Considering Buying Used Grizzly Bandsaw

[Steve Schnurbusch]

I found a used 18" Grizzly bandsaw for sale in the local area on Craigslist for $350. I have a bandsaw attachment on my old Shopsmith and it can't do any resawing.

I went and looked at it last night but not sure exactly what to look for. I think it was built in '86 from the stamp on it. It seems to run quietly. The guides were not set up properly on it at all but that would be easy enough to adjust. The tires looked in decent shape - the top one had no saw dust on it at all - the bottom one had a little bit. All his extra blades were rusty on the surface - don't know if you could clean them up and use them. They were from suffolk and never been used.

He's had 3 other guys look at it but no takers so that makes me wonder. He's pretty firm on his price. To get a new saw with decent resaw capability would be at least $600. I can buy an aftermarket guide conversion kit for it for about $160 if I felt that was an issue. This one has the older style blade guides.

I found the manual on the Grizzly website so that will help with all the necessary adjustments. Just not sure if there's anyway to tell if the bearings or bad or if the wheels are out of whack because I'm sure he's never released the tension on the blade - he's says he never uses it anymore so it's been sitting a while.

Any thoughts on what to look for if I go back. I brought a thick pieced of wood to resaw but then forgot to try it out.

Thanks

Steve

[Craig D Peltier]

You can find newer 14" BS with risers on them that can resaw up to 12 or 13 inch for less than 350 if your patient. I just recently got a Griz G0555 with riser and mobile base and resaw fence 1.5 yrs old for $400.Someone else here had same saw without base for 400 also.I spent about 2 months searching.Found one one week before griz tent sale.
Today I saw a jet 14" on there for 450 with all above mentioned pieces and it was also 1.5 yrs old used twice it said.Price was steep but under 500.
Dont know much about the griz from 86 but i have never heard the old ones were workhorses either.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

A circa late 1980s imported bandsaw is most likely a cast iron C-frame bandsaw versus a welded steel box frame used in today's bandsaws. I own a similar bandsaw (imported by Jet). It's functional but not in the league of 18" bandsaws offered today by Jet, Delta, Rikon or Grizzly.

If you're thinking about resawing, you're probably better off with this saw than a 14" saw with a riser block. Although the resaw height may only be around 9", it probably has a 1-1/2 to 2 hp motor on it. The fence may also be a disappointment which is very common on this era bandsaw. However, the fence can be upgraded for around $100.

$350 is almost 1/3 the price of a new 18" import bandsaw when considering the extra cost for shipping and tax. It sounds like a decent deal. But, if you are impatient about fiddling with the machine due to it's underwhelming quality of adjustments, perhaps save your bucks for new.

Here's a pic of what my stock blade guides look like. They work, but are definitely not pretty. Guides can be upgraded too. They're about $150 for ball bearing guides. But now you're gettin' into the 'law of diminishing returns'.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/Slide1.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/Slide3.jpg

-Jeff :)

[Pat Germain]

Yet another example of very informative posts; with pics to boot!

I would really like to buy to some used tools. I enjoy cleaning and reconditioning old hardware. However, trying to do so seems like an exercise in futility. In my area, there are very few used tools for sale. Those which are for sale often have a firm price tag beyond value.

Another problem is twenty years ago there were a lot of lousy tools being made, as well as a few well-made tools. I guess getting a good deal on a good used tool requires a knowledge and patience. So, I'll keep checking around and be ready to pounce if something comes up.

[Steve Schnurbusch]

The bandsaw is 2 HP and has a 10" resawing capability. So what's the difference between a cast iron C-frame and a welded steel box frame? I don't necessarily care about the latest and greatest gizmos on my bandsaw - I just want something will work well. If it takes me a little more time to get the guides and everything set up - no big deal. I'm just a hobbyist.

I'm kind of wondering if there is something I could look for in an old machine that would tell me this things too far out of whack, if it was abused or by keeping the tension on the blade all the time has permanently affected the alignment of the wheels.

I was thinking of just going out and spending some time trying to adjust the guides and the wheels to see if I could get it to run smoothly and get everything aligned. I'm kind of a novice on the bandsaw, but I've got the online Grizzly manual for it so I could just follow those instructions and see what happens.

Of course if my wife would give the green light I'd just order a new one but...:mad: