Grizzly G0514X 19" 3 HP Extreme Series Bandsaw

Comment: I bought this band saw (Grizzly 19" Extreme) for my architectural model shop where it saw only occasional use -- maybe a couple of hours each month. Ususally it would cut thin plywood or sheets of plastic. I would occasionally use it to cut 3-4" thick Bass wood on it before feeding the wood in to my planer -- but nothing that put much stress on the machine.

After six months and probably less than 10 hours of total use the motor died (one of the capacitors was burned out). I replaced the capacitor but that did not fix the problem and Grizzly sent me a new motor after I sent them the broken one.

So far so good. But then after another year (and again maybe 10 to 15 hours of use) the motor again died (capacitors OK this time) and Grizzly announced that they wanted $450 for a new one.

I can not stress how minimally this tool was used, and the fact that it was never abused, strongly enough. I had expected to never have to give this machine another thought except for occasionally changing the blade... How wrong I was.

The motor is cheap Chinese crap. Grizzly's customer service is to my mind also crap.

Comment: I'd been looking at some of the bigger bandsaws on the market for the average amateur woodworker. I had the Jet 14" closed stand model with a riser block and 1hp motor. I'd seen the Jet 18" in person and a Pioneer of comparable size. I've never purchased piece of equipment from Grizzly, though I've purchased other things from them in the past.

I wanted to be able to resaw without pushing my 14" saw beyond its limitations. The 19" Extreme series saw seemed to fit the bill at an unbeatable price point. I purchased the saw using Windows Live cashback and an Ebay coupon and therefore ended up getting the $1095 dollar saw for about $785 plus shipping. Grizzly was fantastic communicating with me regarding the shipping and I picked it up at the Fed Ex freight depot. It is a big heavy saw that was crated very well and had no damage whatsoever.

When I got it home, I uncrated it and built the HTC mobile base around it. Getting it set up was straightforward and the manual is very good at providing troubleshooting and tune-up tips. Although for the most part everything was right on out of the box. I will have to shim or adjust the fence as it tilts relative to the table. The table was very flat, certainly adequate enough. This isnt a jointer. The tracking was right on. The cast iron wheels provide tremendous amount of momentum and were balanced as they were said to be. This model does not have the foot brake, and I would estimate it took the saw about 30 seconds to come to a full and complete stop after turned off.

I will be buying some resawing blades and taking some thin slices off soon.

About the only complaint I would voice with the saw is setting up the thrust bearings. The guards for the guide arm are in the way if one is trying to use feeler gauge to set them accurately. There may be a way to get to it, but I'll have to continue to search for it.

Overall...I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

Comment: I am a repeat customer of Grizzly products having purchased, in addition to this bandsaw, a planer, jointer and cyclone dust collector. The saw came in an open crate that was falling apart by the time it reached by driveway. However, there was no damage. Once again the manual was easy to read, however somewhat confusing in that this was a generic manual for three of their bandsaws of this style.

One thing that I thought was a little odd was that it did not come with a power cord. I am used to the machines comming without a plug as there are many styles of 220 V single phase plugs out there, however to not even have a cord I thought was a little cheap. That being said, however, a quick trip to Home Depot and 15 minutes later the cord and plug were attached.

Having never owned a bandsaw in the past I took my time making all of the adjustments that were recommended. From the factory it was almost ready to go. This machine comes with two dust ports. I only use the one just below the table and had not felt the need to hook up the second, lower level, collector. I am extremely pleased and am looking to purchase yet another Grizzly product.

Of note, however, is that with all of the machines I have purchased I buy the mobile bases that are recommended. The D2057 that was recommended was just shy of the size needed. I needed a mobile base for my table saw so this is not really a big deal however, after setting up the base, in the process of destroying the box, I'm not sure what I would have done if I would have needed to send the base back to get a replacement.