rikon 18″ and a Laguna “Drift Master”
sleepydad
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
has anybody tried this combo?
I’m finding myself taking lumber to a friends house to re-saw it. I have an old 12″ craftsman bandsaw but I’m thinking this might be a good purchase for me.
the price of the rikon is very reasonable; the driftmaster seems very nice for resaw but almost as much as the rikon saw.
just wondering if anybody has tried this setup?
Replies
I've don't own one of the driftmaster set-ups, but do very regularly resaw very wide boards - up to 12" on a 2 hp Delta saw, and as much as 27" wide on massive bandsaw at a friend's woodworking business. My take is that you really don't need one of the resaw jigs unless you're doing production re-sawing. With the right blade and tension, re-sawing's pretty easy, so long as you're willing to draw a line down the length of the board's side, have an outfeed support, and guide the board against a point fence. Fine Woodworking's published a fair bit of articles devoted to this topic - might be worth a read before spending a lot of money on the Laguna tool.
A $400 fence on a Rikon. Please! Actually, can't imagine putting $400 into a fence for any band saw, that may be lack of imagination on my part. But putting a Laguna fence on a Rikon....mmmmmm........nah.
Well if this meets with FG's approval I've been toying with the idea of putting one on my MM16. Anybody done this, and if so how did the install go and was it worth it?If you build it he will come.
...on a MiniMax. Ah! In keeping with current events, that's lipstick on a lady as opposed to lipstick on a porker. Can you tell I'm not a big Rikon fan? ROFL!!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
And which band saw would be the pit bull with lipstick?
If I answered that question honestly, we'd be off and running in a nasty little political discussion. She's George Bush in stockings, probably more intelligent (not difficult) but just as much of a cowboy and....ahhhh.....I'd better shut up. ROFL!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Oh go ahead! I'll back you all the way on that one!
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SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES...THEY ARE NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT...THEY STILL BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU PUSH THEM DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS
Nahhh, not worth the aggravation. No entertainment for you tonight! ROFL!!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Damn!! Foiled again!!
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SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES...THEY ARE NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT...THEY STILL BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU PUSH THEM DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS
If I understand correctly, the Democrats want to save us--with our money, and the Republicans want to save the world--with our money. I guess we just need more lipstick . . .
Douglas:Just this last weekend I installed the driftmaster fence on my LT 16 HD. I opted for the show price plus minor cosmetic damage to the fence for $300. The installation is pretty straightforward; just watch the video. The fit seems universal. Simply, remove your present fence bar and the driftmaster should attach in the existing holes.I really like the fence and feel it was worth it as I really didn't like the standard fence. It didn't bolt down firmly, and changing from the low to high (and vice versa) required tools. The micro adjustment makes it a snap to dial in the right cut size. If you use the re-saw king blade you can get glue-ready cuts - something that justifies the fence in my view. The fence is solid when locked down. Again it's nice to adjust the drift quickly w/o tools - though once set I don't imagine it requires that much adjustment.Hastings
Yes I know it sounded a bit odd.
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It seems like a really nice fence. Something that could be moved to a better saw someday down the road.
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I just like to try and think ahead. In reality I’m planning on getting the 18” rikon and not the fence. The price is right; and I don’t really re-saw much so I don’t think I can justify a $400 fence on 1K saw. But it seems like with the price of lumber and shipping is always going up I’m doing more re-sawing than ever before.
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I have the 220, space and 5hp cyclone with a 6” main and a 6” blast gate just waiting for a larger band saw.
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I guess the answer so far is No; nobody has tried it.
I have a 18" Rikon.. It IS a nice bandsaw.. I'd agree a $400.00 fence on it would be kind of foolish. As on any bandsaw.. Unless you REALLY need it.
I'd spend the money on a 'good' cribide blade! I'd say the 'blade' is 2/3 the ootcome and the saw 1/3. No, I do not use a cribide blade. I use Lenox industrial blades.
By the way.. My RIKON is FAR from JUNK! Yes.. There are better bandsaws but it will resaw all day long if I need to!
As others have posted. You need (must have) good support on the infeed AND outfeed. As far as I am concerned, the fence is important but not a 'save all'...
The only thing I would say negative about the saw is that it could use better dust removal. But then again the dust collects in the same places that all of the other bandsaws I have used.
It's OK, Will, I believe you that you got a good saw. What concerns me about the Rikons is the inconsistency from one to another. Some folks seem to have done well, others have all kinds of problems right out of the crate. Kinda like Grizzly in the early years. Glad you got lucky!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Actually you can do just fine with a homemade fence. All you need is something stiff. My friend modified the fence that came with his table saw when he upgraded to a biesmeyer(sp?).
He cut the rails and fence shorter.
As for drift, with a properly tuned up bandsaw, your drift will be the same all the time. I never considered this drift but just aligning the fence with the blade.
