Like most people shopping for a band saw, I spent a lot of time on various websites, user discussion groups, etc. It's enough to make your head spin--so many choices. When I actually saw the old style (cast iron frame) 14" band saws next to the Rikon Deluxe 14" saw, it was immediately clear that this machine is in a separate class--there's no comparing the cast iron frame saws to this beast. It's bigger, more refined, has as much power as the best of them, and has a huge resaw capacity (that exceeds the cast iron models with riser block installed). When you start adding up the bit$ and piece$ required to bring a cast iron frame near the specs of this saw, you'll see that those saws aren't really cheaper.
Set-up was no particular problem, but the manual for this saw is absurdly bad. It would be a bad manual for a crummy, cheap saw, but it's an embarrassment to have such a horrible manual for such a nice machine. Instructions are sparse. Hardware does not match illustrations/descriptions (those few that there are). In spite of this, if you are semi-mechanically inclined (as I hope you are if you're buying a band saw), you can figure it out.
As one would hope, this is a powerful machine that cuts curves and resaws nicely. The fence leaves something (a lot) to be desired--the machining on the fence is marginal, the mechanism to adjust the fence to square with the table is inadequate (and cheap)...but I don't use the fence much anyway. This is a band saw, not a table saw. I will likely build or buy a better resaw fence when I get into a project that calls for a significant amount of resawing...but the existing fence will do for now. Like the manual, it is strange to have such a marginal fence on an otherwise impressive machine.
In short, this is a great saw--the fit and finish is very good--and the shortcomings (manual and fence) are only minor annoyances. Rikon 10-325 14-Inch Deluxe Band Saw
I purchased this saw 2 years ago based on a review in Woodworkers Journal. It has performed extremely well. It is very powerful and rock solid. Has a good sized heavy cast iron table. Huge re-saw capacity, but I would not want to test it out with the fence provided. As stated in the other reviews, the fence does not match up to the quality of the rest of the saw. The measurement gauge requires a decal I had to stick on the fence bar myself. Granted, I don't use the fence much as I am cutting curves and shapes most often. The adjustments for the blade guides are a bit difficult to learn how to use the first time due to skimpy instructions and photos. Also the guides can move when you tighten down the lock screws. The lower guides are also a bit difficult to get to but I don't see an easy way for the manufacturer to get around that. All other adjustments are simple and straightforward.
Make sure you get good blades. The one that comes with it is adequate. I purchased a 3/4 Woodslicer re-saw blade from Highland Woodworking which cuts through wood like a hot knife through butter. The saw does take quite a bit of adjusting to get it to fit on the wheels properly due to its depth. Other than a better fence and manual, the only other suggestions for improvement I would make would be to add a magnetic switch and move the light to a higher position. It sags on occasion but still nice to have. Would purchase this one again in a heartbeat.
The Rikon model 10-325 is a very good bandsaw all it needs is the proper setup and tuning some of which are not in the manual.
1: install a new blade you figure will be your go to blade and adjust it to center and tension it.
2: square the table to the blade, side and back. (That is in the manual).
3: adjust the guide bar assembly so that it is plumb to the blade, yes this can be done by adjusting the four set screws in the upper guide base. You'll need a long 3 mm allen T-wrench & a 12" square. Loosen the four mounting blots on the backside and adjust the set screws as required. Go slow and bear in mind the locking knob will push the bar in also. Once the guide bar is plumb the guide rollers can be adjusted per the manual.
4: adjust the guide rollers as required. Remember to loosen the roller screws before trying to adjust the rollers or you could bend the holder. With the guide bar plumb, moving it up or down will not change your roller settings.
5: I installed a Kreg fence so I now squared it to the T slots. (The stock fence is one item they skimped on). I didn't even install it so I can not comment on the fence being square and flat. Others have had issues with the stock fence.
I now have a bandsaw second to none in it's class. It is quiet, smooth and accurate. Adjusting the guide bar does not require re-adjusting the roller guides either. You will read where the dust port has a baffle in it. It does, and it did block dust pickup. Not anymore.
I don't know how accurate the tension gauge is for sure, it seems close but until I can acutally measure it I won't know. The quick tension release lever is easy to reach, however short folks will need a step stool to adjust the tension knob which is placed on top of the saw.
