New G0566 Bandsaw is in the garage

[Kevin Murdock]

All,

I sold my old bandsaw and after a lot of contemplation I decided to purchase a G0566.

I was able to do a lot of research on The Creek to see what others thought about the saw before I made the decision to purchase. Basically I bought for the same reason that others did.

First impression is "Wow, this thing is big!".

Given the long trip that it's been on, I'm really surprised at the lack of any damage to crate. Of course I don't expect any damage on the saw, but I didn't think that the wood would be untouched.

Overall, the bandsaw fit and finish looks great. Table top is clean (see photo below) with no marks. I'll have more to say once I get it running though, and these comments are only on the visual condition.

So far, I'm every happy. I'm becoming quite a fan of Grizzly. Next purchase will be the new Grizzly 12" jointer/planer with spiral cutter head.

On Friday I was able to get the crate into the garage with the help of a buddy that owns a moving company:



Over the weekend I was able to get it un-crated and cleaned off the table (only cleaned in last photo):











Now I need to get a plug and and some cord and get it ready for the initial run. I was going to wait to run it before posting, but wanted to gloat.

I'm a happy camper.

In closing, a thanks to my wife who's only comment when I said that I wanted to sell my fairly new 17" bandsaw and upgrade to a 21" was: "As long as you actually use it and enjoy it, go for it".

/Kevin

[Paul Douglass]

WOW! And the rest of us are still dreaming of a 17"! Nice saw! What are you building that you needed the upgrade? Is it the resawing?

[Tom Young]

In closing, a thanks to my wife who's only comment when I said that I wanted to sell my fairly new 17" bandsaw and upgrade to a 21" was: "As long as you actually use it and enjoy it, go for it".

/Kevin

Kevin, you have one great wife! And a great saw too.

Tom

[Ryan Myers]

Kevin, let us know what you think of the saw. I am strongly considering this saw for my next major tool purchase. I just upgraded to the G1023SL cabinet saw and love it.

[Brett Baldwin]

The saw is $22,200 a dozen (plus shipping) but the wife that OKs a new tool purchase like that is priceless.

[Don Bullock]

Congratulations on your new addition. Wow!!!!! That's a monster. Your wife, like mine is a saint! I hope you took her out to a special place for dinner.

[Kevin Murdock]

WOW! And the rest of us are still dreaming of a 17"! Nice saw! What are you building that you needed the upgrade? Is it the resawing?

Hey Paul,

It wasn't as much a need as a want.

I have a plan to upgrade to a solid solution for handling up to 12" wide stock. I already have a 16/32 performax drum sander and plan to also buy a 12" jointer/planer.

The G0513 (I bought it before the G0513X came out) max'd out at 12" resaw so I was looking for a bit more, which the upgrade got me. In addition, the cast iron wheels and overall size should add to the stability. If I had the G0513X I think that I would have stayed put.

In addition to this, I really liked the large table size on this specific saw... I wanted the most real estate to work on. The overall "more here" in every attribute made me make the jump.

/Kevin

[Jim Becker]

Nice!!! Congratulations on your new band saw, Kevin!

[Kevin Murdock]

Well I finally got the bandsaw under power.

The wiring for the plug/cord wasn't as straight forward in the manual as I would have liked. In the setup/installation section it simply mentions that you need a certain AWG cord and a plug. In the back where the wiring diagram it shows the logical layout but not the functional/actual physical setup on the saw. I guess that it would make perfect sense to an electrician, but not to a hobbyist.

Once I got the saw under power it was ok. The tracking was a bit off so I tried to get it in line. Long story short, I WAY overcompensated when the blade wasn't fully tensioned and I got into a really bad state. For the life of me I couldn't get the blade to stay on after a rotation or two.

At my wit's end, I called the Grizzly tech support and spoke to a guy named Sean. After a bit of helpful pointers, I was able to get back on track (pun intended).

The blade that ships with the saw is a lot like the one that came on my Unisaw... a less than top shelf blade. (Heck, I think that the 10" blade on the Unisaw wasn't even carbide tipped)

So with this blade (it's the only one I have at the moment) I was able to get it dialed in for the most part. There is a very small window of tension where it doesn't flutter like the dickens. Maybe it's because it's a 1" blade and I have no experience with them, but in addition to the flutter window it makes a lot of noise as well when running... but it cuts well and when dialed in it didn't bounce off of the guides at all. The noise is a sort of metallic ping, probably from the tension of a larger 1" blade.

Funny thing is I checked my tivo backlog of David Marks shows and pretty much hear the same sound (though muted by the sound editing) when he's resawing and such with the larger blades. All seems well, I'm just new to the game.

I'm going to get some better blades in a variety of widths and see how they fair. I probably should have ordered them when I order the saw as this is what I did with my last purchase.

One other note is wow... this thing takes a LONG time to stop spinning after you cut the power. Compared to my previous 17" with aluminium wheels, it was a surprise. Reading the manual, the foot brake is only supposed to be used in emergencies, not in everyday use... which is too bad and I didn't realize this when researching. I assumed that they were used often.

Overall, wow this thing has more abilities than I do at the moment. I respect that, and look forward to catching up with it over time.

/Kevin

[Shiraz Balolia]

One other note is wow... this thing takes a LONG time to stop spinning after you cut the power. Compared to my previous 17" with aluminium wheels, it was a surprise. Reading the manual, the foot brake is only supposed to be used in emergencies, not in everyday use... which is too bad and I didn't realize this when researching. I assumed that they were used often.

Kevin - thanks for purchasing the saw.

Don't be afraid to use the foot brake. I have a huge resaw bandsaw in my shop (26 1/2") and it is scary to see the blade keep spinning after you turn it off. So I stand there and "pump" the foot brake until it comes to a stop and then walk away from it. Don't expect it to come to a stop with one hit on the brake. It is a friction stop as opposed to a disc brake on the widebelt sanders, so it takes a little more effort.