And you can tune your bandsaw to change the drift angle. I have miter slots in my table so I have the blade aligned with those.
Having said that the resaw master fence looks like a nice piece of equiptment. The micro adjust would be a nice feature to have. Especially since I saw alot of veneers.
Ya that’s what I use today; basically a home made fence.<!----><!----><!---->
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I have never tried to get down to 1/16" when resawing. I would like to. I think resawing 1/16" or 1/32" would be very frustrating using the snap a line and go technique I use now.<!----><!---->
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Micro adjust would be the key.
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I just don’t think the Laguna saws are worth what they are asking. Probably the fence either. But I’m not making a living building furniture or cabinets.
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A little off the subject but . . .
A couple of years ago I was all about a band saw for resawing and I studied the heck out of what was out there until nobody would let me hang around their store by the hour without buying anything. I am pretty into machinery, understand robotics, rebuild engines, turn my own metal parts, use a tig welder to make my stuff etc.
I saw weak design in most including Rikon. When I started I was sure I was going to buy the Jet. I like my Jet metal lathe well enough for the price. I have used it for twenty some years now.
What I wound up with was the Laguna bandsaw and the resaw king blade. The saw has very precise ceramic blade guides with lots of surface area to guide the blade. Not quick to set up or change but you get better with practice.
The blade is so precisely made that you can resaw with a tall flat fence and do not need to allow for "drift" just set it up parallel to the blade and saw. Definitely worth reading Laguna's owner's manual and do what they say. They got it down !
From my experience you don't need a special fence or the pin fence. What makes the difference is the Laguna blade and their guides. I like their bandsaw because the table and tilt mechanisim is more solid than any body else (good when I have a hundred pound plank sitting on it). Even though this blade is really wide I don't have the tension way up. The owner of Laguna says just run enough tension and no more and he is right. Allot of tension just beats up the saw and does nothing to help. This blade is three or four teeth per inch. A very coarse blade with deep gullets is critical. But with this marvelous blade the cut is still very smooth. Impressive what Laguna has done with this blade.
Before you buy a saw they will send you a free video of their bandsaw and how to use it presented by the owner of the company. Paper thin veneer just to show off !
The saw has much heavier bearing/wheel shafts, can't beat the genuine Baldor motor. Good stuff
Mostly I resaw dry bubinga and purple heart no problem.
I wouldn't get the special fence. Use the money to get a better bandsaw or to buy wood.
( like the slinky by the way )
Edited 9/13/2008 2:55 am by roc
Before you buy a saw they will send you a free video of their bandsaw and how to use it presented by the owner of the company. Paper thin veneer just to show off !
Don't bet on it. I got tired of the harassing salesman phone calls and never received the video. Just my $.02
Lee
Sorry they didn't come through for you. Apparently they have too much business and don't care to get more. The phone conversations were kind of hit and miss with me as well and hard to pin them down to a price. It seemed they were transitioning between package deals. But the deals were fair and better than advertised. I payed a bit more but got quite allot more value for the little more that I paid above previous advertised price.That was many years ago. Perhaps you can watch it on YouTube now and could buy a saw used when someone is upgrading. The owner of the company is a bright spot. When I bought I think they were changing manufacturing from Belgium to Romania and that was why things were up in the air.The final product does exactly what they say it will do and so I am happy after all. If you go here:http://www.lagunatools.com/videos.htmyou may be able to watch the video on line. I just tried it and it worked for me.Cheers and hang in there.
Roc,
I have already put a deposit on an MM16. Used saws like that don't usually come around often (ever) where I live (southern Mississippi). I got the show price with the extras, and I will pay the balance in about 3 weeks after I get paid for a job I am working on.
I will say it is an excellent saw - I had a chance to use a LT16HD at Lonnie Bird's school (he has two LT16HD's). Very nice. I planned to buy one but it's $2995 on the Laguna website. The MM16 was $2195 (show price) with some extras. I spoke to the Mini Max salesperson at length 3 times before putting the deposit down. Very nice guy, didn't slam the competition. And he knew the product very well. The one dealing I had with Laguna so far (I bought the sliding attachment from their TSS saw for my Powermatic 66). The sales guy was a complete dud (Rick something or other) and knew very little about the product.
Now, if I had a chance to see one up close and in person, I might have gone with the 24" Grizzly with 5 hp motor and 16" resaw for $2595. Great deal but I wouldn't buy one sight-unseen.
Lee
Yes when a great deal comes along you gotta jump on it.As I understand it the Mini Max equipment is very nice/well made.You can't beat actually using one and Lonnie Bird sure knows his stuff. Really like his articles especially the series on the big 18th-century Pennsylvania secretary ! ! !A bandsaw is definitely my most important power tool.Way to go!Oops misunderstood thoght Mr Bird had MM but I have seen lots of MM in magazine shots of pro's shops. You are going to love the Mini Max.
