Ordered Today - Grizzly G0513X2

[Brian Kent]

After much study and listening, I placed the order today for the 513X2 bandsaw.

Now we'll see how good you all are at giving advice:D. (You have never failed me yet!)

I also followed the advice of many and called Suffolk for an assortment of 4 blades to get me started (using their 4 for the price of 3 special).

Hopefully I'll soon have a nice gloat with photos.

Brian

[Dave Verstraete]

Advice is not in short supply here!

[Randy Davidson]

You lucky dog. That one is on my short list. Let us see it and hear about it when you get it set up.

[glenn bradley]

Congrats Brian. I get that stupid grin on my face every time I fire up my G0513X. Go to Home Depot and by the $45.00 Magswitch featherboard in Orange, with Ridgid stamped on it for $39.99. Great accessory for this saw.
http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/26804-01-200.jpg

[alex grams]

you will like it, it makes a good sound when you turn it on (am i weird to enjoy that sound?)

Get some more blades though when you can, only thing the factory blade may be good for is just doing rough cuts and maybe some general patterning, but not resawing or fine detail patterns.

[Greg Cole]

Brian,
Congrats. You won't be disappointed with the saw I'd buy one again in a heartbeat.
Set up isn't bad either. The "big" adjustment I had to make with mine was shimming the block where the post for the upper blade guides. The post moved away from the blade as it was lowered (about 1/8" or so), which was enough to be visible.
Still waiting for that rainy day to buy a Trimaster blade for it... but the Woodslicers are good 'nuff for now.

Cheers & we'll expect pics....;)

Greg

[Brian Kent]

Congrats Brian. I get that stupid grin on my face every time I fire up my G0513X. Go to Home Depot and by the $45.00 Magswitch featherboard in Orange, with Ridgid stamped on it for $39.99. Great accessory for this saw.
http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/26804-01-200.jpg

Glen, I was ready to head over to the city of Orange to get one at their Home Depot. Then I went online and saw you mean it's the color orange:rolleyes:. Sometimes my river runs slowly.

[Brian Kent]

you will like it, it makes a good sound when you turn it on (am i weird to enjoy that sound?)

Get some more blades though when you can, only thing the factory blade may be good for is just doing rough cuts and maybe some general patterning, but not resawing or fine detail patterns.

I go to great lengths to make shop tools sound right. I made a sound-insulated box for the router in my router table and bought the table saw blade and the dust collector that tested the quietest. So I'm glad to hear it sounds right.

I ordered blades from Suffolk at their recommendation:
1/4" x 8 tpi.
3/8" x 4tpi.
1/2" x 3tpi.
3/4" x 2-3 tpi.

That is supposed to cover regular furniture curves, bandsaw boxes, and resaw.

I mentioned that I was willing to buy bi-metal but they steered me to the regular "Swedish Steel".

[Greg Cole]

Slow rivers often run deep....:rolleyes:
FYI I made a custom feather board for mine. Basically screwed one to the bottom of a plywood riser box and screwed another to the top. I use it for resawing wider stock to apply pressure to the board top n bottom, not just on the bottom. Plucked the idea from a WW mag, not sure which one...

Greg

[Brian Kent]

Grizzly says it has left the mother ship and is in the hands of Fed Ex!

[Rob Diz]

Congrats!

As I am sure you know, take a good look at the crate before signing for it. My crate had some damage on the top. I didn't see it until a few months later, but it looks as if something was rammed into the top BS wheel door. Only the door has a dent in it, and everything works fine. But take a close look.

I also got the Suffolk blades refereced. I found that for the resaw, I had a rough edge, and a surprisingly large kerf 1/16th of an inch on the 3/4 blade.

I picked up a 1/2 woodslicer at highland HW and will be giving that a whirl on some resawing, perahps as early as this weekend. I'll report back if I see a big difference.

But the short story is that I just don't know how I did WW without this BS before. I should have got my G0513X much earlier.

[John Keeton]

Brian

You will love the 513x2! One thing that may save you a problem in the setup - check this thread. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=77456

I posted a picture of a problem I had with the blade guard. The bolts used to mount the guard take thread in the post (they call it a hose) on which the blade guides are mounted. The thickness of that post is minimal and I stripped the female threads during the installation. I didn't think I put much pressure on them. Maybe this will save you the same problem.

[Brian Kent]

Thanks guys. By the way, nice photo, John!

