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: minor quibbles but a great value
Summary: 5 Stars
After 5 years with a 1/2 hp, cast aluminum 30 yr old 12 inch bandsaw that rattled like a dumpster full of sheet metal, I had started to do some reasonably hefty resawing and the current set-up just wasn't going to cut it. heh.
I looked around, read up on things, went for a visit to the local (for me) Laguna Tools showroom and after I got over the sticker shock (but the Laguna machines are exquisite), decided on the Grizzly G0555, with the 6" riser block - the riser makes a huge difference for me and doesn't seem to affect the action of the saw at all. (Incidentally, the Laguna showroom had a few competitors - Jet, Dewalt, and a few others that they had taken in trade and they were noticeably flimsier than the Laguna - the Grizzly is not quite as tough as the Laguna, but seems built better than the others.)
It came packed more like a piece of computing machinery than a woodworking tool and assembled reasonably easily. (Grizzly warns about having to unload the 200lb crate yourself, but FedEx delivers in SCal with a liftbed truck and will wheel it into your garage). My previous bandsaw predisposed me to appreciate anything that didn't cause the walls to shudder, but it runs /very/ smoothly. With a decent resaw blade, it powers thru 8" ash with little complaint, and it runs true. There are only a few quibbles:
- The 105" blade sent with the riser kit is just about useless (at least for my purposes)
- The riser block itself shrinks the bed capacity of the saw by about an inch, due to not having the same cutout as the head of the saw - this really isn't an issue for me, but might be for others.
- the blade tensioner doesn't seem to have enough range to allow the blade to be put on and still have enough tension when engaged, requiring some futzing with the hex-nuts. I have my blades made a touch bigger.
- when the the blade tensioner is released, it should defeat the power switch so you can't start the blade with the tension off.
- the switch itself is a bit hard to push
- the dust collection isn't designed terrifically well - there's a guard that prevents a lot of dust from being sucked into the lower casing where the suction port is located. The Laguna does it The Right Way.
- it may be mentioned somewhere on the site but many/most of the nuts and bolts are metric, so be prepared to be frustrated if you lose one.
- there's no wheel brush for the lower wheel (but there's enough space for a cut-off toothbrush to be affixed there.
- if you don't buy a set of casters or a mobile base, don't expect it to move without a fight - its 200lbs and the rubber feet stick. I bought the 3" lockable rubber wheels at the same time - they work well, but they also had metric threads, requiring a run to Home Depot to get nuts.
Again, the above points do not materially detract from the value of the machine. If I was running a pro shop or money was not an object, there's no question that I'd buy the Laguna (think Lexus), but in terms of quality for $, there's little question that the G0555 is near the top (think Toyota).
Customer Review: Grizzly made this a good saw
Summary: 5 Stars
First, let me say this is my first bandsaw. I worked mostly from a cost/performance consideration in choosing it, and must say I am very pleased.
I had asked the trucking company to use a liftgate, but when the truck came - no gate. The driver and I quite readily got it off and into my garage. He jokingly (I think) said he must have upset someone at work, because this was the fourth heavy item he had to unload that day. Let me say that the drivers aren't required to unload items, but this shipping company/driver did so anyway. You need to check with your haulers BEFORE it arrives, as lift gates cost you more.
Upon arrival, setup was a breeze. It came fairly well packed and all the important machined areas were coated with a gummy protective coating that was easy to remove with a rag and mineral spirits.
I ordered the 6" riser block along with the saw. So I didn't have to disassemble and reassemble it later. This actually made overall assembly easier. The actual power unit is assembled upon arrival...one heavy assembly to lift onto the base. To put the riser in, I split the top off of the bottom with one bolt. Then I installed the bottom (with motor) onto the base, then the riser, then the very top of the unit and reattached using the longer bolt supplied with the riser assembly. The alignment pins in the riser allowed a precise coplaner wheel alignment. Tracking the blade was simple and, even having added the riser, nearly perfect out of the box.
I also bought the "The Bandsaw Book" by Lonnie Bird, which I really found useful in explaining blade options and the optimal setup.
