Grizzly G0555 resawing for real

[Jim Kountz]

Well its new bandsaw time here at Timber Mountain and Im pouring through all the catalogs and trying to decide which one to buy. I was hoping for some decent occassional resaw ability of say 10-12" and have been looking at some of Grizzlys stuff. I know a good deal about the 17" Grizzly from a friend of mine that has one but I also read here and other places all the time about that little 14" powerhouse, the G0555. What I wanted was some real world opinions on this saws resaw ability. What have you done with yours and how were the results? How bout fairly tight radius cuts of say 1" or so? Anything owners of this saw could tell me would be great.

Thanks!

Jim

[chris toomey]

jim,

i have one. use it all the time. it is the only bandsaw i've owned so i don't have anything to compare it to, but it does everything i ask of it. i resaw all the time with it. i replaced the stock tension spring with one from iturra design. i resaw with a 1/2 inch 3 tpi timberwolf blade. the widest boards i've resawn are about 8 inches. i can resaw to about 1/16 of an inch....haven't tried any thinner. some say it is slow going....it may be, but i'm in no rush. in fact i was quite surprised with the results i've been able to get. and for $375.00 how can you go wrong?

[Jim Kountz]

Chris, thanks for the reply, your words echo alot of what Ive read already and its all been good. One question though. Alot of folks talk about how thin they can slice with the G0555. I think the saw must excel at this task pretty well according to everything Ive read. What Im curious about now is how does it do on thicker slices? Say you want to turn an 8/4 board into two 1" boards?

[Joel Selman]

I have been using my G0555 for nearly two years now, and I cannot say enough about it. I put a 3/4" bi-metal blade by Lennox on it 3 tpi hook tooth when I first bought it thinking I would use that just for resawing and would need to put a narrower blade on for curved work.
I have yet to remove it. Granted, I haven't used it for radiuses smaller than 3 or 4 inches, for the cuts are smooth and the resawing is incredible.
The toy Delta 9" was a joke! The blade was all over the place, but the Grizzly doesn't waver, and I cannot wear out the blade.
I bought the 6" riser and ordered in a longer Lennox blade, but, being thrifty, and not needing any immediate resawing on any really wide pieces, I decided I would wait until I wore the Lennox out...easier said than done! Nearly two years later and the blade still cuts like butter, and I use alot of oak. The riser block and new blade are each in their box, and waiting for a "must be resawn" piece wider than 6". I admit it! Part of the reason I have not replaced it is I am afraid the saw won't resaw as well with the riser block. It works so well...I have the "if it ain't broke" jitters just thinking about changing it.

[chris toomey]

Chris, thanks for the reply, your words echo alot of what Ive read already and its all been good. One question though. Alot of folks talk about how thin they can slice with the G0555. I think the saw must excel at this task pretty well according to everything Ive read. What Im curious about now is how does it do on thicker slices? Say you want to turn an 8/4 board into two 1" boards?
jim

i've not used my saw to "mill" lumber, but i think with good infeed and outfeed support you could easily get 4/4 from 8/4 planks.....but i wouldn't want to do this all day long. the g0555 is a nice little all purpose bandsaw for the small shop....but if i was gonna mill lumber i think i'd look for something bigger and more powerfull.

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

I've had mine for a little over a year. I added the riser kit and glad I did. It allows me to do larger logs and boards. Not that much for the kit, either. Like the bandsaw very much.

Bruce

[Ernie Kuhn]

Jim,
Go for it. Mine is a year old. I put the riser in place when it arrived along with a Timberwolf 1/2" 3 tpi blade. I've resawn 9" high black walnut that was "drying" in the garage for over 10 years. No problem. I'd buy another one tomorrow.
Ernie

[Jim Kountz]

Id like to thank everyone for the views and opinions. I think this is the saw Im going to buy. I really like that 17" grizz saw but Santa is getting a little low on cash right now after buying Playstation equipment for the kid! And to think the missus says my hobbies are expensive! Good Lord man I could have bought the G0555 for what I have in a PS2 with 5 games, extra controller and memory card. Ah but the look on the little fellas face this morning made it all worthwhile! Once again thanks guys, you've been a huge help.

Jim

[Jim Ketron]

Hello Jim I havent had my G0555 but about a week so I havent used it for resawing yet But I orderd the riser block with mine istalation takes about 15 min!
I put mine through its paces last week I cut over 50 bowl blanks in 2 eavenings and the Timberwolfs cut like butter!
Im am very pleased with it
Jim

[Bill Arnold]

... I think this is the saw Im going to buy. I really like that 17" grizz saw but Santa is getting a little low on cash right now after buying Playstation equipment for the kid! ...Jim
Jim,

I've heard nothing but good reports on the G0555 here and everywhere else. I went with the G0513, 17" model because of its 12" resaw capacity and larger motor. I don't know what the cost differential will be after you add the riser block and other items to the G0555, but you might want to take a look at it.

Regards,