Subject: Re: Should I buy a Grizzly bandsaw or will I be sorry

From: [email-masked] (Robert Galloway)
Date: 27 Mar 1997 06:15:18 -0700

About a year ago, one of the wood rags (I think it may have been BH&G's 
Wood, so take it for what it's worth) stated that the 16" Grizzly and the 
14" Jet had brought their quality up to the point where they were a 
legitimate alternative to the 14" Delta.  Note, this was not the 14" or 
15" Grizzly but the 16".  This was a follow on to an eval they had done 
on bandsaw which I didn't see.  From the tone of the article, it sounded 
as if the Grizzly had not been in the same class as the Delta at the time 
of the original article.  Therefore, Wood (or whomever) felt the need to 
publish a correction.

rhg

In article <[email-masked]>,
Marty Escarcega <[email-masked]> wrote:
>Good service. Decent machine. I think Chuck Ring might have somethin' to tell 
>ya about them....CHUCK?
>
>Marty
>
>In article <[email-masked]>, Daryle Riegle 
><[email-masked]> wrote:
>>Should I believe that the 16 inch or 18 inch Grizzly bandsaw
>>are the best saws on the market? What kind of problems can
>>I expect? I could use some advice before spending lots of
>>money.

---

From: Dave Traut <[email-masked]>
Date: 27 Mar 1997 16:41:45 GMT

I have an older (bought in 1994) Grizzly 16" bandsaw, model # 
1538 I believe.  At the time, it was about $550.  The Delta 
14" was about $100 more.  There's no comparison.  The Delta 
cuts better and works great.  The Grizzly wanders (despite tune 
ups) and does not work up to my expectations.  At the 
time of my purchase, Grizzly advertised my model as the best 
value on the market.  They currently advertise their newer 
model G1073 as the best on the market and rated "best buy" by a 
woodworking magazine.  I'm skeptical.  

By the way, I have a number of other Grizzly woodworking tools 
and am very pleased with their performance.  The bandsaw has 
been the only exception.

---

From: [email-masked] (Richard Kleinhenz)
Date: 27 Mar 1997 01:23:52 GMT

In message <[email-masked]> - Daryle Riegle
<[email-masked]> writes:
:>
:>Should I believe that the 16 inch or 18 inch Grizzly bandsaw
:>are the best saws on the market? What kind of problems can
:>I expect? I could use some advice before spending lots of
:>money.

I have the 16" and am quite happy with it.  I *DID* have to spend some
time and effort to get it running nicely.  Grizzly exchanged several
parts till I got a nasty vibration out which turned out to be a bent
lower axle.  Motor, wheels.  The exchanges worked very well, they issued
call tags to UPS and sent replacements expeditiously.  I also had to do
some filing to take some slop out of the blade guide.  After all was
said and done, the machine is very nice!  YOu have 1 year to get all the
bugs worked out!

Regards,

Rich

---

From: [email-masked] (Richard Kleinhenz)
Date: 27 Mar 1997 01:25:32 GMT

Forgot to add: I've heard it said many times that their 18" saw is
nowhere near as nice as their 16" model.  BTW, the 16" I was talking
about was the 1073, not the newer direct drive model.

Regards,

Rich

---

From: [email-masked] (Dennis J. Gooding)
Date: 30 Mar 1997 03:15:50 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] says...
>I have the 16" and am quite happy with it. etc
>

I missed the original post, but I can echo Rich's remarks.  I bought the 
Model 1073 last fall and now am very happy with it.  However, like Rich, I 
had to do quite a bit of tinkering before getting things right.  These 
included returning the table (it was bowed front-to-back).  To Grizzly's 
credit, they do not quibble about replacing problem parts, and provide quick 
response.