Major upgrade- Grizzly 24” bandsaw has arrived

[Malcolm Schweizer]

**** UPDATE ***** There was a problem- Grizzly did respond and sent parts.

I waited to do this update, because I wanted to give Grizzly all chances, and I didn't want to post this update before I had the saw running and problem was fixed. Short version- the start switch went bad.

Longer version:

First of all, Grizzly's tech support was VERY impressive. They didn't assume I was stupid and started from the top and worked down. What I mean is, he asked me if I had a test meter, and through similar questions, he was able to evaluate that I kind of knew my way around electronics, and he walked me through a test of the green start button, the e-stop, and the start switch. Now, here's where it gets a little weird- we determined that the e-stop was the problem. I tested it and it tested not sending power when on without stop switch activated. Fast forward- we later determined that the problem there was dust in the switch- or that's what we strongly suspected. SO- they sent me a new e-stop. My electrician is a friend, and he happened to come by, so we had him look at it. That's when he determined that the stop switch had dust in it, and we got the original e-stop working.

So- we called Grizzly back and they sent a new magnetic start switch. Unfortunately, they sent the wrong one. Now to this point that's really the only screw up from their tech department, because originally the stop switch did appear to be bad, so I don't blame the misdiagnosis. It just had dust in it. Sending the single phase mag switch instead of the three phase I blame them for, but they quickly sent another. By the way, Grizzly, if you're reading this, I still haven't gotten the return label for the wrong switch, so I'm keeping it in my shop!d

We got the new mag switch installed, and it works fine. So- here is where I want to be careful in what I say. I LOVE THIS SAW!!! It is a beast, and it is working great other than the switch issue. I am fully able to accept that things happen in manufacturing- switches go bad, even when new. Maybe I got the fluke. The response by Grizzly was quick and professional. They sent everything free of charge, except if I wanted expedited shippinig, I had to pay extra. No problem. HOWEVER: My electricain feels like the switch that comes with the saw is undersized, and that is only his opinion, and I can only wait and see how long the new switch lasts to determine if he is right, but he showed me a 7.5hp switch from a fan in another part of our warehouse, and it's much bigger and, for lack of better words, more robust. Now, to be fair to Grizzly, he isn't a tool designer, although he does work on this type of equipment and has experience with it. As of now, the new switch is working fine, and I'm not mad at Grizzly, but I felt it was pertinent to update this review to tell you what I did have happen.

Here is one thing I will say negative- I have a dust collector hooked directly to this saw. It has three feet of hose going to the saw. I still have tons of sawdust getting in the saw, and I determined that a lot of that is because where the dust collection is below the blade, there is a big gap even when the door is closed. I used duct tape to close that gap, and I kind of feel this would have been an easy fix in the design process of the saw. A baffle where I put duct tape would have made the dust collection work a lot better. Dust managed to get into the support column where the switches are, and dust got into the stop switch. We blew a lot of dust out of it.

Would I buy this saw again? Actually right now it's still a great value for the price I paid, and I would consider it again, but I will kind of wait and see how the switch works. We only had the saw maybe a month when the issue arose, but we did run hundreds of linear feet of yellow birch through it, making veneers 88 inches long. In fact, probably close to 500 linear feet. I am disappointed with how the dust collection port has a gap at the door (I will get a picture and update). That's a pretty easy fix, but I hate having to fix things on a new saw. For the price, there are not a lot of 3-phase saws out there, and this thing is a beast. It is incredibly accurate, and well-machined as far as alignment, table finish, and accuracy of the cut.

Hopefully this was a fair update. I don't want to say that because this one switch failed, that all of them will have this problem, but it happened, and I needed to update that it did happen. I have had quite a few Grizzly tools and this is the first magnetic switch failure I've had.


edit: Here is the switch I am referring to. If “magnetic switch” or “start switch” isn’t the right terminology, this photo is to clarify.

IMG_0168.jpg

This is where I taped the dust collection to close the gap between this and the door when closed. It works great and greatly reduced the dust in the saw. Grizzly, take notes.
IMG_0169.jpg

[John TenEyck]

Malcolm, glad to hear Grizzly was responsive to the problem and helped you get it sorted out quickly. A certain Italian made saw is well known for failed start switches, and a whole lot less responsive as far as CS.

