Grizzly G0514X2 enroute. Recommendations for installation?

[Brad Swanson]

My 1st bandsaw (Grizzly G0514X2) will be delivered this Friday. I have a Shop Fox Super Heavy Duty mobile base ready for it. If any one has any tips/pointers/recommendations for getting the bandsaw assembled, installed, and tuned, I'm all ears (I guess eyes is actually more appropriate). Thanks.

[Mark Kornell]

I have a G0514X2B - assembly was pretty straightforward, taking about 30 minutes once I had it uncrated. Attach the table, fence rail and get the power hooked up. Grizzly's instructions were accurate and easy to follow.

Tuning it up consisted of adjusting the tracking and setting up the guides. The wheels came coplanar, no adjustment necessary.

The only tip I have for the mobile base (or any base) is to ensure that the lower door will open once it is in the base.

Be careful moving it. Like all bandsaws, it is top-heavy.

It is a good bandsaw, you won't regret the purchase. And probably will never need to purchase another.

[glenn bradley]

My saw is on a Shop Fox base. It does add some wobble. I wish I had not put it on there; I have never moved it. I never seem to have help available when I want to remove it and have help when there is no time to remove it ;-(

[Michael Heffernan]

Brad, I got the G0514X2 about 5 years ago and use it continuosly for resawing and other cutting. It's got plenty of power, tracks well. Relatively easy to assemble and tune. You should be happy with the saw.
I didn't like any of the 'off the shelf' mobile base options, so I fabricated my own, using rectangular steel tube, 1/2" nuts and bolts and swivel casters from Great Lakes. It's extremely stable and allows full swing for the lower door.
Here is the thread of my build:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?119068-Mobile-Base-for-Bandsaw&highlight=

I did replace the original upper and lower guide bearings with Grizzly's euro style metal guides (designed for the saw), a couple of years ago. I like them better than the bearing guides. For me, they track better, easier to set up and adjust than the bearings. You may want to consider them for your saw.

Let us know how you like it when it arrives and you get it up and running.

[Ryan Mooney]

Here is the thread of my build:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?119068-Mobile-Base-for-Bandsaw&highlight=

I stole/borrowed/used Michael's design for the base on my 513 and couldn't be happier with it (Thanks! ). Its actually more stable than the saw was otherwise because the base is wider, rolls easy (on concrete), and with the great lakes casters locks in place solid as a rock (even with only two feet lowered).

Other than that the main challenge was hoisting it up to yank it off of the pallet and set it on the base. Luckily I happened to have an engine hoist which was juuuuuust tall enough for lifting the 513 from the hook at the top, the 514 is a bit taller so you might have to block it up and lower it down easy.

[Brad Swanson]

Thanks very much for the input so far. Its been very useful. I have to get the bandsaw from my garage (where it will be stored after delivery for a few days) to my walkout basement which leads me to this question.

If I carry the table and parts separately, do you think I and 2 very able bodied friends will be able to safely walk the saw off of the pallet and onto a sturdy hand truck for transport to the walk-out?

When I moved my planer and jointer to the walk-out I moved them down with one assistant keeping them on their pallets and using a pallet jack and leapfrogging sheets of plywood as a smooth "road" for the pallet jack. This worked okay (there were a few iffy moments). The top-heaviness of the bandsaw combined with the slope of the yard to the walk-out makes me think this won't be such a good idea.

I better die in this house, because moving all of the stuff up the walkout if we have to move will kill me anyway.

[Mark Kornell]

Brad,

I was able to walk the bandsaw off the pallet by myself. Had a couple of pretty iffy moments, though. So having a couple "very able bodied" friends to help ought to work just fine.

Dunno about moving it to your walkout. All depends on the slope of the path. You could probably remove the top wheel to reduce the weight at the top of the machine. And maybe put a couple of sandbags inside the lower part of the cabinet (remove the lower door first).

[glenn bradley]

I moved my G0513X with one able bodied assistant without issue; table in place. (Don't forget to tell your assistants "where" to grab for purchase. My helper went straight for the table as a "handle". I barked at him so quick you'd a thought the table was hot.

