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Well, Woodcraft's $699 sale was too irresistible so I bit the bullet today and made the payment. Shipment won't arrive at the store until mid-December or later so I have some time to figure out which upgrades to purchase. I've had a look through the archives and found some helpful information but still have some questions for current Rikon owners:

- Are the stock guide bearings sufficient or is it worth it to upgrade to the Carter Micro Guides? $199, ouch

- Any thoughts on the Carter Stabilizer for 1/8" to 1/4" blades? I'm pretty impressed by the vids & reviews on this product, and would rather put money towards this than guide bearings if the the stock bearings are good enough. $80

- I've heard mixed reviews about the fence, mostly bad. Is it workable for resawing or should I consider an aftermarket option, like this nice looking Kreg Fence? $143 with accessories

- I plan on ordering two aftermarket blades: One Wood Slicer 3/4" Resaw Blade and one Timberwolf 1/4" blade. Not sure if I should consider an 1/8" or 3/16" blade instead of 1/4"? I've heard the 3/4" works well on the Rikon because of it's ability to apply enough tension to the blade... Thoughts? $36 & $31

- WC Universal Mobile Base Less expensive than alternatives with good reviews. ? $50

Woah, that's $540 if I buy all of the above. The wife is gonna kill me

Anything I'm missing?

Now if I can figure out how to fit that box into my Toyota Yaris. Believe it or not, I managed to fit my 16" Delta Drill Press box into that thing... but I've heard the Rikon box is pretty large so I'll have to borrow a truck I suppose.

Thanks,

Mark

What UHMW shim??? and what did Todd do for the light? Or where is that discussion.
I use the 1/2" Woodslicer.
And I made a fence add on for resawing and an in and out feed table and feather board.

Thanks Todd, My complaints about the saw is that the dust collection wasn't the greatest and always thought the light was on the wrong side that kind of makes somewhat useless to a degree. I also would like to put some dust collection under the table where the dust always builds up. Does removing the baffle also help that any?
I built that setup for my first resaw of a $425 piece of Claro Walnut. I was worried about screwing it up. But with everything lined up and square it worked out great and I got 4 set of B&S.

I did some searches and couldn't find the UHMW shim mod or the lamp mod in the archives. Any help on the location of that? Maybe I'm not using the right search phrases?
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

Light fixture mod: http://lumberjocks.com/topics/2686

UMHW mod: http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=21275&hilit=rikon

Sounds like a good plan, to wait until I use the bandsaw before deciding which mods to purchase. I'll go ahead & order the blades (and probably the stabilizer ) and see how she performs.

Hey Mark, Congratulations! That looks like a great bandsaw. My two cents...Wait... When you get the saw, you may still have a lot of adjustments (what adjustments you ask?.. You won't know till the saw is delivered). After those adjustments are made, make a lot of test cuts that you'll typically use, THEN, you'll see the weak spots in the saw - you'll know what add-ons to buy. Thx, Tony

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Tony Flippo

Here's a nice easy and cheap way to add a little Task lighting to the saw. I bought a bunch of the Harbor Freight mini 9 LED flash lights when they were on sale and I just bought a 3/4" mineralac conduit strap and painted it black. It's held to the machine with a rare earth magnet. I bought these lights knowing I was going to use them on some jigs. Nothing worst then not being able to see the line when cutting.
Not that I cut 2 X 4 s that way with the saw, that's just for show.

I find the bearings freeze up real fast and are not very good on my rikon 14" deluxe.But overall, it is a great saw and i like it very much for resawing.I use a 1/2" timberwolf blade tensioned for a 3/4" and it does a great job. The dust collection isn't very good though as mentioned, even with my 1700 cfm collector and 4" hose. As far as putting a shim in mine,it really doesn't need one as mine is tight enough.

Sorry to revive this thread but I need some assistance please?

I'm working my my 14" Rikon and interested in the two mods that have been described here.

First the UHMW shims: With blade under tension I can barely move the upper wheel holding at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions as Filippo advised. With tension off I can move the wheel a great deal. I understand that's Todd's saw was borderline in needing this mod - based on what I am describing about mine do I need to do it?

Also if mine is borderline too I will presumably benefit from less vibration if I do the mod anyway so having never worked with UHMW material, but I have some here, how do I cut it (not a table saw user here....) and how do I determine how thick to make my shims? Also are there 2 shims total or 4 shims total with 2 on each side of the black box thing?

