# Grizzly G0555LX First Impressions (w/Pictures)



## DrewM (Mar 10, 2010)

I finally had the opportunity to get a bandsaw for my shop and after lots of research I decided on the G0555LX. This saw has some extra features from the other saws in the G0555 series which are cast iron wheels, rack and pinon upper blade guide adjustment, and a T-square style fence. From the reviews I have read the other 14" grizzly saws are hard to beat for the price so I figured this new saw was a safe bet. Plus with the introductory price I couldn't resist. I also ordered the mobile base recommended by grizzly for this saw.

The mobile base shipped via UPS and arrived a few days ahead of the saw itself which gave me a chance to assemble it. I forgot to take pictures of the base during assembly but it can be seen later in the post fully assembled. The base itself is pretty good, its very sturdy and decently made. I had to run a tap through the threads for both wheel locks and a few of the mounting holes for the casters needed minor file work for the bolts to fit correctly. Overall I find it to be a good base, but I may try another brand for my next.

The saw arrived via freight in two boxes one for the stand and one for the saw. I opted for lift gate service and the delivery man was very helpful in moving the shipment into my garage, hats off to NewPenn freight.

(sorry if the pictures don't display well, I've had some issues correctly resizing them)



















The stand and saw were very well packaged except for the area near the back of the motor of the saw. On mine I found the grille for the fan slightly bent and contacting the cooling fan. Not a huge deal and only took some minor bending to correct. All other parts were perfect. The manual for the saw is buried at the bottom of the box containing the saw, I found this slightly annoying since I like to peak and the manual before removing things from packaging.




























Assembling the base was pretty simple and only required basic hand tools to accomplish. The stand fits well in the mobile base. The powder coat finish of the base is very nice looking and seems pretty tough. Fully assembled I found it to be extremely sturdy and well built, I think it would easily hold twice the weight of the saw with zero issues. A+ to grizzly on this one.



















Assembly of the saw was very straight forward and the directions are clearly written. I recommend having an assistant help you place the saw up on to the stand. Its pretty heavy and awkward to carry. I checked wheel alignment on my saw and out of the box it was within 0.005" of being parallel and coplanar…good enough for me. The cast iron top ships heavily coated with cosmoline but was easy to clean up with some wd-40 and rags. Attaching the top and trunnion assembly and squaring it to the blade is very simple and outlined well in the manual. I found the table to be well machined and perfectly flat. The fence is also easy to install and adjust. It moves very nicely along the table and the tape readings are easy to see through the magnified lens on the fence. The instructions cover all your needs for using and adjusting all parts of the saw. Its nice to read a well written manual for once, thanks grizzly.




























Overall my first impressions of this saw are very high, the fit and finish is superb and the design was well thought out. I find the saw easy to use and the rack and pinon upper blade guide makes adjustment very quick and easy to do. The saw runs extremely smooth and quiet and has no vibration at all. Blade removal and installation is slightly difficult due to the length of the front fence rail to the left side of the table. It gets in the way when the doors are open, but once you get the idea it isn't all that hard to do. Having a quick release for the blade tension is also a nice feature. The 3/8" blade shipped with the saw isn't that great and leaves a pretty rough finish on just about anything ran through it. I expected this, however I'm going to stick with it since I plan on getting a riser kit as soon as grizzly makes them available to take advantage of resawing boards wider then 6". Dust collection is ok at best, this saw lacks an under table dust port. Upgrading that area is high on my list of things to do. To prolong tire life I plan to install wheel brushes soon. As of now I'm very happy with the saw, after a few months of use I will post an official review of it in the LJ review section.


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## tyskkvinna (Mar 23, 2010)

Funny, I got the exact same saw today and my experience is nearly identical to yours! I am pleased. I also am waiting for the riser kit (September!! wtf.) so I did invest in a couple of nice blades because I am going to heavily use them between now & then.


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## DrewM (Mar 10, 2010)

Yeah I might just buy one or two blades for now until the kit gets here


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

I have the GO555X and have been very happy with it from day 1. I'm sure you will enjoy your LX just as much.
(go on and buy a good blade, it's worth the investment)


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## MichaelAgate (Jan 15, 2012)

Ok, you are LUCKY!


