Thinking about the Grizzly G0555 Bandsaw..any comments?

[Brent Romero]

Looks like Grizzlyhas the G0555 Anniversary Model on sale and I am thinking about it.

Any comments/suggestions?

Thanks

[glenn bradley]

In the 14" arena and at that price point it does have a lot of bang for the buck. The 555's also have a large ownership base and most comments I see are very positive.

[Tom Brown19]

I have the non-anniversary model 555 and find it to be a well designed and good quality tool.

[Bill White]

I have the 0555LX. Excellent value. Have not added the riser (yet).
Bill

[Jared McMahon]

I've had a G0555 w/ riser for a few years now. Full disclosure that it's my first piece of woodworking machinery. That said, I've gotten a ton of work out of it (hobby, not professional) and it has served me very well. Tensioning can be fussy and dust collection has never been something to write home about, but these seem like standard problems with most/all bandsaws. Just keep your blade widths away from the very high end of its range and you'll probably be quite satisfied with its value.

[Jim Rimmer]

I have the G0555X and love it. No riser but haven't had a need for it yet. Resaws like a champ with a good blade. If you order the BS, throw the blade out and by a good one. I recommend Woodslicer.

[Jim Finn]

I bought a one horsepower G0555 in 2008 with the riser and use it primarily for resawing soft and hard woods. It works well for me with a 1/2" Carbide resawing bandsaw blade.

[Stew Hagerty]

I have the G0555X with riser and love it. I did do some upgrades though that turned a really good bandsaw into a fantastic bandsaw. Even though the G0555X came with ball bearing guides (as does the anniversary edition), I upgraded to Carter Micro-Adjust Guides. They adjust so very much easier and they are far quieter. As long as I was doing the upgrading from Carter, I also changed to their Quick Release which, unlike the original Grizzly, completely removes all tension. And while I was at it, I also switched to Carter's Ratchet Rod and I was surprised how much easier it made tension adjustments. The last two upgrades are nice, but I highly recommend the Carter Guide upgrade.

[Bill Geibe]

If you are looking at the Griz, take a gander at it's not-so-distant cousin, the ShopFox W1706 : http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Fox-W1706-14-Inch-Bandsaw/dp/B000J14IB2 . When I was shopping for a good 14" BS a couple years ago, I spotted the Shop Fox at a local tool store and fell instantly in lust with it. Though some Shop Fox machines are carbon copies of their Grizzly counterparts, this one is not - it doesn't even use the same riser kit as the G0555. I particularly like the rack and pinion upper blade guide that keeps the guide assembly from accidentally falling and smacking the table.

I've been trying some re-sawing with it recently. With a 3/4" Timberwolf blade, it cuts real well without any dreaded drift (maybe I'm just lucky on that) and with 1 HP, it's not overpowered but gets the job done. Anyway, I don't think you can go wrong with either saw.

Bill

[Gus Dundon]

You should go for it. A lot of folks here are pretty satisfied with it .

[John Schweikert]

ShopFox W1706
Bill

That 1706 is basically the same as the G0555LX that I have, same fence, wheels, geared rise, housing, bearing supports (except for locking screws), base is different. Doesn't matter either way, great machines. I have no complaints on my LX. Does everything I need from resawing to curve cuts. I got it when it had the intro $445 price which was also great. The anniversary model has that same price now too.

[Bill White]

Forgot to add that the LX version has the rack and pinion height adjustment and a barrel type tension release that completely removes tension from the blade. The cast iron wheels on it really make for a smmoth runnin' machine.
Bill

[Kevin Womer]

Had mine since they first came out around 2003, love the thing. I did replace the bearings with cool blocks, had to order the parts off of a different Grizzly BS to do it. Use it all the time and have had no problems with it.

[Brent Romero]

Thanks for the advice guys. SMC is always a great place to come for good advice. Pulled the trigger on it today and it should be here mid June. I think it is a fairly decent buy at $445.