A new player in the steel spined 14" bandsaw game

[Van Huskey]

Grizzly is going to release a new 14" steel bandsaw. While they have been quiet on this front for a while letting their G0457/G0778 soldier on and still selling what must be a ton of their fleshed out high value cast clone line they seem poised to give the other big players in this niche (namely Rikon and Laguna) a run for their money.

The new Grizzly is the G0817 and is a 14" steel spined saw which I call a square saw, seeing it has 14" of resaw. (the term sqaure is stolen from the auto industry and used to describe a engine whose bore and stroke are equal). It is 76" tall which is garage door friendly even on a pallet and the shipping weight is 388 pounds, while I don't have the actual saw weight but given how bandsaws are generally crated I would GUESS the saw weight is in the 330-350 pound range. It has 2hp (wireable for 120/240), which is a little under what I prefer per inch of resaw it should be fine for most tall resawing and drops it right in the middle of the class in terms of hp per resaw inch. 21 3/4" x 16 1/2 inch table at 37" from the floor, maybe a touch high for heavy resawing but that depends on the users height and preference as much as anything, some people hate low BS tables. It also has a foot brake.

Now the "important" part, it will have an introductory price of $1295 so add in residential liftgate and it shoud be in your garage for roughly $1450. This lands it right in the middle of a crowded field. It also puts it in direct competion with the 513 series but time and time again Grizzly has shown it doesn't mind stepping on its own price point toes. I have long held the 513 series may hold the best bought new value propositon for the hobby woodworker so the 817 has some pretty big shoes to fill. That said the 14" steel saw market appears to be a thriving one.

As always I am keen to not only see one of these but actually run one. In the past new Grizzly models are the toughest thing for me to powered hands on with when they are new. I spend hours each year in their showrooms (sad to see the Muncy showroom go since there was family near there and it made the trip from DC or NYC worth the trip) but I really like to make sawdust with a saw. Most of the other brands are carried by a serious local dealer that doesn;t mind me coming in with a bag of instruments and making some sawdust in the back workshop. So what I am getting at is when someone gets one of these if they are willing to let me come by let me know. I travel all over the US regularly and if you draw a box from Miami to Boston to Seattle to San Diego and back to Miami thats where I roam. I'll pay for the pizza and beer or soft drinks if you prefer or maybe just bring you a blade since I prefer to have a fresh blade that I know well so I can be objective. If you need references I can provide Creeker's names who can verify I didn't break their saw nor cause any police call level debachery while at their home...

[Howard Pollack]

When you get a chance to try one I'd be very curious to hear your sense of the saw in comparison to the 513 with cast iron wheels.
-Howard

[Van Huskey]

At this point there is no ETA on them being in stock and after that a nice Creeker will have to buy and and invite me over, otherwise it will only be a visual inspection at one of their showrooms. However, I don't foresee a situation where I recommend it over the upper half of the 513 series except if one need the 2 extra inches of resaw or needs a slightly smaller footprint. My main interest is where it sits in within the 14" hierarchy. Over the last 10 years we have seen a lot of new saws in the 14/15" steel spined class and have them running from under 1K to just under 3K.

Again, if one is planning to spend ~1,500 on a new BS my first choice would be the new Rikon 18" and the Grizzly 0513. That said with an extra ~150 dollars you could have the bottom end of the 514 series in the shop. That 1-2K price range is full of options.

[Ben Rivel]

Interesting. How did you find out about this saw? There doesnt seem to be info about it anywhere on the net.

[Van Huskey]

Interesting. How did you find out about this saw? There doesnt seem to be info about it anywhere on the net.

As a bandsaw geek, I have my ways...

BTW since I posted this morning Grizzly has put it up on their site.

[Rick Cicciarelli]

As one in the market for a bandsaw, how would you convince me to go for a 14" when I can have the 17" set up the same way for the same price? The only benefit I see to the 14" would be the 110 wiring (if I don't currently have a 220 outlet wired up in my shop space, which I don't), or a very small savings in cost of blades (and this particular 14" saw takes a 120" blade, so probably no savings on the blades compared with the 17"). The 513 has the same size motor though (even though it apparently can only be wired 220).

[Van Huskey]

As one in the market for a bandsaw, how would you convince me to go for a 14" when I can have the 17" set up the same way for the same price?

I agree, like I said my choice for 1.5k new would be either the Rikon 10-342 or one of the 513s assuming space or power was not an issue. That said there are a lot of this class of machine sold. There is the case where someone wants a smaller second saw which hides away easier than a larger saw, so I imagine this could be a factor as well.

Leaving out the small variable of greater cooling on a longer blade, over a long period of time you will see the cast nearly balance out, a longer blade will last proportionally longer doing the same cuts. Since blades are priced and sold pretty much directly based on length (except for the cutting/welding charge) you will see very little difference in the long haul.

[Curt Harms]

............................................
If you need references I can provide Creeker's names who can verify I didn't break their saw nor cause any police call level debachery while at their home...

But ...... that's half the fun. I wonder if Rikon is going to put their 10-326 on sale semi-regularly like they did the 10-325 for $799. I'm not sure of the difference between the 10-325 & the 10-326 beyond tool free blade guide adjustment and better fence.

[Rick Cicciarelli]

I agree, like I said my choice for 1.5k new would be either the Rikon 10-342 or one of the 513s assuming space or power was not an issue. That said there are a lot of this class of machine sold. There is the case where someone wants a smaller second saw which hides away easier than a larger saw, so I imagine this could be a factor as well.