Edited 9/14/2008 4:31 pm by roc
"Very nice guy, didn't slam the competition." Another good move, IMHO. I can't stand merchants or salespeople who berate the competition, thinking that improves their chance of getting my business. The one big-tool dealer on our side of the water does that all the time. Stupid.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Although I live in Israel it seems like companies all get their sales people from the same place.
Most of the sales staff I've come across has been annoyed by my questions and or can't really answer them. I'm sure having a customer know more about woodworking and woodworking machines than they do is a major cause of frustration for them!
In any case the usual is sales people are sales people and not usually woodworkers and if they learn a few things along their career path its just in order to sell the product NOT necessarily passion.
Chaim
Paper thin veneer just to show off !
I agree..
I would assume directed at me? I'm OK with that :>)
I just mentioned that because it was a test when I first got my so called junk bandsaw.. With the stock blade!
I had some birdseye maple that was 'defective' ??
Beautiful but the eyes would 'pop out' when planing or sanding.
My Sister-In-Law has a wonderful wooden lamp shade made from the cuts..
Sorry.. Had to respond! No, I'm not upset or anything like that.
EDIT: In fact when I bought my Junk Rikon I was going to purchase the Laguna 18". I became so frustrated with the guy on the phone I hung up.. I bought my 'Junk' Ridgid TS, Ridgid 6" Jointer and the Ricon 18" for less. All have served me well.
Never regretted my decision. Although, I am SURE a Laguna is a wonderful bandsaw..
Edited 9/14/2008 2:28 am by WillGeorge
Will George,roc here,
I had no intention of directing the paper thin veneer comment AT ANYONE.(or to get mapleman in trouble)Very sorry to offend.It was and is a fact that the person in the video, who is the owner of the Laguna company, saws veneer that is so thin it floats to the ground like a piece of paper and he is having fun screwing around and showing off. Period.Again not directed or to offend.For eyes popping out of birds eye I have no actual experience but in the back of my brain I seem to remember some of the veneer articles stabilize the wood using old style hot glue. Can then plane/scrape and finish without problems. See the articles by Paul Schurch. for one fine source of info ( he is a master who has devoted his life to veneer and has studied and worked in Itally off and on for years) there are several other fine authors in FWW who mention this technique. Hope I am right on that.
roc here,I had no intention of directing the paper thin veneer comment AT ANYONE.
(or to get mapleman in trouble)
Very sorry to offend.
NONE received! I'm hard to get upset! Have a GREAT DAY!
"Don't bet on it. I got tired of the harassing salesman phone calls and never received the video. Just my $.02"
I agree with you mapleman,
I to requested the video. What I got was a high pressure salesman calling trying very hard to get me to commit to buying over the phone, telling me how I did not want the competition (like he frigging knows what I want!), and asking all sort of personal questions. He finally said that the video was on its way; that was a year ago! Not on your life!
Bob, Tupper Lake, NY
It's becoming clear that the video offer is simply a ploy to get your phone number, eh? Fits right in with Laguna's reputation as a hard-sell company with more emphasis on sales techniques, reminiscent of car lots, than a customer-service oriented company intent on keeping you happy after the sale.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
It's becoming clear that the video offer is simply a ploy to get your phone number, eh?
BINGO!!
When they call they will tell you that they are calling to verify that they have your address correct. (Me, to the Laguna rep)... "OK dumba$$, I put my own address in wrong on your website so you could send the video I want to someone in Boise, Idaho."
I'm fat, but not stupid. This is my stomach, not a brain tumor.
Lee
Edited 9/16/2008 9:35 pm by mapleman
>dumba$$ phone repIt is FRUSTRATING when an outfit has a great product but you have to fight them to get it.
Guess that is why they invented the word paradox.If I can figure out how to do it I will mail the address of this discussion to the owner of Laguna. He should know how bad it is getting. [ because I want Laguna around when i buy another power tool].This is a question I like to ask people:
Assuming you must get the brakes fixed in your truck by one of these people and given these two choices which would you pick?
1. The person is very nice and listens and is able to repeat back to you all the key phrases but is completely inept at using their hands, can not improvise, and in their spare time does nothing related to auto repair.2. The person is crotchety, short with you because he/she has heard it all before but fair, extremely knowledgeable, has worked on autos all their life and cannot wait to get home to finish their car for the next "event".Which would you chose? Hard to have it all. Nice and competent. Those people are almost unheard of in my experience.
Edited 9/14/2008 5:49 pm by roc
roc,
You and I think alike. I thought of emailing the Laguna owner a few forum threads also, just to show him what is really going on out in the real world.
One thing I found odd - there is a Laguna users forum or something like that. The owner is almost never there (last time I visited he had not "logged in" in almost a year???)
