My new Grizzly Bandsaw

[Maurice Arney]

It arrived yesterday and looks in good shape!

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[Maurice Arney]

Putting together the stand was pretty straight forward with metric box wrenches.

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[Maurice Arney]

The wife was able to help me lift the saw on to the stand. Attaches with four bolts.

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I must say I am very impressed with the quality of materials in this tool. Very heavy! I built a dolly in order to move it to my shop.

[Gus Dundon]

That's new toy in the shop! Congratulations on your new band saw. Does it have blades?

[John Bailey]

Congrats -- love that Grizzly Green!

[Maurice Arney]

That's new toy in the shop! Congratulations on your new band saw. Does it have blades?

Just the 3/8" blade that comes with it. I haven't decided what to get for blades yet. I also bought the riser kit so I need to decide whether I am going to install that right away or wait until I need it.

[Maurice Arney]

Congrats -- love that Grizzly Green!

Thanks... I'll post more pics once the table is on and bearings adjusted.

[Charles Lent]

Install the riser before you buy any blades. If you wait to install the riser, any blades you buy now will be useless after the riser is installed. Doing it now will only cause the original blade to no longer fit.

Charley

[Maurice Arney]

Install the riser before you buy any blades. If you wait to install the riser, any blades you buy now will be useless after the riser is installed. Doing it now will only cause the original blade to no longer fit.

Charley

Ya... I was toying with the idea of using it for a while until I needed the riser. But I guess you are right.

[Keith Christopher]

Just the 3/8" blade that comes with it. I haven't decided what to get for blades yet. I also bought the riser kit so I need to decide whether I am going to install that right away or wait until I need it.

i have the same bandsaw, the blade on it, throw it away, it cuts horribly. so bad in fact you can't even adjust the fence properly with it. Get a set of timberwolf blades. You will not be disappointed.

But for the BS....have fun. and congrats !

[Jim Finn]

I have an older version of this saw. I suggest you install the riser now and get good blades to accommodate it. The blade that came with mine I gave away. Great saw. I only use it to resaw.

[Bill White]

I'm very well pleased with my 0555LX as well. No riser, but I'm considering the addition.
You've made a good purchase.
Bill

[Joseph Tarantino]

nice saw. enjoy the new toy. add some good blades (skip the timberwolks) like lennox promasters from iturra and optimize the performance of your BS. and +1 on the add the riser now. no sense to wait.

[Jim Rimmer]

Congrats on the new saw. If you're going to resaw, I recommend the Woodslicer from Highland.

[Tai Fu]

I would recommend Lenox Diemaster 2 blades, cuts very well and stays sharp forever.

[Maurice Arney]

OK... Haven't used the saw yet but already have a -1 for Grizzly service. I disassembled to install the riser kit but the pins do not line up on the block. I called Grizzly tech support and the guy said "Yes, unfortunately we had a number of units get by inspection where the pins do not line up." The solutiion? I had to purchase another kit, including shipping! He said they would give me a refund when they got the defective one back. Not what I would expect where they admit and recognize that I was sent a defective unit. Maybe I expect to much but if it were my company, I would ship a new part immediately and not ask the customer to pay for a replacement up front.

Update: Wow... Got a call a moment ago from someone at Grizzly. Said he was reading the thread! He apologized and said he would issue a credit for the charge. Nice to know that they do care :) That's good cause I have new G0691 in my wish list for this spring :)

[Gus Dundon]

Just the 3/8" blade that comes with it. I haven't decided what to get for blades yet. I also bought the riser kit so I need to decide whether I am going to install that right away or wait until I need it.

I am using different blades. I am quite unsure what to recommend to you for now since you don't have vivid plans yet. Anyways, just keep the riser kit until you need it. There are pros and cons with riser kit and it would be best to have it on when needed.

[Maurice Arney]

I am using different blades. I am quite unsure what to recommend to you for now since you don't have vivid plans yet. Anyways, just keep the riser kit until you need it. There are pros and cons with riser kit and it would be best to have it on when needed.

What are the cons?

[Tai Fu]

I think the riser kit makes the frame a little more flexible..

[Maurice Arney]

I think the riser kit makes the frame a little more flexible..

Without a doubt, buying a 17" saw would be the "right" way to increase capacity. In comparing the two, the larger saw increases lateral cutting capacity, has larger wheels, and is generally a step up in functionality. But it also doubles the price tag. So I guess the riser block is one of those things that we like to refer to as "a poor man's" version of the real thing. I won't have an opinion on how well the setup works until I use it for a while.

