Grizzly G0566 Bandsaw

[Andy Dalton]

To all,
This is my first post here, but I have been a long time lurker. I'm a hobbyist with a fair amount of equipment that I hope its all quality. I just recently sold my 14" Delta bandsaw to finance another machine purchase, so I'm looking to replace the bandsaw with a new one. I noticed that Grizzly has there 21", 3hp bandsaw on sale for Christmas. I search for info on SMC & found that there are a few that have this saw. For those that have the saw how has it been, problems, concerns, likes & dislikes. Is it a good substatue for the high end Italian saws.

THKS, Andy

[John Bailey]

I can't give you any first hand knowledge, but all the posts I've seen have been very positive. Like most Grizzly machines, they get great marks for "bang for the buck." Louis Iturra ranked the forerunner of the 566 as the best buy for "import." I think you probably can't go wrong at that price. (bump, bump, bump)

John

[Dick Strauss]

Andy,
I don't know if you've seen the posts in the "deals" area but some folks are getting up to $300 off ($200+$100) on larger equipment like that. I think it would be really cool if you can get a BS like that for $1200 + shipping.


Good luck,
Dick

[Andy Dalton]

Dick,
It would be nice to get the cash back deal, but I live in Canada & am not eligible for the deal. Thanks for the heads up thought.
Still looking for owners of this saw or the G0531, I believe they are the same except hp.

THKS, Andy

[Rick Moyer]

Can't help you either but you are correct about the 0531 and the 0566 being the same except for the HP, according to Grizzly's bandsaw comparison chart. I think I would go for the 0514X2 as it seems to be very close to the 0566 but for a lot less. Plus it's two speed capable with an included rip fence. Can't understand where the extra 150lbs come from on the 0566 however, so maybe I'm missing something!

[Andy Dalton]

Just a little bump.

THKS, Andy

[Brad Knabel]

Andy - I do have this saw and am very happy with it.

I don't have a ton of exposure to the European saws, but my budget wouldn't stretch the extra $800-1000 that it would have taken to get one into my shop. I know that they would likely have more horsepower and are likely built a little more heavily. On the other hand I've never bogged the saw down, and it is heavy duty enough to tension the blade to your heart's content. The fit and finish on the saw was excellent - no rough castings and all of the adjustments are glass smooth. Tilting the table and adjusting the guard & guides work with no slop. I really like the ball bearing blade guides.

I had one very small issue when I first got the saw - there was a bit of excessive vibration. It turns out that the belt pulleys were too tight. It only took a few minutes to adjust them as described in the manual.

My only real complaint with the saw is minor. Most newer saws make it very easy to adjust for blade drift when resawing. You can adjust the guide rails on the G0566 to do this, but not the face of the fence. Right now I use a homemade fence when resawing. But I may build an adjustable face similar to the H7528 fence, but with set screws to allow for drift.

I feel like I've made a lifetime purchase with this saw and don't really have any regrets. Let me know if there are specific questions beyond this and I'll be happy to answer them.

[Andy Dalton]

Brad,
Thanks for the info. If you could can you answer the following questions that would be great.

1) How long have you owned the saw.

2) Will this saw tension & track all blades from 1/4" thru 1".Is the set up for the tracking & tension easy to do? Any experience with carbide blades?

3) My biggest concern with the saw is tension assemble behind the upper wheel. The European saws all use a cast iron assemble. Will the Grizzly stand up over time?

4) My other concern is the guide post. Is it adjustable to make it square & parallel thru its entire range of motion. Is there any slope in its movement?

This saw looks great on paper. I did look at it about a year ago. But my memory is not the best & I can't remember any of the details.

THKS, Andy

[Randy Looney]

Andy I do not have the 21" but did have the 17" GO636X up until I moved and sold it to the guy I worked for if you can afford the extra 500 for it that is one fine saw. We did alot of resawing in the shop and it did a great job. The initial set up took a little while but it was worth the time.

Before I moved to Oklahoma from Missouri I bought the GO514X2 19" Extreme Band saw. But unfortunately it is still packaged after my move. The reason I went with the 19" this time was because I do not think I will need a 16" resaw for my home shop and 12" resaw should work fine for me.

[quang nguyen]

Hi,
It's been 4 years. I'm looking at the G0566 also. How do you your G0566 so far ?
Thx
Quang

[D. Hunt]

Thought I'd bump this to see if we could get any more replies. Still would like some answers to the previous questions.

Thanks,

D. Hunt