# anybody use grizzly bandsaws?



## jimmyjames

I'm contemplating ordering a grizzly 514 19" 3hp band saw. I've look around locally at used band saws and all have been junk, can't seem to find any that I would have to dump a bunch of money into a sub par machine. How's the quality on these? Its purpose will be mainly for resawing green blocks as well as some kiln dried stock. I want a machine that can tension the blade enough to where it will not walk all over the place. My little 14" jet I have is a pile of s...... at roughly $1500 is this grizzly worth the money? Will it saw straight in thick wood 8"+ thick? For blades I was looking at wood slicers but the widest resaw blade is 3/4" which may be enough, thoughts? Any better blade brands out there for a descent price?


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## DKMD

I've got the 2hp 0513, and I've been quite happy with it. In hindsight, I should have gone bigger... I bought it before I learned that there's no such thing as a 'too big' bandsaw. I'm still hunting for the perfect blade...


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## jimmyjames

DKMD said:


> I've got the 2hp 0513, and I've been quite happy with it. In hindsight, I should have gone bigger... I bought it before I learned that there's no such thing as a 'too big' bandsaw. I'm still hunting for the perfect blade...



I've been using a friends 7.5 horse 28" Laguna band saw which is nothing short of amazing but there's no way I'm shelling out $8000 for a band saw..... does your saw get nice straight cuts? Any play in the saw itself? Does it feel ridgid?


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## barry richardson

I have a 14 inch grizzly HD (the euro design). With a sharp blade 1/2" it resaws perfect. Better than the Laguna LT16 or MM20 at my work. A big bandsaw doesn't necessarily mean straight cuts, it's the sharpness of the blade and set-up. But you can certainly shove wood through a big bandsaw faster! If you want the ultimate blade the Lennox Tri-master is it IMO, but you will pay dearly for it, at least $1.00 per inch. Very expensive if you hit a nail or rock with it, and the backing material doesn't like to be wrapped around less than 18" wheels. Ennywho, Grizzly bandsaws have a very good reputation, best bang for the buck, I'm certainly happy with mine, just wish it had more resaw capacity...


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## DKMD

I agree with Barry... It's the blade and the guides that make a difference. The saw does feel very solid, and I've yet to stall it out despite cutting some ~12" wet blocks of wood. A larger table top would be nice and increased resaw capacity is always a plus, but it's been pretty rare that I've wanted to cut something on mine that wouldn't fit... I run out of muscle before I run out of capacity most of the time.


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## Mike1950

Try supercut bandsaw blades- there is a thread here about them somewhere. Inexpensive and pretty effective. I have a 20" Rockwell. I find if I clean the blades they come to life again. Greased lightning melts the resins right off.


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## JonLanier

I've been drooling over the 17" 2 HP Bandsaw, Anniversary Edition (Black) or even the smaller one.

I don't need a lot of muscle in a bandsaw, but I think those are pretty well tricked out for the price. I just can't afford it. 

Everytime I get money put aside for it, something new pops up. $450 in school fees was the last 'gotcha.' If it's not that it's, Dad, I need to eat, Dad, I need clothes, Dad I need books for school, Dad I need to glasses. Whine, Whine, Whine.


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## Mike Jones

I had an older Grizzly 16" bandsaw that was your basic piece of crap. The tensioner spring cage was pot metal that crumbled, and the upper wheel access door needed a tinsmith each time it was opened/closed. I've been surprised by the positive comments regarding Grizzly equipment, and I must assume that they build better quality today than before. I like my Jet 18 just fine, no real issues in 5 years.


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## Darkmoorwoods

I have a Laguna LT 20 on order.. 3 x as much and IMO worth every penny. Made in Italy with a 6 HP US Belkan motor


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## ripjack13

I have a Grizz....the G0555P 14" 1 HP Bandsaw, Polar Bear Series. I've had it for about a year n a half now. I got rid of the ball bearing guides for cool blocks. also I put a zero tolerance throat insert in it. It has worked like a charm. I mill and cut everything I'm able to fit. As long as I go slow enough for the blade to do it's work, it cut nice n straight. 
In hind sight though....I really should have gotten a bigger one, but $$ flow restrained me. I did however get the riser block for it so make it bigger. But I haven't had the inclination to do it. I need to use up all my saw blades before I do that....I have about 50 of em. All sorts of makes and sizes. I hate to see em go to waste....not to mention, I'd have to buy larger more expensive ones....


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## Gary Max

Another vote for Grizzly ------------- we have several Bandsaws including a HD-16 Laguna. Overall you just can't beat Grizzlys price and service.


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## DavidDobbs

I was kinda doing the same thing awhile. Back drove all over looking at big used saws. 
Kicked the tires on all the new saws.

I ended up supercharging my Delta 14". 1 1/2hp motor riser block Kreg fence

$200 motor , $89 riser kit , Kreg fence $104 for less than $400 dollars 

Made one heck of a saw 

105" 3 hook 3/4" Supercut blades less than $14 each 

Can't beat it for the money.

Dave


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## jimmyjames

I do know I want more than 1.5 horsepower, I've used a saw with that size motor and cutting 6" thick green wood it tends to stall the motor, it was running a 2tpi blade, had to cut pretty slow, I'm shooting for a minimum 3 horsepower and keeping it to single phase


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## Mike1950

jimmyjames said:


> I do know I want more than 1.5 horsepower, I've used a saw with that size motor and cutting 6" thick green wood it tends to stall the motor, it was running a 2tpi blade, had to cut pretty slow, I'm shooting for a minimum 3 horsepower and keeping it to single phase



Probably already have done it but check craigslist- do a wide search. Check IRS auctions- not the tax IRS. I think bandsaws are one of the tools that really benefits from lots of mass- mine 650 lbs. I think 2 hp but the horses must have been a lot bigger back then. I cannot imagine stalling it. No matter new or old I think you will regret buying small. Also when doing the green wood invest in some chunks of beeswax- keep the blade waxed- the resins will not stick as easily.


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## Mike1950

The 18" jet in west Ames looks decent.................... Now that 36" yates is spendy but what an animal...... Check EBAY- lots of big iron near you- now me it is a fir piece to find such items.


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## jimmyjames

Mike1950 said:


> The 18" jet in west Ames looks decent.................... Now that 36" yates is spendy but what an animal...... Check EBAY- lots of big iron near you- now me it is a fir piece to find such items.



That jet he wants too much money, its the model with the 1 1/2 horse motor, they sell new online for the $1300 he wants for it, now if it was the 3hp model I would look into it. Yes I seen that other beast as well.

Haven't heard of the beeswax, that's some good info, I actually have a bunch of beeswax I was using when cutting copper, I will give that a try next time I'm sawing.


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## Kevin

Mike1950 said:


> ... I think 2 hp but the horses must have been a lot bigger back then. ...



I forgot when they changed the HP ratings, but the guy at Eagle Machinery that bought what was left of Oliver, told me my 1947 5HP table saw motor is equivalent to 7.5 HP in today's terms. Mine is a 1947 model I know yours is in the 50s though I think right, so maybe your 2HP is more.


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## barry richardson

Mike1950 said:


> jimmyjames said:
> 
> 
> 
> I do know I want more than 1.5 horsepower, I've used a saw with that size motor and cutting 6" thick green wood it tends to stall the motor, it was running a 2tpi blade, had to cut pretty slow, I'm shooting for a minimum 3 horsepower and keeping it to single phase
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Probably already have done it but check craigslist- do a wide search. Check IRS auctions- not the tax IRS. I think bandsaws are one of the tools that really benefits from lots of mass- mine 650 lbs. I think 2 hp but the horses must have been a lot bigger back then. I cannot imagine stalling it. No matter new or old I think you will regret buying small. Also when doing the green wood invest in some chunks of beeswax- keep the blade waxed- the resins will not stick as easily.
Click to expand...


A can of spray Pam works great too!


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## jimmyjames

Well I found a couple saws, a 32" crescent with direct drive but is 3 phase so I can't change the motor tosingle phase, a 36" crescent tthat's been converted to belt drive with no motor and the guides and babbit bearings are shot in the top wheel, also found I believe is an early 1900's do all that's 36" but is really dangerous, all open wheels and no guards, no motor but looks like its never been used.... the only descent running saw is a 20" jet 3hp and its the older blue model, was used to cut carpet, picking it up for $750 and comes with a 4'x8' sliding table, the table is one of those used for cutting foam, I can salvage the guides and make the table narrower and use it for cutting cants into bowl blanks without trying to hold the big timber square and feed it through. It weighs 690 pounds so its not a flimsy thing, runs well and cuts true in a 12" piece of wood, I tested it with the blade it came with which is a 1/2" x 6 or 8tpi blade, it will cut even better with the proper resaw blade.


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## Kevin

The Jet sounds like a good choice and a good buy. 

.


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## Darkmoorwoods

My 10 inch jet is gutless.. says 1/2 horsepower but it must mean a shetland pony foal


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## jimmyjames

Dang some people these days.... I had a call this morning from the gentleman I bought my band saw from that's being shipped to me Friday, I paid the guy via Paypal in full $750 , also I awarded the shipping to a guy on uship and paid the shipping, bought $100 of blades and also wired the new outlet for the saw. He calls me and said he has a guy with $1250 cash in hand..... I said I already bought it..... tomake a long story short iI had to pay him another $250.... if I didn't he said he was going to sell it andiI would be out my $100 I paid on shipping and also the money I spent on blades... what's this worldcoming too?? I do know iI'm getting a good deal on the saw, when the saw was new it was $3700 since its the older blue model with the full size cabinet underneath and weighs 250lbs more than the new 20" jets but dang....... and I need a saw badly and have searched high and low for one and this is theonly one iI could find, guess I will stick with buying equipment locally for now on with cash in hand.....


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## Treecycle Hardwoods

jimmyjames said:


> Dang some people these days.... I had a call this morning from the gentleman I bought my band saw from that's being shipped to me Friday, I paid the guy via Paypal in full $750 , also I awarded the shipping to a guy on uship and paid the shipping, bought $100 of blades and also wired the new outlet for the saw. He calls me and said he has a guy with $1250 cash in hand..... I said I already bought it..... tomake a long story short iI had to pay him another $250.... if I didn't he said he was going to sell it andiI would be out my $100 I paid on shipping and also the money I spent on blades... what's this worldcoming too?? I do know iI'm getting a good deal on the saw, when the saw was new it was $3700 since its the older blue model with the full size cabinet underneath and weighs 250lbs more than the new 20" jets but dang....... and I need a saw badly and have searched high and low for one and this is theonly one iI could find, guess I will stick with buying equipment locally for now on with cash in hand.....



bait and switch?!?!?! dang I would have contacted paypal and filed a complaint on the guy!! PP doesn't mess around they will shut his account down that may have gotten him to think differently about what he was doing. Sorry you had to go thru that.


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## rdnkmedic

jimmyjames said:


> Dang some people these days.... I had a call this morning from the gentleman I bought my band saw from that's being shipped to me Friday, I paid the guy via Paypal in full $750 , also I awarded the shipping to a guy on uship and paid the shipping, bought $100 of blades and also wired the new outlet for the saw. He calls me and said he has a guy with $1250 cash in hand..... I said I already bought it..... tomake a long story short iI had to pay him another $250.... if I didn't he said he was going to sell it andiI would be out my $100 I paid on shipping and also the money I spent on blades... what's this worldcoming too?? I do know iI'm getting a good deal on the saw, when the saw was new it was $3700 since its the older blue model with the full size cabinet underneath and weighs 250lbs more than the new 20" jets but dang....... and I need a saw badly and have searched high and low for one and this is theonly one iI could find, guess I will stick with buying equipment locally for now on with cash in hand.....



