Bandsaw gloat! Grizzly G0514X2

[Michael Heffernan]

I just took delivery today of a brand new Grizzly G0514X2 bandsaw. I'm very excited to get it set up and resawing!
I got a great deal on it through Ebay/Microsoft cashback. Grizzly price was $1395 and free shipping. I got a 14% rebate from Microsoft ($196) for buying it on the Grizzly eBay store.
UPS Freight delivered on a liftgate at the street and the driver was a great help. We got it off the truck no problem, and we wheeled it to my gargage woodshop on his pallet jack. Put it exactly where I wanted it.
I had read about the flimsy crating that Grizzly uses for shipping it's machinery and damage caused in transit. I got lucky; the crate (yes it is flimsy, especially for a 450 lb. machine) was in perfect condition. Upon uncrating the bandsaw, there was no damage whatsoever, not even a scratch.
I'll clean off the packing grease and assemble it tomorrow. Suprisingly, there is little assembly, other than the table top, fence and a couple of handwheels. Tuning it will take more time than assembly. I left it on the skid it came on until my Great Lakes leveling casters arrive. I'll put them on 1x2 steel tubing and mount the tubes to the existing holes in the bandsaw base.
Here are a couple of photos of it's arrival. I'll post my follow-up when I get the saw up and running.
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[Steve Kohn]

Congratulations....I have the plain ole 514. No fancy X stuff.....

If your saw is like mine, there was almost no set up at all. I put the blade in (I sure hope you have something better than the piece of junk blade that Grizzly used to send with their bandsaws} adjusted the guides and started sawing.

I haven't resawn anything larger that 10 inch, but I have run several hundred feet of Ash through the saw. I already wore out one blade (Highland Woodslicer) and am on my second.

[Barry Vabeach]

Mike, nice score. When I see pictures of the stuff Grizzly sold in the 90's it is hard to believe it is the same co. that GO14 looks gorgeous.

[Michael Heffernan]

I purchased a set of new Timberwolf saw blades from Suffolk Machinery. Should be here Monday. They are having a special, buy three, get the fourth for free. So I got a 1/4", !/2", 3/4" and 1". I have a bunch of rough sawn 12/4 and 16/4 European beech and some 12/4 Mahogany that I can't wait to resaw. I'll probably just toss the 3/4" blade that came with the saw, as I hear that they are pretty much worthless.

[Jim Rimmer]

Nice saw. Glad it arrived it good shape and great for the UPS help. I just got a G0661 TS and didn't have the liftgate service but the driver was a big help anyway. Congratulations!

[Dave Lehnert]

Be sure to keep us up to date on likes/ dislikes and how well it re-saws.

[Jeff Willard]

Appears to be crated better than my Laguna was. It is a good bit larger than mine, but not much heavier. When I recieved mine, all I saw was a cardboard box :eek:-but there was a plywood frame inside of that to keep it from collapsing. I was a little surprised, as Laguna sent a DVD in advance of the saw showing what to expect and how to go about unpacking and setup. The example they used was in a OSB crate. No matter though, it made it coast-to-coast in fine shape. Enjoy.

[Stan Mitchell]

These are great saws - congrats. I have the 513X2 and it's amazing - so many nice features.

[Howard Boehm]

My first impression was this is one large and heavy piece of equipment. Assembly was a breeze. I purchased the mobile base the HTC3000 it works very well and the doors all open. Some bases that is a problem. I have a beam in my garage and I have a heavy duty hook that I put a come a long in and there is an eyelet on top of the saw for lifting. I was able to lift it quite easily to put the mobile base under it.

I went and got the Laguna resaw king 1.25 inch resaw blade. It wouldn't track so I called grizzly and he told me I had to check the Coplaneing of the wheels. I was not happy as that meant I had to remove that heavy table I just put on. Well I am not unhappy any more. that is by far the easiest saw I have ever aligned the wheels in. I am glad I had to do it. I put the table back on the blade was now tracking and I was able to resaw like a pro for the first time ever. I was cutting 1/8 inch pieces off a popular board and they were perfect. This is a great saw.

[Philip Johnson]

Micheal where did you find the timberwolf blades on sale do you have to call them

Phil

[Rich Neighbarger]

Micheal where did you find the timberwolf blades on sale do you have to call them

Phil
Yes, give them a call. They will ask some questions and ship them out. It's painless and they are nice folks.

[Michael Heffernan]

Phil,
Call Suffolk Machinery (www.suffolkmachinery.com) at (800) 234-7297
Mention promo code SU09. If you buy three blades 1/8" to 1" wide, you get a 1/4, 3/8 or 1/2" wide blade free. Check out their website for sizes and TPI and specs for different sawing applications, then call them. They are very knowledgeable and will recommend what you need for the sawing you are doing. I got my four blades for $106 including shipping.

Michael

[Tom Mitz]

I have been looking at the 18 Rikon but after looking at this post - I just may order one of these....

[Michael Heffernan]

I spent a few hours today assembling and tuning my new Grizzly G0514X2 bandsaw. I thought that I'd follow up and share my experience of the process.
There are relatively few parts to assemble and it is pretty straight forward.
1. Degrease the table and fence.
2. Attach the table to the trunnions.
3. Attach the slider bar to the table tilt rack and pinion gear mechanism.
4. Attach the fence rails.
After that it is all tuning the saw.

I got everything assembled, with a few hiccups, due to poor quality control from Grizzly.
The slider bar that connect the table to the rack and pinion tilt gear (this tilts the table with relative ease) did not line up with the mount holes on the underside of the table. I had to loosen the rack and pinion gear mount and slide it toward the saw to get the holes to line up. Not a big deal, but there was no explanation of this in the manual.
The threaded holes on the front side of the table for mounting the main fence rail were not tapped properly. I wound up cross threading one of the enclosed bolts, even though I carefully tried to thread them before attaching the fence. Since the 6 mm. taps as slightly smaller than 1/4", I just tapped 1/4" holes and used my own 1/4-20 bolts. Good thing I have a tap and die set. Still not a big deal to me, but others may not have a tap to correct the problem.

Now on to the tuning. The manual is pretty clear (not crystal) and I started from the beginning of their tuning procedure.

Blade Tracking: this was almost dead on out of the crate. A small turn of the Tracking Knob and the blade rolled perfectly. I have not checked the Co-Planar of the wheels, but it purrs and tracks just fine, so I don't think it is an issue. When I get to resawing some stock will tell if it is really okay.

Positive Stop: this is for squaring the table top to the blade. The positive stop is a bolt and stop nut mounted into the frame under the table that returns the table to 0 degrees. They have you doing this before the rack and pinion gear is attached to the table, but I would suggest attaching the gear first. The table is quite heavy and difficult to zero out, looking at your square on the table, rotating the stop bolt and locking it down. I couldn't get it square until after, using the tilt mechanism with ease. This stop bolt is a little flimsy in my opinion for holding the table at zero. If you use the tilt on the table a lot, make sure that you check for squareness to the blade each time you return to zero. I wouldn't trust this stop bolt, even though it is locked into place. There is a little flex in the saw frame where it is inserted. If you leave the table locked at zero, it's no big deal.

Tensioning the blade: It's pretty easy, with quick release tension arm, the tensioning wheel and the indicator. I think I got it tensioned properly. They say to start the saw, slowly de-tension the blade until it starts to flutter, then slowly re-tension until the blade stabilized and add a quarter turn to the tension knob. I got a few flutters while de-tensioning, so I will have to check it again. It's nice to have the indicator window so you can make note of the setting for each respective blade you use. I will keep a cheat sheet on the saw for the tension of all my blades.

Adjusting the top/bottom support bearings: Not difficult, but a few saw design issues that make it a little more difficult. (NOTE: I would suggest that you first square the table top to the blade BEFORE you adjust the support bearings and the blade guide bearings.). My first issue is with the top support bearing. The red metal blade guard gets in the way of seeing and gauging this support bearing properly. The manual doesn't say anything about it. I wound up unscrewing the to cap screws holding the guard to the saw and spring clamping it out of the way. With it out of the way, you can clearly see and gauge the bearing. They should design a slide panel on the guard to easily access this bearing. Here is a photo of the guard obstruction and the cap screws that should be removed:
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I got them perpendicular to the blade with the proper gap (.016") after a little time. The issue is that when tightening the adjustment cap screws, everything tends to move a little when the screw binds to the post that holds it all in place. I found this to be true with the guide bearings as well.

Blade guide bearings: the top bearings were easy to adjust, as well as the lower front bearing. However, the lower rear bearing has such little clearance under the table that it was difficult to get the allen wrench in to first loosen the cap screw and then to tighten it. I think that a hex head bolt would be better for this bearing, as a hex wrench is easier to maneuver in tight places. I may swap it out in the future. Here is a photo of that tight place:
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I gapped them properly (or close as I could), about .0004". I found that when you tighten bearing rotation adjustment cap screw, the bearing want to seat in a slightly different place.

Squaring the table to the blade: A straight forward procedure; just loosen the trunnion bolts, and square the front of the table to a straight edge resting against the blade. The table is heavy so it takes some finesse tapping the table to square it up.

Aligning the fence to the miter slot (and blade). Four bolts on the fence to loosen, parallel it to the miter slot, tighten and it's done. However, I found that my fence was not vertically square to the table top, so I had to add some paper shims under the rear bolts of the fence, realign it to the miter slot and tighten. Just a small quality control issue that irks me.

I haven't calibrated the miter gauge yet, those are easy.

After it was all tuned, I resawed a scrap piece of soft maple through. As others have said, the Grizzly blade that comes with the saw is only good for set-up and tuning the saw. It cut the wood okay, but not very smooth. I'm tuned okay, as it tracked perfectly straight through the resaw. This saw has a lot of power! A little pressure and it sawed right through. Can't wait to see what it does when I get my TimerWolf blades on Monday. Also, I like the footbrake on this saw. It cuts the power with a tap of the foot pedal, then with applied pressure to the pedal you can slow the blade to a stop. Nice feature. No need to reach over and push the off button when your hands are full of wood.

I am looking forward to using this for all my rough lumber sitting in my shop, and for curved cuts for some of my designs that I have not been able to make, until now.

So here it is:
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[Eli Johnson]

Congratulations!!! That is a great looking saw. I will soon be buying a G0490 jointer and G0513X2B BS i think...cash permitting.

I am curious though about the Microsoft cash back deal. Right now it is only showing me 10% back on ebay.com stuff. Do you get more when you have been spending more?

[Michael Heffernan]

Eli,
I was tracking Ebay/Microsoft CashBack for the past six months. The rebate has been sitting at 8% for the past few months. By a fluke, I decided to check it one day last week and it was at 14%. Since you can only get a max rebate of $200 per purchase, I pulled the trigger and got my $196 instant rebate.
I see that it is now back to 10%. Last year it had been up to 25%, I believe, but that was at the launch of the CashBack program. I doubt that it will ever go back up that high.
I suggest doing the search on Bing.com for "Grizzly Bandsaw" daily and see if you hit on a better rebate percentage. That being said, it could go down again to 8%.
Good luck. And let us know when you get your new bandsaw.

[Eli Johnson]

Michael,

Yeh, i think i remember seeing that last week...wish I were ready to do it then. Have to get this done before the sale and & free shipping are over at Grizzly as well. I will keep looking for the right combonation.

I did read that as of August 10th, ebay was supposed to be at 15% for the back-to-school season promo with bing. I wonder what happened to that?

Thanks and have fun with that new BS.

[Barry Vabeach]

Michael, I have the 513x2 and made a few mods. On the upper blade guard, I used a dremel cutoff wheel and cut off the tab of metal that sits between the two slots to get a better view of the thrust bearing. I could put plastic on it, but haven't gone to the troubl since I think it is unlikely I could get my finger in that hole unless I really tried to. The photos that are attached are before I cut the tab. For the guide adjusters, I put thumbwheels on metric hex bolts from a hardware store, except that I had to make up my own bolts for a few adjusters because the lengths were unusual. BTW, One long bolt I used below the table effectively prevents me from tilting the table much - I don't do angled cuts so that isn't a problem for me. As to the bearings moving, I haven't messed with it, but if it really annoys you cut and end off a dowel or a brass rod and insert it in the hole prior to the adjusting screw, I did it on another bandsaw I had and it allowed the plug to compress a bit and didn't make an impression on the bearing holder. http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee248/barryvabeach/upperSmall-1.jpg
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee248/barryvabeach/IMG_0017Small.jpg

[Michael Heffernan]

