Hi all:
I purchased my first bandsaw, the Grizzly 14″ Ultimate Bandsaw (GO555). The saw is getting rave reviews, so i went for it. I must admit, it looks very nice, and it seems to be of good quality. This is my first Grizzly product, as Grizzly prices always seem “too good to be true.” This is why I have balked at their tools in the past. I hope i am not sorry….
Here’s my problem, when I cut it leaves a saw tooth pattern in the wood like corduroy pants. It also seems overly loud – high pitch. I spent over 2 hrs. trying to dial it in, but still the same cut. This is what i have done.
-Set up upper and lower guide bearings as per instructions.
-Tried every blade tension – loose as possible to tight as it goes.
-Set wheels dead on coplanar.
-Set the blade up riding dead on the center of the tire.
Could it be the stock blade? I think i read that the stock blades where junk, but could that do it?
Fred
Replies
Don't know about the noise part but I'd say the pattern on the wood is from the blade. Stock blades are not typically very good. Get another blade and you should notice a difference. I wouldn't run out and get a Timberwolf but just a decent average blade. Sounds like improperly set teeth.
Edited 11/23/2003 6:43:27 PM ET by Rick at Arch. Timber and Millwork
likely at the weld in the blade..try a new one.
Fred,
I've enjoyed terrific results on my 20" Inca using $12 blades, but had lousy results with a high quality carbide-toothed blade on one of the new Jet bandsaws at school: it oscillated like a washing machine with an unbalanced load. Turned out to be wheels that were out-of-balance.
Have not experienced any comparable problems on the schools big Oliver or Laguna bandsaws, irrespective of the blade used.
How's your feed rate? "Corduroy" lines (and mill marks from other machines) usually indicate the rate of feed is too high or too irregluar.
You didn't mention the specific kind of blade or thickness and species of wood being cut - getting the right match between the species, thickness, blade size, tooth configuration, and feed rate can all have a remarkable effect on the results you acheive.
Good luck,
Paul
Edited 11/23/2003 6:47:55 PM ET by jazzdogg
Hello,
try a 1/4 or 3/8 bimetal blade with 6 teeth and tension it tight . This is a recommendation I read in a FW collection of tips. I have had my Laguna LT16 do the same as your if I used a 1" blade and pushed too fast. Good luck, you will work it out eventually.
Chuck
Fred -
I'm by no means a bandsaw expert, and I have no more than a run-of-the-mill Delta 14"er. But, that said, the quality of the finish cut on this saw is directly proportional to the quality of the blade.
I bought a rather expensive Amana carbide tipped 3/8 blade that cut practically glass smooth. Just a hint of roughness that was easily sanded out. Bi-metal blades of the same quality are considerably less expensive and can provide an equally good finish, all else being equal.
I agree - ditch the stock blade and invest in a new one.
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
. . . when I cut it leaves a saw tooth pattern in the wood like corduroy pants. It also seems overly loud - high pitch.
I think Paul's right, your feed rate's probably too high. Do you feel like you're pushing the wood or guiding it into the blade? Should be mostly the latter, especially for larger pieces and resawing. And it shouldn't be screaming at you. Slow it down, and see if it's quieter and smoother.
Froed
You can buy Timberwold blades here. I just call them and order over the phone. The blades usually arrive in 3 or 4 days.
http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
Thanks All:
I sent Grizzly a letter. Someone called me today during the day, but of course I was at work. I am trying to make other contact arrangements at this point.
I have also observed the following: There is a “V” notch in the height adjustment rod which causes the bearings to deflect into the blade when the knob is tightened. I believe this a design flaw, as this requires me to adjust the bearings every time the adjustment rod is raised or lowered. I have taken this up with Grizzly. Has anyone else had this happen on the Grizzly GO555, or any other 14" Bandsaw?
I hope I did not make a $375 mistake buying the Grizzly.
Fred
How thick was the material you were cutting, and how many teeth would be in the wood at any given time?
PS: I have the "old" Grizz 14" 1019Z, using a Timberwolf blade. Cuts very cleanly.forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Fred,
I have the 555 and I have not encountered the problems you are describing. I have huge problems resawing but the machine is smooth and quite. I am using better than stock quality blades. With the exception of resawing, I have been extremely satisfied but this is my first bandsaw so I am not sure my contribution means much. I think the tension spring is under-designed and I intend to replace it soon.
Doug
Doug, you shouldn't be having "huge problems" with resawing! What types of problems are you having (curved cuts, motor bogging down, other?), what tpi blade are you using on what stock height? I figure if my older 1019Z resaws quite well, the new 14" should do at least as well or better.
