It’s been five years since my shop building was completed. During that time the shop has undergone a lot of changes. Every woodworker I know likes to see someone else’s shop. So I thought that this would be a good time to document the state of the shop and maybe provide you with some ideas to use in your own shops. I’m very happy with the current set up, but I’m always looking to improve. So, if you have some ideas to improve something please let me know in the comments below. If you have questions fire away with those too.
Fifth Anniversary Shop Tour
Published
Gunpowder Woodworks 
Looking Sweet! thanks for making me more envious!!!
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Great tour and incredible shop!!! As for the Rikon Deluxe 14" Bandsaw, could you provide more detail on the issues you’re experiencing and what you’ve done to cope with the problems? I also have the Rikon and experience frustration with the guide system. I’ve considered the Carter aftermarket guide system , but frankly can’t justify, or afford, the expense. Just hoping you’ve tried something I haven’t that may help.
Again great tour post and terrific website. All the best!!!
Stephen Duffyhttp://wvwoodshed.blogspot.comKeep your mind on your fingers and your fingers on your hands!!!
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Thanks Stephen. The Rikon 10-325 14" Deluxe Bandsaw guides have a few limitations. The first one I encountered – probably the most severe – was that the thrust bearing will not move aft far enough to support a 1/4" wide blade without the teeth of the blade riding on the side bearings. If you’re not careful this will promptly remove the set of the teeth on the blade. I don’t have a lot of help to offer here either, it’s just simply a limitation of the guide system that Rikon engineered. The Carter system is excellent and probably worth the upgrade if you use narrow blades a lot. However, since I’ve been able to work around the issue by using slightly wider blades I haven’t been willing to fork out for the Carter system, which isn’t cheap. I figure I’ll probably upgrade the entire saw before I’ll spend the money on the Carter system.Another issue I had was that a couple of my bearings started to fail. I ordered new aftermarket sealed bearings online. They are just a bit wider than the OEM ones but run much smoother. I think it was $20 for ten bearings. The bushings were just a little tight, but with some coaxing went in fine. Here’s a link to them on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BBAZG0/ref=wmsohsproduct?ie=UTF8&psc=1Another thing I did was to cut off the metal flap that restricts the dust port. I used a Dremel tool to cut the welds and it came right off. If you have a strong dust collection system this will REALLY increase your dust collection. I also took a piece of rubber cove base and epoxied three magnets onto it. That attaches to the saw below the table around the lower guides and also increases the efficiency of the dust collection.I don’t know how long you’ve had you bandsaw, but a few months ago mine started to make a racket and I though that the bearings were going bad in the motor. As it turns out the pulley wheel on the motor shaft had come loose and was rubbing on the shaft mount. That was a quick fix but caused me a lot of consternation until I figured out what it was.
Thanks for visiting!
-Mark
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Thanks for the response. I did the same dust port modification and it did improve my pick up through my 1.5hp dust collector. I have also been contemplating a similar shroud below the table and may incorporate a 1.5" or 2" port in that area as well.
As for the guides, I am wondering if they modified the original design, because I do not have the issue with narrower blades. My primary issue has to do with fine tuning the guides. It seems I can spend an hour trying to get them just right and then, "bazingo", one of them is whining as loud as a train whistle.The other problem I have is with the vertical guide adjustment and blade guard. Move it up or down an inch and your back to adjusting the guides, simply drives me batty.
Another one I’ll ask about is the tension and tracking mechanisms. Do you have any problems with those? Sometimes I have had to adjust me tracking so much is bends the tension guage pointer and has even rubbed on the guide adjustment to the point I’ve had to realign it. What has frustrated me as of late is three emails to Rikon support and no response.
Right now I am in the process of trying to tune the saw up. I will attempt to do a lower wheel adjustment to address both blade centering on the lower wheel and blade oscillation (wobbling back and forth). While neither of these issue is very significant, they have been out of whack since I purchased the unit last year. Hopefully these tweaks will improve my other performance issues. Buyers remorse is very frustrating.
Thanks again for the response and keep up the great content!!!
Stephen
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I have all the same issues you describe. I consider most of them to be a nuisance. I have replaced my wheel tires with the Carter tires. That helped and they are much easier to clean. I cannot get my saw to run silently, but I don’t have any bearing "whining" since I replaced them, just the sound of the bearing turning a little bit with each rotation of the wheels. I have had issues with the tracking adjustment and had to persuade the top wheel to move a bit. Having said all that when it comes to actually cutting wood I have been very happy with the saw – plenty of power, tracks straight etc. The fence leaves a bit to be desired too. Like I said – there will probably be an upgrade in this department at some point in the future. Lots of lessons learned with my first bandsaw!
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