I've decided I am going to buy a new band saw and I've researched many of the top brands. Obviously features and money are the two biggest factors in my decision.

I decided on buying from Grizzly because you get just as many features at a lower price point than the other brands. I also have a Grizzly 15" planer, dust collector and table saw and they have all been great machines so that influenced my decision as well. The decision became easier when I read a lot of positive reviews about the Grizzly Band Saws.

I've narrowed it down to the G0513X2, the G0513X2F, the G0513X2B and the G0513X2BF 17" models. I've chosen these models because of the cast iron trunnions, and larger table. I will be using the saw for a variety of things. Re-sawing large boards and to a lesser extent some logs. I will also be cutting curves on table legs, band saw boxes etc. So I'm choosing a saw that will do everything I'll ever need it to do. Please don't comment on other brand saws. I know everyone has their favorite and I'm sure other brand saws are wonderful machine but for me it will be a Grizzly Band Saw. I also know about the junk blade that ships with it and I will be buying good blades for it so no need to comment on blades. When that time comes, I'll post a new thread on blade choices if I need to.

But I do need some help understanding the brakes that come on the X2B, X2F and X2BF. If I understand things correctly, the X2 has no brake and will take a while to spin down. The X2F has a foot pedal brake but it's manual so it's use would be to stop the spinning of the wheels after it's shut off by the switch in about 3 seconds. The X2B has no foot brake but does have a motor brake so the wheels stop spinning in about 3 seconds when the machine is shut off. The X2BF has both a motor brake and foot brake so when shut off by the switch it will stop spinning in about 3 seconds or you can apply the foot brake and accomplish the same thing. Meaning if you use the foot brake on the X2BF it shuts the machine off and stops the wheels from spinning. Is that correct?

I sent an email to Grizzly customer support a couple of days ago asking some initial questions but received an automated reply stating they are experiencing higher than normal email volume so it will be a few days for a reply so I figured I would ask here because I know the members here are knowledgeable and helpful.

Thanks! Rob