Band Saw Purchase

[Dan Gill]

Help me spend my money wisely, guys. I'm in the market for a bandsaw, and I'm looking only at a 14 inch saw with a riser block, as I want to be able to resaw. I'll probably never need to resaw a 12 inch board, but I know I don't want to be limited to 6 inch boards. Assuming I don't find a used saw, I've kind of narrowed the field down to:

• Grizzly G1019 - $375 delivered with riser kit
• Grizzly G0580 - $450 delivered with riser
• Grizzly Ultimate - $550 delivered with riser
• Delta 28-206 - $556 with riser according to current Rockler Promotion
• Delta 28-276 - $511 with riser and $30 rebate

They all have some advantages and disadvantages. The G1019 is the hands down price winner, largely because the riser kit is less than half that for the G580. Go figure. The smaller Delta and both the 1019 and G0580 are 3/4 HP, while the other two are 1HP. Both the Delta saws have a quick blade tension release, while I cannot see that on any of the Grizzly saws.

So what would be your call? If you own one of these (or two?) give me some feedback on yours. I am a hobbyist, not a pro. Rest assured that money DOES matter.

Thanks,
Dan Gill

[John Miliunas]

Dan, I don't own any of the mentioned saws, but here's my take on them: I had a Jet 14" and the riser is nice to have. Resaw to the full 12"? I doubt it, but it also came in handy when doing bowl blanks and the such. I'm also from the school of detensioning my blade when done and having a quick release for that would be mighty fine. Finally, bandsaws are indeed quite heavily reliant on HP; That said, I would definitely opt for one with the most. Just my $00.02....

[John Bailey]

Dan,

Take what I say with a grain of salt because I don't have a bandsaw, yet. However, I've been doing a lot of research about bandsaws and I would suggest the information I've seen says if you are going to saw or resaw larger than 6" boards, you should have, at least, the 1 h.p. motor. Some would say you need at least 1.5 h.p. I'm sure others with more first hand knowledge will chime in.

John

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Grizzly tools have been getting more and more better reviews lately. I would not overlook them. I have looked at all of the Grizzly bandsaws that you have mentioned and it really does appear to me that the ultimate is worth the extra money. It just seems like it is a much better built machine.

My uncle has a jet 14 inch bandsaw. He won't win any races resawing, but he does do it once in awhile. He gets buy with it (or did ).

Good luck in your choice, they all look like good machines.

[John Hemenway]

The Ultimate (G0555) does indeed have a quick release tension system. I have one, like it but haven't used it much, yet.

[James Carmichael]

If you don't think you'll resaw much over 6", the 1/4 HP probably won't make much difference. I've resawed 4" domestic hardwoods on my Ridgid, no problem. I did saw up a spalted sycamore log, about 4' long by 16" diameter (after halving it with a chainsaw). No problem, but spalted wood is not real strong.

I may have a challenge coming up, as I just picked up a load of tropical hardwoods from a flooring dealer. This stuff makes the domestic HWs I've been working look like rice paper.

[Dave Brandt]

I have the Grizzly 14" w/ riser and I can tell you forget about resawing anything wider than 6". Just not enough power. Too bad you're not closer. I'm moving this year and selling off most of my gear.

[Fred Hubert]

I have the Grizzly 14" w/ riser and I can tell you forget about resawing anything wider than 6". Just not enough power. Too bad you're not closer. I'm moving this year and selling off most of my gear.

Dave, he listed 3 different Grizzly 14" saws -- do you have one of these or a different model? Inquiring minds want to know...

The best I can do for you, Dan is to provide these links to some very good articles (particularly the first) that have influenced my thoughts. Like John, I'm still at the research stage while I get my basement organized into a shop.

Bandsaw Review: http://www.rd.com/americanwoodworker/toolguide/TT_Bandsaws.pdf
Bandsaw Blade Review: http://www.rd.com/americanwoodworker/toolguide/TT_BandsawsMore.pdf

Also you should know that the G1019, currently on clearance from Grizzly, is essentially the same saw as the Harbor Freight 14" Bandsaw which is I'm told goes on sale regularly for under $200. The differences I have researched are that the HF has an optional fence for about $20 that I think is the same as the standard on on this G1019. The G1019 comes with a circle cutting attachment. The G1019 has balanced wheels, no sign of balancing on the HF but then I haven't heard of any owners complain about it either. The G1019 has hinged wheel covers, HF covers come all the way off when changing blades. Finally, the HF manual I hear is so bad it can be misleading -- the simple solution is to download the G1019 manual...

~ Fred

[chris toomey]

I have the Grizzly 14" w/ riser and I can tell you forget about resawing anything wider than 6". Just not enough power. Too bad you're not closer. I'm moving this year and selling off most of my gear.

i have to disagree with you dave. i resaw with my G0555 all the time. it ain't a production machine, but i ain't a pro. it does all i ask of it. the only problem i've had with it was one i caused and grizzly helped me fix it. i think in the 14 inch saws its hard to beat this saw....but i'm biased.

[Dan Gill]

Thanks to all for your input. Decision forthcoming.

[Tom LaRussa]

Help me spend my money wisely, guys. r

• Grizzly Ultimate - $550 delivered with riser

Hands down, no question about it, this is the saw to get.

Use mine every day and love it to death.

Regarding resawing, it has plenty of power, provided you keep in mind that it is neither intended as nor priced like a dedicated resaw monster machine. A nice sharp blade helps too. I recommend Timberwolf. Keep the one that Grizz sends you in case you ever want to cut plastic or some such crazy thing -- otherwise it's not good for much of anything.

[Greg Ford]

I also have the Grizzly G0555 14" bandsaw, for the price I think it the best you will do. It dose resawing just fine, just not as fast as the larger saws, and the blade dose make a huge diference

[Davy Barr]

I have a Grizzly Ultimate and love it to death. If you don't a decent replacement blade, then re-sawing is not easy. However, getting a Timberwolf or Woodslicer blade makes a huge world of difference. I love the quick release option of this bandsaw and the extras that come with it. Can't beat the price either!

[Dan Gill]

Thanks again, folks. I bought the Grizzly G0555 and a riser block via the Ebay Buy it Now option. It saved me only $15, but a dollar is a dollar . . .

It was a hard choice between this saw and the Delta 28-206. With the Rockler deal and their respective riser blocks, they were very close in price. The Delta didn't come with a fence, and I think that tipped the balance.

Now I can't wait for it to get here!