I really want Grizzly’s new 14″ B/S but you have to order it and have it shipped to you as Grizzly has no dealer network. Their shipping info states that the truck driver won’t help you unload it.. and they suggest you arrange to pick it up at the freight terminal, and that you should inspect it for damage, etc.
This sounds like alot of hassle. My only experience to date is driving to a store and buying my tools. Can anyone tell me whether this new B/S is worth the hassle.. or whether I might be better off with a more available brand? I’d appreciate any comments…
bill
Replies
Bill...
I have the 1019z 14" saw with the riser block. Got it about 3 years ago and I just had the truck offload the carton into the back of my pickup and then just backed up to my shop and slid it off to the shop floor. The setup is a breeze and if you should have any problems a quick call to their 800# gets you a customer service rep that will walk you through any setup questions or problems. I use mine almost daily and it has given me very good service. I highly recomend the Timberwolf blades from Suffolk Machine as the blades from Grizzly are pretty lame!
Jon
"Knot's to you"
http://www.wood-workers.com/~jonweis
Man.. I love that table you built and bolted onto the existing cast iron table. Thanks for sharing your experience.. and your expertise.
bill
Hey Bill...
No problemo! and thanks for the kind works. The add on table really makes the saw lot's more usable.
Jon
"Knot's to you"
http://www.wood-workers.com/~jonweis
Bill,
With my Griz table saw they called me from the shipper to schedule delivery. I had several options: tailgate delivery, pick-up in station wagon, power gate delivery for an additional fee.
I went out to the shipper with the station wagon to see if I could do it that way. We took the box apart and the 400 lb. plus saw was easily broken down to smaller pieces...probably 200 lb was the heaviest piece..and I could have reduced that.
If you got a tail gate delivery...opened the box and removed the cast iron table plate, all the extras, I'll bet the whole thing could be handled easily. My 2 cents worth.
I guess I could manage if the driver was patient enough to let me open and uncrate on his truck and then try to muscle it off piece by piece. I do manage to somehow rip 3/4" 4X8 sheet of ply by myself. Maybe I'm up to it. I sure do want that B/S after looking at the other offerings at HD.
Bill,
The truck tailgate is standard..i think 48 " from the ground. Get a couple of boards you can slide it down on..just in case.
The warehouse guy I worked with was very helpful. He refused but I forced him to take a little money for couple beers after work... these guys are almost as excited about a new piece of equipment as you are...lol
Grizzly or delta are all the same in that respect. I ordered a 15" delta planer, & they recomnend 4 friends to help or a fork lift, and for darn good reason. that thing was a breeze on a 2 ton fork that I rented.
Good luck
OMYGOD.. that's what I was afraid of. Forklift rental?? Just for grins I went to HD tonight and tried to heft a Ridgid B/S in the box.. couldn't EVEN imagine unloading it from some monster truck.
Edited 1/14/2003 10:03:28 PM ET by bill
Bill, I,m not laughing at every one or you, but after a life time of moving 100-200 ton loads, & installing & finish setting them, I had a lot of smiles. Simple tools are- a couple of steel wedges, a good size hammer, a good lever, Pipe for rollers, and you are a machinery mover.
Again, good luck
Bo, you're right.. the bright light of perspective always shines smiles somewhere.
The extra charge for a truck with hydraulic gate shouldn't be all that much. It it were me, I figure out a way to do it -- that's a darned nice saw! Suggestions:
Unless you're a big brute, I'd expect you'll need help to place the main part of the body on top of the stand. I did it by myself with the 1019Z, which is lighter I believe, but it required some Egyptian style engineering to pull it off, and I don't think I'd try it again.
Let us know how you like it!
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Yeah, but Jamie, your strong like bull I hear.
TDF
Like I said, I wouldn't do it again. I used a couple of carts and various levels of tables and levers. The fact that it didn't fall at some point and break into a couple of pieces, or squish me, is a small miracle!
That was 3 years or so ago. I now either wait until Nick gets home or call the son-in-law to come over and help, or better yet, get the two of them together and let them do it while I watch and pour coffee. Keeps me out of the doctor's office.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Gosh, i live for the Egyptian thang!
When the road was too icy for the freight truck, i got the 20" DP parts slid onto the Toyota with the help of the driver. I'm 5-5, muscles in my spit, but when i tried to pull the pieces off the pickup toward the shop by myself, they didn't budge. I dug in the gravel and yanked on a steel band...no go. I planted a foot on the end of the tailgate to either side of the load and pulled on the band with all my might, at which point the band broke and i launched about five feet in retreat, flying butt-first toward the patio door to the shop. I dropped out of orbit about a foot short of replacing it, though i'd have paid any sum to R&R my tailbone at that point.
