Looking to buy a new bandsaw

[Michael Sebar]

Buy not by lol text to speech. I am tossed between Jet and Grizzly 14” bandsaws. I just got rid of a 40 year old sears 10 inch band saw that served me well. After looking at Grizzly I can step into a 17” which is over kill but I won’t regret going bigger in a few years. Should I go with a Grizzly 17 or go with the Jet 14. Here are the prices and models of 2 Grizzly units and the Jet. If you have an alternate please let me know. I am trying to stay under 2k. All prices include shipping but not tax.

G0513X2 1750.00

G0513A40 1550.00

Jet JWBS-14SFX 1599.00

[Jim Becker]

I'd personally go with the larger saw. You'll get more power, more resaw height "out of the box", more mass, larger almost everything and still be able to use narrow bands if you need/want to.

[Cary Falk]

I had the G0513X2 until it got too small. It is a great saw. Much more saw than cast iron 14".

[Michael Sebar]

My thoughts exactly, just not sure if Jet or Grizzly is the better product. Price wise for size Grizzly wins. What did you replace your G0513X2 with?

[Rich Konopka]

I’m looking to upgrade myself and I have been looking for several months at Bandsaws. I have a small Rikon benchtop BS that handles “small” tasks very nicely.

What I learned is that all BS are not created equally. One of my biggest requirements is to be able to resaw large boards and pieces of wood. Not all 17 inch saws have the resaw height I think I need. Because some if my boards are 12-14 wide I need a 14”+ resaw capacity. The other day I found a Powermatic 20” bandsaw on marketplace for $1200. Was it available and legit? Yep. But upon further review I found the owners manual online and this 970lb beast could only resaw 12 5/8”. What a bummer.

I would suggest you look closely at the grizzlies because I found many of their BS to not have the resaw capacity I need. Their 21” BS has only 14” resaw or blade cutting height. The only BS I found they offered was the G0636X Ultimate which is a 17” BS with 16” cutting height. It’s also a great saw but the price puts it into a who new price category.

Btw, I leaning towards the Laguna 18BX.

Cheers.

[Dave Sabo]

My thoughts exactly, just not sure if Jet or Grizzly is the better product. Price wise for size Grizzly wins. What did you replace your G0513X2 with?

Neither . Both . Doesn’t matter. Both brands are the same for all practical purposes.

However - all the saws you’re looking at are not equal. The a40 has liteweight wheels and crummy guides. The Jet is a much smaller saw so an apple to an orange comp. really. If you really like it you should be comparing it to the rikon 19-324tg. Bonus is it’s cheaper than the Jet.

The “best” saw on your list is the griz X2. Not even close. And it’s not overkill despite your reservation. Which in the end makes it the better product in answer to your question.

[Dwayne Watt]

One thing to consider on the 17" Griz is the lack of a brake. The run down time of these saws with larger cast iron wheels is ridiculously long. That fact makes them inherently more perilous to the operator. You shut down the motor, walk away, come back, and the blade is still moving (silently and withouth any strong visual indications). I would give more consideration to the Grizzly G0513X2BF or perhaps the Harvey Ambassador C14 (14" resaw capable with 14" wheels). Anything with a foot brake is better option in my opinion.

[Michael Sebar]

Yes I thought of that but at 500 more makes it a real hard sell

[Cary Falk]

My thoughts exactly, just not sure if Jet or Grizzly is the better product. Price wise for size Grizzly wins. What did you replace your G0513X2 with?

Laguna LT18. I almost got a G0701 but the Laguna went on sale for cheaper at the time.

[Aaron Inami]

Jet JWBS-14SFX - likely a better quality saw than the Grizzly's and a good choice if you are limited to 120V A/C, but it's smaller 1.75HP and smaller 3/4" blade (which is not bad, but not as good as 1" blade for resaw).

