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Thread: Shout out to minimax

  1. #1

    Shout out to minimax

    Got a new to me minimax bandsaw at a great price last month. Well I've been busy and finally this past week I got time to plug it in and use it. Wow. What a pleasure to use. I had a new 17" grizzly. And I hated everything about it. It was cheaply made, lots of plastic parts and things just randomly fell off for no reason.
    Anyway back to the minimax. It's a 17" inch saw as well. It just cruises through all the logs and burls I sent through it. I'm a turner so I only use for bowl blanks. It's just such a pleasure to use after that grizzly saw I bought brand new 2 years ago.
    Last edited by Lee Schierer; 02-26-2017 at 7:08 PM. Reason: removed inflammatory language

  2. #2
    I'm not personally a fan of Grizzly. Their stuff has many satisfied customers.

    I'm curious how much more you had to pay for a top shelf machine like the MM? I can't justify that kind of equipment in my hobby shop - Grizzly and the like are more my range - but I'd sure love to have one.

    Fred
    Last edited by Lee Schierer; 02-26-2017 at 7:02 PM. Reason: edited wording
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  3. #3
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    Glad you like the new new to you saw. Which Grizzly did you have? I bought a G0636X, 17", 5HP BS with 16" resaw capacity last Summer and it is a joy to use. Very well made, powerful, smooth and quite, and everything I've ever wanted.

    If you are going to diss Grizzly be specific.

    John

  4. #4
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    I am going to assume the Grizzly was a 513.

    It is all about budget and expectations, the lower end of the 513 series are the least expensive 17" saws you can buy new and comparing them to the best steel-spined saws made today is not really fair. They are simply different classes of saw. The 513 series are fine saws for the money and properly setup (save the rare lemon) are very fairly priced and do what one should reasonably expect from them. There is always something better out there if one adjusts their budget upward the key is getting what you pay for and both Minimax and Grizzly both tend to meet reasonable expectations for their price tags.

    Which MM did you get?
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  5. #5
    Not all grizzly products, just this saw. I have the right to call the saw that because i bought it brand new and it was a total wast of my time and money. I sold it for almost nothing to get it out of my shop. It was the anniversary edition black bandsaw w the bear graphic on it.
    VAN, you helped me w the saw when I first got it. It's a cream colored one. You told me what blade to buy.
    It's funny how delta always gets a bad rap on the forum here for customer service and parts. Everyone slams them. I love my older delta machines, but people get offended when you talk about grizzly. I live right near muncy pa where grizzly was for years. Around here, grizzly has a very bad name, I've personally bought 4 different machines from grizzly. And every one has the same issue. All the handles are adjustable parts all break and just fall off. Yes I have a sour taste in my mouth for grizzly because there 0-4 in giving me a machine that I actually like using. Now I've never bought there better stuff. I have only bought starter type stuff from them. Planer, jointer, bandsaw, and higher end drill press. They all give me the same issues. The motors run just fine. It's the plastic parts that drive me crazy. I have numerous powermatic machines w plastic parts that never break or fall off
    Last edited by Lee Schierer; 02-26-2017 at 7:09 PM. Reason: removed inflammatory wording.

  6. #6
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    Before we get off the rails, what MM did you get? Let's concentrate on the good stuff as I assume you want to forget the past and start enjoyin' the future!
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  7. #7
    It's the low end minimax. S45 I think it is called. 1.8 HP. It just runs so smooth and I really like it so far.

  8. #8
    Best part is, I paid a good bit less for the minimax than I did the griz brand new.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Beagle View Post
    Best part is, I paid a good bit less for the minimax than I did the griz brand new.
    Man, that's great! Good for you!
    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    I am with you Sam. I own a Minimax S45 which I bought used. What a nice bandsaw. I am no expert but I owned a Rikon I bought new before this. I really like the S45 as it is so smooth and much better than my Rikon was in my opinion. I have never owned a Grizzley product so I can not compare. I tend to buy old Iron tools and referb them. I have Delta Unisaws, jointer and an old Atlas drill press. All craigslist finds.

  11. #11
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    Isn't the 513 new about $1100 and the S45 new about $3200?
    Jerry

    "It is better to fail in originality than succeed in imitation" - Herman Melville

  12. #12
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    Aug 2012
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    I paid $600 used for my Minimax S45 bandsaw plus I had to buy a fence and miter gauge.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by lee cox; 02-26-2017 at 9:13 PM. Reason: add a picture

  13. #13
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    Mini Max sells awesome bandsaws.. You got a lifer machine .. Good for you .

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerry Wright View Post
    Isn't the 513 new about $1100 and the S45 new about $3200?
    A few years ago, the S45 retailed for around $1800 and the MM16 was around $2800. All of the Grizzly 17" saws were around $1000, so it would be natural to assume a few quality differences. Even the "low end" S45 should be a step up from the G0513.

    Steve

  15. #15
    I understand where I the original poster coming from.

    Its not so much about expressing ones disatisfaction with a machine or brand but rather expressing ones satisfaction and lessons learnt after a disapointing experience or making due with a entry level hobby machine for a time.

    When i first started building a shop i knew little of woodworking machinery. Tools i had a great handle on but machines not so much. Being i dont know anyone whom is a woodworker, not sight carpenter i know plentynof those i did what most would do these days. I turned to the internet. I did reasearch wadding through piles of online reviews and old conversation on forums. Afterall when one knows they know nothing and they are going to spend what feels like a small fortune on a shop full pf machines even a $1000 bandsaw feels expensive when one can be had for $400.

    So i guess i have a couple points. While a $1000 bansaw os not a $3-5K band saw nor can it be expected to be, one also expects that a $1000-15000 bandsaw will be heads ans shoulders above the $400 bandsaw. Now clealry most $1000 bandsaws are much better than the $400 saw but not always. Add this reality to the input you will get from others online or via review hunting and you might find yourself disapointed if you expectations are not very close to inline with for those whom advice or oppinion you seek. As a newby to machines there is a steep learning curve imop from acquiring and be satisfied with a grizzly or rikon bandsaw to say finding out you dont have the patients for a blade that cant hold tension or little plastic odds and ends falling off leading to some kind of jury rigging and thus moving on to something like a minimax.

    I know i for one i us my tools for both work and play. For work i dont have the time to mess with jury rigging something up to make the machine perform as it could or should. For work purposes i also can not afford to comprimes the quality of my finished product on account of making due with a sub par tool. For play purposes and at least for me i build things to see jut what i can and cant do. I shoot for perfection always striving for the piece i am working in to be that much better than the one prior. Now some say its the indian and not arrow and i agree. On the other hand if the indian is always jurry righing his arrow back together before he can take a shot they he might run into problems otherwise ovoided if he just had a decent arrow to start with.

    My other thought is that some people value their money more than their time and visa versa. Some would much prefer to make due with a sub par machine knowing it will get the job done just maybe in a bit of a round about way vrs the more expensive options. And some just dont expect and or strive for perfection from themself or there tools. The jurney is about something else for them and thats fine.

    Clearly when one finds themself in this predicament with a machine purchase it becomes clear you get what you pay for. It also becomes clear one could not expect the uninitiated to have such a understanding right out of the gate. I think once this experience is had once it is on the purchaser to identify his expectations honestly and purchase with a open wallet.

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