I installed the saw on a universal mobile base sold by Woodcraft #145488 and would recommend this base over any of the other bases I have (all are major manf. too). Yes there are minor issues that could have been designed differently but this saw sells for hundreds less than it's competitors and does just as well when properly setup. I installed a 4 tooth 1/2" blade and setup to re-saw an 8" piece of red oak, the saw handled it very well. I am quite satisifed I waited so that I could to purchase the Rikon
This saw is a very much needed upgrade to my Shopsmith 11". So far I've put the machine together, aligned it and made several test cuts which include re-sawing a 6" oak plank and turning a 4x4x12" block of cedar into a cylinder. I am VERY impressed! I will come back a year from now and write more detailed comments on the operations, but I thought I would leave my comments on assembly and first impressions while they were fresh in my mind. Any criticisms I have right now are on the level of nit-picking. I am overjoyed with this tool.
Unpacking hints:
This machine is shipped in one carton that weighs in just short of 260lbs. I am not a weak person but found it a bear to manipulate. 2 cartons, 1 containing the saw body and 1 containing everything else would be more reasonable. Unpacking the saw I would suggest you take everything but the saw out of the carton then stand the carton up and walk the saw out rather than trying to lift it out of the box. You will tear some cardboard and foam packaging but it is much easier and safer than trying to lift the unit out.
Assembly:
When I bought the saw, the salesman told me to allot about 8 hours for assembly and alignment. He wasn't lying. While nothing is very complicated, it is time consuming if you want to do it properly and a machine of this quality warrants the attention. I installed my unit in a General mobile base which I hope to review elsewhere since I am not very impressed with that item. Some other reviewers have talked of the need to add a sheet of plywood so the door of the stand wouldn't bind on the base. I did not find this so, but added a sheet anyway so that the top of the base floor would come even with the top of the mobile stand and look cool. Leave the shelf out (it really gets in the way) until the saw is in place and wait as the manual says to tighten the screws on the stand until the saw is in place. After assembly was finished I noticed the saw did wobble in the base more than I found acceptable, so I anchored the saw base to the mobile base from the sides using self-tapping screws. A better way would be through the base in the provided holes before putting the saw on. Lifting the saw on the base is best a 2 person job. While I could lift it myself, I didn't want to take a chance on scratching anything. With 2 people it's a piece of cake. Actually mounting the saw is not for anyone with big hands like me. It is best to build up your washers and nuts with double stick tape and put it up as a unit. A second wrench is also helpful here as it will be when setting the lower guide blocks. Assembling the work table is another 2 person job. It is somewhat heavy and must be placed exactly on the trunnion so strong arms holding it and young eyes to thread the bolts are a big help. I reversed the table leveling bar from the way it came in the box. This way it swings out for blade changes and out of the way. The downside is it protrudes about 1/16" from under the table but in my opinion is much more convenient. The rip fence goes on easily.
Alignment:
Here I encountered my first real disappointment. I attempted to align the table to the back of the blade (it was less than 1 degree out but I like things as perfect as I can make them) and found the pictures and instructions were obsolete. The trunnion is now anchored with 2 hex bolts, one which I could not loosen without taking the table off again so step skipped. Adjusting the upper blade guides is a snap. The lower guides however take more care. A second wrench again would be useful here so as to not turn the assembly when re-tightening the lock nut. I found the rip fence alignment kind of fiddly. For some reason when attempting to set the fence face 90 degrees to the table, it would go slightly askew when the nuts were tightened. It finally worked out, however. I omitted installing the guide scale since I prefer to measure and mark each cut anyway.
1st cuts:
I cannot believe how quiet a good machine is compared to cheaper units. I used the stock blade to do my test cuts. I re-sawed 6" of oak without a whimper as it cut the 4x4x12" cedar block into a cylinder. I tried 2 settings on the fence for re-sawing: one set for blade drift and one with the fence perpendicular to the table. The results were virtually identical. I can't wait to see what this machine does with a good blade in it.
What I like:
1. Power and the machine does run on a 15 amp breaker without popping it. I would not suggest adding anything else to the circuit though since the motor is rated at 14 amps
2. Cutting Height. Right out of the box this machine cuts to a height that its competitors require a riser block with all the readjustments connected to equal.
3. Work Table. Very nicely machined and polished.
4. Bearing Guides. Much superior to the guide blocks of my old machine.
5. Quick blade tension release.
6. Solidity of the machine and the fit and finish is far superior to all I've seen in its class.
What I don't like
1. The carton: 2 boxes would have been MUCH better.
2. The fence system: While I eventually got it aligned, the engineering is flawed here, especially for a otherwise high-class machine.
