Bench top bandsaw

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DanD23

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Joined
Dec 11, 2007
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20
Location
Michigan.
I am thinking of adding a bench top band saw to my shop for cutting blanks, knocking corners off of bowl blanks. Perhaps some VERY light resawing too (4" or less stock).

I have looked at the Rikon 9" and the Craftsman 10". Anyone use either of these?

I do not have room for a full size saw on a stand due to limits of my shop. I also have access to a heavy duty Rikon saw for resawing larger boards, etc. It is just an hour a way, and not handy when I want to do a quick project.

Any thoughts?
 
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From experiance, the 10" Craftsman will stop in a 2" blank trying to "round out" a bowl blank. 4" resaw, only if it's balsa or maybe pine. Not to be a kill-joy, but I had the 10" Craftsman saw it was not up to the task.

I found the main problem is the saw just did not have the motor to do the job. It would bog down and even stop while cutting 2" to 4" stock. You might look for an old 10" Delta that you can run a stronger motor on. Watch Craigs list and they will pop up for $20 to $50 now and then. The motor is not attached to the say , but could be underslung to a bench.
 
I don't know anything about either of the two saws mentioned... I started with a Ryobi 9" that cut my blanks and just about anything else I thought of until I got my big Delta... I picked mine up in a pawn shop about 6 years back and it's still running strong. I only use now for antlers and plastic stuff..
 
I have the Ryobi 9" and my brother has a delta 9". Neither of them will resaw anything useful, but both have worked great for trimming blanks and that sort of thing. I tried to run a 2" blank through mine, and the blade walked around so bad that it got stuck.

If you're trying to resaw 4", you're going to need a 14" saw, minimum, otherwise you're going to wipe out a smaller saw in no time.

Hope this helps. ;)
 
I have one of the 10" Deltas on my website that I bought for $20.00, great saws and you can put a nice strong motor on it to cut thick stock. Combine that saw and a 3/4hp motor and you will not have problems.

Plus you will learn the joy of having a tool made from all metal, cast iron that is.. The Craftsman had some plastic junk for the table tilt that I had to rip off and replace with a bolt because it was so weak.

www.yankeetoys.org/lee/bandsaw.htm

Homecraft-2.jpg
 
I really like the Rikon 10" that sells for $200 at WC.

Lee, will you please quit showing off your great finds.[}:)] OOPS my jealousy is shining through.[:I] I have been looking for a good old one to rebuild to no avail. Where are the refurb pic's anyway?[:p][}:)];)

Mike
 
Just trying to show they are out there. Heck, if Dan was close enough I would finish this saw off and give it to him for cost. I tore it down to refurb, polished the table and now it's still sitting like that all bagged, sorted, just waiting to be sandblasted. I just need to get off my duff and wire all the electricals for my sandblaster so I can use it!

The 10" Rikon is pretty much the same saw as the 10" Craftsman. Not a bad saw, but it will not work 8/4 stock without either a very rough cut blade or with a better motor.
 
I have both of the one you mentioned. the only difference is the resaw capacity is better with the craftsman. I also have a delta sitting doing nothing right now. Where are you located? I would let one go cheap. I think That I have another one sitting in storage if you want I can check it out. Most of these saws have very little use on them and the one in storage is new.
I like the Rikon for cutting blanks but it only has a 3.5" resaw. the craftsman has a 5"resaw and was on sale for $99 so I bought it. It can't handle dense wood without stopping, but I get it to cut after a while. If you need more info, let me know and I will answer any questions you may have.
Good luck, Johnnie
 
Thanks for the info about the resawing height- I had not gotten that far along on it. I do have a 14" Ridgid that I could resaw with but I am thinking about selling it and just having a smaller bandsaw. Can't wait to see the pics Lee.:D
Another problem for me with the Craftsman is I want to see it up close and personal and none of the Sears stores have any in stock, for about 6 weeks now.:(



Mike
 
Thank you all for the information.

Lee and Johnnie, wish I was closer to you than the west side of Michigan so I could take you up on your generous offers.

I will keep an eye out for an older cast iron saw that I can put a larger motor on. If I don't find one soon, my wife has hinted that I can take part of the tax refund on that "pretty one with the granite table thing" aka Steel City 14" :D
 
IMHO, that is a much better way to go if you don't find a nice old one. You could keep an eye out for the older 14" Deltas, they bring heavy money, but they are great saws. I hear good things about the Steel City ones, and that top does have the cool factor and would be a good choice for bowl blanks where you tend to work wet wood, often freshly cut!
 
After all your advice, I was all set to wait for the Steel City, when I was given the Sears 10" as a present. It appears to be the same as the Rikon, except a steel table. Did the set up and tested a few cuts tonight. Based on the comments hear, I expected some issues, but was surprised that I was able to knock the corners off of a couple of 3.5" Oak blanks with no problem. I will have to see what else happens this weekend.

I did find that a friend had the 9" saw from sears, and experienced many of the issues mentioned. Is it possible that the 10" is a better saw? I know the motor is 1/3 horsepower on both, but the 10" has a 3.5 amp rating versus the 2 amp rating on the 9".

Anyway, since it was free to me (and from my wife), I am going to have to keep this one and use it until it dies, ore I find something she wants me to do that it can't handle.
 
Dan, I had the 10" steel table one. You have a fresh blade so the cut was better than one that has been used a bit. The price was good and with a good blade you will had a good enough saw for much of what you want to use it for.

Johnny, I have the saw apart so I can'e measure it, but it's maybe 6" height. Now resawing full depth is hard with any saw. I shudder to think about running something a foot thick thru my Walker Turner!
 
Thanks Lee, I was just wondering, since someone had mentioned it at 99.99 and that is what Sears is running the 9" saw for now.

I will watch the blades. Being in "Furniture City" there are several local suppliers that will custom weld blades, for reasonable prices. That will help me keep a good blade on it. I did do some testing and was able to resaw 3.5" hard maple with acceptable results, and round out a couple of 4" sycamore blanks, so it looks like this will work for me for now. I will just have to keep remembering fresh blade and go slow.

Again, thanks for the advice from everyone.
 
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