Has anybody used both a Minimax BS and a G

[Ben Rafael]

All the opinions I 've seen are from people who own one or the other.
If you have used an MM16 or MM20 and something from Griz that is comparable, would you please give me your opinion based on your usage. What do you prefer? Is the MM worth that much more money? Anything else you can add. Thanks!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Ben,

If you do a search you will find this very subject discussed recently.

I haven't used either but I did recently buy an MM-16 which I hope to use for the first time in the next couple of weeks. I'm going to finish my DC install first.

Grizzley makes products that are a lot of bang for the money and you will find a lot of happy owners here...and a few disastisfied ones too.

Mini-Max makes fine products that are known to be long lasting and you will find a lot of a happy owners here......and a few disastified ones too.

I was in very interesting position when I bought my MM-16. My wife wanted my shop outfitted and paid off before I retire in less than 2 years. I was financing through a 2 year loan. Therefore, I wanted to buy something that had a good reputation for reliability and would be worth overhauling should I wear it out before my eventual demise. Therefore I looked at Laguna, Agazzani and MM-16. For different reasons, I eliminated the Laguna and Agazzani from the picture. A fellow Creeker, Steve Clardy lost the roof of his shop in December of 2006 due to excessive snowfall. Steve is a professional and makes his living out of that shop. When we had a fund raiser, a former Creeker tod evans approached a person working for MM and asked if they'd be willing to give us a good deal on a b/s to replace the one that was damaged when Steve's roof caved in. Mini-Max gave Steve a new b/s and even paid for the shipping, IIRC. I traded emails with Mark Duginske, a noted author and authority on bandsaws and asked him which of the 3 (Laguna, Agazzani or MM) bandsaws he'd recommend. His comment....you won't go wrong with any of those Italian made bandsaws.....

Because of Mini-Max's generosity and their reputation I bought an MM-16...4.8 h/p.....16" resaw capability. In a couple of weeks I hope to use it for the first time and prove my decision a wise one.

BTW...I'd recommend buying Mark Duginske's new book on b/s available at Amazon or Chapel Hill Publishing IIRC. The new book has a great section on what to look for when buying b/s. I didn't buy the book before buying the b/s. The book is well written, illustrated and very informative!

No relation or connection with either MM or Mark Duginske other than being a satisfied customer.:)

[Ben Rafael]

I've found plenty on both saws, I just haven't seen anything by anyone who has used both of them to any degree.

[Steven Wilson]

Ben, I doubt that you'll find many folk's who have much experience on both. Most of us end up going with the larger, more expensive bandsaws as an upgrade from the typical 14" saw that most of us started with. Once you've gone big there just isn't much incentive to try something else.

[Stan Welborn]

I've used both. I currently own a MM20, looking at adding another band saw which will probably be a Grizzly as I have done some work on a couple of different Grizzly's in the past and had no issues with the saws. In my opinion both saws are worth their money, but more so the Grizzly offerings. Only reason I went with a MM is I don't use a table saw, and felt I wanted as good a band saw as was on the market. For what 90% of woodworkers do on a band saw, I don't think a MM saw is worth the money. A Grizzly product is a great value where a MM is a great saw at a premium price. Just my opinion of course. There'll be plenty of fans on both sides who will disagree I'm sure.

[James Biddle]

I've been toying with the idea of upgrading my 18" Rikon to either the MiniMax MM16 or the Grizzy Euro competitor, G0636X (their claim). The MiniMax lists for $2495 and the Grizzly for $1995 (introductory price). The Grizzly would have to be an equivalent or better bandsaw than the MiniMax to make it a better value. Otherwise its a lesser bandsaw for less moneyand shouldn't be compared with the MiniMax. Besides Grizzly, is anyone else making the claim that their bandsaw is as good or better?

[Charlie Plesums]

I kept my Grizzly 14 inch when I got my MM 24. Both are good saws.

I use the Grizzly for curve work, but it wasn't as solid as I wanted/needed for resawing (4 out of 5 cuts were fine, but 20% of the time I would destroy the resawn wood for unknown reasons).

When you start pushing the capabilities of a bandsaw, in my opinion there is no comparison with the heavy duty, professional grade saws.