# Great bang for the buck!



## a1Jim

Good review
Not all of HF tools are good but I've found some that work really well.


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## Abbott

Thanks for the review. There was another review of the same saw here on this site about 3 months or so back. The author of that review also liked the saws performance. I am tempted to purchase one myself.


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## davidroberts

the one thing missing from my shop is a BS. I have been lusting after the grizzly 14", which suites my budget, but each time I go to HF I look their BS over. I don't see a lot of structural difference in it and the low end delta 14", the cost difference is around $200. But here's my question, with all of the upgrades you made, could you have bought the grizzly G0555 The Ultimate 14" Bandsaw $469 shipped for about the same price. TIA


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## dbhost

I thought about that. My modifications for the most part are things I would have done to the GO555 as well. Riser block, Iturra spring, and upgraded blades. The Grizzly riser block costs more to boot! The only thing different is the cool blocks as the Grizzly uses roller guides. I have both for mine, roller guides and cool blocks. The roller guides don't work so well on skinny blades.

I would NOT pay full price for this saw for sure. And to make matters worse, about a month after I got mine, a GO555X with riser block and Iturra spring came up on Craigslist for $350.00, but by then it was too late for my shop and budget…

Do I regret buying my saw? No. But I do suggest patience, wait for the saw to hit sale prices. Preferably under $279.00, and use the 20% off coupon to get it.

Woodcraft has a Steel City 14" with riser block, and TW blades already loaded on it which would be about equal to the cost of the Grizzly GO555 with those additions. The only advantage I can see there is it saves you the labor of installing it yourself, and you have a local source to go to instead of the Truck freight from Grizzly (which has kept me from doing much business with them).


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## craftsman on the lake

I've got this saw from about 25 years ago. it cuts fine and is well made. One word of caution, that is if it's still made the same. Don't try to wrestle it around by grabbing the table. The trunions that hold it on are thin cast. They'll break right off. i've done that and managed to devise a metal machanism to permanently bolt it back on.


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## davidroberts

thanks db. i got some decisions to make. i'm the worst to miss a good CL deal. however, most of my shop is equipped with CL items. i've been lucky in that respect. i've actually seen a lot of nice 14" BS's on CL lately. i just haven't pulled the trigger yet. congrats on your purchase and i'll bet it serves you well.


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## dbhost

The trunions on mine appear identical to the current Ridgid BS1400 I have seen at Home Depot. I wouldn't think any of these saws should be wrestled about by the table… I have mine on a mobile base, and tend to roll it by the frame…


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## JohnGray

I picked up the single speed model for 100 bucks at a garage sale and added a new blade or 2, Cool Blocks, it had new tires when I bought it, an Incra Fence, a 4" dust collector in the lower cover, I'm currently making a quick blade release from a plan in a magazine, moved the switch to a more convenient spot, and would like to add a riser. It's not a bad saw and it even looks better when I look at what it would cost to upgrade.

Thanks for the tip about ordering the riser block thru parts at HF.


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## dbhost

No problem, you want to order item #24536-0ZZA Riser Block Kit. This is NOT available through the catalog, or online, parts department item ONLY… They are prone to having it, and not having it, they were out of stock for a long time, and when I ordered mine they had just gotten them back in… I have had mine on now since 8/21/08.

The phone number is 1-800-444-3353.

I read the posting rules and I don't seen anything prohibiting this, so I hope I don't run afoul of the rules that I may have missed somewhere, but… I did a write up on BT3Central when I first installed the riser block kit. You can read it if you'd like…

I think I mentioned the Grizzly tension release modification that a lot of users are putting on their saws. There is a good photo essay on the subject online as well. There is a thread on BT3Central regarding this subject, if you are interested, pay particular attention to post #14 in the thread as it lists the needed part #s from Grizzly.

I hope I have helped everyone that needed the help out…


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## 36il

I have the bandsaw, riser block , and the fence from Harbor Freight . The fence is not the best but for the money it did the job for right now in was around $30. I'm going to replase it later. The saw and block work good . the blade that come with it no good for resawing. I got a 105" by 3/4 3t blade and that work very good.you can get the block online and the fence. For you people that would like to get a riser block for other saw make sure the guide rod is the same tyte. 9-25-09


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## dbhost

Yeah, the folks at Suffolk suggested a 3/4" blade on mine. I am leery of a blade that wide on a 14" band saw though…

As far as the fence goes. While not part of the stock saw, I must admit my curiosity about the HF fence is piqued…. It HAS to be better than the Craftsman fence I have on mine…


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## b2rtch

Today I bought one , used , but never being used (Do I make any sense) for $100.00!
Which kind of blade to use on it? How wide and how many teeth?
Should I replace the wooden blade guides with roller ones? 
If yes where to finds the roller ones?
Thank you.


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## JohnGray

b2rtch, I have this saw and like it, see my post above. I added cool blocks for blade guides and they work great I do not think you need to spend the money for roller bearings. Saw blade/blades all depend what you want the saw to do. For resawing I have a Wood Slicer 1/2" Resaw Bandsaw Blade and I LOVE IT (http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/woodslicer12resawbandsawblades705to137.aspx) from Highland Wood Working.
I would also recommend this book it will show you how to correctly set up your saw The Bandsaw Book by Lonnie Bird. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=bandsaw&x=15&y=24
It is so much trouble to reset (set the saw up after changing blades) the saw after you change blades that I leave the Wood Slicer in the Central Machinery saw all the time. I purchased a 10" older Craftsman saw that I keep a narrow blade in for cutting circles and curves.


