Grizz Ultimate 17 or Rikon Pro 18"

[Frank Booth]

Any advice on the better saw. Price is about equal. I used to post here some, but now I have been lurking mainly.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/17-Ultim...saw/G0636X, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SOR3...d=A4ZSBADJP7DJM

Thanks for any help,

Frank

[Steve N]

Welcome to posting, looks like long time member.

I would only ask you what are you planning to do with the saw? You've jumped over the normal starting gates by quite a wide margin it seems. Do you feel you actually have need of that much saw? I only ask that because I am one of few people here who don't relish spending other people's money. I think if you get what serves your needs, for the least outlay of $$$$, you win.

[Frank Booth]

Hi Steve, yes I remember you. Like I said, I lurk a lot. I would like to post more, but more often than not I find myself just reading what you guys post; great forum.

I have a 14" Jet, but I also have a lot of trees on my property I can harvest; a bigger saw would help. This is a luxury purchase. I could change my mind, but right now I have the urge.

I was reading more about that Grizz 17" and it appears to be a better saw; almost twice as heavy; that's pretty significant. It also has a rack and pinion mechanism for raising the table.

There's a guy locally selling his LT 18 for 4 grand, I live in Alaska so good used tool deals are not easy to come by. 4 grand isn't much of deal; basically just saving in shipping costs; I would rather buy an LT 18 for that price so I was the original purchaser for warranty purposes.

[Frank Booth]

Anyone have a 10% off coupon for grizzly? Very much appreciated.

[Ken Vick]

I don't have any experience with the Rikon but own a 636X with which I am completely pleased. I've had it for several years and mostly use it for resawing and cutting the arc in the top rail of rocking chairs with a jig. I have a 1" blade on it and before had a 1-1/4" carbide blade for several years before it recently broke. Except for the adjusting the guides when you change blades, I have not had to make any adjustments since the initial set up. No blade drift ever. I have a 14" Delta that I keep a narrow blade on for curvy cuts. Ken

[Arlin Eastman]

Frank

I have that same Grizzly bandsaw that the VA bought for me and I really like it a lot and with the 5hp motor I and others who come to my house to cut logs or resaw has not even slowen it down.

The only thing I wish is I had a smaller bandsaw to go with it. We want to do some bandsaw boxes and that big saw does not work good with a 1/8 or 3/16 blades, plus the blades for a smaller BS are a lot cheaper.

I do buy the Timberwolf BS blades and when they dull I take my drumel and sharpen them up again and everyone says including me it is sharper then new blades.

I know nothing about the Rikon BS but I do know that they have a better Warranty then Grizzly's 1 year.

Arlin

[AHill]

Based on the warranty alone, and free shipping, I'd go with the Rikon. It's got much of the same features as the Grizzly. Too many horror stories on Grizz reliability and warranty service out there. Also, you can get the Rikon in less than a week. No telling how long Grizz will take to get you one. The 4 HP motor on the Rikon is an odd size, but it seems like for most work, that's plenty of power.

[Frank Booth]

I think I would be happy with either saw. I'm leaning Grizz; it seems to have good to great reviews overall and is around 800 lbs compared to the 500 for the Rikon.

Im still looking locally, but in Alaska you may as well just buy what you want because it's a long wait for a tool like that to come around.

Appreciate the responses!

Frank

[AHill]

Frank Booth said:

---

I think I would be happy with either saw. I'm leaning Grizz; it seems to have good to great reviews overall and is around 800 lbs compared to the 500 for the Rikon.

Im still looking locally, but in Alaska you may as well just buy what you want because it's a long wait for a tool like that to come around.

Appreciate the responses!

Frank

---

The Grizz's shipping weight it 800 lbs. Item weight is 620 lbs, which is still 90 lbs more than the Rikon's 536 lbs. I'll bet most of that's in the larger motor, making the frames, trunnions, and tables about the same. Not trying to sway you one way or another. Just wanted you to be informed.

[Arlin Eastman]

That makes sense.

Arlin