Sadly, the extra Timberwolf blade that they sent as a bonus with my saw was a 93 incher, and not usable with my riser, which now needs a 105" blade.
I bought several blades over a range of widths and varying TPI, since it now needs the 105" blades. I must say that the factory installed 93" blade appears to be HORRIBLE. It had little set to it, and was somewhat rusty in appearance. Indeed, a friend who has been woodworking much longer than I have, laughed at the blade.
I had only one very minor issue. One of the two plastic knob with a metal thread insert that locks the table on the trunions had thread damage. A quick call to Grizzly support and they had a new one to me in a matter of days. Their support staff is really top notch, based on this call and other dealings I've had with them about my jointer.
I don't have any real basis to compare upon, but having gone through and setup the saw based on "The Bandsaw Book", the cuts are dead on and wonderful.
I also ordered 4 of the "Woodstock International H0699 3" Red Polyurethane Swivel Caster w/ Brake, Threaded" and directly mounted them to the base for mobility using nuts bought at Lowes. The wheels are cheaper than a mobile base, and the way these specific wheels lock, make the saw really stable.
I am a very satisfied customer, and will be looking at Grizzly whenever I need more equipment in the future.
Customer Review: A First Time Bandsaw User's Experience
Summary: 5 Stars
Update April 2010: I can't believe it's been almost 7 years since I bought this. The only problem so far is that the bottom blade guide bearings froze and I had to buy new ones. The bearing just went from around $3 to $7. I use this saw a lot when making toys and other small wooden gadgets.
I've used it to resaw oak up to 5" thick and it follows a straight line with absolutely no problem. I haven't tried cutting much thinner than 1/8" but at that thickness it still saws nice and straight. The only thing I added was a couple of wheel cleaner brushed made from toothbrushes. I have absolutely no regrets having bought this saw.
I've been using this saw for a couple of months now and so far it's been a great machine. Note that this is my first bandsaw, so I don't really have anything to compare it with.
Once I got it home, I had a friend help me carry it downstairs. Assembly goes pretty quick and is easy. Basically all you have to assemble is the base. It's built of strong sheet metal and has a nice looking finish. I would recommend mounting this on a mobile base and to mount it before you completely assemble it. It would be a real good idea to have a friend help mount the saw assembly on the base. It's pretty heavy and awkward for one person to handle.
There were two small problems I ran into during assembly. I put the table insert that fits around the blade in backwards. I thought it was binding against the blade so ended up enlarging the slot with a file. I should have turned the insert 180 degrees instead. I've since made some zero clearance inserts from plastic. Secondly after following the guide wheel alignment procedures, I neglected to repeat them for the set under the table. I finally noticed that after about a week of use.
Once assembled and aligned I was cutting 1/16" slices from a 2x4. I did change to a different and better blade that made quite a difference in the ease of cutting. I've cut mostly softwood, but have also resawn some 4" thick red oak down to 1/8" slices. I've cut MDF, plastic pipe (makes a big static charged mess) and pine and walnut. I made some boards from a walnut log I salvaged from a neighbor's fireplace pile and using them made several boxes for Christmas presents. I also made a 4" to 2 ½" vacuum adapter for my shop vac to fit into the saw dust port. I'm really happy with this tool. I don't think you can beat its features and quality for the price.
A note about delivery. It was delivered by truck freight so you have to take that in mind. It's recommended by Grizzly that you go to the truck freight depot to pick it up. I had a friend with a pickup truck who helped me. There would have been an extra charge for the truck to deliver to my house and use their drop tail gate, otherwise, you're responsible for unloading it from the truck. I think this pretty standard delivery practice for the large Grizzly tools. This saw weighs about 200 pounds on delivery.
Customer Review: Nice bandsaw
Summary: 4 Stars
I ordered the G0555 bandsaw along with the riser block kit and another blade, since I was planning to resaw some wide stock. Assembly of the saw went smoothly for the most part with a few exceptions, noted below. In general the saw seems very nice. It is strongly built and runs very smoothly and quietly. It makes a nice addition to my shop. I would recommend this saw to anyone looking for a good low cost band saw. But learn from my mistakes:
1. The riser block kit comes with a longer post for holding the upper guide block. They mention in the instructions that you should push the old post out while sliding the new one into place. The reason for this is a spring-loaded ball bearing that keeps the post aligned. The ball rides in a V-groove along the length of the post. If it pops out, it's very difficult to get back in place. I followed the directions, but the ball popped out anyway. It took me over an hour to get the ball back in place with the new post. The chamfered ends of the posts leave a gap where the ball bearing can pop out.