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## Pono (Mar 10, 2012)

I have been amazed at grizzlys new products very nice saw.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Thanks for posting the review. I am on vacation and plan to make the Springfield store one of my stops before heading home!


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## DaveFFMedic (Jun 20, 2012)

I too anxiously awaited the delivery of my G0555LX. I was disappointed when it arrived with a gaping hole in the bottom of the box. It turns out the factory in Taiwan is shipping and boxing them UPSIDE DOWN! I noticed in your picture of the bottom of the box that all the loose parts are just laying on the cardboard. Also, the circular Styrofoam piece which is supposed to protect the motor fan cover. Your saw was shipped upside down like mine. Consider yourself lucky your saw was not damaged.

In my case, the box was apparently dropped (unbeknownst to me) at some point in transit. This is a separate issue from the torn open box. Because the saw was shipped upside down in the box, the motor and fan cover were woefully unprotected and thus suffered damage. The impact was so forceful that two of the three Philips head screws holding the fan cover to the fan body were SHEARED OFF! The fan blade was damaged and the fan cover was dented.

I am missing several parts which, I assume, fell out after the box was damaged. A bag of hardware for the fence, the tension release lever, and one of the trunnion locking knobs was missing. Three weeks after I contacted Grizzly about these issues, the parts have just shipped from Missouri. (On a side note, don't order anything from Grizzly when there is a tent sale going on. I was informed that my parts might take longer to ship because everyone is busy at the tent sale. Not so good customer service if you ask me.)

All of this could have been avoided if the box were shipped right side up. The damage to the cardboard box would have been minor. All of the parts would have stayed in the box. And, if right side up, I would be willing to bet the saw would have survived the drop which damaged the motor fan and cover.









The box didn't look too bad from the outside. Since it weighed 200 pounds, I wasn't going to flip it over to inspect the damage. I felt with my hand and could feel the table. It still had the protective plastic and I couldn't feel any damage. I noted the damage to the box on the shipping papers and accepted the delivery as damaged.


















When I was able to get someone to help lift the bandsaw out of the package, I noted this damage to the motor. It was the first indication that something was wrong. I immediately went through the box and inventoried all of the pieces to identify everything that was damaged or missing.









Dave


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

My 0555LX experience has also been a good one.
One note about the fence. It will rock from side to side 'cause the wings don't rest on the rails. I added small plastic stick-on pads to each end of the wings to stop the rocking. I'm looking for nylon tipped gib screws to thread into the holes that are pre-drilled in the wings.
All in all, I very well pleased with the saw. They sure do have enough decals on the covers.
Wonder why the 0555 riser won't fit the LX?
Bill


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## DrewM (Mar 10, 2010)

Bill, I believe the other 0555 risers do not fit because of the rack and pinon upper blade guide assembly on the lx.


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## steamfab (Jun 6, 2012)

Another satisfactory review of Grizzly band saw. Nice-looking saw you got.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Drew, I hadn't thought about the rack side of the riser. Duh!
Thanks.
Bill


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## crashn (Aug 26, 2011)

Bill W,
Not sure if this will help, but my grizzly table saw had nylon tipped gib screws for the fence. Mine is a G0715p, but other grizzly table saws may use the same type of gib screws.


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## Heisbert (Jun 7, 2012)

As what I always expect with Grizzly saws, they're really good.


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## Oakdesk (Jul 9, 2012)

After reading DaveFFMedic's post about his experience, I can report a similar tale. Back in mid-June, I received my G0555LX upside down with a huge hole in the bottom of the box. It did not occur to me that *the factory would ship the saw upside down.* The table and fence were intact in the box, so I noted the damage on the bill of lading and signed off. Only later did I discover that the rear fence rail, hardware bag, and tension release lever were missing. The miter gauge was also damaged. The next day, I called Grizzly to report the missing items. To their credit, they began to work on the matter right away, as shown by several phone calls from customer service. To their discredit, it took them three weeks to get the missing items to me (I guess I got caught up in the tent sale that Dave mentioned.) I was able to use the saw without most of the items; I used a screwdriver as a tension release lever until I got the real one.

I'm really pleased with the saw so far; it's a big change from the 10" benchtop that I used to own. I did get a bad Olson 1/2" blade that gave me some vibration, but when I swapped it out for an Olson 1/4" everything smoothed out again. I think I got good value for the money spent.


