Rigid Bandsaw Review

Author: Dave
Date: 01.19.11 - 9:52am

recently added a Rigid 12" bandsaw to my shop.

Overall it is a nice solid machine. The castings are good, the table is very nice. Design of the all the components is quite good.

The base it comes with, is kind of light duty though. it also looks like they have just changed it some. The manual said there was a separate plate to put up under it that bolts through both the motor mount holes as well as the saw. On mine, the plate was pre-attached with some sheet metal screws and not separate. Also the metal in general i think is one or two gauge size to light for the saw. It probably also doesnt help that I mounted the saw on a wood platform with casters (i have no choice in my small shop)

When it was all put together, the saw a light/moderate vibration to it that I didnt care for. I played with the belt tension and motor bolts tightness, but couldnt shake it (pardon the pun). I could see a flex taking place in the base between the saw and motor right in the middle of the span between the legs.

I ended up drilling a couple holes in the base and screwing a 2x4 up as a cross brace. I then took and tied that together with the base with a vertical column. pict below:

Almost all of the vibration is gone now.

One other thing i am a little iffy on, the side blade guides are basically wear bars, not roller bearings. The adjustment and blade guide design looks high quality, so using wear pads as guides must be fairly acceptable. You wouldnt design the holder this nicely and thoughtfully if the overall concept was shit. So i am trusting them on this one.

All and all a nice machine.

I also have a rigid drill press, which i have been quite happy with. I wouldnt drill over a 3/4" hole in metal with it though. those forces exceed its threashold. I have drilled a 1" hole in metal with it..but it was abusive to the tool.

One more tweak I did today to the bandsaw. I always like a work light on my bandsaws. The blade is so thin, and I am rather attached to my fingers. Harbor frieght sells a cheap magnetic work light. The cord isnt really long enough to reach the wall and I didnt want to have to take up two plugs anyway. Turns out the power junction box on the side of the motor is big enough to easily house another connection. So I just drilled a small hole in the top of the box, ran the light wire down in, and added it to the already wire nutted connections going to the motor. (I will add a dab of silicon around the wire to keep the dust out too)

Very simple addition, and perfect because now everytime you turn the machine on the light automatically comes on. The only slight downside is that you cant turn the light on independently if you want to use the table as a work surface or for blade guide adjustment, but still, its better than taking up two plugs, having an extra cord cluttering things up or having to manually turn it on and off all the time. As far as trade offs go, I will take it!