2. With the new riser block installed, the upper and lower wheels were non-coplanar by about a quarter of an inch. No problem, just add a couple of washers to even the wheels out. But they forget to tell you that the bolt holding the lower wheel is left-hand threaded. I found out when I sheared off the bolt head. I had to order a new bolt from Grizzly, since the local hardware stores don't carry any left-threaded metric bolts. The washers were a little bit of a problem, too. In order to clear the bearing without interference, the washer closest to the bearing needs to be about 1 inch outside diameter and 3/4 inch inside. Luckily I had a thin washer with the right inside diameter, and was able to cut it down to a smaller outside diameter with some snips. For the remaining washers I used fairly standard hardware store variety (with notches filed on the inside to clear the shaft key).
3. I ordered a 3/4 inch wide, 105 inch blade for resawing, and received a mislabeled blade that was about 150 inches long. I called Grizzly and arranged to send the wrong blade back and get a replacement. They were nice about it and made the process easy.
4. In reattaching the switch assembly after installing the riser block, I found that there is no place to reattach the cable clamp that held the wires in place. This is not really a big deal and I'm not going to worry about it. However, the lack of a hole to reinstall the grounding screw bothers me a little. I may drill and tap a hole to make sure the switch enclosure is grounded to the frame of the saw, as it was before installation of the riser block. But for now, it's not stopping me from using the saw.
Anyway, despite my minor complaints, I really like this saw and expect to get a lot of use out of it in the future.
Customer Review: Great bandsaw, be prepared to tweak it a bit
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my second bandsaw. The first was an older craftsman that was noisy with a plastic housing but worked okay. This G0555 is much improved over what I had. Package arrived on time, I picked it up myself at the fedex warehouse. It's 200 pounds in one big box. I unpacked it in the back of my truck and took it out piece by piece. The frame and motor are heavy, but not too too bad.
Most other reviews cover pretty well the setup of the machine. I didn't order the 6 inch riser. I don't resaw much, plus I have friends with larger BS if needed. Don't even instal the blade that comes with the saw. Buy something better, Grizzly seems to ship a free timberwolf 1/2 blade with the saw. My timberwolf blade arrived after the saw, but you should really buy a decent blade.
Now for a review of the saws function. I like the motor on the outside of the saw, easy to access. When I set this saw up the wheels were not coplanar and the lower wheel was slighly warped. I called grizzly and after a few minutes of explanation to the tech I had a replacement on the way. I arrived in a couple of days and was easy to instal. I shimmed out the bottom wheel a bit to make the blade square to the table in both dirrections. I forgot who said it first but getting wheels "coplanar" is not nessasary. As long as your blade tracks good in the center of the upper wheel and the blade is square to the table, coplanar (to a degree) doesn't matter. The new lower wheel was good and the saw no ran with little to no vibration.
Guide bearings both upper and lower are easy to adjust and so far have stayed put. I added some urethane tires and vibration went to zero. I also added a Y fitting to the rear dust port to add some 2 inch pipe for dust collection under the table. Next to my planer and jointer the bandsaw creates a lot of dust. Add some sort of wheel brush. Bent tooth brushes work good. After these minor tweaks, I think the saw runs great. Grizzly customer service is good. Strange that most of the wheels need to be shimmed slightly, but it's not tough to do. I built a small baby gate for some stairs using 8/4 and 1 inch poplar recently. Design called for 20 3/4 x 5/8 slats that I cut on the BS using the fence. All cuts were very accurate. If you get your blade tracking proper with the right tension there should be no drift. I've never once had to draw a line on a board and adjust the fence for drift.
My conclusion is that this is a good saw and great for the price. It seems few tools are perfect out of the box, so make a few tweaks yourself and this saw can really run nice.