Grizzly G0555 The Ultimate 14" Bandsaw
by Grizzly
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Our Price: $525.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Grizzly G0555 The Ultimate 14" Bandsaw
Customer Review: Don't be scared, its a deal!
Summary: 5 Stars
I spent weeks trying to decide which bandsaw to pick. I'm outfitting a garage shop, nearly from scratch. I have a cheap router table and a decent Delta tablesaw along with the usual hand/power tools. Now I'm adding a bandsaw, planer, sanding station and eventually a drill press and jointer. I'd set an immediate budget of $2K for additions. I like nice stuff, I was seriously considering a Laguna 14, but it would eat over 1/2 my budget. I did a comparo on: Harbor Freight, RIKON 10-320, JET JWBS-14, DELTA 28-206, Bridgewood, Grizzly G0555, several other Grizzlies and Woodtek. The Rikon looked interesting, but the company lacks presence, history and a strong network (so far as I could discover). The Jet and Delta could be built in the same factory as the Grizzly for all the immediate differences I can see now that I've had a chance to compare them (there is a store in town that carries the Delta and Jet). Besides, the Delta, Jet, Bridgewood and Woodtek cost nearly as much as the Laguna. It was sort of like this; if I wanted the BEST 14-inch saw I could afford, it was the Laguna. If I wanted the best VALUE in a 14-inch saw, it looked like it was probably the Grizzly G0555. Everything else was below the line on a scatter plot with those two at the nexus points.
I like being able to look at and try out a tool if I can before buying, but the Grizzly spooked me, since there wasn't anywhere local I could walk in and 'kick the tires' of one. But I took a chance, partially based on reviews, partially based on the fact that if it sucked, I'd ship it back
No Worries. For the price (for twice the price, probably) it is a good machine. Nicely outfitted with sealed bearings, roller guides, blade quick release, fence, miter gauge and a flat table. Decent horsepower, good fit and finish, all the parts were there, and everything appears straight and true, right out of the box. I was afraid that it would be a sister to the Harbor Fright machine. Not the case, much better, not even cousins. Probably related to the Jet Family.
Are there better machines out there? Certainly. For the price, uh-uh.
Weaknesses.
Blade: Buy a couple of good blades (once you figure out what you'll REALLY be using the saw for). The one that comes with the saw is very plain Jane. Save it for when you let that moron of a brother-in-law use the saw, since he'll gink it anyways. Actually, the starter blade is fine, since everyone will probably have a different preference, why spend extra to equip the saw with something than nearly everyone will want to change. Still, a new carbide tipped blade will speed things up a little.
Packaging: Just barely adequate. I'm very lucky that my saw wasn't damaged in transit. Oh, it's packed well enough for getting here in a shipping container from Asia and to the Grizzly warehouse, but its that last few hundred miles, with the Neanderthals kicking the box around, and playing forklift soccer with it that will punch a hole through the package and ruin your day. It's not that Grizzly wont' make it right, they probably will, but who needs the aggravation. I'd have paid ten more bucks if you had wrapped it in two more inches of Styrofoam with a PVC rail down the sides.
Blade guides: The roller guides are pretty good, not quite `state of the art', but much better than no guides or poorly executed and engineered blocks. I'm not sure that the additional cost of ceramics would be justified unless you were doing the most precise of work, and really needed the control. If you need that level of precision, a bandsaw probably isn't the right choice, consider a scrollsaw instead.
Table and Miter gauge: I think it would have been nice if the slot in the table accepted a `T' gauge. Small thing, but really, for consistencies sake. (Note: the miter gauge that came with my JET sander looks suspiciously like the miter gauge that came with the Grizzly bandsaw (like nearly IDENTICAL!))
Trunnions: Probably all right, cast aluminum. They seem like they should be beefier, but maybe I'm being fussy. They had to cut corners somewhere to make that price, and aluminum trunnions and blade wheels are a sensible place to `lighten' up the product without really hurting performance.
No chip brush: I'll be cutting the head off a `soft' toothbrush and making a widget to hold it in place.