Recommendation: Harvey Ambassador C14 (currently on sale for $1715. It's more powerful at 3HP than the Grizzly choices and it will also resaw 14" height (the Grizzly's are limited to 12"). It is listed as a 14" machine (based on flywheel diameter), but the entire machine is really sized to be more of a 15" machine (which is a step up from your normal 14" bandsaws).

Although, if you really are resawing at 14", it will likely be slow unless you get a big table 5HP machine like Cary's Laguna LT18.

[Bill Dufour]

Location. I see lots of 14" used bandsaws for sale near me. I think a lot of them get very little use in a home shop. For that price I would get a used 18-20 inch saw.
BilLD

[Jim Dwight]

I got the Jet you are considering several years ago. I upgraded from a home made 10 inch bandsaw. The Jet is hugely more capable. I've resawed 8x4 cherry as much as 8 inch wide with it. I couldn't push it through real fast but I thought the feed speed it would support was OK. It can do wider crosscuts but at some point the 1.75 hp motor might be an issue. It has not been for me so far. The guide bearings above the table are easy to adjust, the lower ones are not so easy. But I don't think I've messed with them since the original setup. It is hard to get the pin out of the table to change blades and I had to put simple wood dust chutes to get dust flowing out the ports well but overall I am very satisfied. I've never been limited by the 14 inch throat capacity. I don't own any Grizzly tools so I don't really know how they compare. I think the Jet may be a little nicer made but that is not a well informed opinion. The Jet is heavy but I assembled it myself without help and moved it to it's location in my shop. It is not on a movable base but I can move it enough without one by just tilting it and walking it. I like the combination of enough weight to be stable during cuts without being so heavy it is really hard to move.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I just went through the decision of buying another bandsaw. They attempted to deliver it this past Friday, but that's another story.

I currently own Laguna 14/12 1.75HP motor. Had it for 5+ years.

It's a great saw, but resawing hard woods, Maple, Purpleheart kiln dried, with a carbide blade, it struggles.

I bought the Grizzly G0636X 17" last week. Realistically, I doubt that I will ever try to resaw anything 16" high, but I'd like to do 10 ish inches. I looked at the 19" and 21" Grizzly's, but what bought me back to the 17" was the 5HP motor and the price was $1000+ less for the 17" than the 19".

Many times it often said "Buy your second machine first", "Buy once, cry once".

[Dave Sabo]

One thing to consider on the 17" Griz is the lack of a brake. The run down time of these saws with larger cast iron wheels is ridiculously long.

OMG ! Woodworking is dangerous , you might get hurt, maimed , or killed while doing it. Bandsaws have been around a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time without brakes and msot still don;t have them. They've been used safely by millions without them too. Other tools take time to coast down and present danger while spinning . Does your drill press, router or shaper have a brake ? Tablesaw? Belt or Disc Sander ? Even your dulling chisels are dangerous and the only safety feature they have is between your ears , behind your eyes.

NONE of the saws up for consideration have brakes. None have lights, none have mobility kits or...... Yes, those could be added and adding a brake or braking motor via electronics is not feasible - it becomes a slippery and non-productive slope to campaign for feature(s) not within the scope- no matter how wonderful and useful they may be.

and smaller 3/4" blade (which is not bad, but not as good as 1" blade for resaw).

A little insight - none of those saws will properly tension the largest width blade their specs say they will accommodate. Especially that 1" claim. So if your overly concerned with the size of you ehm....blade then ok - you should buy the one that states the biggest number.

You're also not going get a better , faster, cheaper cut from a 1" blade over a 3/4" or even a 1/2" blade for that matter. If you don't believe so , you'd best start searching now for an old discontinued Hitachi or Makita saw that will take 3" blade because those are gonna stomp your little ol 1"er to the floor and make those 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" Italian saws whimper for their momma.

If we're just comparing size an all

Too many fall into the trap that they need a big ol' wide blade to re-saw or rip. You don't.

[Bill Dufour]

It is very easy to add a brake to any three phase machine.
Bill D