Follow-up:
I finished fabricating the mobile base for my G0514X2. I didn't like any of the aftermarket bases available, so I made my own. It is extremely sturdy, and increases the footprint for greater stability.
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I used 2x1 x 1/8" wall steel tubing. The left to right bars are drilled with 3/8" holes and mounted to the bottom of the saw base through the base mount holes. There are also four 1/2" holes outside of the base footprint to accept the front to back cross members.
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The front to back cross members are drilled with 1/2" holes and attached above the left/right bars under the base. Be sure to use lock nuts or lock washers to secure the bolts. I placed them above the left/right bars so as not to increase the height of the saw too much once the casters were mounted. Thefront/back tubes are approx. 4-1/2" wider on each end than the footprint of the base, to accommodate the swivel of the caster, as well as to increase the stability of the saw in the feed direction of the wood. The underside of the bar is drilled with a 31/64" (1/2" will do as well) hole only through the bottom of the bar. The caster stem is fed through and the bolt attached inside the tubing.
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The casters are from Great Lakes Casters, rated for 220 lbs. each. They hold the saw very stable when the leveling feet are lowered. It is very difficult to screw the engaging wheel to engage the leveling foot. Some sort of spanner wrench would make it easier. For now, I screw the wheels with my fingers and finish by using a screwdriver to take the pressure of the swivel wheels. The saw moves around quite easily on the swivel casters, but you must have a relatively level floor.
Footmaster makes a similar caster, of better quality, with a retractable racheting arm that makes raising and lowering the leveling foot a snap. http://www.greatlakescaster.com/foot_master___leveling_caster___gdr_60s___550_lbs_ __threaded_stem___ergonomic_ratchet-GDR-60S.php?cat=262
Unfortunately they are 60 bucks a piece, out of my budget range. So I settled for the ones made by Great Lakes at $15.50 a piece.

The total material cost was around $95 including the steel, hardware and casters.

[Floyd Mah]

Congratulations on the saw. I bought the same saw a year ago and have been very happy with it.

Thanks for the tip on the adjustment screws. That's going to be my next modification. I also made up brass buffers for the adjustment screws, although mostly because I didn't like the screws cutting into the adjustors.

I want to share a trick for using the fence that may also apply to other Grizzly bandsaws. It may help you as you get familiar with the saw. I noticed that the fence would not stay parallel to its' original position as you unclamped, moved and measured for subsequent cuts. This makes you measure several times to creep up to the final position. It happens because the clamping point is about a foot away from the blade...a pivoting action unless you are careful to press the fence body against the bearing points. This tracking error can be minimized by only partially releasing the clamping lever, so that there is still slight pressure on the alignment bar as you move the fence. This keeps the fence close to its' eventual position when you reclamp for your cut.

[Jeff Booth]

Interesting thread, I am seriously considering this exact saw, it is very helpful to read the experiences of others and gain confidence in the product.

Looking at the pictures I have seen of the lower bearing guides I do not see a bearing for the back of the blade, only the sides. Is there a lower guide for the back of the blade? Maybe I am just not seeing it. If not, has anyone that uses this saw felt like this is an issue? My 14" Powermatic has 3 bearings surrounding the blade above and below the table, and that works pretty well.

[Cary Falk]

Looking at the pictures I have seen of the lower bearing guides I do not see a bearing for the back of the blade, only the sides. Is there a lower guide for the back of the blade?

Figure 44 on page 34 shows one and how to adjust it. I have the 513x2 and love it. There a lot of G0514 fans also.
http://www.grizzly.com/images/manuals/g0514x2_m.pdf

[glenn bradley]

Figure 44 on page 34 shows one and how to adjust it. I have the 513x2 and love it. There a lot of G0514 fans also.
http://www.grizzly.com/images/manuals/g0514x2_m.pdf

Actually page 32 in the manual version in the link but, the side shields block the view and maybe that is why it is hard to see in the pics you reference. The 513 series like Cary and I have use the same setup and it does hide that bearing visually.

[Ray Bell]

"The threaded holes on the front side of the table for mounting the main fence rail were not tapped properly. I wound up cross threading one of the enclosed bolts, even though I carefully tried to thread them before attaching the fence. Since the 6 mm. taps as slightly smaller than 1/4", I just tapped 1/4" holes and used my own 1/4-20 bolts. Good thing I have a tap and die set. Still not a big deal to me, but others may not have a tap to correct the problem".

