Grizzly G0555 band saw w/riser, upper housing twists

[rock7891]

I'm an admitted beginner and just purchased the "ultimate" band saw and am overall pleased --got through the tensioning issues reported here. But I have one disappointment---the upper bearing support rod is not anywhere near parallel to the blade when the saw is set up. If I move the post from 12in above the table to close to the table the post moves away from the blade as much as 0.080in. This means everytime I change the thickness of the wood being cut more than an inch or two I have to readjust the upper bearings. Instructions say the upper support bearing should be .016 in from the back of the blade---The rod is straight as an arrow. I have been in touch with Grizzly--they are friendly and want to help--sent me new upper housing--same result. I have determined that when the blade is tensioned the upper housing twists---this affects coplanarity of the wheels and the guidepost for the bearings. The wheels can be adjusted but the there is no adjustment for the post to compensate. If they had built in an adjustment or the ability to shim this could be corrected. Of course if I tension a 3/4in blade and then a 1/4in blade I bet the coplanarity of the wheels will change too cause the housing will flex or twist more or less depending on tension. This flex starts with very minimal tension--I don't believe I'm over tensioning the blade. Has any other owner experienced this? Just tension a blade and move the tension lever up and down and you can see the guidepost move! Grizzly claims they have never heard of this and solution is to readjust the bearings every time the post is moved-which I find a real pain with the blade guard in place--do others find they need to do this? Since I'm a beginner maybe I'm finding this a disappointment when all the experienced people are just adjusting the guides everytime. Can some of the experienced B. Saw users set me straight--is having to adjust the bearings when moving the guidepost up and down a normal expected adjustment--am I expecting too much? I don't want to return the saw---everything else seems fine. Thanks for your help Tim in Wisconsin

[Bay Area Dave]

you shouldn't have to readjust the bearings. Guess you'll have to live with it, since you don't want to return it. :)

I've had a Delta 14" and I currently have a Powermatic and neither one needs any adjustment when raising or lowering the guides (over 6")

dave

[e-mail] wrote:

[rock7891]

Thanks Dave---as a beginner I thought I might have higher expectations than I should---but based on your experience my expectations are real but not met!!!!!

I'm just amazed that all the reviews that I read were very positive---so I bought it---only one comment I remember from about 6m ago talking about poor castings.----so there must be alot of woodworkers living with this "problem" if it is a problem---for me it is a problem---I buy tools that I expect to make woodworking fast and accurate----this will increase the set up time having to adjust the bearings every time

Your experience is consistant with my friend's that has a Delta. No adjustment necessary.

I will th>you shouldn't have to readjust the bearings. Guess you'll have to live

[V.E. Dorn]

Glad I read this - I was about a day away from ordering the riser kit for the G0555 but will probably take a pass. I'm curious though, prior to the riser kit, did you notice the bearing getting further away from the back of the blade. I've not noticed this in mine but am thinking it may be a problem if I move the range from 6" to 12".

Don

[rock7891]

Don Yes indeed I noticed the problem before I installed the riser---after installing the riser the problem doubled---which makes sense if you think abou the geometry---the bearing support rod is not parallel due to flex of the upper housing---increasing the distance 2 fold will increase the error by 2x. If you already are living with the flex and have to readjust the thrust bearing with a six inch rise---what the heck---go ahead and order the riser---you will just have to adjust when you go into the 12in range.

I think everyone that has this saw will experience the flex and have to adjust the bearings. I think it will also affect the coplanarity of the wheels---but I think that can be adjusted out with the wheel tilt knob---just that there is no adjustment for the bearing support rod.

I told Grizzly cust support that they should not bother boring the hole in the casting for the rod---just should cut if flat and make an aluminum housing that holds the rod that can be shimmed or tilted with sloted holes. They just noted it in the database.