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## dbhost

Call the folks at Suffolk Machinery for advice on the blades… There are a LOT of variables in blade choice, TPI, hook set, thickness, etc… and it all depends on what you are going to cut and how…

As far as the blade guides, the OEM ones should be an ultra cheesy plastic just like the Ridgid and Delta bandsaws… Lose them and put in a set of Cool Blocks… I tried rollers, not worth the effort. They worked well, but were a real pain to keep adjusted…

I haven't found resetting the saw to be that hard… I guess I just got fast at it…


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## jbertelson

Reading all this, and watching dbHost upgrade this thing, one thing is looking more likely. I will keep my toy bandsaw for the quick and dirty circles and scrolls that you don't need a scroll saw for. I will just put it on wheels or hang it from the wall. It is a little Delta 10" band saw, but it is trouble free and works well. It is not for resawing of course.

After I get the main shop into its reorganization, a band saw will be the next thing, I believe. Don't know which way I will go….....upgrade a bargain, or buy something in the mid range. Since I am using a 1990 Delta Contractor's saw, and a 1971 Craftsman RAS, both bought new, you know it will be a dilemma…......(-:


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## interpim

The links above to the de-tensioning mod don't work, would you know of another location or place I can read up on this, as I would like to do this with my Ridgid


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## dbhost

The guy that did the Grizz tensioner mod write up took it offline. I did not take enough pics when I did mine, BUT… I will try to do a write up as best I can and post it, but it will be a bit…. Busy with too many other projects now…

*DISCLAIMER* The following is a quick and dirty run down of what worked for ME on a Central Machinery band saw. I may or may not be communicating the ideas right. YOU undertake modifying your equipment at your own risk…

Simply put, look at my blog entries for the ones called Hot Rodding a Harbor Freight bandsaw… I give the list of parts there. Simply put the process was thus…

#1. Obtain the parts and tools needed.
#2. Disassemble the OE tension assembly.
#3. Since a 10mm bolt is approx 5/16, I fudged numbers a little bit, and went 7/16 down from the top, and halfway from side to side on the upright piece on the left, Mark that spot. Use the left bracket, that bolt goes through the middle hole in the bracket, such that the barrel is above the frame casting, and enough material is left on the frame to support the stress of the tensioner.
#4. Using a center punch and hammer, punch the spot so that your drill bit won't walk on you.
#5. Drill and tap your top hole, make sure to deburr the entry to the hole so that no burrs hold the bracket away from the top..







The piece I am talking about is the one with the barrel sort of thing with a hole straight through, and the tab with the two holes sticking out underneath.
#6. Install the left bracket loosely with the top bolt (the hole in the top of the strap just below the barrel). Line it up nice and level, using a sharpie in the lower bolt hole, mark the center location for the bolt. Loosen and rotate the bracket, center punch, drill and tap your bolt hole, same thing you did above….
#7. Assemble and tighten bolts, washers, lock washers with the left bracket.
#8. Measure the distance of the center of the bolt hole on the cross bars, I don't recall how exact it is, but I believe it puts the bolt hole on the right upright part of the frame in the same position as the upper bolt hole on the left. Measure, mark, center punch, drill, tap…
#9. Assemble the barrel pieces, tensioner, lever, cross bars etc… Take a look at the Grizzly parts exploded diagram for the GO555 for a visual idea of how it goes together


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## dbhost

LONG TERM USE UPDATE.

It has been 3 years since this saw hit my shop. Lots of use, bowl blanks, resawing, band saw boxes etc… It has been a great addition to my shop. Only one problem in those 3 years and that was last night, I noticed the table was loose. I investigated and found the yoke for the trunion had gotten loose. Upon tear down, I realized that the one bolt that HF used had worked its way a little loose. Now there are 2 issues here. One, the bolt worked loose due to a lack of thread locker. And 2, there is only one bolt holding it down, while there are 2 threaded bolt holes. It took me 3 years to figure out, they forgot a bolt. I tightened up the bolt, but will be heading to Ace Hardware to their metric selection to get a second bolt, probably shorter than the first one. The first one is probably 100mm long (right around 4"). I don't see any legit reason to have more than 52mm long in here. The additional material is just overkill. I am still happy with the purchase, just a bit surprised I didn't notice this originally…


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## b2rtch

dbhost, thank you for the update. 
Which bolt are you talking about,I want to check mine?


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## dbhost

No pics to show, but take the table off by taking out the throat plate, the pin, and unscrewing the knobs on the trunions, then just lift it off… The big black yoke, that is a factory installed piece, SHOULD have 2 bolts in it. Mine had one. Looking at the exploded parts diagram the bolt that is there on mine is M8×80, the other one SHOULD be M8×30. It's missing. There SHOULD also be M8 washers on each bolt, but they are missing as well. I added the one for the existing bolt, just using 5/16" cut washers as I had them in my bins…


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## UKCat

Does anyone know of some good blade guides for this saw? Thanks for any info.


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## b2rtch

I use cool blocks on mine.
http://www.amazon.com/Blocks-Bandsaw-Blade-Guide-Block/dp/B0035YGOYY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1348792623&sr=8-3&keywords=cool+blocks


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## UKCat

Is your blade centered in the guides? My blade runs right up against the right side of the guide. I have tried to adjust it but no luck.


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## b2rtch

Yes my blade is centered. 
it seems that something is out of wrack on your saw.
I would take the time to take it all the way apart and to put it back together carefully, making sure that nothing it bent.
This is not difficult to do just time consuming.


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