Michael, I had this same problem. The first three bolts went all the way in, but very hard. I wasn't so lucky on the fourth. It snapped. After extracting the broken bolt, I removed them all and ran a tap through all of the holes. I think they just don't tap the holes all the way through. Anyway after tapping and new bolts, all is well.

[Rick Markham]

Great looking saw! Congrats, I too have just hooked up my new bandsaw and am looking forward to resawing and making all the curves I couldn't do before. The foot brake and killswitch is a great feature, One of the big selling points on the Laguna I bought, I looked at both Grizzly and Laguna, and it was really a toss up for me. I love my Laguna, and glad you like your grizzly... let me know your experiences with the suffolk blades, as that is one of the groups of blades I am considering. Whelp off to resaw some Bloodwood for a box I am building! Happy Bandsawing!;)

[Michael Heffernan]

Rick,

I am very happy with the Suffolk Timberwolf blades. I purchased 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" and 1" bands (buy three get one free). I had the 1" on for a long time, as I did a lot of resawing of hardwood boards. But, as I said, it takes a bit more time to get the 1" blade on and off, so I wind up using the 3/4" band for most of my resawing. It cuts well. Depending on the wood, I need very little pressure to push the boards through.
I recommend them to anyone.

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

Michael, late getting to this thread. Thanks for posting. I'm curious how you like your saw after you've had it a while? I'm on the fence between a G0636X and a G0514X2

[George Petersen]

I bought the 514X2 almost 2 years ago, and have gone though about 25 -3/8 inch 4tpi blades. This is a really nice saw to live with. I had none of the problems mentioned so far, but did replace the table (warped at the relief cut) under warranty, Grizzly replaced it quickly and professionally.
2 bearings in the blade guides went out, I replaced myself as a wear item, no big deal. The bottom guide bearing is a 6000ZZ, it is a small bearing for the load it supports, you might want to have a spare on hand. They only cost a buck and a half or so.
I have been very pleased with this saw, and it is used daily, sometimes for a couple hours at a time. It tracks the blade nicely and does not require constant tuning to keep it in shape. I have only used the fence a couple of times to resaw, but it is very friendly to use.
I expect this saw to last longer than me.

[Michael Heffernan]

Jim,
I am happy with the G0514X2. It does everything that I need it to: resaw up to 12" boards, pattern and curve cuts, etc.
It has plenty of power and slices hardwoods easily. Tracking is dead on and I have had no issues. I've resawed a lot of lumber, but haven't had to replace the guide bearings or bands yet. The Timberwolf bands seem to keep an edge a long time.
I don't have any experience with the G0636X, but if it is anything like the 514X2, you can't go wrong with either one. Of course the 636X has more power and resaw capacity. If you have the cash and the need, go with the 636.


Michael, late getting to this thread. Thanks for posting. I'm curious how you like your saw after you've had it a while? I'm on the fence between a G0636X and a G0514X2

[Shiraz Balolia]

Michael, late getting to this thread. Thanks for posting. I'm curious how you like your saw after you've had it a while? I'm on the fence between a G0636X and a G0514X2

Jim - while the G0636X is the upgrade and ultimate saw from the G0513 family of saws (17"), the new G0701 is the ultimate in the 19" saws. At some point you have to draw the line. If you can live with the 2" less in width between the G0636X and the G0514X2, then I personally would pick the G0636X or the motor brake version of it.

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

Thanks for all of your advice, guys. Shiraz, I was kind of leaning that way anyway. I'm not as concerned with throat depth as I am with resawing height. And after reading Chris Schwarz's glowing review of the 636X (http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/best_new_tools_2009/) on PWW, how can I argue?!
I'm curious though, what makes the 636 almost 200 lbs heavier than the 514? Is it just the motor?

[Shiraz Balolia]

Thanks for all of your advice, guys. Shiraz, I was kind of leaning that way anyway. I'm not as concerned with throat depth as I am with resawing height. And after reading Chris Schwarz's glowing review of the 636X (http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/best_new_tools_2009/) on PWW, how can I argue?!
I'm curious though, what makes the 636 almost 200 lbs heavier than the 514? Is it just the motor?

I see you have done your homework!

Although I had spec'ed that saw out a few years ago, I wanted to make sure that you got correct information, so I went downstairs to the showroom and took a quick look at the differences.

