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.

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?


"joeD" wrote in message
...
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 wrote:
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.

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

Barry

"joeD" wrote in message
...
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

snip

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

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


"joeD" wrote in message
...
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?


"joeD" wrote in message
...
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.

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 16:02:06 GMT, B a r r y
wrote:

joeD wrote:
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.

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

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

http://www.DouglassClan.com

Tim Douglass wrote:
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 16:02:06 GMT, B a r r y
wrote:


joeD wrote:

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.

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


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 know. G

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

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 know. G

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

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.

"B a r r y" wrote

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.

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

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

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 20:28:40 GMT, B a r r y
wrote:

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.

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

http://www.DouglassClan.com

"B a r r y" wrote in message
. com...
Tim Douglass wrote:
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 16:02:06 GMT, B a r r y
wrote:


joeD wrote:

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.

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


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.

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.

--
Nahmie
Those on the cutting edge bleed a lot.

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 18:09:31 -0500, "Bill Otten"
wrote:


"B a r r y" wrote

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.

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?

They were MISSING, not broken. Big difference.

Barry

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" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 18:09:31 -0500, "Bill Otten"
wrote:


"B a r r y" wrote

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.

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?

They were MISSING, not broken. Big difference.

Barry

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 10:52:53 -0500, "Bill Otten"
wrote:

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?

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!

I'm sure even Delta has its share of broken on arrivals, and likewise
that Grizzly has its own share of missing parts too.

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.

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.

Same here. See a pattern?

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.

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

Barry

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.

"joeD" wrote in message
...
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.

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

"Newshound" wrote in message
. com...
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.

"joeD" wrote in message
...
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.