Happy Grizzly G0513X2 Owner

[Gregg Adams]

I thought I would drop in and leave a review of the G0513X2. It's a 17" 2hp bandsaw. It has a 12" cutting height, and a 16-1/4" cut capacity. Now this is my first non table-top model, so I really don't have anything to compare it to. All I can say is that I'm very happy with this bandsaw. It was a bit of trouble loading, unloading, and putting it in place due to it's weight. Setup took about 45 minutes, and was pretty painless. The stock blade that came with it is slow, but it has been replaced with a 1/2" 3tpi blade. That made a world of difference. I have used it for resawing and cutting bowl blanks. I built a jig like one that I saw on a video website, and it works great. It will definitely take the pain out of starting a new bowl. I hope this helps anyone who is considering this bandsaw.

Take care!
Gregg

 

[Odie]

Grizzly makes some good machinery, but I've heard some complaints about them over the years. They do compete for the mid-range price, so you'll have to expect some amount of quality issues.

I purchased this Grizzly 16" bandsaw in the late 1980's. No complaints about this one......a good basic band saw. If my memory is correct, it was about $600 at the time. In the beginning, I had an old Craftsman 12" bandsaw, then a Jet 14" bandsaw for a few years. Actually, I thought the quality off the Jet was better than the Grizzly.....but, I had to have that 16" capacity, so the Jet is gone......

Those circle jigs make a real pretty and round bowl blank, but they do require a hole, and depending on how you choose for grain and flaws on your bowl blank, that may be something you'll want to avoid. Some bowl blanks are not exactly flat, or top/bottom planes parallel, so unless your wood is close to geometrically perfect, circle jigs can be problematic. For those who use them, and swear by them, this is fine.......just saying.

I did use a circle jig quite a long time ago, but I don't even remember where it is anymore...... Anyway, you always have to true up the blank on the lathe, so just scribing a circle and "eyeballing" it on the bandsaw is a method that works for me, and what I've been doing for years. As always, what I do is not to say it's the best method for anyone else.....

Many of my bowl blanks are irregular in shape, and present special problems for rounding on the bandsaw. Sometimes I need to wedge a block of wood on one side to cut at the angle I prefer......very unscientific, but it works.

ooc

 

[Gregg Adams]

Grizzly makes some good machinery, but I've heard some complaints about them over the years. They do compete for the mid-range price, so you'll have to expect some amount of quality issues.


I purchased this Grizzly 16" bandsaw in the late 1980's. No complaints about this one......a good basic band saw. If my memory is correct, it was about $600 at the time. In the beginning, I had an old Craftsman 12" bandsaw, then a Jet 14" bandsaw for a few years. Actually, I thought the quality off the Jet was better than the Grizzly.....but, I had to have that 16" capacity, so the Jet is gone......



Those circle jigs make a real pretty and round bowl blank, but they do require a hole, and depending on how you choose for grain and flaws on your bowl blank, that may be something you'll want to avoid. Some bowl blanks are not exactly flat, or top/bottom planes parallel, so unless your wood is close to geometrically perfect, circle jigs can be problematic. For those who use them, and swear by them, this is fine.......just saying.

I did use a circle jig quite a long time ago, but I don't even remember where it is anymore...... Anyway, you always have to true up the blank on the lathe, so just scribing a circle and "eyeballing" it on the bandsaw is a method that works for me, and what I've been doing for years. As always, what I do is not to say it's the best method for anyone else.....

Many of my bowl blanks are irregular in shape, and present special problems for rounding on the bandsaw. Sometimes I need to wedge a block of wood on one side to cut at the angle I prefer......very unscientific, but it works.

ooc

I noticed with a lot of the bandsaws that people would change out several things... fence, bearings/blocks, etc. Those things I won't mind. Now if a fatal flaw arises I won't be a return customer. I bought a drill press from them back many years ago, and have had no trouble with it so far.

I read a review of some 14" machines and surprisingly the jet was rated low due to lack of power. They had gripes about every bandsaw tested except for the Laguna. Well, forget that. They like their stuff too much for me.

I can see your point on that. I'm expecting to have to do some freehand work as well. Hey, anything's better than those rough old chainsawed blanks that makes the lathe walk across the floor. 🙂



Thanks Odie, take care!

 

[Odie]

You bet, Gregg.....

I suppose I should mention that I haven't bought any machinery for many years, so my observations of quality by brand is a bit dated. The Jet equipment of that time, I thought was pretty good.......but no idea about the current offerings.

Good luck with that bandsaw.....

ooc

 

[Richard Coers]

Good for you Gregg, glad you got a good one. I had the extreme opposite situation with a G0514X2. It had so much vibration, nothing would stay on the table. With two parts orders, nearly two weeks of waiting, and hours and hours of labor, I still had an unacceptable machine. I had to rebuild the crate, and ship it back. Ended up costing me $34 to not have a band saw from Grizzly.

 

[RonC]

Greg,

I own a Grizzly G0513X 2hp and I'm quite pleased with it. Would you have the web location of the bowl jig that you spoke about?

Thanks/Ron

 

[Gregg Adams]

Good for you Gregg, glad you got a good one. I had the extreme opposite situation with a G0514X2. It had so much vibration, nothing would stay on the table. With two parts orders, nearly two weeks of waiting, and hours and hours of labor, I still had an unacceptable machine. I had to rebuild the crate, and ship it back. Ended up costing me $34 to not have a band saw from Grizzly.

Thanks Richard!
Oh wow, that's a real shame. If you pay that much for a saw, it should be right. I guess you can get a lemon with just about anything. I'm usually the one that suffers through the sour taste of owning a lemon. I've been at tool stores with a hand full of friends and everyone of us buy the same product. Guess who got the one and only lemon? Yep. One strange thing is that I did notice that grizzly does not have reviews on their website. I'm big on reading those, BUT I prefer reviews on forums much more. You never know if some of those "on their website" reviews are real or just shills.

Take care!

 

[Gregg Adams]

Greg,

I own a Grizzly G0513X 2hp and I'm quite pleased with it. Would you have the web location of the bowl jig that you spoke about?

Thanks/Ron

Sure thing, Ron. I'll post the link at the bottom of this post. I did mine a bit different from the actual one in the video, but got a general idea of how to build one from the video. I figured I would make mine cover the whole table for reinforcement when cutting some heavy wood.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIJ79eIYSOo


Hope this helps,
Gregg

 

[Phil Landwer]

I own the 24" grizzly bandsaw, as well as the 24" Minimax bandsaw.
Both have performed excellent.
If I had to do over again, I'd own 2 Grizzly's. The Grizzly's are an excellent value. Minimax is over priced.

 

[Gregg Adams]

I own the 24" grizzly bandsaw, as well as the 24" Minimax bandsaw.
Both have performed excellent.
If I had to do over again, I'd own 2 Grizzly's. The Grizzly's are an excellent value. Minimax is over priced.

Wow Phil, that's one huge bandsaw 🙂 This is my second Grizzly product. My first was a drillpress which I bought maybe 10 years ago. I did something dumb which resulted in a warped arbor. I looked the part number up in the manual and ordered it without a problem. It's good to know that you can get parts for quite some time. I'm 2 for 2 with Grizzly products and will be a return customer.

Take care,
Gregg