Rikon 10-326 Review

[prov163]

I’ve got a Woodslicer from HWW and a 1/4” too.  This bandsaw is going to get used a lot so I’ll be delving into blades as I increase the variety of uses for it. The stock blade isn’t too bad but expect it will get dull quickly. I’m going to use it to get a sense of the machine’s character. If I can get a decent cut with this blade I’m going to get a great cut with a good blade. 

[Mick S]

Nice looking machine! 

Small thing, but does anyone else look at the photo and think the wheels are on backwards? Spoke direction seems reversed from normal. It may make a difference in the balance, but it may make no difference at all.

This is also a Rikon:

 

Edit: Quick google search shows most Rikon bandsaws with spiral wheels going the direction of the OP's machine. Just seems odd to me.

[drzaius]

50 minutes ago, Mick S said:

Nice looking machine! 

Small thing, but does anyone else look at the photo and think the wheels are on backwards? Spoke direction seems reversed from normal. It may make a difference in the balance, but it may make no difference at all.

This is also a Rikon:

 

Edit: Quick google search shows most Rikon bandsaws with spiral wheels going the direction of the OP's machine. Just seems odd to me.

Isn't that the 18" model?

[Mick S]

29 minutes ago, drzaius said:

Isn't that the 18" model?

Yes, but I'm not sure that matters. I was simply commenting on the direction of the spiral spokes of the wheels. Seems like it should run with the spiral going in the natural direction of the spin. The OP's machine and others I've seen from Rikon seem to go the opposite direction.

[Tom King]

Infinitesimally smaller difference in shock absorption in this direction, otherwise, if the spokes were small enough to make direction matter, there would be all sorts of other problems.  

[prov163]

I played with the bandsaw for a bit tonight. Here are my first impressions:

1. This a well-built machine. Solid as a rock. Fit and finish are great. The storage is a big plus. I put my bandsaw blades in there. I used to hang them on the wall behind the saw, but now I can free that space up for more clamps (8 Bessey Revos arrived today). 

2. It’s generally well-designed/engineered. The hand cranks are smooth. The locking knobs on the top and bottom doors work exceptionally well and dampen vibration. My only real complaint is the adjusting lock for the rear bearing on the upper guides. It is located on the inside of the guides so the only way you can resawis to raise the guard above the top of the fence. It seems awkwardly positioned. 

3. It’s very quiet. Of course I’m comparing it to the old machine, but still it’s noticeably quieter. 

4. Dust collection is still an unknown as I haven’t cut much with it yet. I’ll update on this soon. 

5. Plenty of power! Again, my baseline is my previous bandsaw which was 3/4 hp so this is a subjective opinion. I decided to try my hand at resawing, something I never tried before. I had a piece or two of scrap walnut so I thought I’d play around a little. It still has the factory 5/8 blade which I’ll change soon. Here are the results:

Resaw was amazing, even with the stock blade. No resistance at all, smooth finish. Being able to create book matches is going to be fun. And I’ll experiment with some veneering someday too. 

Decided to cut a curve just cause. I can’t wait to put a 1/4” blade on and start adding shapes to my work. 

I’ll post more after I finish the shop reset, but so far I’m very pleased with this addition to my shop. 

[prov163]

Here’s a picture of the design flaw I mentioned in my last post. I know the fence can be moved to the horizontal position for ever other cut and the blade guides are going to have to clear the fence anyway to get close enough for resawing, it’s just weirdly located. 

I have these four bolts left over. I can’t for the life of me figure out what they’re for. I’ve scoured the manual and looked for any holes in the cabinet or machine to no avail. Any ideas?

[Chet]

1 hour ago, prov163 said:

I can’t for the life of me figure out what they’re for.

Were the maybe just holding something in place for transportation?

[drzaius]

11 hours ago, prov163 said:

I have these four bolts left over. I can’t for the life of me figure out what they’re for. I’ve scoured the manual and looked for any holes in the cabinet or machine to no avail. Any ideas?

When that happens you just quickly throw them away & pretend they were never there.

KInda weird with that guide lever placement. I have the 10-325 & have been thinking about upgrading to the new guides but that makes me hesitate. The old ones work well enough, but are fiddly to adjust.

[Jfitz]

15 hours ago, prov163 said:

I can’t for the life of me figure out what they’re for.

Email their customer service....I know I've gotten quick replies, and it seems like others have had luck with getting replies and information from them...

