Bandsaw problem; G0555 (long)

[joeD]

My Grizzly G0555 came last week and after the initial setup everything seemed pretty good, blade was square to the table, fence seemed to be pretty nice and the wheels were coplanar. Even after adding a riser. The blade that came with it sucked right off the bat so I didn't put much time into setting up the guides knowing I would be ordering new blades. Made some quick adjustments and started playing around doing some test cuts but the blade seemed to burn most anything I put near it. So I pretty much left it alone. It did seem to burn (cut) straight though.

Well today my Timberwolfs arrived. I put a 1/2" 3 tpi on and adjusted the guides fairly low to the table then went to find a sacrificial piece of wood to try it out on. When I raised the guide I realized the thrust bearing (is that right?) was hitting the back of the blade. So went to readjust it and had to bring it out almost a 1/4". Seems the guide post is not lined up properly. Grizzly suggested shimming under the riser which worked, but then the wheels were not coplanar. The top wheel needed to come out almost 1/4". This didn't seem like a problem since I never throw away a piece of hardware but putting 2 washers on the back of the wheel leaves me only enough thread for half the bolt.

I did take the riser off and the stock 6" guide was off about half so I don't think the riser is the problem.

Grizzly offered to first send a new upper portion of the bandsaw and if that doesn't work they will replace the whole saw. But I want to make sure I am not missing something or doing something wrong before I do this. Also I am afraid what I get could be worse. Being new a total bandsaw noob I need to know if these problems are normal or am I expecting to much? And mostly what would you do?

BTW the saw seems to cut nice, plenty of power. I cut some slices from a six inch piece of cherry and the thickness was pretty even according to my dial indicator.

[joeD]

I spoke to Grizzly tech support again this morning and they are sending me a new saw. For anyone worried about Grizzly support let me tell you this incident takes any doubt from my mind. They are going to assemble the replacement and check it to make sure everything is proper. The only thing that could make this better is them having a B&M close by to cut down on the transfer times. Anyone know what the going rates on real estate are in Muncy PA?

[B a r r y]

Shouldn't that have been done on the original example?

Barry

[Vic Baron]

Have had mine for over a year now and it was right on at first crack. Had a little problem with the tension spring which Griz t/s corrected ASAP but other than that it's great. Sometimes those things get banged around pretty good in shipping too.

Since Grizz is going to replace the saw you should be a happy camper very soon.

Vic

[Bill Otten]

Everything I've read from you in this thread indicates a very favorable level of support from Grizzly. With the offer of replacing the top half assembly of the saw, then the entire saw....it sounds like they're 100% behind their product. That makes me feel good since I too, own a G0555. I've had zero problems with mine, short of the original blade supplied being a slow cutter. But I think the norm is to use an aftermarket blade on most of the saws in this 'level' of purchase. Let us know how the story unfolds.....

bill otten

[Tim Douglass]

Only if you want to pay twice as much for the saw. Maybe one in several hundred will have a problem you will catch this way. The cost of checking them all is too high - they have to be assembled, checked on all points, disassembled, packed and shipped. I can see expecting that on a $5,000 saw, but on a saw with a $425 list price I think you're dreaming. They do this stuff for a re-ship just to make sure that the odds don't catch up to them and they ship a second defective saw to the same person - one you can explain - two, and you have lost a customer.

Tim Douglass

[B a r r y]

I know.

However, it often seems that if a manufacturer is mentioned here with a defect that requires either a complete re-ship or the shipment of a seriously major part, it's often Grizzly.

It's enough that Delta left parts out of boxes for my X5 bandsaw and my DJ-20, and that General's French to English translations leave something to be desired, but at least they still seem to ship tools that don't require total replacement.

While it's really good of Griz to come through, maybe they should notch up the QC? Delta shipped my missing parts quickly, but they should! It's not all that hard to ensure everything's in the box before it's shipped.

Barry

[joeD]

Yup, that is the price I pay for "best bang for the buck" shopping. Honestly I did a lot of searching over the last couple of months and I only remember seeing this problem once but don't remember the manufacture. Right now I don't think any brand stands out quality wise in my price range but once its resolved and over time I think I'll just chalk it up as being on of those things. I have no regrets. Its a great saw and with the new blade it cuts through 8" of cherry with ease.

BTW I still think it is the best bang for the buck in 14" bandsaws and would buy it again.

