[Putttn]

Well I've had my Rikon for a couple of months now and I love it. The price got down to under $800 so that made it even sweeter. My local Woodcraft swear by the 326 and so does another local tool dealer. Both sell Laguna. Never used the Laguna but the 326 is so great to use I can't see wanting to have to fuss with ceramic Guides. These guides are so easy to set it's ridiculous. Nice to see Rikon step up heir game and fix the little problems they had with the 324.

 

[dhar]

I just wanted to circle back to this thread after using my bandsaw now for a month.

Overall review, I absolutely love it. I followed the youtube videos on how to set it up. The assembly went smoothly and I was able to do it without a helping hand.

Maybe I just got a good piece, but so far there have been no issues with the saw. It passed the nickel test the day I set it up. It runs super smooth and dust collection is awesome.

As of right now, I have nothing to complain about and am very happy with my purchase. I will certainly post back here in the event I start having issues.

For now, I'll give this saw a 5/5

 

[TaySC]

I know this is an old thread, but I'm having this same basic internal debate.

Whether to wait and get the Rikon 10-326 when they have a sell or to get the Laguna 14/12 while Rocker is having a 10% of Laguna Tools sale.

Decisions, decisions…..

Is the Laguna worth $150 more than the Rikon? By the time I get the mobile base, the Laguna would actually be more like $300 more.

 

[dhar]

Tay,

I ended up going with the Laguna - and I absolutely love it. That being said, you won't go wrong with either. My friend bought the Rikon and he loves it. Although it's a lot of money, my two cents would be to not stress too much about it. You will be happy with both.

 

[ArtMann]

I own an older 14 inch Rikon and the Laguna 14/12. I agree with you. Both are good.

 

[TaySC]

Now the Grizzly G0513ANV - 17", 2 HP bandsaw is one sale for $100 off. The shipping is $109, but the total would only be $934. Where does this Grizzly stand in comparison to the 2 bandsaws previously discussed?

 

[AZWoody]

Now the Grizzly G0513ANV - 17", 2 HP bandsaw is one sale for $100 off. The shipping is $109, but the total would only be $934. Where does this Grizzly stand in comparison to the 2 bandsaws previously discussed?

- TaySC

I had that saw and loved it. Only reason I sold it was because I picked up a 36" Tannewitz and couldn't justify taking up the additional floor space. I use my bandsaw more than any other tool in the shop.
If I had to get another bandsaw, it would more than likely be a Grizzly.

That said, Laguna for a long time has had a reputation for making premium bandsaws, so long as you bought the European models. If you're going to buy one that's made in Taiwan, then the Grizzly comes into play as many times, these tools are all made in the same factory.

Laguna has had customer service issues in the past but it looks like they cleaned up that mess quite well recently and any issue I had with Grizzly, which is rare, had been taken care of promptly.

 

[TaySC]

Woody, any thoughts on the Rikon?

 

[AZWoody]

Woody, any thoughts on the Rikon?

- TaySC

If you have a chance to get your hands on it and like it, I wouldn't be afraid of buying it. Rikon has been building a good reputation and has a pretty loyal following. If I recall, and please double check, they have one of the best warranties in the business. That's just going off the top of my head.

When I was looking for a bandsaw just for cutting curves, I almost got a Rikon 10 or 12", I can't recall which one. Then, a Grizzly 18" came up on Craigslist for $250 so I would have been an idiot to not jump all over that.

 

[TaySC]

Saw the Laguna today in a Rockler store, next to a Jet and a Powermatic. The Laguna was the only one that seemed to have a good bit of plastic on it, especially the guide bearings. I take from the positive reviews that there are no issues with this for anyone with the Laguna 14/12?

Ceramic guides?

 

[mindbender29]

I am in this boat right now as well. I posted in another thread about woodworking with my special needs son. I was looking at Saw Stop and some other table saws but in the end decided to go with scroll saw projects so he could be more hands on during the whole process.

We have 2 companies now donating wood to our cause locally and one of them is giving us exotic wood cut offs. I am needing to resaw most of the stuff we are getting. That is fine with me because we are showing the uniqueness of each kids abilities depending what their niche is.22qcreations is the name of our organization (website being built) it is to give kids and adults with 22q syndrome like my son has an outlet for their creative ideas. My sons is woodworking and that is what he connects with. So for my son we want to be able to resaw this wood and show the uniqueness of each piece of wood and make unique projects.

