Grizzly 14″ Bandsaw
Grizzly G0555 The Ultimate Bandsaw
Update May, 2015
I did finally have to replace a part a few months ago. The upper blade guide bearings froze up. I ordered a set of guides from Grizzly and replaced them. Everything’s working now and I still use this tool a lot.
Update Feb 12, 2014
This is my favorite tool in the shop. I use it more than any other power tool. Most of what I make are smaller freeform objects which suits a bandsaw perfectly. I’ve had to replace the blade guide wheels – they froze up.
One problem I’ve had is that the “standard” 93 1/2″ blade seems to big. I buy 92 1/2″ blades and have a lot more luck setting them up. That means I have to special order a blade when I need a replacement.
Update April 7, 2009
This is probably my favorite tool in the shop. I find myself firing it up even to cut a little dowel or so. I have a Delta dust collector that I usually have connected to it. I’ve resawed 6″ wood from oak to pine. I did have a set of blades that seemed too long and that caused some problems until I added a wood shim under the tightening lever. The saw itself has given me no problems at all. I’m very happy with it.
Update Mar 20, 2007
It’s been a couple of years now and this saw still works fine. I’ve had no complaints for it and nothing has broke. I now have a 4″ dust collector hooked up to it and made a small clamp-on light for use when I’m cutting small stuff.
I also made a couple of dust brushes for the main wheels.
All-in-all, here’s another tool I have no regrets buying.
Update Jan 28 2005
It’s been about a year now and I’m still quite happy with the bandsaw. I’d have no reservations recommending this to anyone. It still cuts well and nothing has fallen off (no small feat it would seem these days). Happy – happy.
A First Time Bandsaw User’s Experience December 27, 2003
I’ve been using this saw for a couple of months now and so far it’s been a great machine. Note that this is my first bandsaw, so I don’t really have anything to compare it with.
Once I got it home, I had a friend help me carry it downstairs. Assembly goes pretty quick and is easy. Basically all you have to assemble is the base. It’s built of strong sheet metal and has a nice looking finish. I would recommend mounting this on a mobile base and to mount it before you completely assemble it. It would be a real good idea to have a friend help mount the saw assembly on the base. It’s pretty heavy and awkward for one person to handle.
There were two small problems I ran into during assembly. I put the table insert that fits around the blade in backwards. I thought it was binding against the blade so ended up enlarging the slot with a file. I should have turned the insert 180 degrees instead. I’ve since made some zero clearance inserts from plastic. Secondly after following the guide wheel alignment procedures, I neglected to repeat them for the set under the table. I finally noticed that after about a week of use.
Once assembled and aligned I was cutting 1/16″ slices from a 2×4. I did change to a different and better blade that made quite a difference in the ease of cutting. I’ve cut mostly softwood, but have also resawn some 4″ thick red oak down to 1/8″ slices. I’ve cut MDF, plastic pipe (makes a big static charged mess) and pine and walnut. I made some boards from a walnut log I salvaged from a neighbor’s fireplace pile and using them made several boxes for Christmas presents. I also made a 4″ to 2 ½” vacuum adapter for my shop vac to fit into the saw dust port. I’m really happy with this tool. I don’t think you can beat its features and quality for the price.
A note about delivery. It was delivered by truck freight so you have to take that in mind. It’s recommended by Grizzly that you go to the truck freight depot to pick it up. I had a friend with a pickup truck who helped me. There would have been an extra charge for the truck to deliver to my house and use their drop tail gate, otherwise, you’re responsible for unloading it from the truck. I think this pretty standard delivery practice for the large Grizzly tools. This saw weighs about 200 pounds on delivery.