Glenn Clabo
01-03-2004, 12:09 PM
I just put my new Grizzly G0513 17” Bandsaw together this morning... and I must say it's a very nice machine. I’ll try not to repeat what Terry has said because he did a great job with his review.
It took about 2 hours to make the first cut and I had to rewire for 110 because the garage doesn't have 220. I didn’t have too much trouble unpacking and mounting the 325 lb machine on wheels…but I need some of my knuckle draggin friends to get it into the basement. It’s on its own 20 amp line so it works fine. I might switch it back when/if it gets downstairs.
The first cut I made was a 1/8th inch slice of 8 inch walnut board. It slid right through without hesitation even with the supplied ½ inch blade... which frankly blew me away. It may only be an emergency use blade until/after I decide which ones to buy but it’s really not all that bad.
Is it the best bandsaw I’ve ever used?...No. I once had access to an old monster with a 7HP motor…So not many machines will impress me like that. Am I at all sorry that I paid 800 bucks for it?…Absolutely not! Time will tell about reliability, but it came from the factory clearly well thought out. I had no trouble at all installing and aligning the few parts that come unattached. Aligning the blades and guides was far from difficult and I don’t see it being a problem during blade changes in the future. The real test will be when I try to dovetail and slice some expensive cherry.
Bottom line…I’m VERY impressed with my first Grizzly purchase. Hide the catalog my lady.
It took about 2 hours to make the first cut and I had to rewire for 110 because the garage doesn't have 220. I didn’t have too much trouble unpacking and mounting the 325 lb machine on wheels…but I need some of my knuckle draggin friends to get it into the basement. It’s on its own 20 amp line so it works fine. I might switch it back when/if it gets downstairs.
The first cut I made was a 1/8th inch slice of 8 inch walnut board. It slid right through without hesitation even with the supplied ½ inch blade... which frankly blew me away. It may only be an emergency use blade until/after I decide which ones to buy but it’s really not all that bad.
Is it the best bandsaw I’ve ever used?...No. I once had access to an old monster with a 7HP motor…So not many machines will impress me like that. Am I at all sorry that I paid 800 bucks for it?…Absolutely not! Time will tell about reliability, but it came from the factory clearly well thought out. I had no trouble at all installing and aligning the few parts that come unattached. Aligning the blades and guides was far from difficult and I don’t see it being a problem during blade changes in the future. The real test will be when I try to dovetail and slice some expensive cherry.
Bottom line…I’m VERY impressed with my first Grizzly purchase. Hide the catalog my lady.