 

[bleedinblue]

That lever placement came into play for me the other day, I had to re-saw a piece that was only about three inches wide.  No big deal, I just raised the guides above the fence and the cut was still good.  It's less than ideal though.

As far as the bolts...I can't remember any part of the setup that required nuts.  As best I can remember, everything was tapped with threads.  I got nothin'.  I'll look my saw over and see if I see where they might belong.

[Chet]

15 hours ago, prov163 said:

I have these four bolts left over. I can’t for the life of me figure out what they’re for.

There is probably some other Rikon customer that bought some other type of tool, cussing up a storm because he can't finish his assembly with out the four missing bolts.

[prov163]

5 hours ago, Chet said:

There is probably some other Rikon customer that bought some other type of tool, cussing up a storm because he can't finish his assembly with out the four missing bolts.

RFLOL. I’m thinking they may be for the mobility kit which I’m picking up this week. But I’m guessing the kit would include the hardware. We’ll see. 

 

9 hours ago, drzaius said:

When that happens you just quickly throw them away & pretend they were never there.

KInda weird with that guide lever placement. I have the 10-325 & have been thinking about upgrading to the new guides but that makes me hesitate. The old ones work well enough, but are fiddly to adjust.

The quickest way to find out what they’re for is to throw them out. 

The misplaced lever in no way lowers my favorable impressions of the saw. Just would have been better on the other side. 

[Mick S]

Maybe leveling bolts, since the casters haven't arrived yet?

[drzaius]

3 hours ago, prov163 said:

he misplaced lever in no way lowers my favorable impressions of the saw. Just would have been better on the other side.

Would it be possible to mod it to go on the other side?

[prov163]

1 hour ago, drzaius said:

Would it be possible to mod it to go on the other side?

Not sure. If it becomes a problem I may consider that. It’s also possible that with enough complaints (if it truly is a problem) that Rikon will develop a mod. 

I think the four extra bolts are in fact for the mobility kit. There are four holes in the base that are not tapped - the rest were. Woodcraft called and said it was in so a road trip is in order. Chance to go to HWW while I’m that close   When I get it back to the shop I’ll let y’all know. 

[bleedinblue]

11 hours ago, drzaius said:

Would it be possible to mod it to go on the other side?

How much would that help though?  In most re-sawing operations you'll be going thin...say, a half inch or less...and even with the lever out of the way you still have the left guide bearing limiting your depth of cut.  A shop made auxiliary fence might be the ticket instead of screwing with the guide bearing setup.

[Chestnut]

My laguna has the same "design". I just set the guides to clear the fence and never set them lower. With a wider blade and proper tension i don't see what the problem is.  If i do free hand curve cutting i lower the guides but then the fence is out of the way.

[drzaius]

2 hours ago, bleedinblue said:

How much would that help though?  In most re-sawing operations you'll be going thin...say, a half inch or less...and even with the lever out of the way you still have the left guide bearing limiting your depth of cut.  A shop made auxiliary fence might be the ticket instead of screwing with the guide bearing setup.

My saw doesn't have the tall fence, so I suppose it would be easy to just make a couple of auxiliary fences of different heights.

[chashint]

Just out of curiosity how long does it take for the blade to stop moving after you turn off the saw ?

[prov163]

59 minutes ago, chashint said:

Just out of curiosity how long does it take for the blade to stop moving after you turn off the saw ?

A few seconds but I haven’t paid that much attention. I’ll watch it next time to get a sense. 

Picking up the mobile base tomorrow so maybe I’ll solve the 4 extra bolts mystery. 

[chashint]

I currently have a Jet JWBS14-OS.  It takes 3-5 seconds to stop.   I have been thinking about the Rikon 10-326, Laguna 14-12 and 14BX as well as the 18" models.

Lots of people with the 18" saws speak about the time it takes for the blade to stop and most really like having the blade brake.

I was just wondering if the 14" cast iron wheels have enough mass to make the 10-326 freewheel after being turned off.   

[bleedinblue]

On 4/14/2018 at 9:02 PM, chashint said:

Just out of curiosity how long does it take for the blade to stop moving after you turn off the saw ?

 

You piked my curiosity so I just put a stop watch to it.  Just a tad over 18 seconds three times in a row.

[chashint]

Thank you very much.

[prov163]

Thanks bleedinblue!  I hadn’t gotten to it yet. 

I did add the mobility base tonight. It works fine.

I’ll be using the saw pretty heavily next week so I’ll let you know how it performs.