Bandsaw choice, G0457 or G0555X?

[David Lyon]

Making my gift list and debating on which bandsaw to include. The G0457 is on sale, making it price competitive with the G0555X. Is there a downside in picking the more powerful saw?

[Dan Mitchell]

More power is like more money, not possible for there to be a downside ;-)

I have the G0457 & love it. Just resawed some ~9" walnut with ease. Plus it has a precision, high-grade feel I love in machines. FWW gave it "Best value" in a 14" BS comparo. I can email you a PDF of the article, if you'd like. Let me know.

Dan

[David Lyon]

Thanks Dan. I would take a copy of the article if that's not a problem.

[Dan Mitchell]

Thanks Dan. I would take a copy of the article if that's not a problem.


OK, PM me your email address & I'll get it off to you.

Dan

[Tom Esh]

...Is there a downside in picking the more powerful saw?

Nope. Just make sure your wiring is up to it. I run mine on 220, but if you plan to run it on 110V you'll want a solid 20A circuit for it. That 2hp motor makes for a real beast of a 14" saw.:)

[John Noble]

I recently went through this decision process. Candidates included the G0555X, Powermatic 14 inch, G0457, and one or two others. I ended up getting the G0457 (and a G0452 6" jointer) at the sale price.

First of all, you will need 220V to run this saw, though I suppose it's barely possible to run it on a dedicated 110V 20A circuit. You'll also need dust collection. I picked up a Harbor Freight DC for $139.00, and it does a pretty good job.

The included blade is pretty good at making smoke, but not so good at cutting anything harder than balsa. A quick call to Suffolk Machinery will fix that. It also takes a good 30 seconds to spin down after you turn it off.

Those are my only two complaints. This is my first "real" bandsaw, and I really like it. Fit and finish are even better than I expected. The nickel test is no problem, and there's ample power on tap. I didn't have to make a single adjustment for tracking: it was dead straight out of the box. Drift is a non-issue so far.

I tried resawing some 7-8" wide European red beech butcher block (very hard stuff), and while the going wasn't especially fast due to the 4tpi blade I was using, it cut nice and straight without bogging down in the slightest ... and this was before adjusting the lower blade guides. :eek:

The saw's split trunnions really lock the table down. Yanking on the table produces very little flex compared to the Deltas I've looked at. Blade changes are easier than I was led to believe, and the blade tensioning indicator seems to do its job. The fence is heavier than it looks, and the resaw attachment goes on and off without too much fuss.

Overall, the G0457 looks, feels, and works like a serious machine. I've been slicing a bunch of 4/4 poplar for an interior trim project, and it gobbles the stuff up with less effort than my (recently deceased) Jet contractor saw running a WWII blade.

Delivery (FedEx) was no problem. The driver helped my wheel everything into my garage. As he watched me scrutinize the shipping boxes, the driver commented that he'd heard good things about how Grizzly took care of shipping damage issues. In my case, there were none to take care of.

FWIW, my G0452 jointer went together fine, too. I had to reset the minimum depth stop and depth of cut pointer, but as far as I can measure it's square and straight. I edge jointed some 9 foot long stock yesterday with no trouble (I used an outfeed table, of course).

Good luck with your decision.

[Larry Schwenk]

I drove up to the Muncy, Pa store this past weekend to look at the 14" ones. I looked at the G0457, G0555X, and G0555. I wanted to "kick the tires" so to speak. To my surprise, Grizzly was having a special Thanksgiving weekend sale, unannounced. Some of the prices were really terrific, the G0555 was $350 out the door!

After walking around and around (with wife and kids staring at me) I selected the 1-1/2HP G0555X. I do have a dedicated 110V 20amp circuit for the saw and a spare 220V circuit nearby but didn't really need that extra 1/2 HP plus I can put the extra $450 to other uses. How does under $500 sound !!!! They were not too busy, under 20 minutes from purchase to driving around to the freight building, they loaded it up, and back on the road home.

A few of the bonuses in the bigger G0457 I noticed are: extra 1/2 HP, increased resaw capability, and the table is a "one piece" (on the G0555X, the table is the main plus a small extension table on the left that needs to be leveled. Took me many tries and right now it's "close enough").

The setup of mine was pretty simple although it took more then the estimated 1 1/2 hours plus beer breaks. The instructions were ok with only one error that had me confused for about 15 minutes. I also found it a lot easier to take the table off (which wasn't leveled in yet) to do the final blade guide adjustments; this gives you a lot more room to work.

I don't think you'd go wrong with either. If you have the extra $$$, need the extra power and have the dedicated outlet; the specs on the G0457 actually call for a 30amp 110V if you go that route (I've never actually seen a 30amp 110V but I know they exist).

[Matt Stiegler]

To my surprise, Grizzly was having a special Thanksgiving weekend sale, unannounced. Some of the prices were really terrific, the G0555 was $350 out the door!

After walking around and around (with wife and kids staring at me) I selected the 1-1/2HP G0555X. I do have a dedicated 110V 20amp circuit for the saw and a spare 220V circuit nearby but didn't really need that extra 1/2 HP plus I can put the extra $450 to other uses. How does under $500 sound !!!!

You got a terrific deal, congratulations. Wish they had those prices online/by phone. Thanks for the mini-review.

[Josh Reet]

After walking around and around (with wife and kids staring at me) I selected the 1-1/2HP G0555X. I do have a dedicated 110V 20amp circuit for the saw and a spare 220V circuit nearby but didn't really need that extra 1/2 HP plus I can put the extra $450 to other uses. How does under $500 sound !!!! They were not too busy, under 20 minutes from purchase to driving around to the freight building, they loaded it up, and back on the road home.

Larry,

Are you saying you got the G0555x for under $500? That is a hell of a deal. The "sale" price at the bellingham Grizzly for that machine was $575 I think. Had it been under $500, I don't think I could have resisted picking one up.

I do have to say that the sale price on the G0555 was pretty smoking if that machine fit your needs.

[Larry Schwenk]

Yes, the G0555X was one heck of a deal. I took pictures of the unboxing and setup. I still need to run the hose for the dust collection tonight. As soon as I'm done I'll post all the pics and a short review.

This was my first Grizzly product and wanted to visit the store before making a purchase. The only comparison I could make in my brain were items from Harbor Freight; all but one of which went out to the trash pretty quick after purchase.

I'll have no problem ordering from Grizzly again! Although the freight terminal closest to me is 1-1/2 hours away outside of Baltimore, so a 3-1/2 drive up to Munch, PA is cheaper then paying freight AND you'll aways pick up something else (that you don't need) anyway :rolleyes:

[Josh Reet]

Well I'm jealous of that deal and wish my local grizz had been offering it. But I sure didn't notice it if they were.

[Prashun Patel]

If your budget is up near the $800 mark, why not consider the 513 or 513x2? As a happy G0555 owner, I can say that if I had to do it over again, I'd get a 17".

[Russ Jensen]

I have had mine for about a year and use it almost exclusively for resawing - I needed something that ran off 110 which was my reasoning fir the smaller saw.
Get yourself the riser kit if you havent already - it's only about $60 and rewally adds flexibility. Also may want to consider a tire upgrade to urethane. otherwise, turn on cut and enjoy!

[David Lyon]

Thanks for all the input. Santa ordered me the G0457, can't wait to get it set up and making sawdust.

[Lance Norris]

Thanks for all the input. Santa ordered me the G0457, can't wait to get it set up and making sawdust.

David, your gonna love the 457. Ive had mine since may of '06 and its a great saw.