14" Bandsaw- Who/where Best Deal??

[briank]

Anybody care to chime in on where to go for a good/great deal on 14" BS?
Know of any discontinues/ blowouts anywhere?

[mikel]

If I did it again I would just get the grizzly ultimate 14 "

great saw good price...

...m

[briank]

What would that good price be, and WHO had it at that great price?
Thanks

[BrotherNov]

Anybody care to chime in on where to go for a good/great deal on 14" BS?
Know of any discontinues/ blowouts anywhere?

I don't think your question can be answered without knowing how you plan to use it, or what your budget is. I bought a Laguna 16HD after months of research and shopping around. It's expensive, but necessary based on how I plan to use it.

[gsmittle]

What would that good price be, and WHO had it at that great price?
Thanks

Grizzly sells direct--check out www.grizzly.com.

They have three retail stores, but the only location I can remember right now is Springfield, MO.

g.

[LarryG]

The Grizzly Ultimate 14" Bandsaw is their model number G0555. Price is $435 + 73.25 shipping = $508.25. A lot of folks here, myself included, own one; you'll be hard pressed to find a serious complaint about it.

If that's more than you care to spend, many other members here say the Harbor Freight 14" is a good value. It reportedly takes a bit of tinkering to assemble and tune-up, but at roughly half the price of the Grizz when bought on sale, it delivers good value.

[LCHIEN]

you don't really say what you want other than a great deal and a 14" bandsaw.

There's interpretations of that all the way from the cheapest one that cuts OK to the best value for the money.

Two approaches have been named, the Grizzly G0555 which is a nicely finished and pretty much fully equipped saw. It comes with fence, miter guide, roller bearing gblade guides, and quick release tension At the price its a pretty good deal but you still need good blade(s) and maybe a riser if you want one to increase the resawing capacity to 12"

The other end of the scale involves the HF bandsaw. IT comes as a very basic, not so pretty saw but the basics are solid and the starting price is very low - around $220 IIRC, less with coupons and such. No fence, no miter bar, steel blade guides etc. very bottom end. If you buy all or upgrade all the differences, it will cost nearly as much as the Grizzly G0555 and take a bit of work and effort. But before you buy all the stuff, it'll still cut OK.

If you go with a name brand, like Jet or Delta, a basic saw will cost around 400-500 and be equipped about like the HF.

[JR]

And then there's the middle ground. The Ridgid 14" is available at Home Depot for $350. It has the benefit of local support and is said to be a good tool.

Neither Grizzly nor HF have local support. Grizzly because they have only three locations. HF because what they do can not be called support.

JR

[jwaterdawg]

Ridgid, good saw, lifetime warranty.

Probably eligible for current discount rebates at Home Depot.

[Flatlander]

You could get the sears for $360 is you have a Craftsman Club Card. They currently have 20% off, and the CC flyer says 10% off all power tools.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Bench+Power+Tools&pid=00922401000

[Stormbringer]

EDIT: Flatlander I see you beat me to it. Good call.


The 14" Craftsman is a very well repsected saw and there are a number of complimentary reviews on this site. Currently $499 (I swear I thought it used to be $399). If you can catch it when Sears does one of their 20% off tools promo like they just did last weekend it can be had at a reasonable price.

From their site:

14 in. band saw with steel frame construction for reduced deflection under full blade tension. Blade included. Upper and lower blade bearing guides reduce friction and increase blade life. Blade tension and tracking windows let you quickly view the blade tension and tracking without opening the doors. Cast iron wheels.

Table tilts 0-45 deg. to left for angle cutting
Cut hardwood softwood and non ferrous metal
Features (2) 3/8 x 3/4 in. standard "T" slots
Balanced cast iron wheels for strength and rigidity
The cast iron table is large and stable providing a solid work surface
Tire cleaning brush - Helps keep band wheel free of build up extending blade life
Steel stand provides stable support
Table fence - Securely support workpieces for accurate ripping
Work light - Keeps work area well lit for accurate, safe cutting
Dust collection system (Port) - Improved dust collection for safe removal of sawdust
The ball bearing blade guides have microadjust knobs that allows the userto set them easily
The saw has a 8" resaw capacity


EDIT: As Flatlander said, $360 is the current deal. That's the lowest it's been since they "raised" the price.

[paulstenlund]

I got the Grizzly, great saw. Aririved the day after I ordered it ( I live about 200 miles from a Grizz store). All you have to do is put the base together, virtually no assembly required. They have great telephone support, quick parts service etc. (never needed a part for the bandsaw runs great, quiet, no vibration, my old chinese saw acted like it wanted to take off). I'd go Griz again for the money.

[briank]

Sorry, how about some clarification... I will want the saw for the abvious "shop" use...tinkering, lots of it. But will also be using it for resawing panels for various sets of cabinet doors, trim pieces for wood flooring ( I'm in the flooring business), and probably getting to the point of sawing legs for cabinets and furniture....
I can handle UP to about $500-600 range...

[Cody.h]

I had the Ridgid....couldn't get it to stop vibrating and host of other problems. I returned it and got the Craftsman 12" and had it about a year now...its just ok. I hate the guide bearings ...a real pain to adjust and 3 are bad now. I've also gotta get tires for it....the top one slips when resawing.

If I could do it all again knowing what I know now I'd just buy the Grizz
Ultimate and be done...but the new Rikon 14" Square sure looks sexy!!

[Zenaca]

I own one of the Ridgid saws and have had no problems with it for 3.5 years now. I did get it for $199 when they changed colors.
Then i got the riser kit for $50 and then i got the Carter roller bearing guides for $150.

So i am in mine for about$400 if i had to pay the going price i definatly would get the Grizzley G0555 Ultimate saw.


And that is my .02 on it.

bud