[Greg Meyer]

I have the same bandsaw and do like it. The only issue I have had with it is the rubber tires broke on me and I replaced them with the urethane ones that Grizzly sells. I just got finished putting this on a mobile base after a couple of years of walking it manually. If installed properly, the lower door hits the bolts that attach the rails to the corner bracket of the mobile base. I basically torqued them down with a lot of force to get them to where they didn't interfere. Two of the bolts actually sheared off but are still ok because they have the nuts still on them. Once I had the saw on the base, I drilled holes at the corners of the saw (there are holes in saw base already) base through the bracket and bolted the saw to the base. This made the saw/mobile base pretty stable and I get no wobble. I think any wobble comes from the base of the saw. I posted this whole thing on woodnet just a couple of weeks ago asking how to put this on the mobile base. If you have a couple friends you won't have to deal with the issues I had to go through to get it on the base.
One more thing to add, the off button needs to be turned clockwise and it will "pop out". This is apparently a safety feature. You can't turn the saw on unless the off button is popped out. It took me what felt like 1 hour to figure this out as I thought I did the wiring wrong because the saw wouldn't turn on.

[Brad Swanson]

Again, many thanks for the input. Its all great advice. I'm thinking I may wait to put the saw on a mobile base. I have a location for it that will allow me to rip boards up to 10 feet long without having to move it. I also have a very sturdy glue-lam beam right above where I'd like to park the band saw (like the orange beam in the attached pic only at the other end of the shop). For safety purposes to keep the saw from even thinking about tipping over or getting away from me should it get imbalanced, I'm thinking I'll run a cable through the safety eye hook on top of the band saw and around the glue lam.

I plan on not attaching the table until the saw is in its final location to avoid the temptation to grab it while moving (and to lighten the load).It will be an interesting next few days.
duct3.jpg

[Prashun Patel]

Just make sure the doors have enough clearance to open during blade changes. They lift off, but you still need some clearance.

[Chris Merriam]

I moved my 600lb MM16 around to the basement as well. They ship laying down on their spine. I used a scissor jack to jack up each end and slip a 4-wheel furniture dolly under each end. Then did the leapfrogging plywood trick and 3 helpers to push it around to the back. It worked ok, just wish the dollies had bigger off-road wheels rather than little 3-inch casters. The trick there is the weight limit on nice beefy air-filled rubber caster tires is less than the hard solid wheels, but spreading the load over 8 wheels would probably be fine. Oh, and I used a ratchet strap around each dolly to secure the saw.

I've been thinking of making a knock-down, 6 foot long wagon that rides on big tires to take stuff to/from the basement. The only trick would be lifting stuff high enough to load, maybe use an engine hoist or chain hoist attached in basement, I don't know. I'd really like to get a gantry assembly for the purpose, but those start at +$600 from harbor freight.

[Erik Christensen]

the saw is not as heavy as most other stationary power tools but it is tall and top heavy - you have 3 guys & hand truck and leave the table off you should be fine even with stairs. I have the same saw and have been happy with it. the factory tires lasted about 4 years and grizzly's urethane replacements were reasonable in cost and not that big a pain to instal. the blade that it comes with is only good to align the saw and make a test cut - other than that it is junk. best thing I ever did was finally get over being a terminal cheapskate and buy a 1/2" carbide blade - it made a huge difference in cut speed & quality.

enjoy your new toy

[Mitchell Garnett]

Assembly was very straight-forward. The only problems I had were unique to my workshop (aka garage). I have a low ceiling which means the clearance with the doors open was a problem with the bandsaw on a heavy-duty dolly. I ended up with a fairly simple solution - I removed the eye bolt at the top. I did buy a Harbor Freight 1 ton lift to help get it off and on the dolly and when I assembled the base. I got the lift on sale with a coupon and then sold it for almost what I paid for it. Much cheaper than buying some time from the folks that hang around the big box stores. (If I'd had room to store it, I would have kept it as it was very handy.)

As for a base because I do need to move mine around a little, I shamelessly copied Michael Heffernan's design with the addition of a dust collection hook-up. I thought I'd posted a photo of the end result but a quick search didn't find it. Let me know if you'd like to see it and I'll snap another.

[Brad Swanson]

Great info in the thread. Thanks everyone. The bandsaw was delivered today, and I opted to move it myself to the walk-out with a pallet jack and leapfrogging plywood sheets. I was preparing my Darwin Award acceptance speech the entire time, but the move to the walkout went fine (slow, but relatively uneventful... until I got to the door. I had calculated that the saw would just clear the doorway, but that was when it was taken off of the pallet and moved on a handtruck. I was moving it on a pallet, and, sure enough, it was about 1" too tall. Had to call in reinforcements to walk it off the pallet and in the door to its final resting place.

I haven't assembled it yet, but first impressions on fit and finish are really good (better than the Griz jointer and planer I received 18+ months ago). I don't have it on a mobile base as I don't think I'll ever need to move it. Need some shims to level it as the floor is uneven. Looking forward to its first cuts sometime in the next several days.

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