# Grizzly 0555 Band Saw Frustrations - am I alone?



## Thrakintosh (Feb 1, 2008)

G'day all,

I'm begging some assistance.

I've owned a Grizzly 0555 band saw (with riser block) for 8 years and well, I'm just about ready to kick it to the curb. In the time that I've owned it it has never worked right. By "right" I mean predictably, accurately (oof!) and reliably. Reading around on the forums there seems to be plenty of satisfied owners so I'm left thinking that it is the saw, the user or both. I'm turning here for advice.

I'll start with the bearings and guides… should these need to be adjusted every time I move the guide post? There's so much "slop" in the bearing guides and table trunion supports that I can't see how this tool can be set up properly and try as I might the blade drifts. I've tried low tension - high tension - every tensioning technique - to no avail. During use the table vibrates (a bit - but a bit enough) and the sound of the bearings grinding away is unnerving. I set the bearing guides according to the manual but when the saw is powered up all bets are off - the position of the blade changes so that the guide settings when the blade is stationary are all but useless. I've tried setting the table square to the blade but the moment I apply that bit of extra torque needed to secure things the squareness goes away. Oh, and I cannot get the upper and lower wheels coplanar and keep the blade tracking.

In the time that I've owned it I've made a few "upgrades" with the idea that some add-on would be a silver bullet. I've added a Carter spring, a Kreg BS fence and a 1/2" HH woodslicer is my blade of choice (I have dreams of resawing).

I've tried over and over - hours of time - to get this particular tool performing well. Oh, before you ask "why'd you wait 8 years???"... I don't get to the shop every weekend and I took some time away from woodworking a while back after my daughter was born. In the past two years I've returned to the shop with a vengeance. Over the years I've tried two other blades (the same HH WS) and have had several conversations with Grizzly TS. Nada.

So, can anyone offer some sage advice or should I sell the beast and move on to a better saw? I'm at the point where I'm willing to pay someone who is knowledgable to come to my shop and try their hand at it. If I'm making a mistake I'd be the first one to sigh a sigh of relief and learn from my errs.

Thanks,
Adam Aronson
Red Hook, NY


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

wish i could help here

i got the same problems with my mini-max s-45
18" band saw
it is 20 some years old
(they don't have a site for this saw
just industrial machines) 
and was made before all the 're-sawing' ones hit the market
found out one day the lower guides had fallen off 
and disappeared in the sawdust clean-up
so i got some carter guides nothing changed
well i got with mini-max and found out they wanted
(on some obscure internet site)
$300 for the tires for it
as you have to buy the wheels too
so i got some urethane ones special made
now the blade will not even stay on the tires

i'm ready to chuck mine too
just need some money for a ricon or better

i still can't re-saw
i do have a 14" delta
so i can at least cut some curves


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## RibsBrisket4me (Jul 17, 2011)

Adam, I don't know how much I can help but I'll try. I have a Ridgid BS. It was a return to HD due to vibration and the supposed inability to keep the blade tracked. I got it cheap many yrs ago. Most agree it's a bearly servicable BS. I fussed with it for years, was going to ditch it but finally got it where I really enjoy it. It passes the nickel test now.

For vibration, I installed a link belt and put the saw on a solid table base (pics on my link below)

I went simple and have cool blocks above and below. If your guides are slipping, try some loctite on the threads.

I did buy some nice orange eurathane tires for only @ 25 dollars From Hartville Tools. These really helped my blade tracking and will also help how well your guides work.

I made sure my thrust bearings were set right. When the blade is not cutting, the bearing does not touch the blade, above or below.

I also balanced my wheels. Adding taped weights, pennies, etc to get them balanced.

You HAVE to get your wheels coplaner somehow. Start with the upper wheel adjustment knob, and then use Washers, shims etc if needed.

Now I resaw 6 inch oak, maple, walnut with a decent feed rate and I only have a 3/4hp motor.

I do get some blade drift, but I just compensate for it. I don;t use a fence when I resaw. I go slow, and by hand keep the cut near the line. They I run it through the planer and I'm happy

Only you know if all the add-ons and work are worth it. If you put that saw on CL it will sell, and you can start over if you want.

Good luck!


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

I've had a 555 for about the same length of time. It is a very sweet running saw.

Just a few suggestions.

1. When you're adjusting guides take the table off. Two knobs, and it's completely out of the way.

2. Carefully observe the blade leaving the wheel as you turn it fairly slowly. You may see a bump in a tire that way.

3. Check the pulleys, both. On tight? Running true?

Your problems may be a lot of little things adding up. I compliment you on your patience and tenacity with the saw.

I will also note that mine goes through guide and thrust bearings with frustrating frequency. I keep an extra set on hand.

Kindly,

Lee


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Band saws can be tricky. To get good straight cuts takes
a bit of fuss. I suspect the riser block undermines the
process of getting straight cuts consistently.

Resawing is a different story. Everybody is hung-up on
stretching the capacity of modest machines to do the most
demanding tasks. The result is lots of fuss and frustration.

