I own a Grizzly again

[J.R. Rutter]

It has been a couple of years since we've had a Grizzly machine in the shop. It was finally time to replace the SCMS crosscut station with something faster and safer. The G0502 jump saw got a facelift of new safety features, so it finally made sense to bring one in to try. I also have an old Whirlwind upcut that we use for rough cuts because it doesn't cut very cleanly. The new Grizzly does a nice job - very close to the Forrest blade on a Dewalt 12" SCMS.

I must say that the huge guard that comes on the saw is way overkill for doing cabinet door parts. It would be less safe constantly reaching under the guard to pull out parts than just removing it, so that was the first step in installing it! The new trigger mechanism for the blade actuation is a two hand anti-tie-down system where you have to press two buttons simultaneously for the saw to activate a cut cycle. The foot pedal now triggers the little air cylinder clamp to hold the board against the back fence. We will be reworking that function because as it is now, you lose a fair amount of crosscut capacity.

All in all, a good purchase. The industrial Grizzly lineup seems like a great value if it holds up long term.

[Neil Brooks]

The mill nearest my house uses -- I'm pretty sure -- the same one.

When I asked about it, they said that -- though they keep beating the snot out of it -- it keeps coming back for more.

Congrats !

[Jay Brewer]

Congratulations JR, looks like a great setup with the Tiger Stop. Are you useing the factory blade?

[Stephen Cherry]

Nice! The Griz gives a lot of bang for the buck.

[Van Huskey]

Now you have your jumpy saw!!! With the Tiger Stop you are going to be a cutoff machine. How many cutoffs did you say you do a week?

[J.R. Rutter]

Are you useing the factory blade?

I do have the factory blade on it still. I also have a 132T Amana that I will try at some point. I was pleasantly surprised by the blade that came on my Extrema rip saw, and the one on the Grizzly is also good quality.

Now you have your jumpy saw!!! With the Tiger Stop you are going to be a cutoff machine. How many cutoffs did you say you do a week?

Yay! I've been waiting a while for this one. Today we built 70 doors drawer facess, so that is somewhere around 300 parts cut on this saw. With defecting and end trims, that is easily 400-500 individual cuts.

[Van Huskey]

I do have the factory blade on it still. I also have a 132T Amana that I will try at some point. I was pleasantly surprised by the blade that came on my Extrema rip saw, and the one on the Grizzly is also good quality.



Yay! I've been waiting a while for this one. Today we built 70 doors drawer facess, so that is somewhere around 300 parts cut on this saw. With defecting and end trims, that is easily 400-500 individual cuts.

I knew it was a stupid high number. You will get plenty of use out of that saw!

[J.R. Rutter]

Well, the saw lasted exactly 3 years before the motor fried today. New motor is unavailable until sometime in April for $808. Saw itself is discontinued, no stock left. So now I'm waiting to hear back from a couple of industrial suppliers about a fast local replacement. It is a shame too, because I liked the two hand activation. I will definitely think twice before going down this road again... :-(

[J.R. Rutter]

The industrial Grizzly lineup seems like a great value if it holds up long term.

Nevermind.

[Rod Sheridan]

We had a few Pistorius cutoff saws, ran for decades, made in New York State.

I believe the company closed during the last economic collapse........Rod.

[Peter Kelly]

http://www.omgainc.com/product_detai...d=9&sku=901421

Not much more expensive than the Grizzly was if you're looking for a replacement.

[J.R. Rutter]

Omga is on the short list. +$3,000 over the Grizzly, but should last 20 years. I am tuning up the old Whirlwind that we use for pre-mill chopping to see if I can get the precision crosscut station going again today. Oliver and CanTek can be had somewhat locally, but they are Chinese as well.

[Peter Kelly]

Not exactly the same type of saw but I've heard these are good: http://www.ckmachinery.com/index.php...-cross-cut-saw

[Richard Coers]

Sorry for the trouble J.R. Did you ask Grizzly if they would rewind the motor for you? A friend fried a motor on one of their metal milling machines. He waited months for a replacement motor on the slow boat over here. He made a comment to Customer Service after waiting the first month, telling them he had the motor rewound locally instead of loosing more money waiting for the new one. The tech then said, Oh, we could have done that here"." He swore off Grizzly after that. I've not found them to be the greatest supplier when a business depends on it.

[J.R. Rutter]

Good thought on having them rewind, or at least getting a price. The Whirlwind cuts pretty well with a new blade and new pneumatics. It should be all hooked up tomorrow morning, then will have time to see about the Griz.