Grizzly 14" Bandsaw Model G0555

The 14" G0555 from Grizzly: I had been in the market for a "larger" bandsaw for about two years when the "Ultimate" bandsaw was advertised by Grizzly.  I'm not one to ponder such things in great detail, I see what I like, then pull the trigger.  I admit that getting the detensioner and bearing guides is really what sold me.  I didn't really have my hopes up to high, after all this was a foreign machine that was about 30% cheaper than the closest model with comparable features.

The purchase and delivery went without issue.  The assembly took the better part of an afternoon, but is not beyond the skills of most people who can tune up their car.  Be prepared to screw yourself silly, there is about a gazillion bolts on the stand but when finished it is as sturdy as you can ask for.  I put the stand on the shop fox roll around that I purchased at the same time.  The top end was a straight forward deal, I didn't like the manual much, I think some things were not translated properly but I managed, you can too.  The bearing guides, throat plate and fence went together well and I was ready to test.  The scale in the back is nice to have but I don't think it's right on the mark, I tensioned the blade by sound-what key you say? I don't have the foggiest, I just know when it sounds right.  It was a 1/4" blade and the mark in the back said I had tensioned to 3/8".  I fired it up and it tracked nicely, just a little tweaking till it ran right with the guides.  My first cut was on a scrap piece of 2X4 redwood I had handy.  I cut about half way through it then I moved the fence over so I could I could skew it to the tracking of the blade.  No adjustments were needed, fence and blade were dead on.  I don't remember ever seeing this before and I was impressed.  Here are what I like and don't like about the saw.

Likes                                                                                       

• Fence is parallel with the blade.                                                
• Plenty of power- I cut a 2X8 across the long side.                   
• Detensioner.                                                                               
• Bearing Guides.
• Sturdy.
• Excellent fit and finish.
• Easy blade change.
• Accurate fence cursor.
• Exhaust port actually seems to work.

Dislikes

• Says it takes 93.5 inch blade-came with a 92.5
• It takes a wrench to tilt the table.
• Some what noisy-but aren't they all?

As you can see, I like it more than I dislike it.  If you want a great 14" saw, I would recommend this one with one caveat, I have not tried any resawing over 6" as I haven't seen the need to put the extension on yet.

This is not an industrial machine, I'm not sure how it would hold up under a production shop atmosphere, but for the serious hobby guy, this is well worth the money.  I would not hesitate to buy one again.

Further questions can be addressed to: Doug Whitson