[John Bailey]

Unless you're going to use the saw primarily for resawing, I wouldn't worry about the height attachment. Tens of thousands of woodworkers have been very successful resawing up to the full capacity of that system. I've seen a couple of two-bandsaw shops with a non-riser 14" for curve work and 14" with the riser block for resaw and straight work.

[Maurice Arney]

Unless you're going to use the saw primarily for resawing, I wouldn't worry about the height attachment. Tens of thousands of woodworkers have been very successful resawing up to the full capacity of that system. I've seen a couple of two-bandsaw shops with a non-riser 14" for curve work and 14" with the riser block for resaw and straight work.

Ya, I wasn't really sure if I needed the riser kit but I bought it just to have "in case." When I get the replacement block I might just make sure the pins are correct and then just keep it until I find a need for it.

[Tai Fu]

I have seen people resaw with a 14" with riser kits, although they have to go slower.

For me it wasn't really double the price tag but just a little more, since I could buy the Steel City 14" granite deluxe which was an ok saw but the 18" was only 300 dollars more, including delivery. I went with the 18" because the dealer had no idea when the Steel City would ship as they are the only distributor for Steel City in Taiwan and they had to freight it back from the US (and the thing is made in Taiwan too). The 18" is very bare bone, crappy fence (basically a solid block of cast iron without any possibility to adjust for drift) that runs on a slot in front of the table, the table pin blocking the fence preventing me from making small cuts. The saw also doesn't have any quick tension or blade tension indicator since the tension mechanism contains no spring (simply a square nut and threaded rod that turns from above which raises/lowers the wheel). The Steel City had all of those features but I am not sure it's worth sacrificing stiffness and throat over... The larger wheel really helps to allow more option in blade choices.

[John Bailey]

I had a 1939 Delta 14" without the riser. It was just about the best machine I've ever had, and wish I'd kept it. It only had a 3/4 hp motor and I resawed plenty of Teak, Mahogony, Ash and Maple. Until recently, in 30 years of woodworking, I've never had the need to resaw past the 6" capacity of the old Delta.

Riser or not, you're going to get a lot of use out of that saw.

[Tai Fu]

Although a vintage Delta is of better quality than recent clones. Heck even Delta couldn't make anything decent anymore.

[Maurice Arney]

I have seen people resaw with a 14" with riser kits, although they have to go slower.

For me it wasn't really double the price tag but just a little more, since I could buy the Steel City 14" granite deluxe which was an ok saw but the 18" was only 300 dollars more, including delivery. I went with the 18" because the dealer had no idea when the Steel City would ship as they are the only distributor for Steel City in Taiwan and they had to freight it back from the US (and the thing is made in Taiwan too). The 18" is very bare bone, crappy fence (basically a solid block of cast iron without any possibility to adjust for drift) that runs on a slot in front of the table, the table pin blocking the fence preventing me from making small cuts. The saw also doesn't have any quick tension or blade tension indicator since the tension mechanism contains no spring (simply a square nut and threaded rod that turns from above which raises/lowers the wheel). The Steel City had all of those features but I am not sure it's worth sacrificing stiffness and throat over... The larger wheel really helps to allow more option in blade choices.

I picked up the G0555LX when it was on sale for $445 ($100 off from $545). The 17 inch I think was $895 so it was just about double the price. I really think it is all I need (for now) and I like I said, I'm pretty impressed with the "heft" of this thing... Seems real solid!

[Tai Fu]

I would have jumped years ago if I could get a 14" delta clones for around 400 dollars. Due to the lack of any hobby in Taiwan any saws like that made here are export only, no local sales. So it was the difference between an upgraded Delta clones (which is around 700-800 dollars) or a barebone 18" bandsaw (1000 dollars). The choice was obvious. It's easier to get industrial equipments/metalworking stuff than woodworking stuff.

[Maurice Arney]

I finally got my new G0555LX put together. There were someproblems with the riser block kit pins not lining up with the base saw. Grizzlyhas worked with me and finally got a riser block that was close enough that Icould file a flat on one of the pins to allow it to slip onto the saw base. However (and I should have checked this before reassembling) I noticed that thetop half of the saw leans forward a bit. Not sure how well you can see it from this photo.

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[Maurice Arney]

I should have put a level on the top of the riser block before re-assembling. The base is level and I verified this by placing a level on the base, the table, and also checking the plum on the bottom half of the saw. But looking at the photos, you can see that both the blade and the guide post are out of plum. The riser block will need to be shimmed quite a bit to bring the top back into alignment. Left to right is the blade, saw stand and, guide post.

