Rikon 10-326

[Mark Rainey]

Neanderthal woodworker moving into power tools, purchased Rikon 10-326 from Lee Valley in July. It seems to be a very a popular 14 inch bandsaw. I have been doing basic rip cuts and a gentle curves. Looking to fine tune it and notice at least 5 degrees of blade lead angle/drift. It seems the rip fence can only tilt in one direction, that is the far end of the fence can tilt towards the blade, going from 90 degrees to perhaps 75 degrees. The rip fence cannot tilt in the other direction, that is the far end of the fence moving away from the blade. My blade drift requires me to have the far end of the fence tilt away from the blade 5 degrees. I called Rikon and they said the only way to get the fence to move in that direction is to adjust the guide rail on the front table edge with the two fence bar nuts and washers. I did that but it is a pain to do. Any fences out there that can tilt to the right and to the left? Thanks Mark

[Wade Lippman]

I've used a variety of BSs and only get drift when my blade is too dull. Is that anyone else's experience?

[Mike Kees]

Mark I suspect that your bandsaw table is not square to your blade. The miter slot and blade should be parallel to each other. To adjust this you loosen the bolts on either the table top or trunnions depending on how your saw is made. Shift the table and tighten the bolts. Your fence should now be able to be aligned. Mike.

[Andrew Hughes]

First start with a new blade.A good blade properly sized for the thickness of the wood your cutting.
I recommend Olsen that's what I use on my 14 inch bandsaw.

[Frederick Skelly]

First start with a new blade.A good blade properly sized for the thickness of the wood your cutting.
I recommend Olsen that's what I use on my 14 inch bandsaw.

Hey Mark - that's really important - you arent using the blade that came on that saw, are you? When I bought my Rikon 325, the dealer told me specifically to buy another blade immediately and not even use the blade that came with the saw. A crappy blade will cause you no end of grief.

I second the Olson. I have one on mine.

Fred

[Nick Decker]

Mark,

I also got the 10-326 a couple of weeks ago, and noticed the fence problem you mentioned. Like others said, if you're using that 5/8" blade that came with the saw, ditch it.

I've tried several other blades and the saw seems to like a 1/2" blade best. I bought a "sample pack" of KERFmaster blades from Spectrum Supply, which included 1/2, 5/8, and 3/4" blades. Haven't tried the 3/4" yet, but even the 5/8" seemed too much for this saw. The 1/2" cuts beautifully and I see no reason to go larger than that. (Van Huskey, in an older post, pointed out that the KERFmaster from Spectrum is cut from the same stock that Highland Woodworking sells as the Wood Slicer, but the Spectrum blade is quite a bit less money. I also have a Wood Slicer, and I concur.

Anyway, the limited adjustability of the fence hasn't bothered me since switching to the 1/2" KERFmaster/Wood Slicer blades. If there is blade drift, it isn't enough that I notice it.

As for other fences, I tried a Carter MagFence and immediately sent it back. When locked down, it wasn't square to the table. No way to adjust it, and I didn't want to be shimming it all the time.

The Kreg fence apparently will fit our saw, but requires that the whole fence rail be removed just to change the blade. No thanks.

[Nick Decker]

In thinking about Rikon's "fix" for adjusting the fence, it actually should work, and you should only have to do it once.

The fence rail is held in place by two bolts with washers and nuts. Facing the infeed side of the table, add a washer or two to the left hand bolt. This will make the fence default to a certain degree left of parallel to the miter slot on the table. Shim it enough to make that, let's say, 10 degrees left. The fence mechanism will let you adjust it as far right as you need to from there. Should work, and I'll try it later today and report back.

I find it mildly amusing that Rikon is proud enough of the fence mechanism to stick a big "Patent Pending" sticker on it. Might have waited to refine the adjustability before doing that.

The fence thing aside, I'm liking the saw. Seems like most tools I own have a foible or two, I can live with that as long as there's a work around.

[Curt Harms]

I've used a variety of BSs and only get drift when my blade is too dull. Is that anyone else's experience?

