My Harbor Freight 4 x 6 bandsaw needed new bearings, and after having lots of problems getting the old bearings out, I decided to get a new bandsaw with a larger capacity.
Another outstanding video of the true daily struggles. As far as coolant I would use the same as in your mill less to keep up with. Have an outstanding day.
I like your videos. As for coolant, i use old coolant from machine tools in bandsaws and drill presses, basically whatever the skimmer picks up goes. Since I’ve given up on winning the battle over shop cleanliness where the bandsaws are (5:1 ratio of welders to machinist), I can atleast be happy that I’m being frugal about it.
I need to get some storage setup in my shop so I can free up floor space required for the Arburg. Then I will need probably a forklift to get it into my shop.
Nice garden you have there!. I allways do the opposite, changing to a coarse band for faster cutting. A rule ive been told, at least 3teeths engaged minimum. If not use a higher tpi band. Nice episode as allways! //Niklas Sweden
Thanks. We like our place. The 6 TPI blade was probably not a very good blade either. For me, cutting speed isn't that important. I usually start the cut and then do something else, like get the mill setup.
I'm not using coolant at the moment. I probably should, but dry cutting has been working fine. Also, I've only used it for 90 degree cuts, so I don't know what it would take.
How is this saw holding up? I just bought the same one a few months ago. One thing I hated was the saw sat so low to the ground. I got tired of bending over to make cuts. I ended up making a stand that's approximately 20 inches tall with caster wheels on it. Not only does this bring the vice up to about 36 inches off the ground it's at the perfect height, I don't have to bend over and I can roll this puppy around the shop with ease. I sent you a email with some pics of my stand.
No problems at all. I always set up a piece to cut and then walk away while gravity does the work. The part then falls onto the floor. I have soft mats on the floor so the part doesn't get damaged when it falls. Been working great.
Nice saw I have the Grizzly 4x6. It was worth the extra money over the HF which I’ve used before . Bet you wished you waited to install motor until after you got it up to the shop. I may have been a bit lighter. 🙂
True. Unfortunately, the motor was already attached via a cord to the base. So I had the choice to either move it fully assembled or remove the wires from the motor or switch. That's why I mounted the motor first.
I have the harbor freigh version. Coolant helps, but makes a mess as it runs off the end of the piece you're cutting. I cut dry now as well with a splash of WD40. A mist setup might be nice.
That's an excellent point. Cutting dry works just fine. Perhaps it's slower than if I used coolant, but I'd rather avoid the mess you described. Thanks for the information.
Does your G0561 Bandsaw Trip the motor breaker often? Mine is constantly tripping the breaker and I have to be extremely careful on how fast I can through aluminum. My old 4x6 Grizzly would cut faster than this one. My motor is pulling 10amps with the belt disconnected. Any idea how much amperage yours is pulling without load?
While a fine tooth blade may sound nice it doesn't provide enough gullet to handle the chip as it curls up. Longer cut lengths produce longer chips. When a gullet is full the blade just skips over the rest of the cut. It gets hot the chips stick and weld and the cut suffers. Ordinary water soluble oil like you use on a milling machine is often used on a saw probably because the shops already have it. Both saw and blade manufactures offer guidance on blade selection so it is easy to find. The blades provided on Chinese saws are usually not very good. Saws like will work fine and be a welcome tool to any shop. With modest hobby use they will last forever.
I was going on recommendations of tooth pitch for aluminum, as almost all of my cuts are aluminum. But, if I start to run into issues, I can always buy another Lenox blade. And since this is for hobby use, yea, it should last a long time.
Wow! You now have the complete heavy metal setup. You only need two guitarists to assist in your metal vengeance. No more puny TAIG and Sherline machines with their milquetoast acoustics. Your rock is now righteousness with maximum carnage. You can now take on the other CZcams machinists and out rock them out of existence. What's on your next project? A larger injection molder?
Could you elaborate on this statement? Is this for a production environment, or a home shop? I did quite a bit of research before buying this machine and determined that it should be a very good machine for my needs. Given how little I use it (less than once a week), I don't need a professional quality machine.
@@JohnSL I mean no offense to you and your recent purchase I just have a thorough disliking of this company do to my personal experience. the list of reasons goes on and on from the customer service to the tools themselves. I made the mistake of buying 3 tools at once (bandsaw, drill press, hole saw bits) all of which have their own problems. But just to focus on the bandsaw I can point out a few things. If you try to turn your saw on at any temperature below around 45 degrees the motor won’t turn (I think the gear oil is too heavy). The sheet metal stand isn’t heavy enough to support the saw and results in vibration ending in an inaccurate cut. The angle indicator on the saw is nowhere close to accurate. The bands fall off constantly and the tension gauge is worthless in my opinion. Using it as wetsaw makes the biggest mess even when it’s tuned way down. I think that’s a pretty good start. I literally just put the saw in my barn so I don’t have to look at it anymore and will buy an American made saw (not that Taiwan doesn’t make good things) Monday.
I do just have a home shop. The problem when researching saws is that Grizzly is the best at marketing, much better than they’re at making tools. I figured with a name like Grizzly it was an American made brand but that’s so far from the case
All good points. I knew this was basically the same quality as Harbor Freight, but a step up from the model I'd been using for quite a few years. The reviews I looked at were on CZcams and various discussion forums as I agree that Grizzly has really good marketing. I also decided not to use coolant after reading reviews that mentioned it makes a huge mess. It serves my needs well, and I'm kind of happy I don't have experience with a high-quality saw, so I don't know what I'm missing :-).
Nice looking saw...Thanks John
It's much nicer than the previous saw I had.
Thanks for the review John
Another outstanding video of the true daily struggles. As far as coolant I would use the same as in your mill less to keep up with. Have an outstanding day.
Thanks. I'm low on coolant for my mill and need to get some more.
Congrats on the new saw hope it works great for you.
Thanks. So far so good.
I like your videos.
As for coolant, i use old coolant from machine tools in bandsaws and drill presses, basically whatever the skimmer picks up goes. Since I’ve given up on winning the battle over shop cleanliness where the bandsaws are (5:1 ratio of welders to machinist), I can atleast be happy that I’m being frugal about it.
Good idea. I recently replaced the coolant in my mill, so could certainly use the old coolant in my bandsaw. Thanks!
Tell us more about the old Arburg press that's in the background!??? Whats the plan? When do we get a video??
I need to get some storage setup in my shop so I can free up floor space required for the Arburg. Then I will need probably a forklift to get it into my shop.
Hallo Sir,can you tell me what is the wheel diameter of the machine ?
Nice garden you have there!.
I allways do the opposite, changing to a coarse band for faster cutting. A rule ive been told, at least 3teeths engaged minimum. If not use a higher tpi band.
Nice episode as allways!
//Niklas
Sweden
Thanks. We like our place. The 6 TPI blade was probably not a very good blade either. For me, cutting speed isn't that important. I usually start the cut and then do something else, like get the mill setup.
what kind of coolant can you use? and is it easy to set up 45 degree and back to 90?
I'm not using coolant at the moment. I probably should, but dry cutting has been working fine. Also, I've only used it for 90 degree cuts, so I don't know what it would take.
How is this saw holding up? I just bought the same one a few months ago. One thing I hated was the saw sat so low to the ground. I got tired of bending over to make cuts. I ended up making a stand that's approximately 20 inches tall with caster wheels on it. Not only does this bring the vice up to about 36 inches off the ground it's at the perfect height, I don't have to bend over and I can roll this puppy around the shop with ease. I sent you a email with some pics of my stand.
No problems at all. I always set up a piece to cut and then walk away while gravity does the work. The part then falls onto the floor. I have soft mats on the floor so the part doesn't get damaged when it falls. Been working great.
Nice saw I have the Grizzly 4x6. It was worth the extra money over the HF which I’ve used before .
Bet you wished you waited to install motor until after you got it up to the shop. I may have been a bit lighter. 🙂
True. Unfortunately, the motor was already attached via a cord to the base. So I had the choice to either move it fully assembled or remove the wires from the motor or switch. That's why I mounted the motor first.
@@JohnSL yep i would have attached it also.
I have the harbor freigh version. Coolant helps, but makes a mess as it runs off the end of the piece you're cutting. I cut dry now as well with a splash of WD40. A mist setup might be nice.
That's an excellent point. Cutting dry works just fine. Perhaps it's slower than if I used coolant, but I'd rather avoid the mess you described. Thanks for the information.
How often would you need to "mist" the blade/metal you are cutting?
For aluminum a coarser blade is better due to more chip clearance. Aluminum tends to be a bit gummy so the coarser blade gives a better cut.
Thanks. I don't remember what blade I'm using, but it's held up very well. I am planning to add coolant soon, which should also help.
Does your G0561 Bandsaw Trip the motor breaker often? Mine is constantly tripping the breaker and I have to be extremely careful on how fast I can through aluminum. My old 4x6 Grizzly would cut faster than this one.
My motor is pulling 10amps with the belt disconnected. Any idea how much amperage yours is pulling without load?
I've never had the circuit breaker tri
@@JohnSL Dang! I'm constantly fighting mine!
While a fine tooth blade may sound nice it doesn't provide enough gullet to handle the chip as it curls up. Longer cut lengths produce longer chips. When a gullet is full the blade just skips over the rest of the cut. It gets hot the chips stick and weld and the cut suffers. Ordinary water soluble oil like you use on a milling machine is often used on a saw probably because the shops already have it. Both saw and blade manufactures offer guidance on blade selection so it is easy to find. The blades provided on Chinese saws are usually not very good. Saws like will work fine and be a welcome tool to any shop. With modest hobby use they will last forever.
I was going on recommendations of tooth pitch for aluminum, as almost all of my cuts are aluminum. But, if I start to run into issues, I can always buy another Lenox blade. And since this is for hobby use, yea, it should last a long time.
If u look at grizzly and the 7x12 harbour freight has they are identical
Crunchy is the best reason to upgrade.
Worked for me.
Great video, John. Enjoy the new machine!
Wow! You now have the complete heavy metal setup. You only need two guitarists to assist in your metal vengeance. No more puny TAIG and Sherline machines with their milquetoast acoustics. Your rock is now righteousness with maximum carnage. You can now take on the other CZcams machinists and out rock them out of existence. What's on your next project? A larger injection molder?
If only I could play music :-). Regarding the larger molder, did you happen to see the machine behind the Grizzly while I was unpacking it?
Just went back and looked. Oh yeah! An ultra-loud Marshall stack! Oh no. It's going to be total metal mayhem! Can't wait!
Don’t waste your money on grizzly
Could you elaborate on this statement? Is this for a production environment, or a home shop? I did quite a bit of research before buying this machine and determined that it should be a very good machine for my needs. Given how little I use it (less than once a week), I don't need a professional quality machine.
@@JohnSL I mean no offense to you and your recent purchase I just have a thorough disliking of this company do to my personal experience. the list of reasons goes on and on from the customer service to the tools themselves. I made the mistake of buying 3 tools at once (bandsaw, drill press, hole saw bits) all of which have their own problems. But just to focus on the bandsaw I can point out a few things. If you try to turn your saw on at any temperature below around 45 degrees the motor won’t turn (I think the gear oil is too heavy). The sheet metal stand isn’t heavy enough to support the saw and results in vibration ending in an inaccurate cut. The angle indicator on the saw is nowhere close to accurate. The bands fall off constantly and the tension gauge is worthless in my opinion. Using it as wetsaw makes the biggest mess even when it’s tuned way down. I think that’s a pretty good start. I literally just put the saw in my barn so I don’t have to look at it anymore and will buy an American made saw (not that Taiwan doesn’t make good things) Monday.
I do just have a home shop. The problem when researching saws is that Grizzly is the best at marketing, much better than they’re at making tools. I figured with a name like Grizzly it was an American made brand but that’s so far from the case
All good points. I knew this was basically the same quality as Harbor Freight, but a step up from the model I'd been using for quite a few years. The reviews I looked at were on CZcams and various discussion forums as I agree that Grizzly has really good marketing. I also decided not to use coolant after reading reviews that mentioned it makes a huge mess. It serves my needs well, and I'm kind of happy I don't have experience with a high-quality saw, so I don't know what I'm missing :-).
@@JohnSL You make some cool video’s and I did subscribe to your channel!