I experienced poor dust collection with my 17" Grizzly until I improved my DC system. If you are having to tape off below the upper dust port that suggests to me that you don't have enough CFM. I get no build up in the saw. A little escapes to the outside but not more than a handful ever remains in the saw after an hour slicing 12" veneer. I don't even bother checking anymore. You need to have both 4" ports carrying their full capacity, which means about 700-800 cfm total.

John

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Malcolm, glad to hear Grizzly was responsive to the problem and helped you get it sorted out quickly. A certain Italian made saw is well known for failed start switches, and a whole lot less responsive as far as CS.

I experienced poor dust collection with my 17" Grizzly until I improved my DC system. If you are having to tape off below the upper dust port that suggests to me that you don't have enough CFM. I get no build up in the saw. A little escapes to the outside but not more than a handful ever remains in the saw after an hour slicing 12" veneer. I don't even bother checking anymore. You need to have both 4" ports carrying their full capacity, which means about 700-800 cfm total.

John

I am probably at minimum CFM for this saw with a 1.5 HP dust collector, but the gap where the dust collection is was a big difference in dust collection working or not working. I have the collector directly hooked to this saw. I still feel the gap where I taped it up is an area of improvement. I have maxed out the breaker box without doing a long run to another box, so I'm not going to upgrade the dust collection any time soon. Now that I taped up where there was a big gap, it works fairly well. The problem is where I taped up, there would be a 1/4" or more gap when the door is shut. The door is what closes that "V" off, and without any sort of seal, it just doesn't do that. I don't get why they don't make it with a faceplate to match what I did with the tape.

[John TenEyck]

I am probably at minimum CFM for this saw with a 1.5 HP dust collector, but the gap where the dust collection is was a big difference in dust collection working or not working. I have the collector directly hooked to this saw. I still feel the gap where I taped it up is an area of improvement. I have maxed out the breaker box without doing a long run to another box, so I'm not going to upgrade the dust collection any time soon. Now that I taped up where there was a big gap, it works fairly well. The problem is where I taped up, there would be a 1/4" or more gap when the door is shut. The door is what closes that "V" off, and without any sort of seal, it just doesn't do that. I don't get why they don't make it with a faceplate to match what I did with the tape.

Most folks are running much larger DC systems than what you have hooked to it. Moving the sawdust requires CFM and velocity. Restricting the inlet air will reduce CFM. You've found a compromise that works for the CFM and static pressure your DC operates at, but it wouldn't be a good solution for larger DC systems. I have a 2 hp 1200 cfm DC and it couldn't remove all the sawdust either when I first hooked it up. I did a bunch of static pressure testing and found the bag filters and cyclone were robbing a significant amount of flow. That prompted me to reconfigure the whole thing, including eliminating the bag filters and blowing the air outside. After that, I had enough CFM at the bandsaw to handle the sawdust w/o a problem.

John

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Most folks are running much larger DC systems than what you have hooked to it. Moving the sawdust requires CFM and velocity. Restricting the inlet air will reduce CFM. You've found a compromise that works for the CFM and static pressure your DC operates at, but it wouldn't be a good solution for larger DC systems. I have a 2 hp 1200 cfm DC and it couldn't remove all the sawdust either when I first hooked it up. I did a bunch of static pressure testing and found the bag filters and cyclone were robbing a significant amount of flow. That prompted me to reconfigure the whole thing, including eliminating the bag filters and blowing the air outside. After that, I had enough CFM at the bandsaw to handle the sawdust w/o a problem.

John

One thing with bandsaws- they make a very small pebble of a sawdust. It reminds me of termite poop. (Sorry, but that’s what it looks like.) The problem is that it has little surface area to be pulled by the air. I have learned that it takes more CFM’s to move these little round sawdust particles than it does to move big chips. Oh to know all I know now many years ago!

[Clint Baxter]

**** UPDATE ***** There was a problem- Grizzly did respond and sent parts.
edit: Here is the switch I am referring to. If “magnetic switch” or “start switch” isn’t the right terminology, this photo is to clarify.

IMG_0168.jpg

I have a motor starter in the shop that looks identical to that one. It, however, is only powering a 2HP, single phase, Oneida Dust cyclone. I worked on many motor starters and agree that for that size of motor, would expect to see a much more robust device.

As you stated in your post, however, time will tell the story,

Clint