Grizzly GO555LX Owners

[Brendan Stewart]

Hello,
I want to give some background about my experiences and have a few questions for owners of this bandsaw.

I just recently recieved a grizzly GO555LX bandsaw and after setting it up specifically to the specifications as directed to the manual, I noticed it was having vibration issues, as well as a severe wobble during its shut down period. At best I was able to balance a nickel on the table for about 30 seconds, but generally only around 10-15 seconds, never would it be able to start, run at speed, and stop with a nickel balanced. Of course I inquired with technical supported and tried to figure it out. I tried so many things, I was at it for days, level secure base, new blade, tracking, belt, pulley allignment, coplanar, allignment you name it, but just could not alleviate these issues by much at all and figured the wheel to be out of balance. However, Just a few days later I noticed the motor clicking and sparking and tracked that issue to the centrifugal switch and accompanying components. Mind you, I hadent even used the saw to cut any wood yet. So now I had these vibration and wobble issues as well as an electrical issue and waiting on back ordered parts. At that point it would have been one full month of ownership with no sawdust on the floor whatsoever. By this time I went ahead and just inquired with CS about just exchanging my machine for a new one, they agreed and I am going through that process now. I did not want to return the saw, because I've heard great things about them and figured mine is just having issues, and really it just fits my budget so well.

So my question is for any owners of this saw, what should I expect to be normal for this saw when I recieve and set up my new one?

should I expect to be able to balance a nickel on it while running? And throughout the process of starting, stopping and shut down?

has anyone else experienced any of these vibration wobble issues? Is a certain degree of this vibration and shut down wobble to be expected? How much?

Of course I don't expect a flawless saw, at this price point, how could I? I'm really not a picky person, but based on so many great reviews of this saw, I was expecting better, and hope/assume better will arrive.

Anyway, this in no way is a bash on grizzly, in fact, should everything go as planned, I will be even more impressed by them for working with me. despite these early issues, the way CS has had my back on this process, I really appreciate them for that. I believe I may have had a defective machine, and can only assume most people's grizzly tools run better than this, or else I wouldn't assume this company to be as big, well known and accepted as it is for some people.

Anyway, thanks for reading, any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Brendan Stewart]

Well actually any info or input from anyone considering bandsaws in general and what to expect would be great to hear about. Don't mean to be exclusive.

[Nick Stokes]

Have the same saw. I can't balance a nickle on mine, not even close. Seems to vibrate more after I turn off power while it's winding down.

[Al Bacon]

I too have the same saw. Never tried to balance a nickel on it, but it cuts real good and that what I bought it for.

But I would want that electrical problem solved definitely.

[Susumu Mori]

I have an older version as well as a much larger 20-inch. Griz 0555 runs much quieter and smoother, but I don't think I can balance a nickle for a long time. Interestingly, a nickle can hold still on the larger saw, except for a moment it hits some resonance during the lamp down.
Must be something to do with the mass.

[Chris Killingsworth]

Satisfied g0555lx. Owned it for ~2 years, very few problems. I've never tried the nickel test but I would be surprised if it balanced at all - the saw vibrates a small amount when the saw is on. It's never caused any problems for me (rips, cross cuts, curves, and resawing) and my cut quality seems to be on par with other 14 inch band saw owners.

Chris

[Brendan Stewart]

Thanks for the input, I'm happy to hear about some satisfied owners. personally I didn't really think about trying the ol nickel trick until I had noticed what I had thought might be excessive vibration, then started trying it out in order to help explain to tech support (and others) the levels of something which is hard to quantify or measure accurately without proper devices. The nickel trick I had just seen on the net to demonstrate smooth bandsaw operations, and "little to no vibration" is what the manual had expressed to be the levels to expect. But yeah, as long as it cuts well, generally is trouble free and will last, I'll be more than happy.

[Susumu Mori]

OK, I did the nickel test.
First of all, as I said, my 0555 is spooky quiet and very smooth, but it does have a tiny bit of steady vibration and occasional larger shaking-kinda motion. Don't know the cause. I assume the steady vibration is mainly caused by the wheel balance. For the occasional shaking, maybe the vibration hits some kind of resonance or the saw blades has some non-uniform tension that gets accumulated and released while running.

The results of the nickel tests are not quite reproducible. Sometimes it can manage to stand well beyond 30 sec, sometimes it falls within 5 sec. It also depends on the location. It is more difficult to stand toward the right edge of the table.

My saw is standing on a mobile base. I believe the rubber feet significantly dampen the vibration.

I understand that unless the vibration is significant, it doesn't affect the cut quality, but I also appreciate tools with smooth, vibration-free, running. It just makes woodworking experience more enjoyable.

So, it seems your 0555 is a typical one; may not be the best one out there but not the bad one either, based on your nickel tests. I hope this would give you ease of your mind

[Brendan Stewart]

Thanks for the extra input, yeah the running vibrations sounds to be in the normal ranges. My main concern was the excessive wobble towards the shut down, which I thought might have been an indication of an issue with wheel balance, or something else which correlated to a running issue, but based on the reviews, sounds to be normal. Luckily, a bandsaw is not used during this shut down process, and that issue is just a matter or slight annoyance at most.

Its been good to get input from people with this saw, it really puts expectations for it into perspective. At this point I guess it's just the electrical issue that I really need to concern myself with.

[Susumu Mori]

Yeah, my does that too. Actually both 14 and 20-inch saws do the same thing, like a wet dog trying to throw out the water. I see the same thing for the laundry washers; when they are up to the full speed, they run smooth but shake when winding down. It must be some sort of resonance of the structure or the motor.

I wonder if somebody can explain it. If it is the balance of the wheels, I guess the vibration gets worse as the rotation speed increases....

[Bradley Hedges]

I've had one for about a year, and it was definitely much louder/had more vibration with the stock blade. I switched to some quality blades a few months ago and was very impressed with the difference they made. They cut far better also, so you may want to try that before looking for demons in the attic.... But do get the motor fixed!

[glenn bradley]

To your cent-switch issue; just so you don't chase your tail . . . the cent switch will spark and click and even squeak a bit at the last few revolutions after shut down. My concern is that the switch is generally hidden under the dust cap and the spark is not visible(?). Just thought I'd mention that since I chased a cent-switch problem only to find the operation was normal. You can eliminate the squeak if you have it (or get it) by polishing the ledge of the cent switch that the spring/contact rides when in the inactive position. I just used some 600 and 800 grit sandpaper on my tablesaw top to shine up the surface.