cutting turning blanks

Re: cutting turning blanks

Dennis Taylor (Akron, Ohio)

>Bob, I got a Grizzly 14 with rizer in Feb, had a Sear's 12in tilt, and the Grizzly is an amazing tool for the cost...I use to to rough turning blanks, cut intarsia and general woodworking..it runs smooth, the fence is adequate, dust port, table tilts, it is a great piece of equipment, I would spring for the Grizzly..I was relucant in ordering online, but come direct to my house, without incident....just my 2 cents...Dennis

Re: cutting turning blanks

John Lucas

>Bob

I can't recommend the HF. My good friend from Laos bought one and it's mediocre at best. He only uses it for small stuff now and has a much bigger bandsaw. I can't answer about the Grizzly. There seems to be a lot of good talk about the Jet 14". It's a little more money but a nice bandsaw. I looked at them very hard before finding a used Delta.

Re: cutting turning blanks

Andy in Raleigh

>I happen to know owners of each. The HF is harder to fiddle with. The thing about the HF warranty is that it is great for getting a dead machine swapped out, but if you have quality issues (something not quite right but working) it doesn't help as much. But both owners are happy with their saws - the guy who got his at HF is happy with the savings for the tradeoff. The biggest single thing he mentioned is it takes him longer to change blades and get the saw properly adjusted.

I own a few HF tools. There can be some quality issues and support is slow (but it does exist). I am wrestling with the identical decision, BTW, but I have a few months to think about it.

Re: cutting turning blanks *LINK*

Raymond Overman

>I just bought a Grizzly Ultimate 14" Bandsaw for the same purpose plus a little resaw work and general bandsawing. I didn't get the riser for the moment. I'm very pleased with my saw, the way it was delivered, and the price.

I can say, I'm not impressed with the blade that accompanied the saw though. Take an extra $50 and order some various blades from the very start. You'll be a lot happier with your saw.

I'm waiting on a shipment from Suffolk Machinery right now (Timberwolf). I've read a lot of good things about their blades.


Overman Woodworks

Re: cutting turning blanks

Dale Stansbery

>Bob, I have the HF 14" with riser and my experience is that the wheels are too flimsy to ever hold a tracking alignment. Furthermore they developed a wobble after a very short use time. It took months to get a replacement wheel from HF, and and it had more radial run than the bad wheel on the saw. I was finally able to get a pair of Jet 14" wheels off Ebay, and they were an exact fit, and far stronger, and run true. Take a look at the HF saw and you'll see that they only have three flimsy spokes in each wheel.

buy used

Tom Sontag - St. Louis

>My experience with budget oriented purchases of this kind suggest you get the most value for the money if you buy an older tool of superior design or make. The time you might need to spend repairing this or adjusting that is nothing compared to the frustration of trying to get by with a cheap or flimsy design. Take your time and acquaint yourself with several models and keep your eyes peeled. Your best chances are local if there is a decent population.