Rikon 10-325 and 3/4" blades?

[Cliff Polubinsky]

I'm planning on taking advantage of the Rikon sale this weekend and pick up a 10-325 to replace my Grizzly 0555. The question I have is whether the Rikon will actually take a 3/4" blade for resawing? Grizzly says the 0555 will take a 3/4" but I found that in practice it's just a bit too big for that saw.


For those who have the 10-325 does it work well with a blade that big or should I stay with a 1/2"?


Thanks.


Cliff

[Michael Dunn]

I'm no expert (yet), but I don't think there are many 14" saw that will handle a 3/4" blade. I know mine wont. Mine is of MUCH lower quality than he Rikon though.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Hi Cliff -

I just bought that saw in the sale (good price!!) at WC. From all the reading I've done over the past week on bandsaws, I've gathered that a 3/4" blade on a 14" saw is usually dicey. However, the welded steel spine on the Rikon gives it an advantage over cast iron "Delta clone" models (again - according to postings online) which enable it to properly tension a 3/4" blade.

Having said all That, I'm considering going with just a 5/8" blade on mine for resawing unless I can find any evidence or experience from others that indicate the 3/4" is that much superior.

[Joe Kaufman]

Suggest you try Spectrum Supply's sample pack - 4 blades for $57 - a year plus ago. 111" X 1/2 X .022, 111" X 5/8 X .016, 111" X 5/8 X .022, 111" X 3/4 X .022, all 3/4 variable tooth spacing, and see for yourself. I don't see any difference in the resaw cut finish between the 1/2" and the 3/4" blades. I don't feel that my 10-325 would easily tension a 3/4" .026-8 thick blade and definitely not a 035 blade. A half turn on the tension and I need to readjust the tracking, so I would guess the frame is flexing.

Be aware that tension indicator on the 10-325 is blade length dependent.

Joe

[Curt Harms]

IME a 1/2" blade in good condition works fine. There's spine strength and there's spring capacity. I expect the spine is ridgid enough to tension a carbon steel 3/4" blade, I'm less confident in the stock spring. I bought a Timberwolf 3/4" blade when I bought the saw and it seems to work okay but I didn't see any advantage over Lenox flexback or Supercut's premium gold 1/2". The Lenox or Supercut might produce a marginally smoother resaw but none of them are close to glue ready. A blade that intrigues me is SuperCut's Woodsaver blades. It looks like they might have minimal set which should translate to a smoother finish. I need to wear out what I have first, though.

[Danny Thompson]

The question I have is whether the Rikon will actually take a 3/4" blade for resawing? For those who have the 10-325 does it work well with a blade that big or should I stay with a 1/2"?

Cliff

I have run a Timberwolf 3/4" blade in my Rikon 10-325 for resawing on a few projects with no problems, at all. It resulted in much straighter cuts than I could achieve with the 1/4". I've not tried a 1/2".

[Gus Dundon]

3/4" blades are too wide for 14" saws ,you might have problems with the tension mechanism.