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I haven't really used the saw yet except for one test cut resawing a 1x3 so I can't report on functionality. I will need to take it back down and shim the riser block, but at this point, I may just bring it back to a stock 14" saw and leave it.

[Mike Cozad]

Enjoy your new saw! Mine was the most used tool in my shop when I bought my first one used 20 years ago.

Is it just me or is your front fence rail out of level by a couple of degrees with the table?

[Maurice Arney]

Enjoy your new saw! Mine was the most used tool in my shop when I bought my first one used 20 years ago.

So does this mean that you don't see this as an issue... LOL?


Is it just me or is your front fence rail out of level by a couple of degrees with the table?

No it's not you. I didn't have it tightened down and it got skewed when I was checking the base level.


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Zat better?

[Maurice Arney]

It's not quite as bad as I thought it would be. My guages only go up to .035 and that's a bit sloppy, but .035 - .040 brass shim might bring it back to plumb.

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[Mike Cozad]

Lookin better! I finally upgraded to a a better saw with 13" resaw capacity but haven't used it yet. So I'm not sure what advice I could give for the riser on whether to remove it or leave it installed...

[Maurice Arney]

So I ordered some shim stock from Amazon to see if I can bring this up to plumb...

[Maurice Arney]

But I was wondering if this type of thing is common when using riser block kits? Will it affect the cut adversely? I would think that it would be OK as long as I can get the blade running perpendicular to the table.

[Tai Fu]

If it's not plumb, then you will have to adjust the guide anytime you change the height of the blade guard. It is very annoying.

[John Bailey]

Hi Maurice,

At this point I would be sending the riser kit back for a refund or an exchange. You've had too many problems with a new item.

Out of curiosity, is there paint on the mating surfaces of the riser kit? If so, that could be the problem. I've heard that some of the riser kits have painted mating surfaces and that's got to cause a problem.

John

[Maurice Arney]

Hi Maurice,

At this point I would be sending the riser kit back for a refund or an exchange. You've had too many problems with a new item.

Out of curiosity, is there paint on the mating surfaces of the riser kit? If so, that could be the problem. I've heard that some of the riser kits have painted mating surfaces and that's got to cause a problem.

John

Yes, the mating surfaces are/were painted. I scraped the bottom of the block to bare metal but not the top. I will do that when I take it apart again to shim it. I am seriously considering sending it back and just reverting back to a stock 14" saw.

[Maurice Arney]

Just noticed another issue. Don't think this can be adjusted... :confused:

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[Tai Fu]

Loosen the bolt that holds the table to the trunnion and move it until it's right.

[Maurice Arney]

Loosen the bolt that holds the table to the trunnion and move it until it's right.

Ya... There is no real adjustment there. Just enough "wiggle room" to keep the teeth from scraping the insert. I spose I could widen the opening.

[John Bailey]

My Oliver is a different set up, but when I got it I had the same issue. On mine, instead of adjusting the table, I had to adjust the trunnions. I can't remember if that was possible with my 14" Delta when I had it.

[Maurice Arney]

Thank you Tai and John!!! Although there is no "adjustment" to compensate for this, I went underneath and loosened every bolt that was holding the table and trunion together (9 of them). Then, while standing directly in front of the saw, I grabbed the table on each side and "wiggled" while pressing backward. Here is the result!

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Oh... and I placed a .020 shim under the front of the riser block. The blade and adjustment bar are perfectly plumb now. Can hardly notice the shim. I'll post a pic...

[Tullie Templet]

Maurice, how heavy is just the top of the unit not the with stand included. What I'm asking is do I NEED a lift gate for the g0555lx? About to order one and I'm sort of a tight wad LOL!!! Or is the extra $35 worth it. Because of my driveway situation, The lift gate would only be to load it into the back of my truck and then I have to drive it to my shop and unload it by hand.

[Maurice Arney]

Maurice, how heavy is just the top of the unit not the with stand included. What I'm asking is do I NEED a lift gate for the g0555lx? About to order one and I'm sort of a tight wad LOL!!! Or is the extra $35 worth it. Because of my driveway situation, The lift gate would only be to load it into the back of my truck and then I have to drive it to my shop and unload it by hand.

Tullie, When you say the "top of the unit" do you mean the entire bandsaw minus the stand? If so then Grizzly lists this (carton #1) as 204 lbs. The second carton containing the stand only weighs 42lbs. I didn't pay for a lift gate because I have a fork lift attachment for my tractor but the driver (UPS freight) unloaded it anyway using his lift gate and a pallet jack, so I didn't need to do anything. But to answer your question, if your driver goes by the book and does not use his lift gate then I would have Bubba and a few friends over to take it off. You won't do it by yourself.