Leaving out the small variable of greater cooling on a longer blade, over a long period of time you will see the cast nearly balance out, a longer blade will last proportionally longer doing the same cuts. Since blades are priced and sold pretty much directly based on length (except for the cutting/welding charge) you will see very little difference in the long haul.

Size savings is not an argument on this 14" either as it is actually taller than the 17" saws. Footprint savings is negligible.

[Rick Cicciarelli]

I think another big question is this; if you are dead set on a 14" (as in you don't have any way to get a 220 outlet setup for example), is the 1/2 horsepower increase and increase in resaw capacity worth an extra 50% over the G0555x? (at $800)

[Van Huskey]

I think another big question is this; if you are dead set on a 14" (as in you don't have any way to get a 220 outlet setup for example), is the 1/2 horsepower increase and increase in resaw capacity worth an extra 50% over the G0555x? (at $800)

On the size issue sometimes every little bit counts depending on your space. However, when comparing this level of steel spined saw to the 14" Delta clones there are reasons to choose them at a higher price. Obviously, I can't speak to this one yet, but the steel spined saws in general are much more rigid and can provide significant increases in blade tension. The also tend to be more stable and in general offer a few more bells and whistles. Thats said I can't speak to why many people have been choosing 14" saws over 17/18" saws. It may be that people are buying what they can by locally and most brands don't have overlapping price ranges and the jump from 14" to the mid-sized saws is a significant amount.

Then there are the odd people like me for whom in regard to bandsaws 1 is too many and 12 is not enough. Over the years I ahve had a lot of bandsaws in my shop and played with exponentially more and I often pick bandsaws for very specific jobs and they may live their life with me with only one type of blade on them. There are use cases where a smaller wheeled saw with more rigidity and taller resaw capability along with some specific set of bells and whistles may do a certain job better than a bigger saw. There comes a time when tucking a small saw in the corner is a lot easier than dealing with another 20"+ saw.

[Van Huskey]

But ...... that's half the fun. I wonder if Rikon is going to put their 10-326 on sale semi-regularly like they did the 10-325 for $799. I'm not sure of the difference between the 10-325 & the 10-326 beyond tool free blade guide adjustment and better fence.

If the someone isn't on parole/probabtion and isn't concerned about a little police interaction then they can let me know up front... The guides and better fence are the primary differences between the 325 and 326, both are nice but the old Rikon guides were the saws weak spot and I dislike guides that require tools (which the subject of this thread requires tools), the new guides have made a big difference in my opinion of the Rikon 14 and 18" saws that got them. Circle Saw in Houston has the best day to day prices on the Rikon AFAIK, roughly 850 for the 326 and 1300 for the 18" 342 they do charge $150 for lift gate residential delivery but if you are willing to ick them up at the terminal they are a good deal. The 10-353 is the better comparison to this new Grizzly saw, while it can't be wired 120v it has 3hp and 14" resaw and available from Circle Saw for $1350 so it and the G0817 are basically the same price give or take 50-100 depending on how one takes delivery. Rikon does have a 5 year warranty which is also important for some. Time will tell and the G0817 has the possibility of being the best saw in the niche, I am eager to get my hands on one...

[Geoff Crimmins]

It's interesting that the 2hp motor on the 17" saw is rated at 20 A at 110v, while the 2hp motor on this new 14" saw is rated at 15 A. Either there's an error on the website, one motor is somehow substantially more efficient, or the definition of 2 HP is fairly flexible. In any case, thank you for posting about the new saw, Van. It's nice to have another good option for someone looking for a 14" bandsaw.

--Geoff

[Van Huskey]

I avoid speculating on electrical input vs work output of motors but I certainly understand what you are saying there are a fixed amount of watts in a 120v/15 amp circuit with some variation due to voltage differences and the trip point of an individual breaker. While I have often wondered if induction motors are slipping toward the "loose" ratings that universal motors used I think most of what we see is more efficient motors. Countries around the world have been introducing regulations requiring premium efficiency motors in many applications and while most of the equipment we use avoid such regulations currently the increase in production of premium efficiency motors has brought their price down. So a manufacturer who is trying to sell the most saw for 120v may indeed opt for a higher efficiency motor. In this case the motor would be doing 1,500 watts of work at full load and a 120v (at 120v) 15 amp circuit has 1,800 watts available. Now technically Grizzly lists it at 15 amps @ 110v which is only 1,650 watts but my guess is the copy writer is just old school and like many old school folks missed the shift to 120v nominal.

A picture for those that care:




g0817-dce4b87fb8761551aa7c37c5c328f50f.jpg


Edit: the spec sheet is up on Grizzly.com now, nothing particularly interesting that hadn't been previously shown. The weight is 319 pounds so I was a little generous in my guess or 330-350#, this lines it up almost exactly with the 10-353 @ 315# and more or less in the middle between the Laguna LT14bx and LT14SUV models.

[Rick Cicciarelli]

This has sparked my interest a bit. I was really wanting the 513X2BF but I don't currently have a shop set up with 220 and I'm not sure when that will happen down the road, so I'd like to just get some of my essential tools to get started at least. I was leaning towards picking up the 555X 14" since it is still a reasonably heavy duty 14" and I figured it would do the job for now and allow me to get right to work with it now. This new option would give me the resaw capacity I was looking for with the 17" and still allow me to use it with a 110 outlet. I just have to wrap my head around whether I would want to spend just $75 shy of the 17" that I wanted originally. Or if I should really just stick with the 555X at almost half the price and just upgrade to a 17" later. Decisions decisions.