Questions for Grizzly G0513 Band Saw Owners

[John McClanahan]

I may have a chance to buy a lightly used Grizzly G0513P 17" band saw. I have a few questions for owners of this saw.

How do you like the Euro-style blade guides?

What kind of problems might I expect from the steel trunions? Is it worth it to buy the optional cast iron trunions at $89 plus tax and shipping?

Is the stock fence suitable, or should I plan to upgrade?

How wide of a blade can this saw really handle?

I welcome any opinions on this saw.

Thanks, John

[glenn bradley]

I have the G0513X which was a tweener model saw (its not a G0513 and its not a G0513X2) so, I have roller guides but, do have the steel trunnions. I was prepared to buy the cast iron trunnions which were about $90 at the time I got the saw but, decided to wait and see how it worked out. I have resawn 11" x 5" x 80" maple pieces into bead-board without issue. I got the saw in 2007 and use it on nearly every piece I make. I tilt the table quite a bit as well. I have yet to upgrade the trunnions. I actually don't even think about it until someone on a forum brings it up.

Can't speak to the fence as I have the cast iron one but, the lever/base looks the same.

I have run a 3/4" blade on the saw with no tensioning issues at all. That being said, I find I get better tall re-saw results from a 1/2" 2-3 skip tooth blade since once the saw is setup, it cuts straight and true to capacity. With a 1/2" Woodslicer I can saw 1/16" veneer, no problem. Although the Woodlsicer is slower than a coarser blade, it is much cleaner. I have never run a carbide tooth blade on the saw but, may do that after I go through the current re-saw blades on hand.

I had to track down a motor noise which turned out to be nothing but a squeeky centrifugal switch part. While I was at it I put on a link belt which brought the noise of the saw down so much it is easy to leave it running if you're not careful.

Where my saw stands it is easier to change blades ( I do this a lot as I use the saw for many things) by removing the doors. This is a non-issue if you can open the doors all the way but, I can't without moving the saw and I rarely do that. I ground about 1/8" off of the lower pin for each door. This allows me to hook the top pin in and swing the lower pin into position and drop the door back on the hinges after blade changes. Much easier than trying to line up both pins at once ;-)

I sealed off the lower dust port and did this:

G0513X-DC-mod 002.jpg . G0513X-DC-Add 003.jpg . G0513X-DC-mod 003.jpg

After a year of running the saw there is about a teaspoon of spoil in the bottom of the cabinet. I let it try to build up just to amuse myself at how good the dust collection is. I am sooo easily amused.

[Brian Ross]

I have the same model as Glen. I did buy the cast iron trunnions and it made no difference not that I was expecting it to. I do have a carbide blade on mine and it is a little easier to cut with. Not a bad thing to say about the saw.

[Matt Meiser]

I have the same saw as Glenn and Brian which I bought lightly used. I too occasionally think about upgrading the trunions when someone mentions it which never happens because that's the only time I think of it. I like the roller guides on mine so I'd probably vote to switch to those, but haven't even seen the Euro style. And I really like the fence on mine, so I'd probably vote to at least consider it, but maybe you could build a tall attachment for yours.

[John McClanahan]

Thanks for the responses. The Grizzly is now sitting in my shop. 4 guys loaded it in my truck, I unloaded it by myself. Did I mention it was lightly used? It still has the rust preventative on the table. There was no dust collector and very little dust inside of it. I think it only cut a couple of boards.

John

[Tai Fu]

My guess is if the trunnion needed to be stronger than whats currently on the saw, you probably should be using a woodmizer...