So, in closing. Don't be afraid. I was a little, since I hadn't bought anything from Grizzly, and hadn't seen any of their gear. But I'm pleased; I've done a bunch of curves, some re-sawing and such. The saw is virtually vibration free, quiet and reasonably easy to assemble, set up and adjust. The only question that leaves is overall durability, and only time will tell regarding that issue.
Customer Review: Grizzly GRRRR......
Summary: 2 Stars
11/05/10
After almost 3 years, I'm sending this piece os $%^& to the landfill. It worked well at first but it must be wearing out. I don't use it all that much either. I can no longer get the wheels in plane. The cut drifts quite a lot on re-sawing anything more than 3" high. I have spent hours attempting to make it right again. The guide bearings need constant adjustment. Every cut requires several test cuts and adjustments.CRAP!
Too bad, it's the only Grizzly tool I own that has any real issue. My table saw is 5 years old and has been the workhorse of my shop. I just checked for blade runout for the first time in a year. There was none.
I will be purchasing a new Rikon model 10-325 14" bandsaw from Woodcraft. All the reviews are very good. They have it for $699 this month. With tax, that's $748. Would cost $829 to have shippped but I live 10 miles from a WC store. Amazon will sell for $744 with free shipping but it's easier to return to the brick and morter if I have to.
Update:
The trunions are kinda cheap aluminium. They are held by bolts. After re-adjusting the table several times, the bolt washers were cutting up the trunions. I replaced the bolts with studs and nuts. much easier to adjust.
I have resawed lots of cherry to make bookmatched door panels. I would buy this saw again but I would prefer cast trunions for more strenght and stability.
I have a Grizzly table saw, Grizzly 2 hp chip and dust collector, Grizzly baby drum sander, and a Grizzly miter saw stand. They all work flawlessly. My jointer is a Jet and my planer and miter saw are DeWalt.
Since this is my first bandsaw, I have nothing to compare against.
Out of the box and assembled, it ran fairly smooth but had some vibration. The setup was fairly easy except for getting the table parallel to the blade. I gave up on that for now. The practice blade cut ok for crosscutting. Ripping wood caused the blade to wander slightly. Resawing wandered a bit also. But not bad for a cheapo blade.
Since I purchased the riser block and upgraded resaw fence, I decided to get it all installed and work from there. The first issue was with the riser block. The pins were out of allignment with the bottom of the block. I filed them to make it work. I attempted to set things up and noticed the wheels were out of plane considerably. I started the moter. It vibrated more than a vegas bed. I attempted to resaw. Disaster. The blade tracked so much it almost broke. Shimming the bottom wheel out would be an exercise in futility. Hmmm, the riser block! I removed the block and cut off the bottom pins with a hacksaw. Took about 30 seconds. Replaced the block and rather heavy and awkward top. Used a wood clamp to hold it on while I popped in the bolt. Tapped the whole top unit over about 1/4" or so to bring the wheels into coplane to within 1/32" or so. Tracked the blade, set the blade guides and decided to try a little resawing on some cherry. The blade still tracked badly and it started to smoke. It was ruined. I then purchased a 3/4" wood slicer, set up everything by the book, and did some more resawing. Sliced like butter! Still a bit of vibration. The rubber tires had some flat spots. Replaced with orange urethane tires. $25 for a set of 2 from Rockler. Best price on the net. Vibration all but disappeared.
The saw is solidly built, has a strong motor, and options that much higher priced saws have. The stand is very sturdy and rolls around nicely with the addition of some 2" wheels. The fit and finish are not nearly as nice as the Jet but I didn't buy this saw to drive to car shows. I bought it to resaw hardwoods.
I expected some setup issues and was not disappointed. Definately worth the time. Would have cost about twice the cash for a comparable jet or delta.
This is a nice addition to my shop. Grizzly does it again!