So beware anyone buying this tool---the upper housing flexes---a quality tool may not!!!!!!! Next time I'll buy Delta or Jet Tim

[Alan Bierbaum]

I have had this saw for a few months and mainly used it for resawing. Worked great with timberwolf 1/2" blade on hard maple from 5 to11" tall. I put a 1/4" blade in today as prep for some work tomorrow; so my following comment is based on the 1/4" blade. I just now went into the shop and ran the guide all the way up and adjusted the back bearing to just touch the back of the blade. I then ran the guide down to about 1" above the table. I had about 1/32" clearance. This would probably be more with a wider blade and the required higher tension. Same "problem" that you noticed.

I am not sure that Jet or Delta would be any different as the frames are all cast at about the same weight and cross section. I do not have access to others for comparison. There "may" be some correction adjustment build into other brands; I do not know if it is or not. However; I don't see enough movement to be a problem for me. I use a 1/2" blade for resaw (6-12") and did not have a problem with use. I use a 1/4" blade for cutting thinner materials which only requires good alignment over a 2-3" range which this saw has. I did cut some tenons with the resaw blade (guide at about 1" above the table) with no problems but normally changing to the "proper" blade for the cuts made will reduce the adjustment needed, for that blade, to 2-3 inches.

In short, the problem appears to exist but I don't see any ill effects in actual use of the machine. It will be interesting to see if Jet and Delta owners have the same problem.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

In 12 inches .080 is pretty good on a $375 machine. How are you setting the .016 between the blade and bearing? Most use a folded dollar bill or do it by eye. You say you have to do it every time you change the thickness of the wood. If it moves .080 in 12", it would be .040 in 6", .020 in three inches, .010 in 1 1/2" that most times you will encounter. Suck little change will not be noticed.

If I move my post an inch, I don't check the bearing at all, but to move it

12 inches, it would be a good idea to take a peek and make an adjustment if needed. Any time I set up to resaw, I check all the settings and adjust them if needed. Trying to slice a very thin piece of wood takes more precision than cutting some dowels to length. Checking setup is just good practice.

I never checked as I'm tensioning the blade, but I will. Could you be putting on too much tension?

Probably. Use the saw and see just how big a deal it is in real every day use, Ed [e-mail]

[rock7891]

Good discussion

Alan observed 1/32 from top to bottom when a 1/4 blade is tensioned---thats about .031"---a lot less than I observed but I have a 3/8 blade tensioned and as Ed points out the wider the blade the more tension required and therefore the more flexing the housing will undergo. I don't believe I'm over tensioning---it doesn't seem that tight at all. I used the technique described in the Bandsaw Handbook--plucking the blade and listening to max the pitch. Grizzly's suggestion of loosening until it flutters didn't work for me at all---never could get it to flutter no matter how loose I got it. Any other suggestions from more experienced people would be appreciated as far as knowing when it's properly tensioned. The scale is useless especially when the riser is installed.

The measurements I'm quoting were measured with a feeler gauge of known thickness. I just tension the blade, move the rod all the way up (12in off the table), adjust the thrust bearing to just barely touch the back edge of the blade and then run the bearing support rod down to within an inch of the table and measure the gap with a feeler gauge. It's between .080 and .087in. which is a little less than

3/32in. Much more than I expected.

I discovered this cause Grizzly makes a big deal about setting that bearing at .016 from the back of the blade---(I know they say fold a dollar bill to get that) and I used a feeling gauge. Well it wasn't long after going to the effort to get that exact that I discovered there's no bother -- it changes raising and lowering the rod far more than the gap I set.

Glad to hear others don't find this that unusual especially from a $375 saw. Makes me feel a little better and I think Ed's comment at the end is exactly what I'll do--use it and see how big a deal it is in everyday use---I'll set the bearings up at about 2 in off the table---so if I cut 3/4in material or up to 3 in material I won't be off enough to have to readjust---most of the material I'll be cutting will be less than 3 or 4in at least for now until I get into cutting things for turning on my lathe.

Thanks everyone---maybe we'll hear from some Jet and Delta owners to see if they experience upper housing flex. I'm just curious, but I'll be satisfied with the Grizzly for now.

Tim