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## jaysonic (Jul 14, 2012)

Just clicked "buy." I live in Canada though, somewhat nervous about the shipping, but I'll make sure to check it out really well.


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## Tomj (Nov 18, 2011)

I just got mine a week ago. I opened the box right side up but yes there was no manual so I realized it was put in the box upside down. Everything was there, I just read the manual off of their website until I got to the manual in the box. They were really fast as far as shipping barely a day in a half it took them. Good luck with your new bandsaw.


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## Camero68 (Jun 5, 2012)

I did not see its review on the review section. I had read some positive reviews of this brand at www.bandsawreviews.com .


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## Surfside (Jun 13, 2012)

TomJ, did you have any problems as far as the band saw parts go?


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

After looking at Drew's pics….. Hmmmmm?
Found out that my fence is missing the sliding pads on each end (see Drew's pics). They are backordered.
I put a dab of lithium grease on the tensioning cam to smooth out the movement.
Bill


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## DrewM (Mar 10, 2010)

so far the saw has been really great for me although it hasn't had a lot of use in the last month. My riser kit is due towards the end of September, once that comes in I will post more pictures which will include how I upgraded the dust collection under the table.


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## RobertsPlace (Aug 19, 2012)

Drew - very nice review. I like the photographic progression. How are you liking it these days? Is it big enough for your needs?


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## DrewM (Mar 10, 2010)

The saw has been working great for me. Im still waiting the riser kit to arrive so i can do some resawing on some wider boards I have.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

Installing that riser may be kinda' difficult. I got my riser block with my GO555 saw and did not have any help setting it up. What I did was to assemble the saw, riser block and stand together horizontally, on the floor then just stood the whole thing upright with a big grunt. Hope this helps. I like this saw. I use it only for resawing, so I use 1/2" woodslicer blades.


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## DrewM (Mar 10, 2010)

Thanks for the tip Jim, I already have a friend on standby when the part arrives so hopefully we can get it installed without to much hassle.


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## Surfside (Jun 13, 2012)

Good luck, Drew!


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## MarcelPoirier (Oct 29, 2012)

I'm about to hit the buy button on the G0555LX and I'm wondering if anybody has had it shipped to Canada and if so what their experience was like? Any extra duty/hidden costs?


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## DaveFFMedic (Jun 20, 2012)

I love my bandsaw, but I'm still waiting on the riser block. I just got off the phone with Grizzly and they said it definitely won't arrive before December 4th. I've been waiting since May for this riser block. I would recommend the bandsaw, but only if you're not interested in the riser block kit. FWIW. Dave.


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## mprzybylski (Nov 21, 2011)

@DrewM: how has the saw been? I'm considering is saw and was wondering if you could post pics of your dust collection improvement as well as where you got the wheel brush (this is my first BS so I'm not sure if that is a common buy and an ignorant question  what blades did you get for it? I'd be buying the riser block with it as well so any news you have on that would be helpful. Thanks.


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## ScomelBasses (Dec 6, 2012)

I have this saw and have nothing but positive things to say about it. I regularly cut hardwoods without any problems. I used much more expensive saws and feel this compares very well. I would buy it again if I had to.


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## DrewM (Mar 10, 2010)

Matt, So far the saw has been great. I just put the riser kit on it last weekend. I plan to make a quick video review of the saw and show the modifications I have made to it. Right now I only have a 3/16" Timberwolf blade in it but I plan on getting a 1/2" or a 3/4" Timberwolf for re-saw work.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

I know nothing about grizzly but that looks like a beauty. I bought a small new bandsaw as said not grizzly and when I spent several hours setting it up and switched it on the saw vibrated so badly I had to send it straight back.The company which sold me it said they were all like that so I am pleased you are so happy with your new toy. Alistair


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## mprzybylski (Nov 21, 2011)

@DrewM: thanks for the update, i think at this point I've pretty much set my mind on this saw. I looked at wheel brushes yesterday and they all seem to be the same aside from making your own out of a toothbrush. What did you end up doing for yours?


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## Surfside (Jun 13, 2012)

Alistair, did you know the reason why the band saw is vibrating badly ?


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Yep! Me too. What brushes?
Bill


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## DrewM (Mar 10, 2010)

Here is a quick video I made showing off my saw.

Video


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