9" Bandsaw brand sugestions for wood cutting? Ryobi or Skil

I bought the skil about a year ago and havn't used it much. The first thing I cut with it was G10 and I think that dulled up the blade pretty bad, since it's fiberglass, which I think a "metal" cutting blade would be much more appropriate for. Now it's too dull to cut anything with so I don't really have a review unfortunately, although I have pushed it kinda hard using the dull blade anyway without any trouble anything breaking, other than it being loud and slow lol. However I found a couple blades on amazon for good prices and good reviews, one for metal (even though I won't use it for metal) and for for wood that I'm about to purchase. Also I got mine a good amount cheaper than home depots price from ebay and just bought a "returned" one.. I forget the term but I guess whoever had it first didn't really use it but returned it and they look over it and make sure everything is in working order. I'll try to find where I bought mine from so I can post a link for ya :)

Edit: Here is the link to where I got mine, except mine only cost about $100 after shipping. Also the word I was looking for is "ractory refurbished." So I don't know how important saving $20 or so bucks would be for you to buy that one, or just get a "brand new" one from home depot. Anyway, sorry I couldn't help more, I remember I searched for videos everywhere! to try and find a video of it in action before I got it, but with no luck, I couldn't even really find a vid on the ryobi. And like I say I've only experienced it wih a dull blade.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Skil-9-Band...621?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5b0aceac4d


~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
 
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I have the Ryobi. Its not that great. The blade guides are pot metal and break very easily.
 
I got that Ryobi for small jobs. It is pretty poor, IMHO.

I would really encourage you to get a larger and more powerful saw.

A saw with a separate motor, like the older craftsman saws ( don't know about the newer ones) allows you to change the motor to VS and also use a larger motor. Getting a carbide blade will make your saw cut much better, too.

One of the saddest days in my shop was when my old 1950's Craftsman 12" saw died by having a non-replaceable part break. I got a Rikon 14" deluxe two speed which has cut well for me.

I haven't used one of these medium size bench top Rikons, but it looks OK. If you have a Woodcraft nearby, I would go talk to the folks there. They have been pretty honest with me about negative features and other drawbacks in the tools they sell.
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/150503/Rikon-10-Bench-Top-Bandsaw-Model-10-305.aspx
 
Thanks you all for the feed back and links!

Stacy: I think I may consider the 10" Craftsman 21400 a review I read says its identical to the Rikon.
 
J_Von said:
Thanks you all for the feed back and links!

Stacy: I think I may consider the 10" Craftsman 21400 a review I read says its identical to the Rikon.
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I did a lot of research when I was looking for a small bandsaw. All the 9" saws had too many bad reviews and looking at them in person, they just seemed cheap. I finally decided to get the 10" Craftsman. It is Identical to the Rikon and is about a hundred bucks cheaper. I really like mine and I think it is well worth the extra 50 buck above the cost of the smaller saws.
 
Good to hear.

I have never had a Craftsman tool I was unhappy with. I know things change, and tools today aren't what they used to be....but Craftsman is a name that most folks trust.
 
NC Biker said:
I did a lot of research when I was looking for a small bandsaw. All the 9" saws had too many bad reviews and looking at them in person, they just seemed cheap. I finally decided to get the 10" Craftsman. It is Identical to the Rikon and is about a hundred bucks cheaper. I really like mine and I think it is well worth the extra 50 buck above the cost of the smaller saws.
Click to expand...

Good to hear this about 10"; I just got back from looking at them and I see what you mean about the 9" ones.
 
This is kinda unbelievable but every Sears store in my area 4 of them was totally sold out on the 10" bandsaw and March was when they would be back in stock. I ended up buying an electric milwaukee metal band saw 6232-21 just because I do a lot of metal work and always wanted one of these to easily cut steel to size. Going to see if I have enough stuff on hand to mount it vertical if not I may just but the stand from SWAG.
 
Finally I found one in stock, cuts very good!

IMG_1075_zps5fmtmkgw.jpg


And here is the other one, just finished mounting it.

IMG_1078_zpsjcwmd4ah.jpg
 
NC Biker said:
Your not lacking in ways to cut stuff now. Have fun!!! :)
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Thanks, and true, its been a while since I splurged on some tools and figured it was time. :)

My next step is deciding on a small diy forge; I am thinking about some fire bricks and using my large propane torch I think it has a 3/4 tip.
 
J_Von said:
My next step is deciding on a small diy forge; I am thinking about some fire bricks and using my large propane torch I think it has a 3/4 tip.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that was my train of thought when I was looking for a way to heat treat 1084. The more I researched, the bigger the project kept getting. Building a small soup can forge ended up looking like this:

[video=youtube;I69Cx47tKkk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I69Cx47tKkk&list=UUCKK4BKTL4e623xaoZ9PDaw[/video]

It was a lot of work and much more than I wanted to spend, but I sure do like it. :D
 
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