Grizzly 513X2BF

[Randy Henry]

I got a Jet 18" a little over a month ago, decided it wasn't the saw for me. So, I went to Springfield to get a 513X2F, and the salesman wrote the ticket up. When he checked, he said they were all being inspected for quality control and would not be available for 2-3 days. Being 1 1/2 hrs away, I pondered my next step as I was determined not to get into the price creep upgrades. He then suggested the 513X2BF for $30 more. I told him I did not want the electronic style brake as my Bosch miter saw brake just quit. He said it was not a motor brake, rather a magnetic relay that operates the manual brake when the pedal is pressed, or if the stop switch is pressed. For the $30 more, I gave in and got it. After he wrote up the ticket, he gave me an in-store coupon for $50. So by getting the upgrade, I saved $20. I have had it for about a week now and I am very happy with it. I got some Timberwolf blades for it at the St. Louis show and it resaws 8" oak with no problems. This is my first major Grizzly purchase and so far, I am pleased.

[Dave Aronson]

I'm drooling over the brake mechanism..... I have the 514X and love it. It doesn't have the brake and I wish I had it or even could add it...

[Jerome Hanby]

Hmmm, I bet the brake you can build doe a Dewalt GWI RAS would also work on a bandsaw.

[glenn bradley]

Very cool. Congrats. A quick add-on for under the table DC works well.

[Bill White]

Well, aren't you a smarty. Good haul, and kudos to the folks a Grizz for extending the discount to ya. Bet you're gonna love it. How was set up?
Bill

[Dave Lehnert]

the 513X is on my long list of tools to buy.
What about the 18" JET did you not like.

[Ryan Mooney]

He said it was not a motor brake, rather a magnetic relay that operates the manual brake when the pedal is pressed, or if the stop switch is pressed. For the $30 more, I gave in and got it.

Huh, interesting had I known that I might well have changed what I bought as I had the same concern about a true motor brake.

[Randy Henry]

Dave, the Jet I had was the one with the square column, there seemed to be flexing when I attempted to resaw and I wasn't pleased with the results, and the motor was under powered at 1.5 hp. I could have lived with it, but I took a chance and listed it on CL and made my money back, plus another $200. With all the responses I had, I probably could have got more, but I wanted to give someone a good deal and be happy with what they got. I offered the buyer of it any piece of wood in the shop to try out the saw, but all he was interested in was trying the 3/4" piece.

Bill, the setup on the Griz was perfect out of the box. Installed the table and fence rail, squared everything up, and it did very good. Very solid machine. I wanted to confirm the "magnetic switch", so with the power off, I spun the wheels and stepped on the brake to see if there was a mechanical brake. The wheels stopped immediately. The Griz salesman was very knowledgeable and was accurate with his statements.

[Joe Angrisani]

.....He said it was not a motor brake, rather a magnetic relay that operates the manual brake when the pedal is pressed, or if the stop switch is pressed....

Maybe I'm confused in the terminology, but according to the Manuals and Wiring Diagrams, the 513X2B and 513X2BF both have the same motor brake and motor circuitry. The only difference is the 513X2BF has a second off switch connected to the foot pedal. The 513X2F is fundamentally different amd has a mechanical foot brake. Randy's last comment seems to indicate the foot switch is both electrical and mechanical.

[Dave Lehnert]

I am also confused about the brake. I asked this question when the unit first came out.[/URL] Mr Balolia answered in post # 3 in the link below.

[url]http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?169757-New-GRIZZLY-513X2BF-bandsaw&highlight=dave+lehner+513x2+brake (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?5851-Shiraz-Balolia)

[Randy Henry]

I was totally confused too. When the salesman told me the "F" model is the manual brake, and the "BF" is the manual brake with a magnetic actuator that is activated by either the off switch or the brake. It is totally different than the motor brake. With the power switch (key) turned off which will not power the magnet, and the blade fully tensioned, I spin the wheels and step on the brake, it stops immediately. When it is running and I step on the brake, I can hear the magnets activate the brake mechanism.

This is not a complaint against Grizzly, but it takes more than the normal amount of due dilligence in trying to figure out all of this. If it wasn't for that salesman, it would have been a shot in the dark.

[Van Huskey]

I am still not convinced I understand the brakes on this series, I went to the Mincy showroom recently to try to dig through the machines but they did not have the brake models on display, maybe next time. The brake Randy had decribed to him is the most unusual brake system I have even seen on a BS but it may indeed be the case, I wanna see it! BTW no one should be shy about motor brakes, they are used throughout the industry on industrial machines, small handheld tools just aren't built as well. In the end I prefer a good implementation of a fully manual foot brake, they just work quicker, note I said good implementation, some of them aren't very good.

[Ryan Mooney]

I am still not convinced I understand the brakes on this series

Agreed, both Shiraz's explanation in the thread Dave linked to and the description on the website contradict what the salesman told Randy.

Quoting the website:
"The G0513X2BF has the additional feature of being able to activate the motor brake with a foot pedal. The pedal activates the electronic motor brake so that you can have both of your hands on the workpiece when bringing the blade to a stop."

Randy, can you take a picture of the inside of the lower compartment around the foot pedal, curious minds are curious.

I'm not totally opposed to motor brakes, but figured it would be easier/cheaper to replace if/when I burn out the original motor without having one. Very likely overly pessimistic :rolleyes:

[Van Huskey]

Agreed, both Shiraz's explanation in the thread Dave linked to and the description on the website contradict what the salesman told Randy.

Quoting the website:
"The G0513X2BF has the additional feature of being able to activate the motor brake with a foot pedal. The pedal activates the electronic motor brake so that you can have both of your hands on the workpiece when bringing the blade to a stop."

Randy, can you take a picture of the inside of the lower compartment around the foot pedal, curious minds are curious.

I'm not totally opposed to motor brakes, but figured it would be easier/cheaper to replace if/when I burn out the original motor without having one. Very likely overly pessimistic :rolleyes:

If you ever did burn the motor out I would replace it with a 3ph motor and VFD. You could get the braking (adjustable at that) and it could be wired to all the micro-switches and the main switch as well. Given the cost of surplus 3ph motors and drives are pretty cheap it probably would cost more than a standard single phase motor, or not much anyway.

[Randy Henry]

Ryan,
I will try to get a pic of the inside tonite. Just for grins and to make sure I wasn't giving you guys bad information, I unplugged the machine, spun both wheels with the blade tensioned pretty fast, stepped on the brake and the brake stopped the blade immediately. Thats the main reason why I like it, a back-up in case the magnetic system fails.