Grizzly Bandsaw

[Julio Navarro]

Any opinions on this bandsaw? I plan on using it to resaw hard and soft woods. I like it because of the 1" thick blade capacity and 2hp motor. For the price this seems to be the closest to a resaw saw which runs up in the 1k and up range (a range beyond my reach unfortunately)

I only need about a 6" cutting height as I am planing on using it to resaw for jewelry boxes and small drawers.

http://www.grizzly.com/outlet/G1073

Is there any other comparable product to this one?

Will a 14" bandsaw with a 3/4" blade and comparable hp motor do just as well?

I want to be able to resaw about 4" to 6" high X 1" and 3/4" thick stock down to 3/8" to 1/2" thicknesses.

[Mac McAtee]

A standard 12" bandsaw with a 1/2" blade will resaw all the 6" materal you would ever need. However, you never know when you may find a need for an 8" cut. I'd go with a 14" machine and a riser block for it, run 3/4" Timberwolf blades for resawing. Put a Carter blade tension release and Carter yellow spring on it.

[Garry Smith]

I'm using the Grizzly 14 ' bandsaw with a riser block.
http://www.superwoodworks.com/Projects/ArchedBed.htm shows a project I am working on which called for resawing 12 inch curly yellow birch.
This saw has more than lived up to my expectations for the price but if you can afford a bigger saw, go for it.
Garry

[Julio Navarro]

At the risk of sounding ignorant...what is a riser block?

[Garry Smith]

At the risk of sounding ignorant...what is a riser block?
The riser block is an accessory kit that you can purchase from Grizzly for the 14 inch bandsaw that will allow the saw to cut more than 12 inches in hieght. I highly recommend the kit. 6 inches just was never enough for me.

[Josh Goldsmith]

I recently bought a grizzly G0555 14" Bandsaw. I love it alot. Anyways it came with a riser block. I bought it used. The advantage of having the riser block is so when you get that perfect piece of wood you can resaw it down without having to cut it into small pieces and ruin your possiblilities of projects for that piece of wood. Also when you go to the lumber yard you can only buy the 6" wide or less wood cause that is all you can resaw with the G1073. You say that you only do small jewerly boxes and so forth but once in a great while you might get creative and want to build something slightly bigger. The G0555 is a great bandsaw for the money and the HP is enough to resaw almost all woods. It is not a production machine but it is perfect for the serious hobbiest. In my own opinion. Before i bought this bandsaw is was looking at a 16" bandsaw with an 8" resaw and a little more hp. Then i found the 14" and haven't looked back yet. Having the ablility to resaw 12" wood and 1 1/2 hp for less money than that 16 grizzly that only can resaw 6" and 2hp just doesn't (To me) worth it. Not saying that it is a bad saw just limiting your wood you can buy.

[Julio Navarro]

Good points Josh, thanks

[Josh Goldsmith]

I only paid $350 for a used but looked new G0555 with riser block, 3- 1/2 blades and 1- 3/8 blade and a mobile base. I don't mean to sound pushy i just like to help out when i can. Good luck and let us know what one you get!:D

[Rich Bay]

I've been using the 1073z version of this saw for about a year. I believe it is the same with the exception of the enclosed base.

I am quite happy with the saw in that it has done a good job on everything I have tried. My resawing has been limited to about 6" pieces and it cut well down to about 1/8" thick.

At the Springfield store - up until at least last May - this was the bandsaw they used in their demo shop. In my opinion the Solid Cast Iron Frame and the Cast Iron Wheels of this saw are definitely worth considering.

Good luck with whatever you get.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Julio, I'm sure that saw is a good-working machine, but personally I'd save a couple hundred bucks and buy a 14" with riser block. You lose a bit of horsepower (which you're not likely to miss unless you're using bad blades or trying to cut too fast), but you gain additional resaw height. I was one of those -- like you -- who was sure I'd only need 6" of capacity, but once I had the capability for 12" resawing, I started finding lots of ways to take advantage of it. It's not the 12" deep cuts that get you, it's the 6.5" and 7" ones where the extra resaw capacity pays off.

Also, there are a lot more replacement and accessory parts available for the typical 14" BS than a one-off design like the G1073. The G0555 is a good saw for less money, and depending on your local dealers, you might be able to get the Shop Fox W1706 clone of it (with cast iron wheels, an enclosed cabinet, and a few other extras) for about the same price. Be aware that it pays to go price shopping when talking to Shop Fox dealers.

I have the W1706 w/riser block, and I can push 10" hardwood through it with clean cuts and no problems.

Whichever way you decide to go, you're gonna love having a good bandsaw. :) Enjoy -

- Vaughn

[Brian Parker]

First off beware of Vaughn, hes bad news jk, afterall talking to him convinced me to get the W1706. I've only had it a few days but I've ran alot of wood through it to test its ability and it has ran like a champ.

