Thread: 14" bandsaw

Have heard good things about Rickon although its not cheap. It looks like a serious saw and would sail through its maximum cutting height of 330mm. 200mm would be a walk in the park. Some will say its only a 14'' but seldom do I need to cut anything wider. Just my hunch but I suspect it will have less frame flex than wider models. Been a while since I looked at new saws but its specs look good. Seeing as you will be forking out over 2 and a half big ones it would be prudent to to check out what else is out there. Compare it with Timbecon, H&F, Carbatec, Laguna and anything else you can think of. Happy hunting.
Regards
John

Ive decided to go with the Rikon - can someone recommend a quality TCT blade? for resawing? The saw's specs are here:

350mm 14" Professional Bandsaw 10-353 by Rikon

It can take up to 25mm blades but I was reading in another thread that you are better off getting a smaller blade that can be more easily tensioned. I cant seem to find any 19mm resaw king blades which are 3607mm

I just spoke to JCWalsh which is Melb's supplier for Rikon - he said they only stock a 25mm 1.5TPI carbide blade for ripping - you think I should get that or ask them to order in a 19mm?

Bought a Rikon 10-353 second hand about 6 months ago. Haven't used it a lot, but when I have put it to work, it has been a beast!
I've got a few different blades. I'm not sure what sizes they are, except for a 25mm resaw blade. It seemed to handle sheoak logs fairly easily, but I imagine a new blade perform better than this used one.
Having said that, I'd be interested to know what size blade would be optimal for resawing too.

Thanks for the feedback. Do you set up your saw like this? The Best Way to Set Up a Bandsaw! - YouTube with the gullet basically at the middle of the wheel? does the 25mm blade fit ok like this? I see that the laguna resaw king blade is 0.6mm backing whereas a lot of others i found on google are 0.9mm - I read somewhere in these forums that the thinner backing is better as these saws often arent able to tension the larger blades

Originally Posted by qwertyu

I just spoke to JCWalsh which is Melb's supplier for Rikon - he said they only stock a 25mm 1.5TPI carbide blade for ripping - you think I should get that or ask them to order in a 19mm?

McDivens in Kororoit Creek Rd, Williamstown/Altona make great blades to order.

Originally Posted by qwertyu

Thanks for the feedback. Do you set up your saw like this? The Best Way to Set Up a Bandsaw! - YouTube with the gullet basically at the middle of the wheel? does the 25mm blade fit ok like this? I see that the laguna resaw king blade is 0.6mm backing whereas a lot of others i found on google are 0.9mm - I read somewhere in these forums that the thinner backing is better as these saws often arent able to tension the larger blades

I did attempt to set the blade like that, but (from memory) I found the 25mm blade hung off the back of the wheel when the gullet was on centre. I think a 19mm blade would sit on centre without hanging off the back.
Not sure about the tension issue. It could be true, I have little experience with bandsaws, but I think the tension was sufficient when I used the 25mm blade. Although, I was rough-sawing logs, so I wasn't aiming to get the boards dead square.

Thanks thats good to know - ill look for a 19mm blade

I'll second this they have been my go to for blades.

I have spoken to them on the phone and their prices are very reasonable!

I will keep the stock blade as a general purpose then get a dedicated rip blade from them.

They said they can do 20mm on a 0.7mm backing - most others are 0.9 so hopefully tensioning wont be an issue.

What TPI would you guys get JCWalsh suggested a 1.5TPI and a lot of the off the shelf ones are 2-3? I would mostly be using it on vic ash and hardest I would ever rip is white oak or maybe hard maple - I dont use a lot the SUPER hard aussie timbers. I dont have a drum sander

Just don't go too aggressive with the tooth count as the lower the number the bigger the bite and that can cause the machine to stall if there isn't enough hp. I would be going for one of the off the shelf numbers of 2 or 3. I have a 4TPI (not carbide but bimetal) on mine and it cuts all range of timbers I put through it with ease.

I use a 1" 2tpi tungsten carbide blade for breaking down reclaimed/recycled hardwoods for many of my projects. It is used on a 21" bandsaw with a 3hp motor and they all work very well together. It has resawn 12" thick ironbark with ease.
I also have a 14" bandsaw that I use with blades from 1/8" to 1/2". I would not want to use any blade over 1/2" on that saw as I doubt it could tension it satisfactorily.
All my bandsaw blades for both these saws as well as my metal cutting bandsaw come from McDivens saws at Williamstown, as mentioned by Chesand above. They are the best.
When I bought my 14" bandsaw it identified the need for a larger saw that would take a larger blade.
Having said that, this was years ago and now there are a lot of 14" saws that have larger motors, bigger depth of cut and can take a decent sized resaw blade. Even if I was buying again now I would still want to keep the 21" saw over the more capable 14" saws that are now available. That extra few inches of crosscut capability comes in handy for me and what I do. Others may not need it.

I ended up ordering a 19mm 3tpi TCT and also asked about a general purpose bimetal blade. They have 1/2" 6tpi in 0.65mm or 0.8mm backing. Which should I get?

Originally Posted by qwertyu

I ended up ordering a 19mm 3tpi TCT and also asked about a general purpose bimetal blade. They have 1/2" 6tpi in 0.65mm or 0.8mm backing. Which should I get?

Depends greatly on what thickness of timber you are cutting. This can also affect TPI.

Tell us what you want to do with it and we can help you better.