Customer Review: great saw, but some problems along the way
Summary: 4 Stars
I got a call from Saia (the freight company that grizzly uses) telling me that my order had arrived and they wanted to set up a time for delivery. Having read some of the other reviews and having received the email notice about how delivery was to be made (I didn't want to pay an extra $30 for a truck with a tail gate lift) and as the Saia terminal wasn't very far from me I decided to go pick it up from the terminal.
Maybe Saia isn't any different from any other freight company, but the behaviour of the fork lift drivers I saw when I arrived at the terminal was shocking. An opinion only to be confirmed when my package was brought out to me with an entire corner of the box destroyed. The driver admitted hitting it with his fork lift on his first attempt to pick it up. So I had to refuse the order. I called grizzly and they sent me out a replacement.
To give Saia their dues, everyone I spoke to or interacted with was extremely polite and helpful. They let me come to the terminal later than they usually allow to pick up the replacement. This time the box was at least intact although it had been scraped and ripped. Grizzly tells you to write any damage you see down on the sheet you are given before you sign and I did this (MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS). It will really help you later if things don't turn out right.
So I took the second saw home and unpacked it and noticed that it had a couple of large scratches in the green paint exposing the cast iron. I also noticed that the underneath of the saw "feet" were badly scratched and covered in rust in some places. I wasn't too thrilled to see these things, but I figured they were just cosmetic and wouldn't affect the operation of the saw. I decided to test the saw mechanism before putting everything together, and It's a good thing I did. The tire on the top wheel was misaligned so that the blade wobbled as it tracked. I called grizzly and they said that they wanted to send me new tires, then I would have to cut off the old ones and heat up and put on the new ones (they said that the wheels would not have to be removed for this, but everywhere else I read about changing tires recommends this so as not to cause any damage to the mechanisms).
I wasn't too happy about having to do work on a brand new saw to make it right so I asked them if a could pack this one back up and get a replacement saw. A technician I talked to said it was going to be very unlikely for just a tire problem. I asked him if my expectations of having a working saw out of the box with no defects was too high and he actually said yes. I then called customer service and talked to a manager and after talking about the tire problem along with the scratches and rust he told me to take pictures of all these things and email them, but that it was ultimately the freight departments decision whether a replacement could be authorized and they probably wouldn't be able to let me know for another 24 hours. He asked me if I had noted any damage to the box on the bill of lading and I said yes and he said it was good that I had done that. I wasn't too thrilled with all this either but I took the pictures, emailed them and later in the day I was contacted and told a replacement was on hold pending getting the saw back to Saia.
When the second replacement finally arrived Grizzly had encased the cardboard box in a wooden frame, so that it was in extremely good condition. I got it home, gave it a once over and everything looked good. I assembled the saw and it is working great. Grizzly is certainly a company that cares about it's customers.
Do as Grizzly suggest and write down all the damage you see on your box!
Customer Review: Great Starter Band Saw
Summary: 4 Stars
I did a lot of research on 14 inch saws and decided to go with this one.
The cost of shipping (around [..]) plus the unexpected [..] that I
had to add to that to get the lift gate option on the freight truck
stung a bit. For the extra [..] dollars I could have gotten some nice
accessories. Can't believe that grizzly can't work up some kind of deal
with a national chain so I could just run to one of them and pick one
up locally.
I also bought the suggested mobile wheel stand and the 6-inch riser block kit.
Setting up the stand and the saw was pretty straightforward. Watch out for the
stand braces they are UNDER the main (and heavy) package and NOT packed with
the three main stand pieces, so be careful to take everything out of the box
before starting.
Once the stand was up I have to mount the saw on it.
The directions suggested getting a friend to help but, really,
if you are a reasonably strong person and the stand is level you
really can do it yourself.
I also installed the 6 inch riser block. I dreaded doing it because
I thought it would be a real pain but surprisingly it was also
very easy. I DID need a friend to hold the top of the saw in place
while I tightened the top of the saw back to it but that only took
a mere five minutes of help. The rest was very easy.
The ONLY pain was that once the riser was assembled I could not put
the new 105 inch blade on it. The top wheel had to be adjusted about
and inch lower that it was originally set. This was a pain because
the instructions tell you just about everyting you need to know about
the saw EXCEPT how to take of and install the blade !!!!