[Bill Otten]

"B a r r y" wrote

Or, seen from the flip side.....it's often Grizzly that will send out a complete re-ship to ensure a customer's complete satisfaction. That's called standing behind your product. And your admission below that Delta ships out just the replacement parts might, just might be that they're taking the easy way out? Grizzly may just think enough of their customers to replace an entire unit (at considerable ship cost) rather than risk sending just a few parts. Hell, if I got a defective unit from any/either company I'd WANT the entire unit replaced for my own peace of mind....particularly if I bought it as a life-time tool. Honestly, I think your quantification of Grizzly as you do above is wrong. Just my two pesos worth.....

bill otten

[Tim Douglass]

Grizzly is a low-cost supplier, in many cases the only thing cheaper is HF. The biggest cost-cutting measure they have is to set up quality tooling then not spend the time checking pieces. By virtually eliminating QC they end up shipping some defective units, but by using good tooling they keep the problem within reasonable limits.

It is also often cheaper to do a total replacement than to try to diagnose and fix a problem via long-distance telephone. Computer companies do a lot of this, if it can't be fixed in 10 minutes you just ship a new system because it costs less than the time of a

*skilled* support person.

I think that the total replacement approach is just their way of keeping support costs low.

Tim Douglass

[Norman D. Crow]

The G0555 is shipped with the basic saw already assembled! All you have to do is assemble the base and mount the saw on it, then install the table. Installing the riser, you have to remove the top part of the saw, install the riser and the new blade guide. Mine was good out of the box, then I installed the riser & checked, it was still good, cuts really nice.

I'm assuming that Griz is going to assemble the riser kit to make sure everything is good.

[Ba r r y]

They were MISSING, not broken. Big difference.

Barry

[Bill Otten]

Yep Barry, the parts were missing. On two of your machines from Delta. Now your comment about "notching up the QC" starts to apply to Delta too doesn't it? I'm sure even Delta has its share of broken on arrivals, and likewise that Grizzly has its own share of missing parts too. Much like this newsgroup has people who use Delta tools, and Grizzly tools. I've got both in my shop.....oh, and also Jet, Craftsman, Bosch, etc. My take away message here is that defects, missing parts, broken parts will happen in ALL companies. Making statements like 'it's often Grizzly' sounds either preconceived, biased, or both. But that happens often on this newsgroup. I'd get used to Chinese imports too...today's China is yesterday's Japan and Japan is now currently firmly in the world economy as an industrial power. China will be too. I'm old enough to remember when "made in Japan" was similar to the rhetoric I hear spewed on this newsgroup far too often. My tool purchases are recommendations from reputable bunches like Fine Woodworking, American Woodworker, and the like. They're past the tool snob stage, and I buy according to careful reviews, and tests, not parroted perception. Keep the change from my .02 okay?

bill otten

[Ba r r y]

Yes! I thought I stated that.

What really cheeses me off is that manufacturers of $300 radio control car kits can get it right down to a 3mm allen head screw by weighing each parts bag, then weighing the completely packed box on an assembly line.

Delta ships a box missing a 25 lb. part!

Me too. I just stated that when someone here posts that things are really f'd up, it seems to be more often be Grizz than anybody else.

Same here. See a pattern?

You forgot "seems to me". Just an observation, Bill.

Barry

[Newshound]

Sorry for the late post - I somehow missed this one.

Anyway, I have the same problem with my G0555. I had it over a year before I noticed the problem. I bought the thing, put it together, and then didn't use it for a year while I was doing a remodel of my basement and shop. When I finally got the shop set up I put the G0555 on wheels, ordered the riser kit and a Wood Slicer blade, tuned it up and started using it. I quickly noticed the thrust bearing problem. In my case, I happened to adjust the thrust bearing initially with the guide bar raised 8 or 9 inches off of the table. When I lowered the bar closer to the table, the thrust bearing made contact with the back of the blade. After I first noticed the problem I carefully checked the movement of the thrust bearing from full raised position down to the table surface and it is about 3/8" toward the blade. I tried shimming the riser block but gave that idea up because it moved the top wheel way out of line -the riser block surfaces were co-planer. I did some measurements and in my case it is obvious that the guide bar hole is not drilled perfectly vertical. I did contact Grizzly and they gave me a couple things to check but to no avail. I never did call them back because the thing was out of warranty, even though it was still brand new. My soluion is to adjust the thrust bearing every time I raise or lower the guide bar. It only take a few seconds, so I just deal with it. It's still a nice saw IMO.

[Newshound]

I just reread my post - -the movement is 3/16" not 3/8"