Tension springs on the 14" saws of any make are notoriously weak, so that's not unusual.forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hi Jamie,
Yeah, I know I shouldn't but I have tried every tension setting in the book, with and without Timberwolf 1/2 and 3/4 - 3 and 4tpi blades. I have varied feed rates and I still get cupping and awful drift. Terribly frustrating. I ended up by using the TS to kerf each edge and then finished off with the BS. Not exactly what I had in mind when I purchased the saw. I have use the Timberwolf flutter setting techniques to little avail. By-the-bye, Timberwolf folks were incredibly helpful and even send me a new blade in case the one I was using was defective.
Otherwise, the saw is really great to use. Maybe the new tension spring will solve the problem.
Doug
Have you talked with Grizzly about this problem? Do you have the riser kit? I've read that there is a trick to installing the riser kit and getting the right tension on the blade the first time around. A new G0555 user in another forum ran into problems, called Grizzly, they walked him through the adjustment process and everything's working great now.forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Yes, I do have the riser option and I did try Griz tech support and they basically said that everything I did was right. Maybe I should call them again and maybe I'll get someone who takes more interest in the problem. I guess that is one of the problems when you are new to a tool, you really are unsure of when to stand your ground about something not working and where the fault lays. I'm still not sure if it is me or the machine. Thanks for your help and advise.
Doug
Doug, here's a quote from the other user who called Grizzly on this issue:
That should give you the specific information to get going with tech support!
forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks. Your're a sweetheart!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
Doug
Thanks!
You too!forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jamie -
In essence, what was the gist of the difference between using a riser block with your BS and not? There were no specifics that came with my Delta riser block kit that would indicate I would have to do anything different with it that without it.
Thus far, as long as I have a good, sharp, quality blade in the machine I haven't had any out of the ordinary problems with my saw. But I haven't tried any re-sawing of any dimension to know if there's an issue here.
Thanks.
...........
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Dennis, it's not my bandsaw with the riser (wish I had one, oh well.....). I was just passing along info from a new Grizzly G0555 owner who hangs out at Just Woodworking. Evidently, the tension adjuster has to be tweaked when the riser kit is put on, but there aren't any instructions included with the kit to fill people in. oooops. forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I'm all ears. I just ordered a G0555 with riser block.
Bill
All,
No specific instructions came with the riser block when I bought mine and the entire tensioning setup has to be readjusted to accommodate the new blade length. I spent a fair amount of time trying to find the "right" setting before I finally was able to get tension on the blade and dial settings "seemed" right. I think a better spring is imperative and I ordered one yesterday from Iturra.
Doug
Bill, keep the phone handy during assembly. I'll drop a note to Tom from the other forum and find out if there's any advantage to getting your tech advisor on the phone during assembly as opposed to afterward.forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I just sent the following email to Grizzly customer service:
"Hi, please pass this email along to someone in a decision-making position in the company!
I am writing to let you know that there is a growing and vocal crowd of unhappy G0555 owners, and it is for a reason that Grizzly could easily avoid and fix. These are people who have ordered the riser kit, and found it difficult to impossible to get the blade tension correctly set. Many are complaining in on-line forums that the G0555 doesn't resaw well, tension can't be set correctly, etc., etc.
One of your customers ("Tom") finally got a tech person on the phone who understood the problem. Here is his post in an on-line woodworking forum:
Another user wrote that he bought his G0555 last spring and spent a great deal of time fixing this on his own. Why hasn't Grizzly responded to the problems buyers are having, by simply including instructions in the riser kit?????????????
Folks, these forums are read by thousands of people all over the USA, and an untold number of "what brand to buy" decisions are made from advice given in the forums. Grizzly needs to get instructions for this adjustment included in the riser kit immediately, and all of the tech people need to know about the problem and the adjustment needed so they can identify it immediately when a new G0555 owner calls in.
I frequently advise people in the forums I participate in to consider various Grizzly machines when they're equipping a shop, or upgrading a machine. Please don't make me regret this and change my ways! This riser kit misunderstanding is a serious, serious problem "out here" where your customers are.
Sincerely,
Jamie.........."forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks, ForestGirl/ Jamie.
That was a very well written e-mail to Grizzly tech support.
I'll let you all know what instructions come with mine, which is shipping today or Monday.
If there is not documentation included, I'll get on Tech Support's case asap by phone and follow up with an e-mail also.
I have been wondering if it is economically unfeasable to sell the G0555 with the riser kit already installed. I wonder what percent of G0555 purchasers request the kit with the initial order.
Regards,
Bill
Took me a couple times reading through some of the documentation on the Suffolk machinery web site AND a couple calls to them. Eventually caught on - there is no one band saw blade that will cut all materials and thicknesses perfectly. Number of teeth per inch is extremely important - as the wood being cut increases in thickness, the number of teeth per inch should decrease. Too many or too few teeth per inch and the quality of cut decreases.
Suffolk has three tooth shapes or styles to choose from.