Installing the blade is easy but understanding the tensioning system
was not. Although I got my blade back on and centered my tensioning
mark is all screwed up as a result of my efforts to get more space
for the new blade.
It would really help if Grizzly had a few pages of instructions on actually
changing the blade, especially in respect to the tensioning system !!!!
It is unbelievable that they would not document this simple set of steps.
When you are new to band saws you don't want to guess at anything you
want to KNOW how the procedure is done. In my opinion this is a very
glaring whole in their documentation.
As for the saw and its performance: Smooth, quite...beautiful.
The fence that comes with it is very nice as is the meter guide.
A very well-made machine. I'm very happy with it !
It was well worth the shipping cost and effort to put it together !
Suggestions:
1. Add detailed directions to installing and removing new blades and how to deal with the tensioning system in the back.
2. Add spokes to the tensioning wheel. For the 3/8 blade that came with the machine you really need it tensioned well.
That is hard to do with the "bumpy" hand wheel. Spokes would be much better and I'd pay a little extra for them.
3. You've got holes at the bottom of the stand for leveling pegs why not design it to take wheels with brakes so
we don't have to buy and assemble a hole stand ?
Customer Review: Good, If you'll never need any parts or Precision
Summary: 3 Stars
After three months of research, the Grizzly G0555 Band saw seemed to be my best choice two replace an old craftsman band saw. I live about 2 ½ hours from their Pennsylvania warehouse, and decided to go to their advertised "Tent Sale". I had a relative drive me, since I am of poor health, and can no longer drive. Upon arrival I looked at all of the Grizzly Band saws in the showroom; they all seemed well built. I compared the G0555 saw to the 15" and 16" closed-stand model. The larger saws were much heavier and sturdier, but for me price of the G0555 seemingly could not be beat.
I then checked out the "scratch and dent " tent, to see if I could get a better deal.
There were several G0555, but only two were still for sale. The sales assistant assured me that with the all the parts needed, I the saw, plus parts total would be a 25% discount of retail. A parts person was available just outside the tent and the sales assistant followed me out to see what the parts total would be. His computer was not working, but the parts person and sales assistant assured me that the parts I needed could be purchased separately and would not be substantial. Grizzly staff assisted in the loading of the equipment and we headed home.
Now for the reason I gave the saw a low rating:
The next week I ordered the parts. The list consisted of a piece of the fence, a few small parts from the tensioning lever, a guard, and some metric bolts and bushings. I then found out that I could not buy the fence parts and had to but the whole assembly, and the prices of the other small parts was GREATLY inflated. The parts person apologized and said, I very sorry, but you were misled by our staff".
I had no choice, so I ordered the parts.
I could have stayed home, purchased the saw plus the freight, (and had money left over) or I could have purchased the 15" saw (not including freight), with the money spent on this saw.
The moral:
1) You may save by purchasing this saw for less than the competitors, but when you need parts, you will pay dearly (both monetary and in down time).
These saws are made in China. And my parts order was completely filled in three months and at an exorbitant rate.
2) Find a showroom that will let you try the saw you are going to purchase. Would you buy a car without driving it first? I wish I had included "test drive" in my research,
Pros:
The saw has two speeds, roller guides, sealed motor (1 HP), a 4" dust port, tilting table, and the option of a six-inch riser block.
Cons:
Parts prices are outrageous. Fit is mediocre, and the saw needs to be tuned and adjusted more often that a heavier saw. Note: Check to see if the saw is perpendicular to tabletop on all sides of the blade, the neck of mine needed to be shimmed.
They have poor customer support, not returning calls and e-mails, (but the technicians are good and do their best to solve problems). If you plan to purchase the riser block kit to resaw, don't because the saw does not have the power to saw pieces of stock larger that six inches.
I will continue with the use and purchase of Jet and Powermatic woodworking machines, since I have been very happy with their products. Upon its arrival, the Grizzly catalog goes right in the recycle bin.