"New" to me bandsaw

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sorcerertd

sorcerertd

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North Carolina, USA
I got an upgrade to my cheap tabletop bandsaw (it was a small hobby saw, not good for much). It's a 12" Craftsman (made by Rikon), 3/4 hp. The table is solid and good sized. I put it through some paces today cutting up some stuff I've had drying for a couple years. I now have a lot of spalted maple blanks. The box elder looks like it really needs to be cast into hybrids, but I'm still not ready to make that investment just yet.

The dust collection leaves a bit to be desired with just using the 4" port. I think I need to split that and connect to both the 2.5" and the 4". Also, why don't manufacturers make inserts that sit flush with the table top? Geez. My table saw was the same way, but a couple washers fixed that.

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sorcerertd said:
I got an upgrade to my cheap tabletop bandsaw (it was a small hobby saw, not good for much). It's a 12" Craftsman (made by Rikon), 3/4 hp. The table is solid and good sized. I put it through some paces today cutting up some stuff I've had drying for a couple years. I now have a lot of spalted maple blanks. The box elder looks like it really needs to be cast into hybrids, but I'm still not ready to make that investment just yet.

The dust collection leaves a bit to be desired with just using the 4" port. I think I need to split that and connect to both the 2.5" and the 4". Also, why don't manufacturers make inserts that sit flush with the table top? Geez. My table saw was the same way, but a couple washers fixed that.

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Very nice machine. I bought a bandsaw recently a bit smaller than yours. I love the two grooves on the table; every bandsaw should be build like that, cheers.
 
MedWoodWorx said:
Very nice machine. I bought a bandsaw recently a bit smaller than yours. I love the two grooves on the table; every bandsaw should be build like that, cheers.
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That big table with 2 grooves gives me some options to make a sled for it.

randyrls said:
Todd; Good bandsaw. Some time ago "Robo Hippy" posted a video titled "Bandsaw dust ports do not suck!" He showed several methods of improving the dc on the bandsaw.
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This is good info. I probably won't cut enough to make it look like a tribble infestation, and it will be mostly dry wood, but this makes perfect sense. I'll bet pulling it straight down out of the bottom would be a great option. Maybe I should draw something up and sell it to the manufacturers. ;)

montmill said:
That looks a lot like my Rikon, which I love. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Mine does not suck either, I have to have a small vacuum cleaner nearby and clean up after each use. Robo's video's are excellent. This is another good producer of videos. He has several and they're all good.
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This is THE bandsaw tuning video. I've seen that shared several times around here it it's easy to see why.
 
My saw is very similar to that, just an older version. I installed a Kreg Precision Bandsaw fence on it shortly after purchasing. I haven't used the saw enough over the past 8 years or so to really say how it is, but it still runs well, and the fence works to the best of my abilities. One note though: I had to drill and tap a hole into the front of the table to mount the fence, and the fence guide has to be taken off to change blades.
 
Something important about bandsaws IMO: keep em clean. The lower wheel has a "brush" that removes dust and particles but not all of them; the upper wheel has not a brush at all (at least my metabo bandsaw is like this maybe other models are different). Anyway since the wheels have a rubber stripe (as a guide for the saw) that attracts wood dust, in the long run the band saw will become bumpy when operating. The wood particles become embedded in the stripe and cause the saw to run unevenly.
Maybe this is common knowledge among savvy owners, i have never had a bandsaw before so i am still learning, cheers.
 
I have a Rikon benchtop bandsaw. It has had a good workout over the years and proves to be a good saw. One negative is the 5/8 inch miter slot. Every other BS or TS is 3/4 inch.
 
I also have a Craftsman 12-inch bandsaw, although mine is an older "C" Frame model. The picture below is my model, but not actually my saw.

Bandsaw.jpg

I used to have an older 14" Powermatic, but it was huge - too large for my small shop, so I sold it and bought a Grizzly 14", but I wasn't too crazy about that saw - it rattled, and felt cheap. I saw an ad for the 12" Craftsman, went to look at it - the owner had taken very good care of it - no rust on the table, ran great. I bought it several years ago, and it's the perfect size for my shop, and most of what I use it for. The dust collection is not great, but it's not terrible either. When I saw hybrid blanks from a block, I always have to open up the saw and vacuum out the resin debris - it's almost like cotton candy. The miter gage is smaller than 3/4", but the saw has a small bracket to store it, and it works ok. I sometimes clamp on a larger fence to it.

I consider this to be my "forever" bandsaw - I see no need to ever buy another.
 
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