Ping Grizzly Bandsaw Owners - New G0513x2

[John Dykes]

So, after the semi left yesterday, I can say I've touched my first bandsaw...

And after setting it up, I'll never complain about tuning a tablesaw again! Bearings, guides, tracking, levers, knobs, .016 here, .004 there, and allen screws all over the place!

Aside from the many other knobs, are there any tips in setting up the thrust bearings on these machines? The upper thrust bearing is surrounded by the errr - blade guard tube thing(?), and the screw for the lower bearing is wedged down in the trunnion. I was able to set both, but it was a pain...

I've read that multiple blades are the key to the versatility of the bandsaw, and keeping an eye on the tuning of the machine is the key to its performance. Admittedly a newbie, but certainly a lot of parts for me to keep track of...

I promised the Boss I'd sell the tablesaw to pay for it, but I may not be ready to lose that security blanket just yet!

- jbd in Denver

[Jason Beam]

Welcome to the G0513x2 club! :D

I promised my wife i'd sell my Jet 14" bandsaw to pay for mine. I had the same reaction you did - adjustment's not something I'd relish doing more than once every few months. So changing blades frequently is out. I'm keeping the Jet now, and when I pointed out the reasons it would be a pain to switch blades on the G0513x2, she reluctantly agreed.

Then I told her "Hey, you don't want me leaving the wrong blade on there just because it's a pain to switch, do you? That might lead me to something less than safe out of laziness." She knows how lazy I am. She got behind the plan in that sense.

It's a pain, but it's a pain you live with because all bandsaws require setup and configuration. You gotta be on top of 'em if you want the best cuts possible. Changing blades just increases that frequency. The G0513x2 makes adjustment somewhat tougher just because of all the tool-required adjustments. My jet has all thumbscrews and it requires no tools to change blades or tune the saw. This factor led me to decide that the grizzly will be used for resawing pretty much exclusively and I will fine tune the heck out of it and leave it that way.

No bandsaw is immune to the setup needs. Some just make it handier than others. It's still a pain to adjust the Jet, but the thumbscrew heads make it JUST bearable.

Nobody tell my wife that I could have probably just changed all the allen-key bolts on the grizzly to thumb screws, okay? :P

[Brian Kent]

John,

I don't know if you will get a better answer than this. I removed the blade guard to set all the guides. That isn't practical, but I don't know how we are supposed to measure the gap between the guides and the blade without doing that. I also have the 513X2.

Brian

[Anthony Whitesell]

For the lower bolts, either T-handle or hex-sockets and a ratchet. I'm working trying to find a cheap 1/4" drive set myself.

The dollar bill trick works to set the rear bearing on the upper guide. With the guide about 3" up, I fold the bill in half around the blade and pinch the end of the bill and roller the blade backwards. Ease the bearing forward while rocking the blade up and down. Once the bearing moves constantly with the dollar bill, I back it off a hair and lock it in place.

[jerry nazard]

I cut away a portion of the blade guard to access the adjustments a bit easier. Replaced most of the M6 socket head screws with thumb screws. I also moved the fence locking lever several inches to the left, which was a big improvement. That said and done, I really like this saw!

[glenn bradley]

I have the G0513X, same saw without CI trunnions, same guides and adjustments. The blade guard is not in the way of any adjustments on my saw:

102894

I do hate the lower Allen that is recessed way back and also dislike the finger-and-thumb screw adjustment on the lower thrust. I would have preferred another Allen ;-) My cure for reaching the adjustments (which are easier than many a bandsaw out there) was a collection of required tools kept close by.

102895

A long and a short 5mm Allen will make your adjustments much easier. The combination wrench is for the table pin as mine didn't come with the cool-Eddie toggle handle I see on some models. The flashlight is for my old(er) eyes and the peg holds the fence.

102896

Add some gloves for blade changes and a brush and you're all set.

[Barry Vabeach]

John, it is a great saw. If you search for posts on setting the guides you will find that some of us set the bearings so they don't rotate when turning the upper wheel by hand ( meaning you get them so close that they do turn, then adjust out a hair so they don't move as the blade is moved ) I did 2 mods. For the upper thrust bearing, I used a dremel to cut loose the tab of metal between the 2 slots on the side of the guard so I can get a better view of the upper thrust bearing. That works fine and I think that it is no less safe than the stock guide because the opening is so small - though if you felt concerned you could probably put in some acrylic or plexiglass. I also changed all the hex locking srews to thumscrews - for the uppers - I just added the thumbwheel onto the existing hex screw, for the lowers, I had to make a few lengths of screw to get the right distance. As to blades, I think you can live fairly well with 2 blades - one for general purpose ( 6 - 10 tpi ) and one for resawing thick stock.( 2- 3 tpi) You might need a third if you are doing curves etc.

[Brian Kent]

Glen,

How do you measure the gap in the upper thrust bearing? Do you sight it in?

Brian

[Jim Kountz]

Hey I get to reply to these posts too now! I asked about the same things when I first got mine and like most everyone else I just set my bearings so they just stop rotating when I spin the wheels. Seems to do just fine. I havent made any of the mods yet but its on my short list to replace those allen head bolts with thumbscrews like others have said.

