Hello everyone this is my first posting. I would like opinions on what the best choice for bandsaws. I have been looking at the Rigid 14 inch from home depot and the 14 inch from grizzly tools. I have the 10 inch table saw from Rigid that I have had alot of good luck with I am happy with it. Except for the fact that the reset button broke from moving from NJ to PA recently. When I called about getting a replacment , they informed me that I had to buy the whole motor. The guy I was talking too had no idea why. He even thought it was strange that they didn't sell the replacment seperatly. So you can see why I want opinions. If I am going to need to buy more then just the small part That will play a factor in my decision on which on I buy.
I decided to go with the Grizzly bandsaw. It did prove to be the best chioce for the dollar and what I want to use it for. Thanks for the input on the subject everyone. Next is the Planner so I like the Rigid , but it is the problem of if I can get parts or if I have to buy more then what is needed for the problem. Grizzly seemed to have no problem getting what I would need if a part goes bad. Thanks to all again
The Grizzly 14" BS have received alot of high praise in recent years, and tend to offer a bit more saw IMHO. The Ridgid BS doesn't seem to be one of their best tools, but once dialed in, it'll cut wood.
I'd also take a look at the Rikon and Craftsman 14" saws.
Thanks for the info Knotscott. :thumbsup: I checked out the Craftsman and the Rikon. I think for the price and options for the price, the Grizzly Ultimate 14 inch band saw is looking like the chioce. Craftsman didn't look like a spacer block to go from 6 inch to 12 inch was available for that saw. The Rikon was a sweet looking peice of machinery but the wife will not be to happy with me dipping into the funds that deep.:laughing: What do you think about the Rigid surface planner? Havent heard anything negative about that.
Seems to get universally positive comments from owners and mags :thumbsup:. My only hesitation would be that they've discontinued the well proven TP1300 in favor of some unproven upgrades in the new one...might be terrific but the jury's still out. It would still be on my shortlist though...along with the two top Deltas, two DeWalts, and the Makita.
I have seen quite a few people have alot of good luck with the Grizzly.. For the money and the quality they are hard to beat... Check out the Grizzly for the planer as well.. ALthough I have been told that the new Ridgid (3 blader) is a good machine... Good luck..
Hello everyone this is my first posting. I would like opinions on what the best choice for bandsaws. I have been looking at the Rigid 14 inch from home depot and the 14 inch from grizzly tools. I have the 10 inch table saw from Rigid that I have had alot of good luck with I am happy with it. Except for the fact that the reset button broke from moving from NJ to PA recently. When I called about getting a replacment , they informed me that I had to buy the whole motor. The guy I was talking too had no idea why. He even thought it was strange that they didn't sell the replacment seperatly. So you can see why I want opinions. If I am going to need to buy more then just the small part That will play a factor in my decision on which on I buy.
If that reset button is a standard electrical piece, you should have no trouble replacing it. Just check out a shop like Frys Electronics or similar for the pieces.
As far as what the best tools to buy are... I would have to say that the best tools to buy are the tools that do the job you want, the most accurately, and most reliably, for the budget you have to spend. Don't buy cheapo junk, but by all means, don't overspend just to buy a brand name either. Unless you are into designer tools...
Hello everyone this is my first posting. I would like opinions on what the best choice for bandsaws. I have been looking at the Rigid 14 inch from home depot and the 14 inch from grizzly tools. I have the 10 inch table saw from Rigid that I have had alot of good luck with I am happy with it. Except for the fact that the reset button broke from moving from NJ to PA recently. When I called about getting a replacment , they informed me that I had to buy the whole motor. The guy I was talking too had no idea why. He even thought it was strange that they didn't sell the replacment seperatly. So you can see why I want opinions. If I am going to need to buy more then just the small part That will play a factor in my decision on which on I buy.
I reviewed the Ridgid 14 incher on this site's tool-review page, and I found it to be OK, provided one spent some time eliminating things like excessive vibration. I did that by replacing the stock belt with an automotive-grade segmented model, balancing the two wheels by adding small weights to the rims, and mounting the motor solidly on an MDF board above the base, with an additional MDF board underneath to further stiffen the top of the supplied stand. I also installed a wrape-around wooden extension to the edge of the cast-iron table, in order to allow the saw to better deal with larger boards. You can use the existing holes on the side of the table to insert screws to hold the extension in place, and you can also cut a slot in it to facilitate blade changes. I bridge the slot with a brace underneath to keep the wooden extension rigid on that side.
One modification I did not mention in my review involves the guide assembly mount not being quite vertically parallel with the blade. Consequently, if the rear guide bearing was adjusted properly when the assembly was lowered to cut thin wood it would rub the back of the blade too hard when the assembly was raised to cut thicker wood. (You can adjust the bearing thrust position to fix this, but doing so takes away valuable worktime.) The vertical guide bar was not parallel with the blade, due to the hole bored in the cast-iron frame arm not being in perfect alignment. The bar was maybe 1/64 inch out of vertical over its full length.
My solution was to remove the guide bar and lower assembly from the bored hole in the cast frame arm and then use a round grinder in a drill to "shape" the bore hole in such a way that the clamping screw could then pin the assembly bar in a vertical manner. This involved making the hole slightly oval towards the blade at the bottom of the bore and making it slightly oval away from the blade at the top. (Other units might have to grind in the opposite directions.) The procedure takes time, because cast iron does not grind away with the speed of wood or aluminum, or even most steels.
Doing this makes the guide bar a bit less locked in line when making cutting-height adjustments, but when you tighten the clamping screw the bar will be held tightly in place, and hopefully (if you did the grinding work right) in proper vertical alignment with the blade.
I also moved the clamping screw from the upper hole to the lower one, after moving the tension bearing and its screw to the upper hole. (Those who own the saw can quickly look at this area to see what I mean; the small, headless bearing screw is adjustable or removable with a 5 mm allen wrench.) Note that there is a spring between the bearing and that small screw that pushes against it and if you remove the guide bar before loosening that screw the bearing will drop to the work table. It will then roll off somewhere to hide from you. (This did NOT happen to me, but I post this warning for the benefit of my fellow woodworkers who own that saw.) The choice about moving the clamping screw will depend upon which way you have to grind and adjust the guide bar and bore hole. The tension bearing can easily be adjusted to control the vertical resistance when moving the guide barfor different wood thicknesses. Once adjusted it can then be left that way permanently.
Yes, I know this was a tricky operation, but it solved the guide-alignment problem.
Howard Ferstler
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