Suffolk says the width of the blade, at least for their blades, is immaterial as far as the quality of the cut. The correct tooth style and teeth per inch on a 1/4" blade (they say) will resaw as well as a 1" wide blade with the same tooth style and teeth per inch. A narrower blade will flex (and heat up, which shortens blade life) more than a wider blade, so feed rate should be decreased with a narrower blade to maximize blade life.
So far, I've found their advice and suggestions to be very good. I've stopped buying blades from other suppliers because the quality of cut was lacking, in my experience, compared with Suffolk WHEN I HAVE THE RECOMMENDED TOOTH STYLE, TEETH PER INCH AND TOOTH STYLE.
Hope this helps.
"I'll get on Tech Support's case..." Be gentle, it's not their fault :>)
I sure wish I'd gotten the riser kit with my 1019Z when I bought it, silly me!
I'll let y'all know how Grizzly responds to my diatribe!forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
All:
Here's an update on the cutting issue with my GO555. I spoke with a Grizzly tech. He patiently went through the saw's setup over the phone. He diagnosed a bad blade, and is sending me a new one - I am currently waiting for delivery.
Here's an update on the height adjustment rod issue. The tech told me the height adjustment rod deflecting the guide bearings into the blade when tightening the knob is a known issue. The Tech has no idea when or if Grizzly plans to address this. Some have said adjusting the set screw directly under the knob would fix this, but that does not fix my GO555. However, I have found a fix for this that works very well. See page 6 of the link below.
http://www.liwoodworkers.org/media/newsletter/LIWCNewsletterFeb03.pdf
I should also tell you that Grizzly offered to take the saw back with a full refund - they offered to pick it up at my home - no shipping charge. However, the tech guaranteed it would cut to my satisfaction in the end. We will see. I am going to hang in there to see what happens because I really like what I see in this saw.
Fred
Having seen a description of the problem with the upper guide bar on the Grizzly, the solution is very simple. I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned it. Just take the lock knob off of the machine and grind the tip down to a ball end, two minutes at a grinder and another couple with a file would do it. If you look at most other Taiwanese saws this is the standard design, has been for years, Grizzly just forgot. Don't grind the tip to a sharp point, it won't seat properly and would allow the rod to shift.
While grinding the correct tip on the lock knob shaft will fix a major cause of misalignment, I think that anyone who expects the upper guide bearings to remain perfectly aligned, no matter where the bar is set, is expecting more out of this machine than it is capable of. Few if any of the Delta 14 inch bandsaws or their Taiwanese clones have the axis of the upper guide bar aligned perfectly parallel to the blade axis and there is no good way to correct the problem. Being it is so simple to do, the upper blade guides should always be readjusted after changing their height.
John W.
Edited 12/5/2003 3:11:32 PM ET by JohnW
I have seen 2 fixes posted for the problem of the blade guide twisting when the guide lock knob is tightened. One involved grinding the end of the knob bolt to a ball and and the other used a small piece if dowel between the end of the knob bolt and the V-groove in the guide rod.
I just went down cellar and removed the locking knob bolt on my G0555 that arrived Tuesday. Lo and behold, the outboard end of the screw had no threads for the last 1/4 inch and was rounded on the end, to better fit the groove in the rod !
It looks like Grizzly has made a change to solve this problem. The part in question appears to be Ref 29 Part # P0555029 "KNOB BOLT M10-1.5 X 30"
Bill
Fred,
The upper blade guide assembly is attached to the guide rod with a set screw, the guide assembly can be loosened and pivioted to center the blade in the slot in the guide assembly. This only needs to be done once, when the saw is first assembled.
Normally the guides are adjusted after the height adjustment knob is locked so any movement in the rod shouldn't affect the setting of the guides. I'd suggest that you get a good book or magazine article on setting up a bandsaw, the instructions that came with the machine are very poor.
On most of the 14 inch bandsaws, whether the machine was made in the U.S. or Taiwan, the upper guide support rod isn't perfectly parallel to the the blade and readjustment will probably be required if you change the height of the guide assembly. The only way to get the upper rod parallel to the blade is to shim between the upper and lower castings of the machine and it just isn't worth the trouble for most people and can potentially cause other problems.
Probably 90 percent of resawing problems are due to having the wrong blade on the saw and too low tension on the blade. For resawing you need a sharp, 1/2 inch wide, 3 TPI blade with deep gullets and probably more tension than the stock spring on the Grizzly is capable of delivering. You can overcome the low tension to some extent by keeping the feed rate slow.
The fence will also need to be adjusted for the tracking characteristics of the blade, but perfectly tracked isn't always the best, sometimes having the blade drag slightly on the sidewall of the cut will reduce blade vibration and yield a smoother cut.
John W.
Edited 11/26/2003 12:19:45 PM ET by JohnW
Edited 11/26/2003 1:13:22 PM ET by JohnW
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