Official Luthiers Forum!

I suppose I should direct this to Brock: when I click on this saw in the tool
shed, it takes me to Amazon, but the saw gets put into my "save for later"
pile; when I try to move it to my shopping cart, I get a message that it's no
longer available from that vendor (or close to that).

It would be a shame to buy something that big & the OLF not get a piece of
the action, I thought I'd mention it to you. Can you help?

Anyone want to take this opportunity to steer me away from this saw?

I have an opportunity to pick up some tools, and figured a bandsaw, router
& drill press were the top 3 (a side bender is also in the top 3 - go figure),
and I figure can swing 2, maybe a 3.... Anyhow, the 555 seems like a lot of
saw for the money, but I'm always ready to learn from the more
experienced!

I had a grizzly saw.... did not like it at all. That said others have liked thiers..I just could never get mine set up right without having too much blade drift and wander. I couldn't reccomend it, but I think Bob had good experiance with grizzly bandsaws.

I have many other gzzly tools that I am very happy with however.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Charlie, I was considering that saw as well. However, I'm now considering the Craftmans's Professional 14". Considering the shipping cost on the Grizzly and being able to pick up the Craftsman locally, the sale price of $429 is attractive. I won't recommend it as I haven't seen any reviews, but as it is their professional line I'm thinking of taking a chance. Residential shipping on all the saws really jacks up the price.

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

if you guys can check out the Rigid (home depot brand) it is very similar to the delta at a much lower price ($350 here) I've used it quite a bit at a friends shop and it resawn stuff and cut neck blanks really nice. Much better than the grizzly I had.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Don, I think tha I would go with the Sears saw also. THe diiference is that the Sears does not come with a mitre gauge but it does have an 8inch resaw capacity. I also like that steel tube construction. A benefit though of the Grizzly is that you can add riserblocks (about $75 or so) and have 12 inch re-saw capacity, altogh they are underpowered and underbuilt for a lot of that work, but Larry Stamm, a tonewood producer in North Eastern BC, cuts all of his engelmann and cedar on a 14 inch Delta with Riser blocks and thin high quality blades. So, Charlie, you just have to think about what you want to do with your saw. I have heard pretty good things about the grizzly but that Sears saw looks good also. Although I have 3 bandsaws, the 24 inch re-saw is the newest, my 14 inch Jet is a good 20 years old now and I think that the 15 inch General I have is probably pushing 30 years, so I have no recent experience in these new small saws, just what I read in the woodworking mags.

Shane

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Canada

oh and my friend who has the Rigid has the riser blockadded as well... Good point Shane.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

I have a Delta that has been great. I have my band saw blades custom made however and that makes a big difference.

I'm considering a new bandsaw too. The Craftsman 14" appears to be of the same new line that my just-bought Craftsman 10" hybrid table saw comes out of. From what I understand, they're designed by a group from Delta that formed a new company with the main purpose of providing solid, high-value tools to big outfits like Sears. I've been very happy with the table saw. Accurate out of the crate, not cheesy, good fit and finish. This new company (the name escapes me) makes good stuff, but what I recently learned is that Delta tool parts are available for ages, but Craftsman parts not so long. Perhaps the same with Grizzly, but I don't know. That has me considering one of the lighter 14" Deltas, the 28-206 or 28-276. Lots of good points, like cast table trunnions, good quick blade adjusts for blade changes, riser available, bottom guide close to table, etc. I'll look into the Ridgid too.

Have a look here http://woodcentral.com/ They might have something on their forums. Let us know what you get.

My 2 cents.

Patburbank38699.0135648148

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I see the Tool Shed link on the Grizzly has been fixed - thanks, guys!

Don, thanks for the link to the Craftsman - nice looking machine, though
the 8" resaw capacity seems too limiting (yeah, what do *I* know about
stationary power tools?); I too have no idea about longevity, but it would
help if I could find user reviews, as I have been unimpressed with the
Craftsman tools I've bought over the last 20 years (none of them power
tools, BTW). Are you guys (and gals?) satisfied with Craftsman?

John, I will check out what Rigid has @ HD - sorry to hear your Grizzly
experience was so negative: how long ago was that?

The Delta seemingly nearest to the Grizzly 555 is $200 more, the riser is
another hundred (making Grizzly's nearest Delta competition about
$700), and seems to have caught more negative reviews from Amazon
than the Grizzly has, w/ the problems largely attributed to Chinese
manufacture. Seems that there is a real divide between the legendary US-
made saws & the current Chinese production: is this an accurate
perception? I've been tracking the local used market, and it all seems
overpriced compared to new purchases.

Shane, your point about intended use is well-taken: I consistently hear
that a bandsaw is THE most used tool in people's shops, and between my
handsaw and my circular saw there seems no way to fake one; certainly it
seems indispensable for resawing. So I'm looking for a solid, long-lived,
general-purpose tool that will also resaw. Resawing will NOT be more
than 25% of the overall use, and probably be less than 20%. Realistically,
I have no idea HOW much or often I'd want to use it for resawing; if it
takes up 25% consistently, I'll take that as a sign I need another saw.

Since I asked people to steer me away from the Grizzly, I suppose I
should ask if anyone has praise for / been happy with "the Ultimate 14"
Bandsaw"?

I really appreciate all the comments, everyone! Even the tool-users of my
personal acquaintance have little to say (they're all gag-ga over lathes
)!

The debate seems to come down to the Craftsman vs the Grizzly, and
given the riser pkg, the subsequent need for longer blades, & shipping,
the Grizzly is definitely the more expensive (though not a huge
difference); OTOH, the craftsman has an 8" resaw capacity w/ no way to
extend it, and that seems like a significant limitation.

On the subject of parts availability, Grizzly has refused to say anything
about it, though they tell me I'm a valued customer every time. Perhaps I
should talk to sales, rather than customer service, but I'm incapable of
believing salesreps (worked with too many of them).

As far as customer reviews go, the Grizzly gets a ton o' props @ Amazon;
I've not yet found a single user comment on the Craftsman (any of them).

Do people on Woodcentral.com *use* bandsaws?

Charlie, the ability to resaw tops and back/sides is not an important issue to me. I can picture myself wasting far more time trying to hunt down the right woods to cut and then expending more time to cut it. In addition, there would be no guarantee that the wood I had chosen actually had the characteristics I was looking for (whether stiffness or figuring). In contrast, I know I can always go to the suppliers here for the tops and sets and be assured that I am getting good material. It takes part of the risk out of the equation and one for which I am willing to pay. Now if guitar building was my full time occupation, I might think differently about it (if only from an standpoint of economics). The only resawing I can see me doing is for fingerboards, bridges, bridge plates. head veneers, etc. In actuality, the Craftsman 14" may be overkill for what I intend and I could probably get by with their 12" model. However, I have a feeling one saw is designated as "professional" and the other not for some reason. I've been contemplating this purchase for the last 4 months and better jump in tonight as they sale is over today.

Don

PS. I've also been concerned that Grizzly suddenly had a long term ongoing sale on the 555 saws. This is not to say it is a quality issue, but rather it may indicate that their bandsaw line is in transition and they are cleaning out old inventory and making room for new inventory.

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

This may be a little late in the coming, but I read on the review for the Grizzly Riser that it can be used on the Craftsman as well:

Amazon Review

I shave the Grizzly model noted. I wouldn't get another one. Like John said it wanders and drifts. I have spent alot of time on setting it up. I don't like the guides at all. I would go with the Rigid. I use the griz and it will work, but will down line get another. Fence sucks on it