When I bought the sliding attachmet for my tablesaw, I had quite a few problems, which I won't go into here again. It got to the point where the salesman stopped taking my calls. I had to give a false name and pretend that I was someone looking to buy a tool to get him on the phone. That is not a joke or a lie.
They do have a really good tool. Shame they can't get the cust service together a little better.
Lee
Mapleman,Some thoughts that went through my pea brain after reading your post. They don't add up to anything but here they are:No log in does not mean he did not read other posts. Or does it? I can read some discussion groups without logging in anyway.If things are not getting better or you are not being contacted with apology or info. He is not reading.They must not mix sales department with tech support. Surely they have two "departments".It is hard to find competent people. At least where I work. Every body knows all about rappers and gang signs and prison culture but could they change the tire on their car or their kids bicycle tire for that mater? Unlikely.The amount of talk about getting drunk is dominant. Not many or any go home and drink coffee and study their craft; they expect me to study it for them and then explain it to them, they don't take notes and then we are back to near square one in a week or two.Then in a year or so they are off to another job so the training begins anew with some other 'greenhorn".See I said it didn't add up to anything.
All I can say to that is... I was a service man for many years and also took trouble calls calls while I was working on somebody else's problem!. NO I never deducted the time spent! I'd do the same for HIM/Her..
From long experience.. it is VERY hard to answer a serious question and not seeing or hearing the whole machine work.. Many folks describe problems that I do not understand. NOT that they were wrong.. 'I' did not understand the word offered!
I beg to differ.. Forest... is FAR from "a OK dumba$$", as you describe..
YES! she has opinions (she is a woman!) and a very smart lady! And then some!
Lee.. Lighten up! Life is way to short for this!
If you have a problem.. Just ask her straight out withought hate!
Will,
I think you misunderstood - the dumb... comment was sarcasm, and not directed at FG. I was mimicking a conversation with the Laguna rep - thats why I used the quotation marks.
I got nuthin but love for the Forestgirl..........
Lee
OK I fixed the original post so someone else doesn't misconstrue what I meant. But Will, FG doesn't have a website or a video..........
Edited 9/16/2008 9:36 pm by mapleman
comment was sarcasm, and not directed at FG. A smiley face at the end would seem appropriate!
Not getting on you.. I say dumb stuff ALL the time!
Post to Forest and NOT ME!
I understand! Forest gets on my case often! She is something!
"But Will, FG doesn't have a website or a video.........." How do you know? ;-)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I think they should change this forum to hi-jack a thread-o-rama.
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You guys (and girls) are all knots. I’m not sure why this whole bandsaw topic conjures up some much dust?
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I appreciate the input. I think I want to see if I can lay my hands on a LT16 and E16.
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The biggest problem is trying to see these things in the flesh.
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I’ve seen all the videos and read all the reviews but it’s tough to decide. Damit.
I think they should change this forum to hi-jack a thread-o-rama.
If you want a forum whose participants stay strictly on-topic, try Sawmill Creek. If you go off topic there your post is removed and you are chided by one of the moderators. I think you will find in about 15 minutes that it's not much fun.
Moral of the story: Enjoy the flavor!
Cheers,
Lee
Much too polite at the Creek...kinda like the Stepford Wives....By the way...I own a couple of Laguna tools and have never had a problem with any of them...from purchase right to delivery. (bandssaw, jointer planer combo) Never needed service. The manuals do blow, but then again I've never seen one that was much good. Even the SCMI machines where I work have crappy manuals. Jimmy
Edited 9/18/2008 12:33 pm ET by Jimmy
Jimmy,
I think you hit the nail on the head - you got some great machines and luckily - you did not need service. That's where the breakdown is at Laguna. I'm certain they would out sell any of the competition even at their greater prices, if they would just fix the CS problems.
Glad to hear your purchases worked out. They sure make a great bandsaw.
Lee
This thread was a little more out-there than most. It seems generally that a thread veers off its original course when (a) the bulk of the original issue is finished with, (b) it wasn't a great thread in the first place or (c) it's a SawStop thread. For a real study in stream-of-consciousness, turn to the Lie-Nielsen Jointer Plane thread. Make sure, though, you've taken care of any nature calls, settled with a cooler full of beer, and have at least an entire day to devote. ROFL!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
seems like all the threads I start here are like that?
I have never seen a bigger collection of woodworking busy bodies than the knots. I like it; I fit right in.
I have never seen a bigger collection of woodworking busy bodies than the knots. I like it..
Me also.. I can give MY opinions without ACTUALLY getting punched in the nose!
WG, he wasn't addressing that DumbA__ comment to me, he was quoting what he was thinking (or maybe saying -- that would be funny!) to the Laguna salesman who called with the pretense of verifying the correct address.
Mapleman and I are buddies, he'd never call me a DumbA__. He might call me a twit if I do something stupid, but never a DumbA__.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
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