[Peter Quadarella]

Hey John, I posted in another thread that I finally ordered the G0513X2 and it arrived and I'm all set. I just wanted to note that my Blade guard was already attached when it arrived, so I didn't have any setup related to that. I'm keeping your solution in mind if I ever have to remove it and reattach it though.

[John Keeton]

Peter, I really don't recall whether the guard was in place or whether I removed it for some reason in my setup - but I distinctly remember that sick feeling of the stripped threads!! Glad you didn't have the issue.

[Joe Close]

I ordered blades from Suffolk at their recommendation:
1/4" x 8 tpi.
3/8" x 4tpi.
1/2" x 3tpi.
3/4" x 2-3 tpi.

That is supposed to cover regular furniture curves, bandsaw boxes, and resaw.

.

Hi Brian - Congrats....
I just ordered the same saw yesterday. I'm curious, why you choose to buy the blades from Suffolk? I see Grizzly carries the Timber Wolf blades. I'm still trying to figure out what blades to get... :(

[Peter Quadarella]

The easiest way to pick some blades is to just called Timberwolf and tell them what you want to do. I started with 4 since they have the buy 3 get one free deal.

[Brian Kent]

Joe, I am new to band-sawing and heard about the great personal help at suffolk. They were just a little cheaper than Grizzly, but not enough to make a difference. I just wanted the advice. OK, so the free blade was nice.

I could just as well asked the customer service people at Grizzly because they have always given me good advice.

[John Keeton]

Wish Grizzly would put a more usable blade on the machine from the factory - either a 1/4" or 3/4". Seems the 1/2" blade just doesn't fill much of a need for me. Just my 2 pennies.

[jim gossage]

Slow rivers often run deep....:rolleyes:
FYI I made a custom feather board for mine. Basically screwed one to the bottom of a plywood riser box and screwed another to the top. I use it for resawing wider stock to apply pressure to the board top n bottom, not just on the bottom. Plucked the idea from a WW mag, not sure which one...

Greg

Nice idea, can you share a pic?

[glenn bradley]

Glen, I was ready to head over to the city of Orange to get one at their Home Depot. Then I went online and saw you mean it's the color orange:rolleyes:. Sometimes my river runs slowly.

Stalled me out there for a minute. . . then I noticed your in SoCal too. Most folks don't relate to words like Orange or Industry as names of cities. At any rate, you'll dig the saw. Here's another doo-jobber that can help with re-saw on boards with unruly grain: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=83737&d=1205102603

[John Browne]

Hey John, I posted in another thread that I finally ordered the G0513X2 and it arrived and I'm all set. I just wanted to note that my Blade guard was already attached when it arrived, so I didn't have any setup related to that. I'm keeping your solution in mind if I ever have to remove it and reattach it though.

I take it off all the time on my 0513 in order to set the upper thrust bearing clearance--with the blade guard installed, you can't really see or measure the space behind the blade. Haven't had a problem with the stock bolts--I remove them, slide the guard up and hold it with a spring clamp.

Couple things required a bit of tune up on my saw: the drive belt was a bit loose, causing some vibration, and the blade guide post assy wasn't perfectly square to the table, so the side clearance between the guide bearings and the blade changed when raising or lowering the guide post. There are four allen bolts on the back of the saw that hold this in position, in spite of my efforts it remains a tiny bit out of adjustment.

I love my 513, even with the aluminum wheel and steel trunion. I upgraded the bearings and it cuts like a dream with a 3/4 Woodslicer.

[Dave Cav]

You are going to love that saw. I got mine about two months ago and it's my new favorite (tailed) tool. I drove up to Bellingham and picked it up in my pickup; getting it out by myself was something of an adventure, but I managed to get it down without breaking either the saw or me. My old bandsaw was a 20 year old Chinese POS that literally fell apart; the new saw will probably outlive me. I have a 1/2" TW blade installed for day to day use, and a 3/4" TW 3TPI for resawing that I haven't tried yet. I did some minor ripping with the 1/2" blade and it did a great job. The only thing I have modified on the saw was to cut about 1 1/2" off the lower end of the blade guard to improve access to the upper guide wheels easier and to improve visiblity. I also added a task light over the blade, which helps a lot.

[John Keeton]

Happened to be on a ladder beside my G0513X2 yesterday and noticed that the upper door on mine had been bent during shipping. Remembered Rob Diz mentioning this - may be a failure in the crating system. I have emailed customer service to get a replacement. Rob, did you get yours replaced?