Rikon Power Tools 10-321 Open Stand Band Saw, 14-Inch

The secret is out. This is the same saw as the Craftsman 14 inch saw which purchased from Sears a year ago on sale with a coupon for $360 The saw works O.K. for most stuff. Flaws. Sloppy table angle adjustment makes it difficult to adjust that last 1/2 degree of angle which is very important for resawing. The fence is a held tight with a simple cam grip which, under a bit of pressure slips. To use the fence for resawing one must really crank down on it and check it after every cut. This can be overcome by making a homemade fence that locks into the table slots or with an aftermarket fence. In my opinion, the fence which came with mine is actually dangerous. In regards to resawing, don't even try it with harder woods like walnut unless you have a superior blade like a 1/2-3/4 inch wood slicer blade. The quality of the blade makes a lot of difference. The saw could use a larger motor for working with harder woods like ebony or paduk. I have been looking for a 1 1/2 hp motor in second hand stores. But, all in all, for a casual woodworker this saw is a pretty damn good value. A nice feature of this saw is that there are two pulley arrangements. 1 combination yields high speed which is normally used. The other combination gives lower speed with more force which is good for hardwoods and cutting metal. Also, since this saw is sold both by Rikon and Craftsman (now owned by Stanley) parts and aftermarket stuff is readily available.

Wanted bandsaw for a long time, but could't pull the trigger on the bigger models. You don't have the vertical height of the bigger saw. As a hobby woodworker I don't have the need to resaw large logs. You still have 13" of clearance. I have not had the problems with the bed. The fence is a bit light duty again not the fence of the bigger saws and you don't get some of the convenience features of the larger saws, like blade tensioning but for the price it has everything I need in a saw. Very well constructed and was very true out of the box. I also got the mobile stand and as stated elsewhere, the casters are poor.4 stars was just for the lack of some of the features of the larger saws

Bought one of these a couple of weeks ago. For a smaller saw, it was quite a nice surprise to see that it was actually well made. I went ahead and dialed it in and did a few test cuts with the supplied 1/4" blade. Cut as expected with supplied blade. Blade tracked well and other than the usual table alignment, fence installation, the results are better than i expected. I just got a 1/2" blade and set saw up for a major resaw projet of some 7" wide boards. Did a drift test and was pleasently surprised at the lack of drift. This thing cuts true. Thats no BS, it cuts true. I do run lower tension than recomended and the guides much tighter than the manual recommends and the blade tracks perfect. The guides are "Carter Style", but not Carter quality. I use Olson blades because they are good quality, good price and last. I set my Rikon fence up to the miter slot and then installed my taller baltic birch fence and started to resaw. Good cuts. stayed true. Not having more resaw capacity for me is not a game changer. Very impressed with saw. My opinion is that you can`t go wrong with this saw. I got mine for $499 at Woodcraft on an introductory sale. The mobile base works well. I finally removed the side brace by the foot pedal to make it the lift easier to use. Base is still strong. So far i do not have any negative issues with saw. This is a great $500 saw and should be priced at this price point.Update April 2014Went to use band saw and the issue I have had with it not moving easily just got worse and the best of me. I took a look at the casters Rikon used and found the swivel ones were just crap. If I had known these caster were going to fail in a month, I would have purchased a mobile base. Make sure you inspect casters if you can prior to leaving the store or assembling the saw. If they are even a little loose, do not accept. They will not last. Replaced with some nice 2.5" casters. Had to add a .5" spacer for all casters, but results were excellent. Saw still working great. That operation part has not gone down hill. Still highly recommend this band saw.

great bandsaw