Brad Knabel
02-22-2005, 9:44 PM
Hi All,
I realize there have been more than enough discussions about band saws here of late. Please indulge me (I'm ready to actually place an order and am panicing slightly...)
I think I've got my choice narrowed down to the Grizzly G0566 21" band saw. I've also considered a few others - the Rikon, Delta & Jet 18" and the Minimax and Laguna 16" saws. I've also considered looking at old iron. My uses would be resawing veneers for marquetry, cutting up turning blanks, and of course the occasional scroll work.
The thing I keep coming back to is mass, power and resaw capacity. For me the Grizzly seems to have a good blend of all three. It's weighs over 600 lbs which should keep vibration down, has a 3 HP motor and 14" resaw capacity.
I know that the Minimax and Laguna heavy duty saws are better in terms of power, finish, overall construction and probably rigidity. The problem is that they are budget busters for me. I think that once I drop down to the LT16 or S16 that the Grizzly probably has roughly equivalent power, much greater mass and more capacity. It's about a wash price-wise between the LT16, S16 and Grizzly.
Given the Rikon, Delta and Jet I'm just left thinking whether I will regret not having gone for the bigger saw if I chose one of these. The price of the Rikon makes it especially tempting. But I just have the feeling I'll always be wondering whether I should have gotten the bigger saw.
I'm prepared to place my order with Grizzly - it seems like a good compromise among the available choices. If I had another grand I'd be trying to choose among the LT16HD and MM16.
Ultimately my question is whether anybody be willing to talk me out of the Grizzly? Is there a hole in my logic?
Thanks in advance,
Brad
I realize there have been more than enough discussions about band saws here of late. Please indulge me (I'm ready to actually place an order and am panicing slightly...)
I think I've got my choice narrowed down to the Grizzly G0566 21" band saw. I've also considered a few others - the Rikon, Delta & Jet 18" and the Minimax and Laguna 16" saws. I've also considered looking at old iron. My uses would be resawing veneers for marquetry, cutting up turning blanks, and of course the occasional scroll work.
The thing I keep coming back to is mass, power and resaw capacity. For me the Grizzly seems to have a good blend of all three. It's weighs over 600 lbs which should keep vibration down, has a 3 HP motor and 14" resaw capacity.
I know that the Minimax and Laguna heavy duty saws are better in terms of power, finish, overall construction and probably rigidity. The problem is that they are budget busters for me. I think that once I drop down to the LT16 or S16 that the Grizzly probably has roughly equivalent power, much greater mass and more capacity. It's about a wash price-wise between the LT16, S16 and Grizzly.
Given the Rikon, Delta and Jet I'm just left thinking whether I will regret not having gone for the bigger saw if I chose one of these. The price of the Rikon makes it especially tempting. But I just have the feeling I'll always be wondering whether I should have gotten the bigger saw.
I'm prepared to place my order with Grizzly - it seems like a good compromise among the available choices. If I had another grand I'd be trying to choose among the LT16HD and MM16.
Ultimately my question is whether anybody be willing to talk me out of the Grizzly? Is there a hole in my logic?
Thanks in advance,
Brad