For year's I've relied on my Dad's huge and ancient bandsaw to rough out necks. It is incapable (in its present condition) to do anything beyond that. I've grown tired of a 20+ mile drive to the saw and finally landed on to have in the shop.
Shop space and budget are both limited and I setteld for a new Ridgid 14". (My shop is in the parlor of a Victorian cottage. I can justify using the space until the kitchen cabinets are finished.)
I'd used ridgid tools for years in Dad's tinshop and was delighted to find that they've produced a decent line of power tools.
I set her up on Thursday night. I had to play in Ann Arbor Saturday and hurrried back Sunday to set things up and begin to use my saw.
I am delighted! I picked up a 3/4" Timber Wolf resaw blade. I'm having a ball. I think I've split every board I can lay my hands on. Set up was a breeze and everything tracks extremely well.
It's a little underpowered, but with a little patience I've been able to slice everything that I'm going to need to.
I've attached a photo of a nice beewing mahogany set that I was saving to cut with this saw. Remember...these are tiny soprano uke sets. I'm getting almost twice as much wood (and much nicer) than I was getting using a tablesaw.
I've got my eye on the Ridgid Jointer. Any thoughts>