That's pretty much been my experience. Drift can sometimes be corrected by adjusting where the blade tracks on the top wheel. Moving the blade tracking forward on the top wheel moves the 'drift' one way, moving the blade tracking back moves the 'drift' the other. Mark, if you haven't done so, you might watch a video featuring Michael Fortune's technique for controlling band saw blade drift. Here's one, the first one that came up on Google.

I have the predecessor to your saw, Rikon 10-325 and find that if I center the band on the top wheel and have a good blade, drift is minimal to nonexistant. I've seen suggestions to center the bottom of the band's gullet on the top wheel but centering the blade works for me. I've also seen suggestions for determining drift by drawing a line parallel to the edge of a piece of scrap about a foot long. Cut that line freehand and after a few inches shut the saw off while the blade is in the kerf. The difference between the edge of scrap piece and the table edge/miter slot/fence/whatever is the drift angle. You could play with this and blade tracking and see if the drift angle changes. Plus you get to play with er become more familiar with your new machine.

[Nick Decker]

Curt,

Does the 10-325 have an adjustment for the angle of the fence (drift)?

FWIW, I just fiddled with mine, and you can adjust the fence rail like I described earlier. Pretty easy, and you don't need extra washers. Just use the existing nuts and washers to move the fence rail out of parallel with the table, then use the mechanism to adjust the final position of the fence to your liking/blade.

It's odd that Rikon doesn't mention this in the manual. In fact, they tell you to make sure the fence rail is installed parallel to the table, which introduces the problem that the OP first mentioned.

As for centering the gullet of the blade on the upper wheel, doing that with a 1/2" blade on this saw will have the blade awfully close to falling off that wheel. Myself, I just center the whole blade.

[Mark Rainey]

Thank you all for the helpful support. Mike, I did square my table to the blade when setting it up but will check it again. Nick, Rikons "fix" may work, that is adjusting the fence rail, but it may be a pain because I adjust for drift angle, & also have to adjust to keep fence in same plane as blade. May be doable, but may be a pain. Let me know if it works for you. I will play around with it. Curt, I will look at that video. I will probably get a new blade.

[Nick Decker]

Mark,

Keep in mind there are two different planes you need to consider for the blade: Vertical, which aligns the blade square to the table, and horizontal, which aligns the blade parallel to the fence. Both are affected by how that fence rail is attached.

I assure you, if you're still using the blade that came with the saw, you'll be much happier with a better blade.

[Mark Rainey]

Mike, my bandsaw blade is square to the table. When I set the saw up a few weeks ago, I did that, and just rechecked it and it is fine. I watched Michael Fortune's video on changing the position of the blade tracking on the upper wheel. Moved it almost to the edge and not much change in drift. Nick, my blade is vertically square to the table in both the side and back of the blade as well as horizontal ( which, I assume, is what Mike means ). I may play with the fence rail, but am leaning towards getting a new blade. I called Lee Valley and they do stock Rikon blades, and usually they carry quality, but I may have to try a different brand.

[Nick Decker]

I'm a fan of Lee Valley myself, but I'd take a big pass on Rikon blades. That's what came with the saw and, IMO, it's part of the problem.

Let me ask, is your saw loud and screechy when it cuts? Mine was, until I got rid of that Rikon blade.

[Curt Harms]

Curt,

Does the 10-325 have an adjustment for the angle of the fence (drift)?

FWIW, I just fiddled with mine, and you can adjust the fence rail like I described earlier. Pretty easy, and you don't need extra washers. Just use the existing nuts and washers to move the fence rail out of parallel with the table, then use the mechanism to adjust the final position of the fence to your liking/blade.

It's odd that Rikon doesn't mention this in the manual. In fact, they tell you to make sure the fence rail is installed parallel to the table, which introduces the problem that the OP first mentioned.

As for centering the gullet of the blade on the upper wheel, doing that with a 1/2" blade on this saw will have the blade awfully close to falling off that wheel. Myself, I just center the whole blade.

I have the original style fence so can't speak about the fence that comes on the 10-326. I've never messed with setting the fence for drift. That would change with every blade change. IME a blade in good condition running centered on the upper wheel will have no appreciable drift when resawing. If the blade gets dull or damaged all bets are off.

[Mark Rainey]

Nick, my blade is screechy. Time to try a different one.