# Grizzly G0555 Ultimate Bandsaw Assembly



## FatherHooligan

Great blog, I've been looking at various BSs as well and agree with you it seems to be the one that people with our kinds of budgets purchase and are (from what I've read) happy with the saw. Thanks for the info on the missing portion of instructions…I'm going to favourite this blog so when I can actually scrounge the $ together to buy a BS I will have your comments handy. Thanks for posting this.


----------



## PurpLev

Great Review, I'm in the market for a Bandsaw, and it's good to know that there are some good options out there that won't hurt the bank (too much) but still prove to be good powerhorses


----------



## motthunter

I had trouble with parts on my griz cyclone dust collector, but hey went way over my expectations in fixing the challenges and parts issues,


----------



## Hawgnutz

Thanks for the informative post/review! I am planning tpo replace my Craftsman bandsaw, and I am leaning towards the Grizzly ultimate, like you have. I am glad to hear that they have the same great customer service that they showed towards the dado blade I got from them.

I hope you have many years of happy cutting with this saw!

God Bless,
Hawg


----------



## RickS

Matt -

Any chance you could post the tensioner pdf?? I have this saw and love it but
have always struggled with that!

Thanks!

Rick


----------



## AbleHands

I have sent a request to Grizzly for a link to the document at there site. There was a rather lengthy confidentiality srtatement at the bottom of the email I received from them, making me uncomfortable posting the doc here.

Matt


----------



## affyx

Matt:

Great post - really like the slideshow and your helper!

 is the most useful tool in my shop - I use it for a lot of what I used to use my table saw for. It's a shame Grizzly doesn't spend just a couple more dollars on packaging… could avoid a lot of problems.

Good luck with it.


----------



## spaids

I just got my Extension Kit for my Grizzly G0555. After reading this blog I would have thought they Grizzly was including the supplemental directions for tensioning the blade on the now 12" ban saw. I'm glad I got Matt to email the PDF because Grizzly did NOT include these instructions. You kinda need this page for the extension kit so shame on Grizzly. The directions they did send were good up to the point of putting on a blade. I am also not pleased with the piece of crap blade guard they sent me. It will need some bending and tweaking before its even close to fitting on the saw. But for $60 its probably the cheapest upgrade of its kind.


----------



## spaids

oh yea warning to anyone considering this upgrade! You will need a very big wrench! Luckily I have a gear head neighbor who had a 26mm wrench. A crescent wrench would not fit on the bolt and have enough room to turn.


----------



## spaids

I just looked at the Grizzly PDF manual for this saw online and the instructions for blade tensioning that were missing for some people are incorporated in the current online manual. Its Page 42.


----------



## iamchrismoran

as is typical, I don't have my stuff next to me, but I believe my manual had those instructions. HOWEVER, even though I followed them, I'm certain something's not right. If I cut stick that's taller than an inch or so, the blade curves vertically by the time I get to the end of the cut. My only thought is that I might not have it tensioned enough, but I didn't want to create too much tension and it appears to be set as described in the instructions?

I'd love to hear some ideas on what I should do to check that and fix it. Many of the projects I've wanted to take on require being able to cut straight in thicker stock - currently not reliable.

thanks,
Chris


----------



## AbleHands

Chris,

It could be quite a few things on a brand new saw.

Make sure the wheels are coplanar.

For me blade tension took a while to figure out. If you are trying to use the markings on the spring block, forget about it. On my saw if I have a 1/2" blade in I tension almost to the 3/4" marking before it's right.

Once you have the blade tensioned properly, make sure it is tracking correctly.

The adjust the guide bearings, remember to adjust both sets (upper and lower). I recently saw a tip on adjusting the bearings where the tipster put a single wrap of blue painters tape around the blade and then moved the bearings up to just touch the tape. Then with the tape removed the bearings were positioned just right.

Good luck with it. It's a great saw once you get it set up right.


----------



## iamchrismoran

(I know, I posted this quite some time ago…)
The tech support from Grizzly commented that I should get a new blade, that the OEM blade it came with is more for setup. That sentiment was replicated elsewhere in these forums and elsewhere.
That sucks.. would think they'd sell it with a blade that's more useful, but at least I know. So, I'm going to buy a couple blades. Would love some advice on which to get… I've searched out "how to select band saw blades" and most are lacking in specifics or use different terminology than I see in some stores.

I'll likely 99% only be cutting wood. My first real project will be a gaming table and I think I'll be looking to use Red Oak. I'm a novice on wood knowledge, this I keep an OLD "Cabinet Making and Millwork" book next to me. I don't know if I'll use harder wood, but I know I'd like to rip with it or possibly small scale milling, so I know I'll need to max out the 3/4" blade width. But to TPI and tooth layout… not sure. Speed isn't a super issue, I'm not usually in a rush - just want it to cut right, and clean is nice… and I'd like to not have to replace the blades often.

I figure I'll also be making some puzzle/toys for my boy (13 months old yesterday) so a smaller blade for small 
diameter cuts is obvious.

Thoughts?


----------



## a1Jim

very well done good review


----------



## Matt88

I stumbled upon this thread looking for something else and this has me concerned. I just got the G0555 band saw and out the riser kit on it and I did not have any issues when I tensioned the new blade? Did I miss something?


----------



## Blackie_

Hi Matt

Just got through reading your review, I just got mine on Monday and like you mine was also stood on end, but realistically for some of us actually that's the only way I was able to get it through my gate around back and into my shop and like yours mine too was beat up a bit, I was lucky that I received a truck with a lift gate, I waved that extra fee.


----------



## Howie

I have a 555x and I don't recall anything about the standing on end (4 years ago) I wonder what's in the box it could hurt. This thing is built like a tank. BTW,no problems. One suggestion is to get a can of compressed air and blow out the bearings under the table one in a while.


----------