I'm not mad at Vaughn at all rather stating that he helped spend my money, not that it took much coaxing. Rather he answered alot of my questions and also gave me alot of good advice and some good insight.

If you are buying a new saw get the riser block its ~60 bucks (a little more or less maybe) but its worth it. If you go without it now and you buy 3 blades you spent at least $30 on blades for it (more for quality ones) but none the less its still money. Once you install a riser block you will need larger blades! If someone else mentioned that forgive me, I must have missed it. I mean you wouldn't want to have some blades that you spent some money on just sitting there because they are now too short would you?

I myself thought of getting a large grizz but after I found that the 14" saw will do what I want and still leave some money for a few nice blades I went that way.

Now here is why I bought the Shop Fox over the Grriz G0555.
-I had to pay tax on either since I am in PA
-Grizzly meant having to ship it to work since someone has to sign for it.
-Shop Fox one has cast iron wheels
-Shop Fox has 2 yr warranty, Griz has 1yr.
-Shop Fox has a nice enclosed base
-The shop fox was from a local dealer

I bought the riser block at the same time and after taxes it cost me about $22 more for the shop fox vs the grizzly. (Yes thats the price for the Grizzly after taxes and shipping)

I'm sure either way you are going to get a nice saw, the color matters to some people but my shop isnt all the same pretty color, ratehr its full of workhorses.

If you want to find a local dealer for shop fox call 1-800-840-8420 (again from Vaugn)

[Julio Navarro]

Thanks Bryan, Vaughn. I hadnt considered the Shop Fox but now I will. Thanks again

[Vaughn McMillan]

First off beware of Vaughn, hes bad news jk, afterall talking to him convinced me to get the W1706. SMC has cost me quite a bit of money over the last few months...I'm just trying to return the favor. ;) :p

Julio, I also was about to pull the trigger on the Griz 0555 when someone here mentioned the Shop Fox. After a bit of calling around, I found a dealer with a good price. For me, it was ≈$50 more for the Shop Fox than the Griz, but IMHO it was worth the little bit of extra money for the cast iron wheels, longer warranty, and enclosed cabinet. I have had no regrets about the purchase.

- Vaughn

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hey Julio, I told you about the helpful, knowledgeable people here, ain't it great :D

One thing I can see about the 14" with riser blocks is that this saw will do just about everything you need it to do, that is until you find that nice old HUGE American steel band saw, that you will set up for resawing only, then the 14" will be used for cutting curves ;) :D

If you can find a good used one, you will save yourself some money, but you may have to wait a bit.

Also buy the "Band Saw Book" (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1561582891/sr=8-1/qid=1141342745/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8644383-5832667?%5Fencoding=UTF8) by Lonnie Bird, if you have not already bought it. Tons of great info in there about the various saws, and once you have a saw, the set up and tweaking info is of great value.

Cheers!

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

I got their G0550 with a riser block and it works well, resawing. I cut all my turning blanks with it.

Bruce

[Julio Navarro]

This place is the best, Stu, you were right!

And I can only hope to run into a bandsaw like "big blue" one day.

I have a thick 1-1/2" block of purple heart wood that I want to resaw into 3/8" or 1/2" panels. Its about 6" wide by 18" long and should make a nice box.

[Julio Navarro]

Burned to a crisp in the fire I had in December. BUT! I do plan on refurbishing it, so hopefully it will be making sawdust soon!!

Sorry to hear that Forrest. Say, how much work do you think yo will need to refurbish that BS? ay possibility you might want to sell it?:o

[Julio Navarro]

33104

This is a JWBS 14CS going for 375, is it a good buy? I can pic it up this weekend. Can riser block be added to it?

[Charlie Plesums]

I sold my Jet 14 inch bandsaw to upgrade to the Grizzly G0555 14 inch bandsaw. The Grizzly had better dust collection, european guides (bearings like the Carter guides), tension release, rip fence, cheaper riser block, and other features. On close examination they appear to be built in the same factory (a lot of the castings were the same).

I am very happy with my G0555, but I do hope to upgrade someday (probably to a MiniMax 20 inch or larger). With a good blade (i.e. Timberwolf) in good condition and with careful alignment you can do some amazing resawing slowly, but nothing like you can do on the heavier duty machines with a carbide blade.

Incidentally, Suffolk Machinery recommended that I drop to a 1/2 inch Timberwolf blade for resawing ... It appears I wasn't getting enough tension on the 3/4 inch blade

All that said, it does look like a sweet deal on the Jet

[Jim Becker]

That's a good deal on the Jet if it's in good working condition. It was not quite $800 new, if I recall clearly. I liked mine when I owned it. And yes, there is a riser kit available for it. If you plan on the riser, get it right away as the blade length changes once you install it to 105". You don't want to buy a bunch of shorter blades and then add the riser!