* Wider side frame, as well thicker steel for the frame to withstand the higher resaw/big blade tensions.
* Deeper (table thickness) cast iron table as well as more surface area (535 sq. inches versus 508 sq. inches).
* Larger and much heavier motor
* Deeper base footprint, front to back for more support.
* Heavy cast Iron handwheel for the guidepost

Dang - I had forgotten how nice the G0636X was. Need to get one of them puppies into my shop!

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

I see you have done your homework!

Although I had spec'ed that saw out a few years ago, I wanted to make sure that you got correct information, so I went downstairs to the showroom and took a quick look at the differences.

* Wider side frame, as well thicker steel for the frame to withstand the higher resaw/big blade tensions.
* Deeper (table thickness) cast iron table as well as more surface area (535 sq. inches versus 508 sq. inches).
* Larger and much heavier motor
* Deeper base footprint, front to back for more support.
* Heavy cast Iron handwheel for the guidepost

Dang - I had forgotten how nice the G0636X was. Need to get one of them puppies into my shop!

You sold me, Shiraz! Does it go on sale too?

[Rick Markham]

Thanks for the info on the Blade Michael! I will definitely be sending them some of my business ;)

[Shiraz Balolia]

You sold me, Shiraz! Does it go on sale too?

Just your luck!

It is on sale in the Spring Sale (catalog) that starts May 17th - $1995.00 plus shipping. If you cannot wait till May 17th, PM me.

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

Oh I can wait. That's AWESOME!!!

[Mitchell Garnett]

This is a question I probably need to answer myself but I'm looking for opinions. I'm ready to buy a G0514X2 but with the current sale, the motor brake is another $150 if I've done my math right. That would go along way towards a Driftmaster fence or a couple of the Laguna blades.

The saw will be used in a home workshop, not a production environment, so using a foot brake seems to be adequate (maybe I've just answered my question). What are your thoughts?

Thanks.

Mitchell

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

Good question Mitchell. I was wondering the same thing myself.

[Michael Heffernan]

Mitchell,

I'm not sure what the advantages of the electronic motor brake would be. Maybe in a production shop, for safety reasons.
Personally, I like have the foot brake on my G0514X2. It keeps both my hands on the stock when resawing or other cuts, allowing me to kill the power with my foot. For me, this is especially helpful when resawing large stock that can be unwieldy.
I rarely use the brake to stop the wheels, just as a kill switch. I'm a one man shop and don't think it's a safety issue to let the blade wind down on its own, unless I'm going right into another cut on the bandsaw. Then I will use the brake.
IMO, go with the foot brake model and use the cash saved for an accessory for the saw or dinner out with the wife/girlfriend....

[Mike Archambeau]

Get the brake. Makes the saw safer as you can turn it off without reaching around the blade to reach the switch. It also stops the blade quickly so you can safely move your work around without waiting for a spinning blade to stop.

[Dave MacArthur]

I've been wondering about the MOTOR brake vs. the FOOT brake myself... I'm confused by Mike Archambeau's post above, it appears to me that by getting a motor brake I GIVE UP the nice ability to keep both hands on the work, NOT reach around the table, and kill the motor with the foot brake.

I like the idea of a foot "off switch" more than I like the idea of quick spin-down without foot pressure... I've been wondering when someone with both would post. I did see that Bill Wyko likes his new motor brake, it sounds like his production environment where several folks might rapidly be accessing the same saw really makes the motor brake valuable.

[Andrew Joiner]

I have a 21" Grizzly with the foot brake. The manual says " emergency brake" and I called Grizzly to verify this. They said it's not to be used all the time. I assume it has brake pads that wear out pretty easy.

[Mitchell Garnett]

Thanks Andrew. I just downloaded the manual to see what it says. For the G0514X series, it just says "Foot Brake" and mentions using it to stop the blade as well as cut power to the machine.

But I will double check this point with Grizzly before ordering.

Mitchell

[Michael Heffernan]

Mitchell,

I have the G0514X2 with the foot brake pedal. It does kill the power to the saw as well as work as a brake. That's what I like about it. As I said, I use it mainly for turning off the saw, just tapping the pedal to kill the power, which keeps both my hands free to hold on to the stock.
I definitely recommend this feature.


