming through with shielded instead of sealed bearings, and they seized up after a short time, especially the lower guide bearings. I emailed Rikon and they sent me a set of the right bearings and I have had no problems since.

Paul