I'm looking for Bandsaw, and teetering back and forth between a 17 in. Grizzly (G0513), and the 14 inch. (G0555). Looking strictly at company literature, the 17 inch. sounds like a do it all saw (at least for me). But reading a review in American Woodworker, the 17 in. receives a less than favorable rating when using smaller blades, given that the saw comes equipped with European style disc guides. The article states these are difficult to adjust correctly for smaller blade sizes. Checked out the Lonnie Bird - Bandsaw book from the library, and it states that European style disc guides are the easiest to adjust. In some ways, it seems the more information received the tougher my choice becomes.
Re-sawing is something I'll only do once in a while, but I'm the type who likes having tools that are open to the possibilities. The impression I have thus far, is that the 14 in. would actually be better for misc. smaller work, while the 17 in. will be much better at re-sawing larger stock, and perhaps less accurate and more difficult to use on smaller pieces. If the
14 in. is purchased, that would come with the riser block as well. Any thoughts?Does anyone here have experience using the larger 17 in. saw with smaller blades, say ¼ in, and if so would you please share your thoughts, on the Euro disc guides?
Thanks,
Dave
Links to both saws: