Major upgrade- Grizzly 24” bandsaw has arrived

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I will do a video once we get the 3-phase wired up, but here is how big the 24” 7.5hp Grizzly bandsaw is. No photos I found online really showed the true size. For anyone wondering if it will fit in the shop- it is 83.5” tall. The crate adds about 6” (4” pallet and 2” additional crate height.). Our door is 93” high, so she squeezed right in. The large mobile base does fit with the extension rail kit added to one side.

I am really impressed so far with the build quality. The table is beautifully machined, as is the fence.

The saw next to it is the Rikon professional 14” 3hp, and that’s not forced perspective- the two saws are barely a foot apart. I stand 5’7” and my vertical arm reach is about 7 feet.

IMG_3086.jpg IMG_3084.jpg

ugh. The sideways bug strikes again. Tilt your head. I am on the phone and can’t rotate the pic.

Three strong men can slide it off the pallet without equipment. We used 2x4’s to elevate the saw and built the rolling base around it. Sorry- didn’t get a pic of it with the rolling base yet. After attaching the rolling base, I used a 2x4 to leverage the other 2x4’s out from under it. Worked like a charm.

The Rikon is a true champion, but after sawing yellow birch veneers for 14 doors, we said it was time to go big.

[John TenEyck]

That's going to be great addition to your shop, Malcolm. Looking forward to your review after you get a chance to use it some. I'm sure you'll be as impressed as I am with my little G0636X.

John

[Jim Becker]

Congrats! That appears to be a workhorse beast and will be a nice addition to your growing enterprise.

[glenn bradley]

That's great. Congrats!

[Richard Coers]

Congratulations! I'd temper the excitement a little until you run it. Vibration in the cast wheels can be a real issue.

[Tom M King]

A 14" and a 24" may both be bandsaws, but it's really like two different categories of woodworking. Using the best resaw blades I had, the same cut that took a little over 20 seconds on the 14" took less than 2 on the 24" and that was before I started running the 24" 10% over blade speed.

[Nick Crivello]

A 14" and a 24" may both be bandsaws, but it's really like two different categories of woodworking. Using the best resaw blades I had, the same cut that took a little over 20 seconds on the 14" took less than 2 on the 24" and that was before I started running the 24" 10% over blade speed.

Wow. I wouldn't have expected that.

[Michael Burnside]

Wow. I wouldn't have expected that.

All other things equal, the blade is moving through the wood at 40%+ faster, but I’m sure there are other things giving the larger saw an advantage.

[Tom M King]

Larger blade with bigger teeth and deeper gullets with much higher blade speed.

[Richard Coers]

A 14" and a 24" may both be bandsaws, but it's really like two different categories of woodworking. Using the best resaw blades I had, the same cut that took a little over 20 seconds on the 14" took less than 2 on the 24" and that was before I started running the 24" 10% over blade speed.

Less than 2 seconds to resaw something? I'd like to see a video.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Got it powered up. Some vibration- not much. The big disappointment is the blade that comes with the saw is just horrible. The 14” 3hp cut faster with a proper blade. Ordering a quality blade and will reserve comments until it arrives. It does track perfect and I can make a thin veneer in hard maple, but the blade is just as if it isn’t even sharpened, and has a lot of scratches all over it from either poor manufacturing or poor handling before being installed at the factory.

[John TenEyck]

Got it powered up. Some vibration- not much. The big disappointment is the blade that comes with the saw is just horrible. The 14” 3hp cut faster with a proper blade. Ordering a quality blade and will reserve comments until it arrives. It does track perfect and I can make a thin veneer in hard maple, but the blade is just as if it isn’t even sharpened, and has a lot of scratches all over it from either poor manufacturing or poor handling before being installed at the factory.

Stock blades are universally bad. Throw it out. If you want to resaw and cut veneer, get a Lennox Woodmaster CT. You will be amazed.

John

[John TenEyck]

Congratulations! I'd temper the excitement a little until you run it. Vibration in the cast wheels can be a real issue.

Companies have known how to balance wheels, crankshafts, all manner of things, for a good long time.

John

[Tom M King]

Less than 2 seconds to resaw something? I'd like to see a video.

I was just test cutting a pair of Cypress shingles out of a 6" wide 24" long board. The 24" sliced it as fast as I could push it through. The 14" with a 1/2" resaw blade took a bit over 20 seconds I think mostly just getting the sawdust cleared.

1" Woodmaster CT 1.3 TPI blade in the big guy.

[Andrew Hughes]

One of the best surprises with a large bandsaw is blade length.
If you can get a good regular carbon steel general purpose blade with a good weld it will last a long time.
Cutting clean wood. I get regular 3 snd 4 tpi from my saw service for 30$ 178 inches long. I get the blade unwelded and properly make a weld myself that would satisfy a perfectionist.
I like blades that run silent and steady.
Good luck always