[Marcus Ward]

After you do this a few times it becomes a lot easier. These days I just eyeball the settings, do everything with an allen wrench. The first time you set a blade up, take the upper guard off and do it without the table on, it makes seeing how everything works together VERY easy. After that it's cake. I don't change blades all the time, I have 2 bandsaws, but it's not nearly as bad as you guys are making it out to be. 6 adjustments is WAY WAY WAY effing easier than setting up my dial indicator and adjusting my table saw table and fence. Get outta town! :)

[Jay Jolliffe]

Nice to see their are more that a few owners of this saw. I've had mine for about 8 months. Does anyone have a probelm with the tracking when using 1/4" blade. I set mine up like they say & it works great with a 3/4" blade & 1/2" but when I put in the 1/4" when I do the tension it won't track in the middle. If I let the tension off a bit it moves more to the center but not with enough tension to make a good cut. Any ideas what might be wrong.

[glenn bradley]

Glen,

How do you measure the gap in the upper thrust bearing? Do you sight it in?

Brian

I used to stick a finger of scratch paper up from below to act as a spacer. Enter the flashlight; shine the light from behind. Once you look at your gap under the same conditions through a few blade changes, eyeballing is quite adequate.

[glenn bradley]

I also moved the fence locking lever several inches to the left, which was a big improvement.

SHAMELESS THREAD-JACK,
SHAMELESS THREAD-JACK,
SHAMELESS THREAD-JACK . . .

Jerry, I wanna see how you moved the locking lever . . pleeeze?

[Marcus Ward]

SHAMELESS THREAD-JACK,
SHAMELESS THREAD-JACK,
SHAMELESS THREAD-JACK . . .

Jerry, I wanna see how you moved the locking lever . . pleeeze?


I'll second that motion!!! The fence is great but the lever location stinks!

[Brian Kent]

Since there are so many 513, 513X, and 513X2 owners, could we form a club and meet every year at a rally like those early Saturn commercials?:D

We could let the 514 owners have observation status, but no vote.

[Chris Ricker]

"We could let the 514 owners have observation status, but no vote."
thats funny!!

John, you're gunna like this machine:D

Many suggestions are great, the thumbscrew adjustments are "on my list" and someone on another thread posted that they painted the allen heads orange to see them better, another good idea,
I think that after a bit of practice the adjustments will become easier for you and a blade change will take about 3 min. I just sight the blade guides in as per others suggestions and it works great!

BTW I'll third the motion to see the locking lever moved!!!!

[glenn bradley]

We could let the 514 owners have observation status, but no vote.

:D:D:D . . That's good!

[Greg Cole]

I'll second that motion!!! The fence is great but the lever location stinks!

Call it #3 to that motion.
I set mine initially with a dollar bill.... now by eye.
I don't change blades much as I hate "unsetting" up my resaw setup. I've got my eyes open for a used 14" BS to use for cutting curves so I can leave the X2 set up for resaw for good.

Greg

[Chris Barnett]

All good ideas....I put a big flat magnet on the lower part of 514X2 to hold the allen wrench. It stays put. Ended up not needing the wrench so much after the saw kinda settled in after a bit of use, except when I change blades. I initially used feeler gauges but later eyeballed the gap to close without bearing movement which worked for mine.

[jerry nazard]

This is quick and easy. 1/4 x 1 alum bar stock, a few 6-32 button cap screws, short piece of 3/8 brass rod, and one M8 socket cap.

-Jerry

[Barry Vabeach]

Jerry, thanks for the pcitures,

[Marcus Ward]

You, Sir, are a Genius.

[glenn bradley]

Beautiful solution. Thanks for sharing.

[Anthony Whitesell]

So far I haven't run into an issue with the loction of the handle. What problems were you having with its location?

[John Keeton]

Anthony, apparently there are a couple different styles of fence locking lever. This is mine.

[Marcus Ward]

John, that's the same one.

[Andy Casiello]

This is quick and easy. 1/4 x 1 alum bar stock, a few 6-32 button cap screws, short piece of 3/8 brass rod, and one M8 socket cap.

-Jerry

That is a REALLY cool idea! Thanks for sharing the photos.. I may have to do that..

[Barry Vabeach]

Anthony, the problem I have if I and ripping a piece of lumber that is more than a few incehs wide and set it up against the fence, the wood lies over the handle - Jerry's mod puts it to the left of the fence so that no matter how wide you piece of wood is, it won't interfere with locking the fence. I looked at the piece this morning and am thinking of tapping a hole 90 degrees off the current hole so that the handle is pointing down when the fence is unlocked, and tilting towards the saw when locked. Not as nice a mod a Jerry's but a little less work.

[jerry nazard]

Anthony,

My issue with the handle location was that a piece of stock riding against the fence and extending off the table blocked easy access to the handle. Positioning the fence required reaching UNDER the piece of wood on the saw table waiting to be cut. If you do bandsaw dovetails or tenons, this gets old quick! Also, adjusting the fence with the handle in that position is awkward. I don't like anything awkward around power tools if it can be avoided.

Moving the handle solved the problem for me and makes using the saw more enjoyable.

-Jerry

[Don Bullock]

...My cure for reaching the adjustments (which are easier than many a bandsaw out there) was a collection of required tools kept close by....

Add some gloves for blade changes and a brush and you're all set.

Glenn, that's a great idea. Thanks for posting pictures your band saw tools rack. I like the addition of the gloves and brush.