Regarding the stupid, restrictive steel plate over the dust port..... I understand that I need to cut the weld globs with a Dremel and cut-off wheel but I can't really get to probably 2 of the 3 globs with the lower wheel in the way. So I removed the allen head silver center bolt in the wheel and then I removed the snap ring too. The wheel won't seem to come off. I don't see any keying from the front of the shaft and I am wondering if 1) I should remove the wheel and if not how do you get to the weld globs and/or 2) If I should remove the wheel how do you remove it - inquiring minds wanna know, please?

TIA AND thanks for describing these mods in this thread - very useful!

UPDATE but still have question about the UHMW shims as above.

I got the plate off and I am also thankful that Rikon is not welding for NASA..... One weld was doing it's job and the other two took nearly nothing to snap them off.... Real confidence inspiring.....

BTW the wheel, lower, comes right off if you do the man thing and force it....

Got it and understand - I can move the upper wheel under blade tension about 1/16" so I would benefit from the shims I think.

Sorry to be a pain with 20 questions and I greatly appreciate the help here but how do I cut and thickness the shims (UHMW) I'm not experienced with this material?

TIA

Hesh,
You can cut it on the table saw with a sled. Safe. Without a sled and with out table saw experience and a small piece of the UHMW , not safe.
Chop saw, depends on understanding the forces at work and how big your piece is and how you hold it to cut.
Bandsaw, depends on how thick your piece of UHMW is and what blade you use. So the answer is you can cut it as if it was wood but cutting small pieces of wood on power tools takes careful thought and knowledge of technique. You could do by hand but I don't know what the shims look like so I can't advise as to specifics. Give me the specs. and I will make you some shims and mail them to you.
Link

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Thanks guys - much appreciated!!

Thanks Filippo! I had the wheel off and now see that they pull right off and I didn't have to take off the snap ring so I am all set. I am just struggling with how to cut the shims since I don't use a table saw. May take Link up on his kind offer too of mailing me some or I am also hoping that I can use plastic "for sale" sign stock that I use int he shop to make protective shields for instruments.

Thanks for the offer though!

Thanks Filippo telling me to think of it as Mahogany was what I needed and then I was good-to-go.

I sliced off some UHMW shims and you're right this stuff, UHMW material is easy to work.



Now I was able to tap two shims in on the left side but I have some questions please?



I did a trial run and removed the shims and here is what I noticed. My shims must be too thick because the black metal parts, T box... won't move even when I detension the blade with the shims in place. Shims too thick?

Also not that this is an issue but the tracking changes with the side that you use shims on since shiming one side and not the other moves the wheel over the thickness of the shims. What I am unclear about going back and forth between this thread and this one: http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=21275&hilit=rikon is are you using two shim total with both on one side or four shims total with two on each side? I suppose that the side that we shim if only using shims on one side is irrelevant?

Lastly since this UHMW material is slippery and even my thick shims shifted around a bit what prevents the shims from moving over time or even falling out? I'm wondering if you drilled out your shims to encircle the two side bolts that hold the T-channel stuff in place? Maybe just drill and then open up one side so that the shims can still be pressed in over the bolts?

Thanks again - almost there, having fun and learning a lot about my new saw too.

The thing I am running into so far is that the lower bearing guide doesn't allow enough adjustment to run the bearings just behind the blade gullets... even with the supplied 1/2" blade. It doesn't seem to have enough front direction travel.... I think I will have to fab up another little adjuster bar....

And then -- What is with mounting the entire lower adjuster mechanism with 1 screw.... which is the same screw you use to Adjust it? Wouldn't you want more than one so you can keep the adjuster mechanism from twisting? Or maybe Separate the Mounting and Adjusting screws so that you can change the front/back bearing contact without twisting or shifting the entire adjuster?

On shimming the upper mechanism....
When looking at Todd's sketch in the other post -- he was showing 2 shims.. 1 on each side. This would help it center properly in the track like it is supposed to.

Also -- you probably want a tight but sliding fit -- so maybe 0.002" - 0.005" per side clearance... Not a press fit where the whole thing will lock down.

Also Hesh -- if you look at how the adjuster pointer works.. you could fix your adjuster reading now that the wheels are off... just loosen the 2 screws and move the pointer up to show less tension.

Thanks

John

Thanks Filippo - just got home from the Ann Arbor shop and am planning on kicking back and working on the bandsaw so great timing as well as advice.

John - good idea on the pointer but the 1/4" blade that I am currently running is defective and nearly 112" long so I don't want to reset the pointer for this one - instead I am just going to wear it out and then install a proper blade. Good idea though.

My shims are in and ended up being .045 thick each. I wanted to put them on both sides and top and bottom which is what you did I think too.

The saw was already pretty smooth in terms of vibration and continues to be very smooth if not smoother now with the shims.

It's a great saw and I have really enjoyed setting it up, doing the mods, etc.

Thanks again everyone for your help!