Rikin 18" Bandsaw

stoutman wrote:

> My only concern so far is excessive vibration. (appears to be excessive, but
> this is my first bandsaw so I have no comparison).
>
> Does anyone else who owns this NEW model experience this? Do you have a
> fix? (other than returning it!).
>

I have the "old" model, and mine vibrates more than I'd like too. My
guess is that the wheels aren't balanced as well as they could be..
Again, it's just a guess.

My older 14" Delta ran a lot better. Zero vibration. But, since I knew
I was getting a low end BS with Rikon in exchange for greater cutting
capacity, I decided I could live with it.
I'd be interested if anyone has any fixes to reduce vibration as well.

Mine runs real smooth, I initially had some problems with the
tensioner and tracking. Make sure the top bolt for the spindle is
adjusted correctly so you get proper tension. Also I noticed one
cheap blade I had you could see it waver in its distance from the rear
quide bearing. There is also a tension adjustment for the belt if you
haven't checked that. Broke my foot the day I got mine so I'm just
getting back to it.

Mike M

On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 02:04:16 GMT, "stoutman" <.@.> wrote:

>I picked up my Rikon 10-345 bandsaw today from woodcraft and got her all set
>up. The guides up and down are easier to set up than most have posted
>previously.
>
>The upper wheel, like others have stated, does have some play in it when you
>try and rock the wheel by holding at 3 and 9oclock when tensioned. This
>does not appear (so far) to effect cutting performance.
>
>My only concern so far is excessive vibration. (appears to be excessive, but
>this is my first bandsaw so I have no comparison).
>
>Does anyone else who owns this NEW model experience this? Do you have a
>fix? (other than returning it!).
>
>Thanks.

In article <[email protected]>, .@. says...
>
> My only concern so far is excessive vibration. (appears to be excessive, but
> this is my first bandsaw so I have no comparison).
>
> Does anyone else who owns this NEW model experience this? Do you have a
> fix? (other than returning it!).
>

I am just back from my bandsaw buying expedition. I went to a number of shops
that were selling cheap Taiwanese saws of different brands. Demanded they be
turned on so I could see them running. Most of these saws were shaking so bad -
well, I am lost for a comparison. "oh, it's the uneven floor" - yeah, right.
I then went to visit the one place that sells Jet as well as Sicar and Socomec
from Italy and various other Taiwanese saws. I got them to start up the 18"Jet
- and even though it was also sitting on an uneven concrete floor, on a pallet,
it ran about 5 times smoother. So that's what I bought. I had one put on my
trailer and took it for the 5 hour drive home. Unloaded, de-crated, put it on
the uneven concrete floor in my shop and turned it on - virtually no vibration
at all.
It seems to matter how the guides are set up, I can get the saw to vibrate by
pulling the blade 1mm out of alignment with the guides - but if they're set
right it runs very smoothly. Unlike the other Taiwanese saws I saw (this one is
made in Taiwan as well, to Jet specs) it doesn't stop running within seconds of
turning the power off, either. I can watch the weld flash by 2-3 times before
it stops turning - this says something to me about quality of bearings and
wheel balancing. Nothing like the Italian saw I used in a woodwork seminar
situation once, when I turned the thing off and a couple of minutes later I
just about stuck my hand into the blade that was still running at high speed
:-( ... that's the kind of saw I would _really_ like to own. But I think, at
the moment, that this one will do most everything I am likely to ask of it.
Definitely a MUCH higher production standard than any of the cheaper saws I
looked at.

Incidentally the 3/4", 5tpi blade on the saw seems utter crap. I tried ripping
a 6x2 and I had to push it through at a snails pace just like the 2x1 I tried
for comparison. Not that the 1.5 hp motor missed a beat, the blade just
couldn't cut any faster.

As for a fix: first I suggest trying blade alignment, and maybe use a dremel to
clean up the weld on the blade if necessary. If that doesn't do the trick, take
the blade off and see if the wheels are actually balanced - if the same spot
returns to the bottom each time you spin the wheel you have a [fixable]problem.
If that's not it either, weeeeellllll, I know what I'd do.

-P.

--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com

Peter Huebner <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

<snip>
> Incidentally the 3/4", 5tpi blade on the saw seems utter crap. I tried
> ripping a 6x2 and I had to push it through at a snails pace just like
> the 2x1 I tried for comparison. Not that the 1.5 hp motor missed a
> beat, the blade just couldn't cut any faster.
>
> As for a fix: first I suggest trying blade alignment, and maybe use a
> dremel to clean up the weld on the blade if necessary. If that doesn't
> do the trick, take the blade off and see if the wheels are actually
> balanced - if the same spot returns to the bottom each time you spin
> the wheel you have a [fixable]problem. If that's not it either,
> weeeeellllll, I know what I'd do.
>
> -P.
>

A quality replacement blade was all my Jet 16 really wanted.

Enjoy your new tool.

Patriarch

"stoutman" <.@.> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I picked up my Rikon 10-345 bandsaw today from woodcraft and got her all
>set up. The guides up and down are easier to set up than most have posted
>previously.
>
> The upper wheel, like others have stated, does have some play in it when
> you try and rock the wheel by holding at 3 and 9oclock when tensioned.
> This does not appear (so far) to effect cutting performance.
>
> My only concern so far is excessive vibration. (appears to be excessive,
> but this is my first bandsaw so I have no comparison).
>
> Does anyone else who owns this NEW model experience this? Do you have a
> fix? (other than returning it!).
>
> Thanks.

I found that the upper wheel rocked back and forth when actually running
with a narrower blade, 1/2" and smaller. That in itself will make the saw
vibrate.