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: Totally totally totally pleased
Summary: 5 Stars
I finally took the bandsaw plunge for my garage workshop. I researched this saw along with several others for quite a while. After much agony, I finally ordered this one. My reasons were great reviews from Wood Magazine and Fine Woodworking Magazine. They both rated it a best value saw. They also both said it was the most or among the most accurate (very little blade deflection, straight accurate cuts). Their only complaint with the saw is it's relatively low power relative to heavier duty models. Fair enough, but I'm a weekend woodworker and don't see anything with this saw so far that makes me concerned with the power.
The setup took about 2 hours. I took another hour to adjust it. Most of the time during adjustment was spent getting used to this model and how the adjuster mechanism worked. Now that I know my way around, it would only take me a few minutes to tune it again.
I'm using it on a project right now, I'm really impressed. When you consider that this saw is much less expensive than other models and as perhaps more accurate, you wonder why anyone would buy a different one than this.
If I were made of money, I might buy a higher power model, the logic being it would last a bit longer. But... for a normal non-pro woodworker, this one is more than adequate and a steal at this price.
For sure plan to get a different blade right off the bat. There's nothing especially bad about the stock one, but it's not that good either. I put a 1/2" "Wood Slicer" on there and it's purring like a kitten through quartersawn white oak with very smooth cuts.
The blade guides are quality stainless bearings, they move smoothly and the adjustments are easy to use. My previous experience with other models was that fine adjustment of the blade and guides were difficult due to positioning of the adjustment mechanisms. Not so with this saw. Give me 5 minutes with an allen wrench and it's all done.
Happy cutting!
Customer Review: Fantasic Bandsaw
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been looking to buy a solid 14" bandsaw for my home shop. I did my home work checking out reviews both on the net as well as reading through the reviews written by Fine Woodworking Magazine a couple of years back. Having set my sights on a new Jet, I decided to look at the other saws once more before I dropped the cash and was very surprised by the upgrades Grizzly had added to their bandsaw since the review was written. I am so glad I did. I bought the new Grizzly G0555P (the "Polar Bear" model as it was at a lower introductory price and claimed to be exactly the same to the G0555 only in white. The features that sold me were the 1 hp motor, dual speeds, cast iron 14" table, the blade de-tensioning quick release for added blade life, and it came with a fence.
This saw arrived quickly via UPS Freight (ordered on Monday; arrived on Thursday)and the assembly was very straight forward. I had read reviews on other saws that had misaligned or unbalanced wheels and really resigned to myself that I'd have to fight these problem as well seeing that the saw was so inexpensive. Not true for my saw. It came very well packed and I was immediately impressed by its rugged cast iron frame. The bolts fitted together well and gave no hint of "softness" or thread inconsistency (as many Chinese tools do).I assembled the saw, did a very minor tracking adjustment and then fired her up. I was really expecting some bad vibration or some hidden flaw to start shaking but she just purred like a kitten. I couldn't believe it. This is one solid saw. I easily squared the table and adjusted the guides and then ran some 3/4 oak for a trial cut and she ate through them without any hesitation. I expect I'll see years and years of excellent service. If you're looking for the best value in a 14"-er, you can not go wrong with this saw! It lives up to its name: "The Ultimate 14" Bandsaw."
Customer Review: Grizzly G0555 upgrades
Summary: 5 Stars
Here are a few recommendations I have the GO555P which is the same unit only all white (the Polar Bear Series)
The upper and lower bear guides are ok but noisy, Grizzly offers cool blocks on some of their bandsaws which is a much better solution and better on the blades as well. It is also a noticeable difference and much cheaper than Carter guide. Here is how you can upgrade through Grizzly call them (as I could not see it in their catalog) order
1-800-523-4777
P1019005A Guide block holders (2)
P0580086 Guide blocks (4)
PSS01M setscrews (4)
The whole thing with tax and shipping is less than $35
The change out takes 5-10 minutes.
On the table, clean it with mineral spirits and then spray it with T-9 Boeshield the best Rust inhibitor (use it on your planner, jointer, table saw, etc.
Now use a product called Renaissance wax, it's a very hard durable wax that will keep your table smooth and rust free.
Order the Magnetic GO5683 lite for $23.95
Get the 6" extension kit (6" riser)now before you start buying blades, you never know what your requirements may be in the future even if you may not need it now.
Order the Timber wolf blades or Olson stay away from the cheap stuff. (after the riser kit you will need 105" blades)
Spray the blade with a dry lube a good bicycle lube will work, wipe off the excess
Once the blade is installed use a stone on the back edge of the blade (not the teeth end) to remove any burs however so small.
Take the tension off the blade when not using it regularly
Make sure you align your table to the blade and make any fence adjustments
P.S. you will need the help of another person twice for about 5-10 minutes when you unpack this bad boy.
Now you have a wonderful saw, for the price it can't be beat.
Customer Review: good deal
Summary: 4 Stars
While it took me quite a while to get this machine up and running, i'm very satisfied with the end product. I also purchased the 6" extension and it was relatively straightforward to install. Much of what i read in previous reviews is true:
1) the blade they ship with the unit is good for one thing only...use them to set up and tune your saw...sometimes initial tuning adjustments can ding up the teeth...I did and i'm glad i wasn't destroying my more expensive blade in the process. Do not however use the blade that Grizzly sends with the machine to actually cut wood. They are really really worthless and i was very disappointed in the product when i first used it. But install a good blade and all is well with the world.
2) it took a long time to make the initial adjustments to get the blade on the wheels with the extension kit. After many failed attempts I called the help line and they were patient and corrected the problem.
3) The help line was not helpful in resolving another issue however. The guide post assembly would not stay in alignment as I adjusted it to different heights. It would skew out of alignment for no apparent reason resulting in an out-of-true blade. No one at the help line knew what to say and they told me that they would get back to me, but never did. here is the issue: the large screw that tightens the guide post has what appears to be a ball bearing welded on to the end of it. one would think that this is the ball bearing that is necessary to make the guide post align correctly. it is not... the ball bearing is loose inside and can be lost when you switch from the shorter 6" post to the longer extension. Once I put the loose ball bearing back where it belonged, the guide post worked flawlessly.
overall, i am very happy with the unit - quality construction at a very good price.
Customer Review: Good Bandsaw with Quality Issues
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm a amateur wood worker that just likes to make home improvements around the house. This is my first bandsaw. Anyways, I don't have an issue with the bandsaw itself; however, I do have a problem with one quality issue where the new 6" riser block made the wheels fall out of alignment (coplaner) by more than a quarter inch. I called grizzly tech support to ask their suggestions on what I should do. One person who wrote a review on Amazon said that he had ground off the pegs that align the extension block with the bandsaw, and he also used shims on the bottom wheel to bring everything within alignment.
The Grizzly Tech Support Rep did not suggest grinding off the alignment pins because they do offer some kind of structual support. He did suggest that I could pull out the old pins and drill new holes to relocate the pins. I didn't really like that idea, for they should have been aligned from the factory. Why should I do that for something that I had paid for to be right in the first place! If I screwed things up, what recourse would I have had. So, I opted not to do that.
Initially, the tech support person told me that I would have to send back my old block, and that they would send me out a replacement extension block. Then, after a little bit of thinking, he told me to keep my old extension block, and they would send me out a new extension block with no additional cost to me. The tech supoprt rep told me to keep the old block because they were not going to redrill it and use it/sell it again. So, all in all this experience was a little bit frustrating because of their quality control issue, but hopefully things will work out right with the new extension block.