3. Lower Guide Blocks: This could also have been done better so that the guide assembly does not rotate.
4. Trunnion Adjustment: I just could not get this to work.
5. The bolt/washer/nuts assembly that holds the machine on the stand. There must be a better way.
Why?
1. is the light on the opposite side of where it is actually needed?
2. do the door latches latch down instead of up? If they latched up they could prevent any sag that comes with an aging machine by supporting the door rather than pushing it down.
3. is there no lock on the belt tension crank? It is right at kid height and my grand kids made a beeline for it as soon as they saw it.
4. are no exterior supports for the open end wrenches like there are for the allen wrenches?
Like I said at the beginning, aside from the stock fence, the other criticisms are just nit-picky type stuff. If the fence bothers me too much I'll upgrade to a Kreg or the like. Overall this is an incredible machine that is a class of its own.
Update 1 (1 week)
I solved the allen wrench problem to level that table to the back of the blade by tilting the table the other way (duh!) and then moving it back after the wrench was in place. Table is now perpendicular to the back of the blade, eliminate #4 from my don't like list. I haven't had a chance to get into town to get some good blades so am still using the stock blade. It cut a 9" very green apple log into boards without a whimper. Removing the bark from another 8" diameter piece of green apple to produce a cylinder (10" tall) almost stalled the machine at one point but recovered right away and didn't trip the breaker. Dust collection is ok. So far I haven't removed the bottom baffle as some people suggested. Very little dust (or in he case of the green apple, strands) remained in the the bottom cabinet with almost nothing migrating to the top cabinet.
Update 2 (1 month)
I had a problem in that the thrust bearing of the bottom blade guide fell off and as a result the stock blade was pushed into the lower guide bearings and dulled. Whether this was Rikon's fault or mine, I don't know, but henceforth I check that the bearings are tight before I saw. I have read a lot about the poor quality of the stock blade, and while it is not the greatest, increasing the tension on it makes it serviceable. On my machine the blade was shipped under tension, so who knows how much it stretched. I will have it re-sharpend. I replaced it with a 1/2" Viking blade that makes the machine totally amazing. I have tested it to the limit, sawing 13" green birch and aspen logs into blanks for later turning into bandsaw boxes. I've created a primitive sled to hold the rounds and if I can lift it I can saw it on the Rikon. I'm finding the blade tension scale pretty much useless. It is a good starting point, but using the "flutter" method of tensioning a blade always has the blades tensioned beyond what the scale would indicate. While there is some dust in the machine, I feel collection is acceptable but definitely not great. While I am working with green wood I clean the machine after each session anyway because of the moisture content of the sawdust and possible corrosion factor. Some criticisms in other reviews I don't understand. Changing blades on this machine is the easiest I have ever experienced. My first change was done in less than 2 minutes! I have no problem with being able to see through the alignment or tensioning windows even after hours of use. I am still VERY impressed!
Update 2 (6 months)
I continue to be very happy with this machine. I have resawed everything from spruce to maple with absolutely no problems. I have also done around a dozen band saw boxes of the same woods, using a 3/16" Viking blade to do the intricate cuts. Some on my blanks were 7" thick and the saw went through them like butter. VERY NICE! When working with well seasoned wood I have no dust collection problems even with my small 15 amp collection system. Green wood does build up in the machine. No matter what I am sawing I have not experienced the problems mentioned by other users of the alignment,blade and blade tension windows dusting up so they are useless. Now for my criticisms: The blade tension scale IS totally useless. All my Viking blades are way too loose (even by Viking's recommendations and 'flutter' tensioning method). I usually end up at least 1 blade thickness more in tension by the Rikon scale. When I installed a 3/4" blade the tracking mechanism bent the tension scale pointer so it no longer worked (it bends back very easily so not a big deal, but a little disconcerting the 1st time it happens). Finally the well-machined table that I liked so much is very soft and scratches very easily (Easier than my aluminum Shopsmith tables which look less beat-up after almost 20 yrs of use). One final matter of concern is that I received a bulletin from Rikon on Facebook saying that blowing out the machine with compressed air reduces the life of the drive and guide bearings. I have always blown out ALL my equipment at the end of a job. Apparently for Rikon a dirty machine is more healthy than one blown out. Those items aside, I am still extremely happy and impressed with the machine and would recommend it to anyone who wants large capacity and decent power in a 110V band saw. - Band Saws - Bandsaw - Resaw - Highly Recommended'
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