Toooooo funny, ROFL!! "Muscles in my spit." I can't stand it, LOL! I think maybe 20 years ago my spit would have qualified, but certainly not these days.
I ran myself into the ground back in my horse-training -boarding -breeding days, with the help of a couple of stupid thoroughbreds, one of which thought driving me into the ground was a great idea. Haven't found anything like buckin' hay to replace my muscle building activities. Gonna have to start soon though, or it'll be too late.
Only time I've had a body part launch like that was when I was trying to get a huge nail out of a fence post one afternoon. I was pulling with all my might on the hammer, and when the hammer slipped off the nail my hand (read: fist) traveled straight back into my face. Had a beaut of a black-eye. Nothin' compared to your orbit-story though. Ha! forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
forestgirl.. as you may have read.. I'm scrapping the ordering idea. What do you think about the Ridgid 14" BS instead? I'm also hot for the Ridgid 6 1/8" jointer and the 13" benchtop planer. Hot, as in this weekend, unless I get the waveoff. Thanks..
bill
The Rigid planer, yes, although keep in mind you can get the Delta 2-speed 13" for not much more. The bandsaw and jointer, I dunno. FW gave the Rigid a pretty good review in their Tool and Shops issue. The new Grizzly BS wasn't out yet, so there's no comparison there.
My guess (and it's only a guess) is that the Rigid bandsaw would probably be OK, the maximum tension might be higher than on the Grizz and the power of the motor might be better, although the Wood Magazine review showed excellent resaw power with the Grizzly. The fence on the Grizz is better, but who uses a standard fence on a bandsaw? Not everyone, or possibly not even most.
As far as jointers go, I'd stick with Grizzly and get the 8" if $$ allowed it. I have a Jet 6" which I'm very happy with, but the reason it was elected is because I could get it at the "local" scratch-n-dent place for $375. You can get the Grizzly 6" jointer between $325 and $395 and the 8" for $695 (or $795 for the longer 75" bed). If and when I upgrade, I'll probably get the Grizzly 8", unless that winning lottery ticket appears.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forestgirl.. I love.. no, I LOVE the Griz 8" jointer. But I ain't about to order it if I won't go to the hassle of ordering their BS. That jointer must weigh more than a bear from up around your parts. As for planers.. the Ridgid has a five minute blade change--SOLD! I do think I would be happier with the Griz BS.. but at this point (in my life?) I put a huge premium on convenience and hassle free experiences. What if I had to *return* a tool to Griz because of damage or the like? Whoa! Thanks for weighing in and giving me some much appreciated and well considered advice. You're tops.
bill
Bill, I understand the rationale on the bandsaw and jointer. However, the planer? C'mon now, admit it, you're just slavering and wanting those tools yesterday. I've changed the blades in my Delta and if it took more than 5 minutes, it wasn't much more. Do you expect to never, ever be planing curly maple, birdseye maple, any other wonderful, beautiful, expensive$$$$$ figured wood? If not, then sure go for the Rigid, but if the answer is "yes", well..........
Sounds like you're gonna have a great weekend!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Well, I'm just going by the FW Tools issue comparisons of bench planers. The article said the Ridgid blades changed out in 5 minutes.. and the next fastest was 30 minutes. As for the two speed feature.. the writer/tester said that feature was lost on him. Oops.. gotta get to work.. almost ten pm here. Later.. and thanks.
bill
Well, to each their own. The "tester" seems rather clueless to me -- both his comment about the 2-speed, and taking 30 mins. to change blades. Nuts. I changed mine in maybe 10 minutes max, and it was the first time I'd ever even seen the business-guts of a planer.
Have fun this weekend.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hi Bill,
Pay a few extra dollars and have a truck with a lift gate deliver it for you. I drove a truck for a few years and have seen some crazy people do crazy things trying to get stuff off a truck,it's not worth it. The tail gate of truck is about four feet off the ground,if the saw only weighs a couple off hundred pounds the driver will probably help you get off. Make a dolly out of 3/4" plywood and throw some cheap casters on it,so you can move it your shop.
Bill Bleiler
Bill,
Before I ordered my TS I called Griz several times to clarify the information posted on their spec sheets. I was concerned about the weight and size dimensions, not only for the station wagon but also to get through the shop door. The spec sheets for the TS varried so much from models that should have no variance...anyhow, I nagged them and the kids there answered all my questions.
Now, your spec sheet (14" BS) says 210 lbs., 176 lbs., 167 lbs., would the real weight that has to be dragged off of the trailer please stand up? Also, I think it stands 66" tall...which would be great because you could lay it down and slide it off the end of the truck ....but it also says box size something like 43 inches high....which would imply more than one box...some assembly required..batteries not included...lol.
At any rate, even the big numbers (210, 66") are not that scary to worry about, but, I would call Grizzly and get some clarification.