Someone who makes a living on the craft circuit came and met with me the other day and talked about how we need to set the shop up in a way to batch things out. I get that and I agree for him to sell things and make money on it then we need to make things faster. But I want them to have a uniqueness to them because there is a long story from how we got from a baby that you could tell something was not right with to a 31 minute seizure in 2012 to a now 20 year old that is mentally about 8 that loves to create something out of wood.

Sorry got off on a tangent there. The point is funds are limited and I am needed to resaw with my band saw like 90% of the time. I really need to decide in the next couple days between these saws and do I go with the 220 or 110 since I will be resawing. I would have to have 220 put in the garage and that will be $250 from the electrician. If I did that what saw brand is the best out of all the ones to choose from? I have been reading, watching and trying to decide on my own but I can not figure it out. Because no matter what way I go it sucks up so much of my budget. But the band saw he can use with supervision along with the scroll saw. Since God has opened the door for all this free wood then the things made need to be things from the free wood. Living where we do near the mountains we have lots of people cutting slabs and wood is not hard to come by. I really like the idea of making our own wood out of the scraps the saw mills have as well for projects. So I know the kind of tools I need but figuring out the right ones is not easy. Any help I would thank you for.

 

[mgmine]

How is it possible that so many people have the same dilemma? After spending hours on YouTube I'm going with the Rikon 10 326. The build, fit and finish of the two seem very close. Both are 1 3/4 hp, both have the same fence design although I like the way the Rikon mounts and adjusts better. What I like about the Rikon is the bearings vs the ceramic guides on the Laguna. As was pointed out of YouTube they aren't solid ceramic they are only a coating which wears out and the replacement cost is $100 dollars! Also the warranty on the Laguna motor is only 1 year, Rikon is 5 years on everything. Those two things to me are a deal breaker. I had the Rikon 10 325 saw as well as a few other Rikon tools and I can't say enough good things about their customer service. So I'm just waiting for the sale at Woodcraft to make my move.

 

[ArtMann]

After owning a Rikon for 6 or 7 years and a Laguna for over two years, I would never again have a saw that has bearing blade guides like those on the Rikon. It is harder to set, it holds the blade less stable and the bearings wear out quickly. I don't know about any Youtube video but I have resawn about a mile of Maple, Cherry and Walnut on the Laguna and the guides still work perfectly. I have replaced the bearings on the Rikon about 4 or 5 times over the years. Now, I only use it for cutting curves.

I still use both saws regularly but for different purposes.

 

[TaySC]

Finally decided and ordered the Laguna 14/12 2 days ago. With the 10% off I got it, the mobile base and with shipping and it was a tad under $1,200.

 

[chrisirving]

I was also trying to decide between these two and a "brand new, made one cut" 14/12 popped up on Craigslist last weekend for $700.
That made the decision a little easier! It was actually brand new and is my shop now
So far I'm really impressed with it. I went ahead and converted it to 240v as I didn't have a dedicated 120v circuit where I wanted it. I've resawn several logs and cut a 20" circle out of 3/4" oak, so far it's been flawless after a careful setup

 

[mgmine]

After owning a Rikon for 6 or 7 years and a Laguna for over two years, I would never again have a saw that has bearing blade guides like those on the Rikon. It is harder to set, it holds the blade less stable and the bearings wear out quickly. I don t know about any Youtube video but I have resawn about a mile of Maple, Cherry and Walnut on the Laguna and the guides still work perfectly. I have replaced the bearings on the Rikon about 4 or 5 times over the years. Now, I only use it for cutting curves.

I still use both saws regularly but for different purposes.

I know the frustration of trying to set up the bearings on the older saw, however Rikon has come up with a new system that works great. It's an upgrade, much larger bearings and spring loaded. It's $150 but right now Woodcraft has it for $100 and it's standard on the new saws. I saw it on YouTube and gave it a try at the store. I couldn't believe how easy it was to set the blade. So it's the best of both worlds. Easy to use, no tools required and steel bearings that should last for years. The ones on my 10 325 have never been replaced in 5 years.

 

[mgmine]

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/toolless-blade-guide-retrofit-rikon-band-saw.aspx

 

[sawdust1whisperer]

I had the problem of aligning and tracking the blade untill I saw Snardgrasses YouTube video. It's a must watch.

 

[newwoodbutcher]

I have the Rikon saw and am happy with it. My buddie has the Laguna and I think he has the better saw

 

[Putttn]

Never had the Laguna but got a great deal on a new 10 326 for under $800 and so far it's been perfect. Love the ease of setting the guides and really like the new fence. Even the Stock blade is decent.