Home >> Saws
Home >> Construction Tools
Grizzly G0513 17" Bandsaw - 2 HP | Discount Price: $750.00
 |
|
Brand: Grizzly
Binding: Misc.
Features: - Accepts blades 1/8" - 1" x 131 1/2" (standard 1/2")
- Approximate shipping weight: 321 lbs.
- Cutting capacity height: 12"
- Deluxe extruded aluminum fence
- Quick change blade release/tensioning
Decent Machine [Posted on 2004-04-27]
As with another poster, I was looking at 14" machines and the G0513 was only a little more expensive, so I took the plunge. It was my first Grizzly tool, so I was a little nervous.
The machine arrived with no damage or any other problem. My only compaints, and thus the 4 stars are: 1) the plastic handwheels (tension and cutting height) look and feel cheap. 2) the blade guides are somewhat chinsey. After getting them properly adjusted, I find the thumbscrews will work loose. If I overtighten the thumbscrews, the guides do not rotate properly. This has become a recurring problem, and I may contact Grizzly to resolve. Other competetive machines, such as the Jet 16" have a better adjustment system with jam nuts. 3) the table brackets (trunnions) are stamped steel. I expected a little beefier cast iron construction. Overall the saw cuts very well and has plenty of power.
Excellent for resawing! [Posted on 2004-12-27]
My son and I drove over 2 hours to Springfield to the Grizzly showroom to purchase our new bandsaw and another Grizzly planer for our production shop. After careful consideration of some 20-25 different bandsaw models we selected the Grizzly G0513 17" machine as the very best resaw tool for the money on the market today. The only issue we've found so far with this model is the less than desirable fence which came with the machine.
We have many Grizzly machines in our shop already and know of their ability to take a lot of abuse. Sure, Grizzly tools are not the top-of-the-line for refinement, especially when compared to some of the other more-expensive tools. However, when one considers price AND ability together, a Grizzly machine rallies well against any other brands on the market.
Great saw, awful fence. [Posted on 2005-06-23]
This saw has plenty of power, the guides are pretty decent for the price, runs smoothly, is not too heavy to move around, and is in general a fine piece of equipment. The included fence is, for my purposes, a complete and utter piece of junk. I tried and tried to get used to it, enjoy it, whatever. However, it IS possible to upgrade the fence, though not with another Grizzly product (I asked their helpful customer service team... one insisted the fence was the greatest thing since sliced bread, the other admitted that the position of the release handle was less than ideal). The fence to upgrade to (don't even think about it, if you own one, just do it. and if thinking of buying this saw, order the fence at the same time) is the JET 708747 (asin B0002ZHF3S).
Basically, the grizzly fence is lightweight, doesn't move terribly smoothly, does not lock down tightly enough for me to be confident (though admittedly I have not actually slid the fence while locked), and worst of all (this is horrifying) to release the fence you must raise the handle, which is 2 inches to the RIGHT of the fence!!!! That means if you have wood more than 1.5 inches wide/thick along the fence, you must REMOVE the wood from the table before repositioning the fence (!!!!!). This is the most shockingly stupid design I could imagine.
The Jet fence is an astoundingly huge improvement. I had to wait a month to get mine from Amazon. It comes with an excellent resaw attachment. If you plan to resaw with this saw (and it is truly excellent as a resaw saw after upgrading the fence) do the fence upgrade. This saw would get 5 stars from me for value IF it came with a decent fence.
The nice thing about the Jet fence upgrade is that it bolts right on (keep your original screws from the Grizzly fence) and requires only one hole/notch drilled in the back of the fence to mount the rear skid guide, apparently the Grizzly table is about 3/4 inch deeper than the 16" Jet bandsaw table.
Using the 1" wide 3/4 varitooth carbide tipped blade offered by grizzly for this saw, resawing up to full capacity of the saw is a breeze. The blade is pricey but worth it. I believe the brand for the blade is Lenox.
******
Update, after using this saw for a couple years, my opinions stand: great saw, awful (stock) fence. The reason I'm updating the review is I noticed that Grizzly has introduced an improved model, the G0513X2, which has cast iron wheels, a bigger table, a cast iron trunnion, and a different fence. I haven't used it, but I'm guessing the fence is a big improvement (anything would be better than the stock fence, and I still enjoy using the Jet fence described above). I wish I could upgrade with parts, but apparently not possible. If I were buying a saw now, I'd pay the extra $200 for the G0513X2, also they have a 19" 3HP model for $550 more that looks really nice and fits a wider blade for resawing. But this saw is still a good one, which I use for most of my milling while the table saw gathers dust.
Great saw at any price [Posted on 2005-07-25]
After carefully evaluating 14" to 20" bandsaws I decided to purchase the Grizzly G0513 17" bandsaw. Prior to purchase I obtained a copy of Lonny Bird's "The Bandsaw Book" which helped me determine the size saw I needed and will serve as a shop reference for the bandsaw. Next I downloaded the Grizzly manual for this saw. This allows the opportunity to understand the saw and set up procedures prior to purchase and to prewire a dedicated 120 or 220 volt circuit and obtain the proper plug prior to delivery. I also bought a mobile base before the saw was delivered. I left the base assemble in two pieces.
The saw was delivered in a skeleton-type wood crate. I used a battery powered trim saw to carefully cut the slats and in five minutes the saw was uncrated. I left it on the pallet to remove the blade and assemble the table. I used three 17" long 2X4's on edge as my wife helped me slide the saw off the pallet and onto the 2X4's. I removed the pallet and assembled the mobile base around the base of the saw, then dropped the 2X4's flat, which slid out from under the base when it was moved. From this point on you need to take your time and not be in a hurry to set up the saw. I felt the manual was written for people with little experience with bandsaws and explains the set up and fine tuning in great detail, plus there are helpful tips in The Bandsaw Book. If you can't find where a part belongs from the description in the assembly dirstions, refer to the schematic drawings in the manual. I encountered no problems during assembly. Be sure to square the blade to the miter slot, then the fence to the miter slot. This way I was able to get it right the first try.
Once fine tuned and the blade properly tensioned, I found the saw to be free of vibration, quiet and very capable. The fit and finish on my saw is excellent and assembly and fine tuning very easy. After using the saw I am very pleased with the results, whether cutting freehand or using the fence. You will need to purchase other blades for resawing and other types of cutting as the included blade is for general purpose cutting. Overall I am very pleased with my purchase.
So far so good. [Posted on 2006-01-14]
So far I am very happy with the saw. I will say that I agree with the gentleman who says that the fence leaves a lot to be desired. If I were Grizzly I'd fix that deficiency even if I had to charge a little more for the package. I may purchase a Kreg fence but for now I'll try and live with the one supplied.
I run the saw at the recommended 220v. which I believe make a big difference in performance. I chose this saw because it will take a 1" blade and I plan to use it (95% of the time) for resawing. My resaw efforts so far have been very sucessful.
I see this machine as a very good value.
Click here for more details and discount information...
|
){kind=link}