Thanks Andrew. I just downloaded the manual to see what it says. For the G0514X series, it just says "Foot Brake" and mentions using it to stop the blade as well as cut power to the machine.

But I will double check this point with Grizzly before ordering.

Mitchell

[Mike Archambeau]

I've been wondering about the MOTOR brake vs. the FOOT brake myself... I'm confused by Mike Archambeau's post above, it appears to me that by getting a motor brake I GIVE UP the nice ability to keep both hands on the work, NOT reach around the table, and kill the motor with the foot brake.

I like the idea of a foot "off switch" more than I like the idea of quick spin-down without foot pressure... I've been wondering when someone with both would post. I did see that Bill Wyko likes his new motor brake, it sounds like his production environment where several folks might rapidly be accessing the same saw really makes the motor brake valuable.

Sorry for creating confusion. I was commenting on the foot brake. On my saw (MM16) the foot brake turns of the motor and brakes the flywheel. The harder you push the foot pedal the faster the stop. I think this is a big safety feature. Much better than letting the blade coast.

[Mitchell Garnett]

After reading over everyone's comments, I decided on the G0514X2 - the BS with the foot brake. I placed my order about an hour ago and was told I may have it as early as Friday since it will ship from Bellingham tomorrow and I'm only about 60 miles away.

For those interested, I did speak with customer support about the use of the foot brake and I want to highlight that Andrew Joiner's comment is correct. They recommend occasional (ie, emergency) use of the foot brake to actually stop the blade. Okay to tap to cut power. As someone else commented, the only issue is with the brake pads - they aren't designed for everyday stopping the blade. In the end, I decided I was happy with that.

I also ordered a pair of the Laguna blades from over on the Deals and Discounts forum. Tito informed me they have the Driftmaster back in stock with free shipping. Now I'm trying to decide if I can find another $400 for that. I'll definitely wait and see how I like the fence that comes with the saw but there's likely a Driftmaster in my future someday if not now.

As it seems traditional, I'll post a gloat with photos when they arrive. I didn't like anything I read about ready-made mobile bases so I'll be emulating some of the other Creekers and make my own.

Thanks again everyone.

Mitchell

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mitchell,

I have an MM-16 with a foot brake. Most of the time I use the regular red button but....on occasion, when my hands are nervously close to the blade holding 2 pieces of wood following the cut, it's comforting to step on the pedal, kill the motor and be able to also stop the blade quickly. I don't do it often but on occasion.

[Michael Heffernan]

Mitchell,

Pre-gloat congrats! I think you're going to love this saw. I use mine all the time, mostly for resawing. With a good band blade, it cuts like butter.
Give the stock fence that comes with the saw a try before you decide to bite the bullet for the Driftmaster. It is actually a very good fence with a lot of versatility. The cast iron main fence is nice. And with the aluminum auxiliary fence, it attaches in two positons for taller stock and and very thin stock. After a little fine tuning, squaring it up, and with the saw dialed in, I don't have any drift with my resaws. IMO, I don't see a need for another fence for the bandsaw.
Definitely post pics and a review when you set up your saw.



After reading over everyone's comments, I decided on the G0514X2 - the BS with the foot brake. I placed my order about an hour ago and was told I may have it as early as Friday since it will ship from Bellingham tomorrow and I'm only about 60 miles away.

For those interested, I did speak with customer support about the use of the foot brake and I want to highlight that Andrew Joiner's comment is correct. They recommend occasional (ie, emergency) use of the foot brake to actually stop the blade. Okay to tap to cut power. As someone else commented, the only issue is with the brake pads - they aren't designed for everyday stopping the blade. In the end, I decided I was happy with that.

I also ordered a pair of the Laguna blades from over on the Deals and Discounts forum. Tito informed me they have the Driftmaster back in stock with free shipping. Now I'm trying to decide if I can find another $400 for that. I'll definitely wait and see how I like the fence that comes with the saw but there's likely a Driftmaster in my future someday if not now.

As it seems traditional, I'll post a gloat with photos when they arrive. I didn't like anything I read about ready-made mobile bases so I'll be emulating some of the other Creekers and make my own.

Thanks again everyone.

Mitchell

[Joey Holliday]

I just bought a G0514X2 as well. No buyers remorse yet and I think the extra $100.00 for the extra features was the easiest up-sell ever. I am coming home from Iraq shortly and looking forward to getting mine up and running.