Thanks, BG.. but I'm about to scrap the whole ordering thing and go for the Ridgid 14" BS which is sittin' right next to the Ridgid 6" jointer I want anyway. Whatcha' think?
Bill,
I'll be honest. Last summer I investigated BS fairly well. I was trying to decide weather to buy a BS or a TS. I eventually bought the TS and will have to wait another year for the BS.
What I heard on here and elsewhere is BS are a pain. They require fine tuning and even then you need to make adjustments for drift. I bought the bandsaw book and began reading. Others will no doubt disagree, but I came to the conclusion a one horse power was a minimun. Cast iron wheels reduce vibration and many on here said if they had the choice over they would have bought bigger (ie 16" or 18") BS. These things were important to me because re-sawing was something I wanted to do for draws, trays, boxes and such.
I have never heard anyone on here write about the Ridgid BS.
BG.. my interest in a BS is the same as yours. If you're familiar with Sarge.. he has, I believe, a 9 inch BS.. Ryobi if memory serves.. and he's quite happy with it. He also strikes me as quite a craftsman. I was actually thinking of him when I was looking at the 14" Ridgid and thinking, "Sarge would probably say I'm buying too much tool here." :)
Bill,
This has gotta be driving you crazy...lol. I remember a couple of years ago, when I was getting the woodworking fever, I felt strong urges to just buy the basic pieces of machinery so I could have a shot at developing my skills and eventually put out stuff I could be proud of. Unfortunately, I found myself at Sears outlet sale at the same time as my urges were peeking....I'm enjoying the heavy duty lathe and 17" radial drill press..but the 11" BS three wheeler never worked and never will..and there is no one to talk to at Sears.
Sarge and I researched the BS issues. I believe he had two BSs at the time and was interested in upgrading. I think he sold the 14" Delta and decided to wait a bit beause, like you said, he is happy with his Roybi. He was the one who influenced me most on the TS verses BS decision...not so much by what he said but by what he didn't say.
He also researched the Ridgid quite a bit and was a big proponent of the planer. However, I may be wrong, but when it came to putting his money down I think he bought the Delta 13" Two speed.
Thanks, BG. BTW, where is Sarge, anyway? Haven't seen anything from him in awhile. Beginning to worry a little.
Thanks, Bill. I think I'm going to go for the Ridgid instead. I like the looks of the Griz better but they spec out about the same.. and for the difference in price it just doesn't seem worth the hassle.. especially if I, God forbid, had to ship it back for some reason.
I have a Grizzly 10" TS, 14" BS, and 6" jointer, bought at three different times. I expected to have to handle them alone, so I rigged up a couple of heavy duty boards to slip them off the truck and borrowed a hand cart. In all three cases, the truck driver asked me where I wanted them and then put them there (in the garage). Maybe it depends on the delivery service.
Incidentally, the 14" BS and jointer are terrific!
Regards,
Dan T.
I've decided on the Ridgid 6" jointer and am leaning towards the Ridgid BS, too because I can get them both right there tomorrow. Do you know whether the Griz is that much better than a Ridgid BS?
I have never seen the Rigid. My Grizzly was dead on, and still is after three years and two blade changes.Regards,
Dan T.
how many horsepower is the rigid? Look at the motor. to me it looks like a junky thing. The motors on the grizzly look like regular induction motors. I don't know what emmerson electric is using on that rigid but it looks terrible, like a washing machine motor. The g0555 that griz just came out with is nice. I just got it. 1 hp, quick release blade, roller bearings, all standard. Just waiting for my riser block. Its all on back order now. Where do you get parts for rigid? Grizzly ships parts to you in 2-3 days!
Y'all have lost Bill completely I think. See his thread "Tell me NO or here I GO"
All indications are he's hot to get tools, and logical evaluation of choices possibly being secondary to instant gratification, a psychological state I can certainly identify with, but which I have trained myself to resist.
He's gonna get what he's gonna get. Hope he has fun with 'em.
Have any of you seen the new Grizzly catalog. Several of their tools are now being made in ISO9002 factories. Charles from Freud provided this link to find out what that means. I'm on my way to check it out:
http://praxiom.com/iso-9002-1994a.htm
Just took a quick look. Mr. Charles stated earlier "ISO 9002 certification is earned by instituting incredibly rigid quality controls throughout the manufacturing process." Yep, especially by page 2.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 1/16/2003 12:53:37 PM ET by forestgirl
Last year, I bought both of these machines. They are both excellent - nothing but pleasure to use! Good luck.
Mike
Thanks, Mike. A great vote of confidence. Do you find yourself wishing you had an 8" planer.. or has the 6" served your needs well enough?
