A solid performer

Hi,

I’ve just received mu Grizzly G0513×2 band saw. I’ve selected it for it’s price, the reviews I could read on LJ and of course the free shipping the Grizzly is offering right now.

Warning : please do not make the same mistake I did and call grizzly before you order your equipement because back order is pretty long.

The Band saw came 90% assembled in a cradle and most of the assembly work consists of clean/install the cast iron table, install the fence and then tune the band saw.

For the tuning, the wheels seem co-planar but since the frame of the saw extend past the wheels, it is pretty difficult to align a straightedge on the rim of the wheels.

I did not use the supplied saw blade (1/2”), instead I’ve purchased 3 timberwolf blades (1/4”, 3/4” and 1”). I’ve tuned the saw for the 1” blade but let me tell you that installing/removing a 1” stiff blade into the body and wheels of the machine is really difficult. Specifically around the blade cover.

ven when everything was tuned up : tracking, lower and upper ball bearings guides and tension, the blade wants to be on the right side of the table insert. I need to move the cast iron table from the trunnion to get the blade to align with the kerf on the table insert.

I will also shim the table insert for it is not flush with the table.

Now on the positive side, I found the machine very quiet, powerful and with good finish to it.

I will update this review in a couple of time to comment on the long term usability but I would definitively recommend this saw

Hope you find this helpful,

Pierre

UPDATE 6/11/2009:
So I’ve been resawing q lot of Jatoba on this bandsaw (9” wide boards) with a Timberwolf 1” 3TPI blade. I’ve very happy with the saw being able to handle this type of jobs but I have found some issues:

• Dust collection is not effective during resawing because you are obstructing the insert holes and all the DC is performed at the bottom of the saw.
• I don’t like the metal parts surrounding the bottom guide bearing, it renders the blade change painful (especially for wide blades) and at any rate, that’s the job for the side bearings !
• Getting a wide blade in/out of this saw is not trivial, partially because the blade is hidden very well, so it a plus/minus

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