G0513X2 17" Bandsaw

Hey Don
Most excellent review It makes me want to trade in my Lauguna. I guess i missed the posting of you shop before ,It looks cool with all that new Grizzly tools . Thanks bud

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Thanks Jim.

-- Don S.E. OK

mind if i ask what the going price for one of those is?

-- wm, brandon,ms

Very nice BS… Grizzly DOES care and has very good customer service.

I have the G0555… I love it…

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"

roadrunner0925 $995.00 shipped to your door.

Heres the link

http://www.grizzly.com/products/17-Bandsaw-2HP-w-Cast-Iron-Trunnion/G0513X2

-- Don S.E. OK

That is a beautiful saw Don. Ive been looking at the Grizzly BS myself and am really glad to hear they have good customer service. I am undecided if I really need this much saw for my first BS? Ive been thinking of the GO555X since others seem to be happy with it also. I don’t think I would be doing much re-sawing. Thanks for the great review!

-- Vern, Southern CA

verndog Thanks, and I agree….if you know for a fact that you will not be doing much re-sawing…I would go for the G0555x myself. My friend has one and loves it. My old Rockwell works great but just did not have the power for all the re-sawing I was doing. I am going to keep my Rockwell for smaller things and intricate cuts and use the new Grizzly for the heavy work. I did buy a couple of smaller Timber Wolf blades for the Grizzly for smaller jobs. But for now plan on just leaving on the re-saw blade.

Joe Lyddon Thanks, as I told verndog…the G0555 is a great saw also !!

-- Don S.E. OK

I just tool a break from setting mine up. It arrived yesterday and I am looking forward to resawing with a carbide tipped Timberwolf blade. I will report on the blade soon.

Marco Did you get the same saw ?

-- Don S.E. OK

Excellent review and thanks for posting it . This saw is looking better and better all the time. Did you order the Timber wolf blades from Grizzly also ?

JerryS, yes I did….I really can not coment on how good the price for the blades was or was not…When I ordered the saw I just ordered some blades of different size and teeth. The price was not bad at all….but a person may want to shop around on the blades to make sure they are getting the best deal.

The Timber wolf blades run from $24 to $34 per blade depending on size, tooth count etc.

-- Don S.E. OK

Don;
Yes I did.

Hi Don. As usual, you offered a nice review here. Best wishes for much enjoyment with the new BS. The window feature may have become the standard. My Rikon has them too. That’s a nice convenience. Take care.

-- And on the eighth day God was back in His woodworking shop!

Great review Don! I am sure this review will show up on the Grizzly website as well. I think I am going to end up with an all Grizzly shop myself. This band saw looks fantastic….and after the review I read on here on the Steel City I was thinking of buying…I’m all about this band saw!

How is the dust collection? I love the fact that it has two ports and the insert has holes in it to draw the sawdust away from the cut area…is it effective?

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

David, If you look at my shop pics…it is becoming all green for sure lol….The dust system works very well at keeping the dust out of the machine and works pretty well at keeping it out of the work area depending on what you are cutting. For normal use it sucks all the dust down and out…..when doing some serious re-sawing (Like 12” mahogany) it still gets it out of the work area pretty much…but does tend to build up a bit under the table near the rollers. Nothing really bad and only needed blowing off after several cuts.

-- Don S.E. OK

The only problem I can see is that you’ll be spending more time on your non-grizzly tools ie. honey due list…great review and please don’t smile too much. ENJOY!!!!!!!!Blkcherry

great looking saw don, its one tool i dont have …but its on top of the list…...thank you for a great review and enjoy that new saw..grizzman…..ive got bandsaw fever…......

-- The Grizzone

Well grizzman…with a name like yours…you should have atleast “One” Grizzly tool !!!

-- Don S.E. OK

Hey all. I can totally agree with Don’s review. I purchased almost the same saw 2 months ago. I opted for the G0513X2B – magnetic brake, extreme series. The saw is amazing. There is no comparison to my old bandsaw. I opted for the Wood Slicer resaw blade and am happy I did. I was like a kid at christmas. I went through all my old scrap the first afternoon resawing the biggest, hardest pieces I could, and the saw just laughed at them 12” standing resaw on hard maple? Smooth and easy!

pauldeo Thanks for the confirmation….I came super close to buying the same saw you have…..Really glad you like yours !!

Quick question…were are you buying your Wood Slicer blades at ?

-- Don S.E. OK

Great review Don!

To toss my opinion in on this topic: I would think that this BS is a step up from an entry level saw. Unless you know you are going to have a huge amount of resawing to do, a 14” is probably the place to start. I have a straight-forward Ridgid that does the job for now. A close friend of mine has a Grizzly 14” with the riser kit and it is a great tool! With the riser is cuts about 12” on a resaw where I’m limited to just less than 6”.

You provided great information and I’m glad you are happy with your saw!

-- Behind the Bark is a lot of Heartwood----Charles, Centennial, CO

Charles,

I thought about a 14” with riser block, and it would probably have been fine. But, given that I am moving towards a commercial shop as of August 1, I wanted to make sure I had more than enough band saw than I would ever need, and something I would not likely wear out anytime soon. If i was moving forward solely as a home or hobby user, I would probably gone smaller and saved the money and the footprint.

Don – http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=295

pauldeo Thanks for the link !!!

-- Don S.E. OK

I am so going to buy one of these. I’m even debating selling my motorcycle to get the $$ and the room in my garage. That’s a nice homemade base you have on the saw. I assume you had some help lifting that beast onto it?

-- You're a unique and special person, just like everyone else.

Don, Thanks for the review. Have you used a 1/8” blade on this saw? I have heard that others have trouble setting it up for this as some people say the back thrust bearings won’t come forward enough to support the back of a thin blad like this.

Thanks,
Daniel

-- Daniel, Southern Indiana -- "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." -- http://blackdogwoodshop.etsy.com

Daniel,
I have ran many different size blades on it…mainly to see how it worked. I have not had this problem.

-- Don S.E. OK

thanks!

-- Daniel, Southern Indiana -- "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." -- http://blackdogwoodshop.etsy.com

Daniel,
Maybe it has been redesigned or something. As I said in my review…I use it mainly for re-sawing…but bought a full set of blades to go with it. While I was “Playing” with it….I set it up on several different size’s just to see how hard it would be to set up…find any problems etc. Even on the 1/8” blade, it seemed to have some more adjustment left in it. Not much mind you…but enough to set the 1/8” properly.

-- Don S.E. OK

I appreciate the feedback. I think I’m going to order one and give it a try for myself!

-- Daniel, Southern Indiana -- "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." -- http://blackdogwoodshop.etsy.com

Daniel,
Your welcome, I hope you are happy with it. I know I am…NO regrets at all, it has been a GREAT addition to my shop. And dust control is GREAT !!!

-- Don S.E. OK

I just wanted to comment I have the 514X2 and found the OEM blade was not so good for resawing. I bought the 1/2 inch wood slicer and that blade cut like a hot knife through butter but there was unbelievable blade drift. I then purchased a 1 inch timber wolf and the saw cuts straight as an arrow and almost half as fast as the wood slicer and real smooth. I had to crank the blade tension almost full limit to eliminate the blade flutter. I personally do not like the blade guide adjustment mechanisum as I feel like I’m about to strip out the set screws and when tightening the set screws on the guide bearing cams the set screw somehow moves the cam. The dust collection is good and the saw runs pretty smooth. My saw wobbles on the Shop Fox base. All in all it is a pretty good saw for my uses.

Bob