I prefer to pick-up at the terminal. I built a knock-down gantry crane out of 2x4's and put a hoist on it. I drive my truck under the crane, hook-up the machine with straps, lift and drive the truck out from under. Built it when I bought the 20" planer. It could be used by one person, but for safety I like to have another to watch the load.
You really are a "Phenom".. and I' beginning to lean toward the Ridgid 14" bandsaw because I can get it right down the street at HD for even money when you discount the shipping and hassels attendent thereto.
Bill, I have bought two large tools from Grizzly, a cabinet saw and 16" bandsaw.The driver will get the packages off the truck, you take it from there.I have a heavy duty hand truck to move packages around.I can't comment on the particular model bandsaw you are contemplating, but my expierence with Grizzly is terrific. I did not find it much of a hassle at all.
If your talking about the new G0555 or the G1019 or 1019Z they l will lay across the back seat of a 1990 Chevy Lumina. I brought my G1019 home in the back seat of my Lumina & opened the box in the back seat & picked out the base & then the rest of the saw. I brought my friends B0555 home the same way & we took the whole box full out of the back seat. I don't see a problem if thids is the size saw your talking about. Don't blow this out of proportion.
I've done it often.. Just think that the store you're going to is some truckin' terminal..
They are wonderful to do business with.. just remeber to bring your shipping number with you, (they will give it to you when they confirm the order)
Thanks, frenchy. I appreciate your advice and hope my experience is as gratifying as yours have been.
Bill,
I just had my first experience with Grizzly. I ordered the G0555 bandsaw as my Christmas present. They said it was backordered until the end of Feb!!!! Oh well, I kept the order since I was saving a couple of hundred dollars. I emailed Grizzly to ask about weight and size of the box based on your same concerns on delivery. Along came Christmas it passed and just before New Years I got an email notification of shipment via Fed Ex ground!!! It was in Anaheim 2 days later I called FedEx and asked if it was delivered on a lift bed truck, their answer was, "are you kidding? of course" and also said the driver would take it to the garage. The next day came and no problems. Take FGs advice, use two people to get the saw up on its stand. Took an afternoon to assemble and make the first cuts. My only complaint is the non-standard blade length of 92-1/2 inches. Guess I can use the $200 saved on custom length blades....
Dr. Bill
Thank you, Dr. Bill. Glad you had a good experience but I think I've decided to go with something I can see and touch locally.. and return locally if I have any problems.
As far as the odd blade size, i agree that was anoying to find out. However, it won't effect me cause i learned the lesson of using timber wolf blades anyways. Its like the first time you used a really well tuned plane and you said to yourself "ahhhh, thats what everbody was talking about." They custom make them all anyhow. The stock ones from grizzly are terrible. You'll save money in the end with good high quality blades. Look if you spend more than $20 on a table saw blade (that are mostly disposable anyways) why not spend $20 on a good bandsaw blade? Just a thought.
I just go the new girzzly 0555 which is quite an upgrade on the 14". roller bearing supports and quick release blade. 1 hp with riser block. It wasn't that heavy, I took it off the truck with my tractor, but 2 guys could've done it. Once it was in the shop i've moved it all around by myself. Even set the thing on its stand by hand. Get different blades a must. I've had all sorts of trouble with grizzly blades
Bill ,
I got the G0555 on new years eve. I drove 55 miles to the terminal so I could control delivery and date. It is my first Grizz and first Band saw. I think it was worth it. I got mine in my pickup and when I got home I just let my tailgate with the arms unhookesd and just slid the box gently down onto the garage floor and started the assembly. John
Thanks, John.. what was the set up like? Did it take more time than you anticipated? Was it hard to get it tweaked and running the way it should? I assembled my TS but I think it might be tougher assembling a BS.
I picked up my saw about 10 am , drove 55 miles home and was sawing red oak by 3pm. I thought the instructions and assembly were simple. I think this saw is a real bargain.
Edited 1/17/2003 8:11:41 AM ET by john
I also bought a grizzley BS. Delivered to the door. I carried it to the basement shop. If you can reaad you can assemble. When used with the timberwolf blade it is an excellant machine.
Bill
That saw comes in one box and is very easy to handle. 6-7" tall and 40-50" long. This would be an easy pickup for you at the dock. By the way, the guys at the dock will give you a hand loading it and when you get home, break the box open and take it into your shop in pieces. Good luck with your purchase.
JB
I ordered a new lathe from a catalog. Paid for the lift gate delivery. Copuldn't have done it otherwise. With the 800# monster on the garage floor I said "oh my Gawd! What do I do now?"
I rembered the Egyptians and thought of rollers. Took all the clamps off my 3/4" pipe clamps; used the pipe as rollers and, slick as a whistle, I had the lathe in place in about half an hour.
Sure glad I don't have a basement shop!
Jerry
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