Ryobi 9" bandsaw, opinions?

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DSallee

DSallee

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2008
Messages
358
Location
Holden MO. USA
Hey all, I'm thinking of getting the Ryobi 9" bandsaw from HD for $99 to cut blanks and such... Was wondering if any of you have ever used one or have an opinion about it? Good or Bad?

Ryobi 9" Bandsaw

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Thanks
Dave
 
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Dave, I used the Delta 9" and learned to hate it!! I felt it was underpowered and had a heck of a time keeping it adjusted enough to cut a straight line. My advice would be to buy a larger band saw because you will soon out grow a 9" model. Mapquest tells me you are about 75 miles from Springfield where Grizzly has a store. I have the GO555 14 inch band saw and absolutely love it. I thought it was more than I needed when I bought it, and now am planning to buy the riser kit for it.
 
Dave, I also had the Delta 9inch and while I didn't hate it, it had limitations. If you want to cut anything more than 1 inch thick, take Cav's advice and go visit Grizzly. That is if you have more cash to spare.
 
I have one, and so far I really have had no major issues with it at all. It's kinda on the small size and the need for a really good blade can't be empahsized enough. The one that came on mine was junk.... Just put a good blade on it and be careful with it and it'll do fine.
 
Thanks for the input everyone... I'm just going to be using it to make segmented pens and to cut my blanks so no really big jobs... maybe in the future I might upgrade to a bigger one but for now, I think this will do fine plus I don't really have the extra $$ for something bigger :(

Thanks again
Dave
 
You get what you pay for. That said, I bought one a couple of months ago :D
I wanted someing smaller than my 16" Laguna for small fast work, like trimming blanks. It works fine for its intended purpose, I only managed to break 2 blades. :mad: But the GOOD thing about it, the blades have a Lifetime warrenty and I took them back and got new ones. So, esentully, you get a lifetime of free blades :)
 
I don't think HD had much choice - I got mine elsewhere.. My favorite I found locally was an Olson 1/4" .020 thick 14tpi blade at a wood shop locally.

I found Fleet Farm carries the 59 1/2" blades as well as a few other places since this and a delta saw share the same size.
 
you could be fine with it. It's a $99 saw for several reasons, I couldn't accomodate all of them, so now drive the G0555 and love itevery bit as much as I hated the $99 Delta.
 
Why not look on Craig's list and see what someone might be selling for the same amount of money. My friend got a nice used 12" bandsaw for $100. After tuning it it runs great.
 
I've had the Ryobi for over a year and like it for what it is and double ditto on the "get a better blade". I have a thin and thick blade. Mostly use he think one and the cut tracks with very little drift on wood or corian.

Steve
 
I had a similar 9" saw. Tried a few different blades, it was too underpowered. I often got stalls and burn marks going through a 3/4" blank! Useless for cutting blanks from larger stock.
Bought a used 14" last year and what a difference, zips though everything, easier to find blades and accessories for it.
Sad thing is I paid the same money for the used 14" as I did for the new 9". Should have gone with the 14" from the start.
 
Rikon 10"

I find that little bandsaws are often less accurate than their big prothers. That said, I'm probably going to get the little rikon 10". It's built a lot more like it's older brothers. Of course, it's $200 insted of $100.

Marc
 
Dave,
I've had a Ryobi 9" from HD for about 8 months now. I use it for mostly small stuff and my space is extremely limited. I've cut a ton of moose antler blanks using it and it seems to trim small wood for blanks acceptably.
That said, it is definitely not a powerhouse and all the comments about the junk blade it comes with are correct. I couldn't cut a straight line to save my life with the stock 1/4" blade. I replaced it with an Olson 3/8" blade (from my local Ace Hardware) and it cuts fine now for my purposes.
I did have to spend quite a bit of time with mine adjusting the rollers to the blade, but once done, it does what I need it to and I can move it around fairly easily when not needed. It is somewhat noisy when running.
If I had more space and more money, I would opt for a bit bigger & better one, but at $99 + a new blade, it is way better than running to my buddiy's shop when I need to make a few cuts.
Hope this helps.
 
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I bought it when I first started pen turning thinking the same thing you did. The gear that turns the drive wheel is plastic and quickly broke. It was still under warranty so they replaced it but it was out of commission for a couple weeks. Also I could not get straight cuts with it, close enough for cutting blanks but not segmenting. Finally the first time I brought home some wood I found on the curb I found I had quickly outgrown it.

Save yourself the money and buy at least a 14" with a riser block. You'll be far happier in the long one.
 
I have this same saw and for two years it has been ok.Changed blades a couple times,other than that, no problems. I use it to cut blanks and other small stuff. Got it a Lowe's on sale for 69.00 dollars.
 
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