Can you resaw guitar plates on a 14" cast-frame saw with
a riser? Sure, with a brand new blade and fanatical attention
to detail. There's an old FWW article about how to do
it and I am sure it is as tricky to pull off as the author implies.

There is a reason many professional luthiers who need to
resaw 10" boards invest in real resaw machines like the
Hitachi and Makita saws that will run 3" wide blades.

Fancy blades and blade guides notwithstanding, a 1/2" 
wide blade is just too flimsy to make straight cuts in thick
stock once it gets a little dull. Get a bigger saw and you
can run wider blades. Many problems that arise from 
working with 1/2" wide blades vanish or become greatly
reduced in terms of the time required to fix them when 
you move up to 1" and wider blades.


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## Thrakintosh (Feb 1, 2008)

Thank you all to those who responded here and back channel.

So, it looks as though there's no simple - or more importantly - direct answer. I think what I'm hearing (aggregating your responses) is that even if I upgrade tires, guides, balance wheels, shim lower wheel, etc. I'm still left with a saw with a riser block and a weakish motor that won't be predictable and a solid performer.

A year or so ago I got tired of spending valuable shop time on trying to turn Stanley planes into Lie-Nielsen and Veritas planes. I sold them all (for a nice profit too!) and began replacing them with Lie-Nielsens. Am I at the same point with my Grizzly 0555? Should I offer it up on CL and upgrade myself into a Rikon or other reasonable 17/18" saw? If doing so… I guess I'll be ignoring Grizzly.

Sigh.

Adam


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## ShipWreck (Feb 16, 2008)

I owned it, used it, and got rid of it. Had to tweek it with every minor adjustment for height. If you advertise a tool as being able to do a certain job, then you should at least manufacture the saw to do as advertised without all the tweeking that generally comes with the GO555. If you love tweeking…....the G0555 is your bandsaw. The bearing guides that come with the saw are a joke. If you are cutting stock under 5", I think that the saw functions OK. Anything over 6" is a journey into frustration. I upgraded mine with tension springs, tyres, and cool blocks. The cool blocks did a better job helping with blade wander than the bearings that Grizzly intalled. I have used and maintained various bandsaws since my early teens and this is the first one that I ever considered over hyped junk.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

ShipWreck:

How did you upgrade "Tension Springs"?
With what…
From…

Why?

I have upgraded my G0555 with Urethane Tires & Cool Blocks… major improvement…
Springs? Never heard of an upgrade for them…

Thank you,
Joe


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## blackcherry (Dec 7, 2007)

Here may be a good tip, when aligning the blade on the top wheel make sure the gullet is riding on the crown of the wheel not the center of the blade, also this will align the blade on the lower wheel to the front edge of the wheel not the center. Try it if your not already if so, let keep plug away at this…BC


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## Yurik (Oct 11, 2011)

I have Ridgid BS too. When I bought it - it was absolutely horrible, I actually thought to return it, untill I carefully read "Band Saw Handbook" by Mark Duginske. He describe the bandsaw taming procedure very clearly. 
I balanced wheels - vibration magically disapears, then I carefully adjust wheel position and make them coplanar - blade magically stop wandering and I was able to adjust ball bearings and guides. But it was still not perfect. I have to admit, I sent at least $250 for blades, I bought all types of brands available at different stores (HD, Lowes, ACE, etc) - non of them work. I finally bought professional blade over Internet 4 TPI, 3/8
(do not remember vendor now) for $65 and after that this beast work like a charm.


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## ShipWreck (Feb 16, 2008)

Joe… I went with this Carter aftermarket spring. It was a tad shorter than stock spring, so I shimmed it with a couple washers. It did seem to help some what.

http://www.carterproducts.com/product.asp?product_id=155&cat_id=16


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Thank you very much!

*Looks good! The price is sure right!*

I will give it a try sometime… I really haven't had any real trouble resawing.


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## TexasJim (Jul 16, 2009)

I heartily recommend Duginske's book that Yurik mentioned. It is THE reference for band saws. I have the G0555X but it is only a couple of years old and does not have the risers. I love it. I resaw with it in mahogany, walnut and white oak without any problems. Granted, I can only go up to 6" and it has a bigger motor than the G0555 but it works great.

Try the book and see if your fortunes change.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I resaw with my GO555 (with riser) a lot. In fact that is the only thing I use it for. 8"cedar and oak mostly. The 1/2" woodslicer blades stays centered and the original guide bearings have been replaced once but the saw works great with a sharp blade. Woodslicer blades do dull after some use so I have had to replace them often. The woodslicer blades make a big difference compared to others.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

The tallest things I have run through my bandsaw were the two *"2×4 3×5 Boxes"* I made… to separate the Top section from the Bottom section… about 8.5" LOL
I have the riser too… the max is close to 12".
I have a Woodslicer blade but have not tried it out yet… I understand they're better than "sliced buttered bread".


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

I have a go555x that I bought new. Had it about 5 years. Doesn't have the riser but works like a charm. I love it and use it about everyday. Never replaced the bearings…yet. Mine is very quiet. I'd check and make sure the bearings are adjusted and roll free.


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