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Need a band saw

I bought the 9 inch Ryobi bench top.

ryorzrbs904g.jpg


It comes with an el-cheapo 1/4 inch blade that doesn't cut anything well. I put a 3/8" 10tpi carbon steel blade on it, and it makes cutting aluminum angle a piece of cake. I highly recommend this!
 
9" Ryobi

I picked up the 9" Ryobi, mentioned above, at a yard sale. It could be in better shape but it does the job. I replaced the wood blade with a 3/8" 18 TPI blade and it does a great job on aluminum sheet material. The 9" throat is limiting, a 12" would be better, but this Ryobi works for me, and the price was right.
 
I bought a Rikon, and while it's an excellent tool, it's probably overkill for an RV-12iS. Still, if you like working with good tools, have a look at the Rikon 10-326.

Dave
 
Local tool store not far from my hangar had Rikon band saws in stock.
Bought the saw and extra blades. Couldn't be happier.
 
Well, thanks for the recommendations. Ordered up a Rikon deluxe 10” with floor stand from The big green box store on sale. Easy.
 
I bought a 24" three wheel saw for $10 at a garage sale.

Used it to build my -9 and kept it for 12 years.

Last year I bought a vintage Rockwell/Delta 14" bandsaw off of Craigslist for $400. That thing will last another 100 years. It is a tank and has a lot of adjustments. Well worth the money!
 
Just bought the Rikon 10-305 and a 24tpi blade. Used it on the AB4 187 stock (3/16 thick). So far it's just what I needed. Only drawback is the slot in the table is a non standard size, so most miter guides won't fit. Easy enough to make one for 90 degree cuts, but just ordered the Rikon one for angled cuts (though the reviews weren't very good for the mitre).

I'm new to band saws, but first cuts have come out decent. Used WD40 as cutting fluid. Needed some cleaning up of the cuts, but far quicker and nicer than hacksaw.

Edit: Mitre came today.Very happy with it. Fits snug in the slot, looks like it will do everything I will need.
 
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FlyGuy65 said:
I'm new to band saws, but first cuts have come out decent.
Click to expand...

Probably due to my lack of skill, the bandsaw is a "rough cut" tool, taking off most of the material (be it wood or metal). From there, depending upon size, a belt sander, Scotch brite wheel or Dremel attachment is generally the next step.
 
The nature of a bandsaw cut is not going to clean enough edge for me. I use it to cut it to the line and then sand on the 1? sander to final dimension. I?d say 95% of the cuts are 3/4? angle. Some times there are some larger pieces but it?s pretty rare.
 
Cheap Band Saw

I got by with the 100 saw, but if building another plane, or anything that I want good quality result, I?ll get a better band saw. The cheap one cannot cut a straight line, always a few degrees off. No amount of adjustment improves it. Means you must allow for that and then sand or grind or file away a lot of material to get a good looking piece.
2-cents...
 
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