I probably would have told him to kiss my A$$, then driven to wherever he was and given him the opportunity to do it. Sounds like a used car deal. "well, we're gonna need $500 more so the financing will work out." This after they let you drive the car for 3 days. Is he a business or an individual? Can you report him to the BBB? Find a witch and put a curse on his Schwartz.


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## jimmyjames

It was a business but hes liquidating all of his stuff and going out of business.


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## Treecycle Hardwoods

After my last post I was thinking that after you get the saw file a complaint with PP and try to get your $250 back. My blood is boiling for you on this one!! Is the guy in Wisconsin? I will go punch him in the kisser for ya if ya want me to?!?!


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## jimmyjames

Treecycle Hardwoods said:


> After my last post I was thinking that after you get the saw file a complaint with PP and try to get your $250 back. My blood is boiling for you on this one!! Is the guy in Wisconsin? I will go punch him in the kisser for ya if ya want me to?!?!



no hes in missouri, trust me i want to do the same!! Karmas a xxxxx!!


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## justturnin

What a load. Guess we know why he is going out of business.

You got it Right Jimmy, Karma is gonna get this guy.


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## jimmyjames

justturnin said:


> What a load. Guess we know why he is going out of business.
> 
> You got it Right Jimmy, Karma is gonna get this guy.



It will eventually.... after its all said and done I will report it to PayPal about what happened. Its like he was going to keep my money if I didn't pay him more, I wanted to really tear into him but I need the saw so I kept my foot in my mouth and played the nice guy....


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## ripjack13

Reminds me of a car dealership I was going to buy a truck at. The salesman and I settled on a price. Then I went to the finance department and tried to tell me they needed 3000 more to make the bank agree to finance me. I told the guy to kiss my a$$ got up told the other people in the showroom what just happened. 4 out of the 6 people walked out. Then I told the manager this is what happens when karma shows up.


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## jimmyjames

Screwed again..... the shipper from uship never showed up and how my shipping money is stuck in uship payments for a month or longer and the saw is stuck in Kansas city, probably never get it, what a joke....


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## Mike1950

jimmyjames said:


> Screwed again..... the shipper from uship never showed up and how my shipping money is stuck in uship payments for a month or longer and the saw is stuck in Kansas city, probably never get it, what a joke....



How far is KC?


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## jimmyjames

150 miles, I would go get it myself but the place the saw is at closes at 5 and I have my daughter till 3 and the place doesn't reopen till Wednesday next week and I work..... I'm so mad right now...


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## Mike1950

jimmyjames said:


> 150 miles, I would go get it myself but the place the saw is at closes at 5 and I have my daughter till 3 and the place doesn't reopen till Wednesday next week and I work..... I'm so mad right now...



Too bad- I know she is very young- I would just pack up my 3 1/2 yr old granddaughter and hit the road- she loves road trips- Of course she would wear poor gramps out with a bazillion ?'s
Bummer- you will get just make new arrangements. Or maybe it is the wrong saw- cancel paypal and find another.


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## jimmyjames

well after a bazillion phone calls and another uship listing, i found a guy to pick it up, picked it up 15 minutes ago and hes on his way here now, also finally countacted the first shipper and ripped his ass royally and filed a uship complaint etc....


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## rdnkmedic

I think I would still go to KC and give that guy the opportunity that I mentioned before. What a pain. Hopefully it's gonna work out.


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## Kevin

Tried to read this thread a couple times and something always came up. But DAMN. I got to hand it to you, you kept your cool better than I would have. Between Greg and Kevin and me, if we'd three lived in the vicinity you'd be coming to bail us out of jail. That wiseguy needs his name published here in this thread and then send him an email and let him know. Of course he probably doesn't give a rip what people think of his sorry ass since like Chris said, it's obvious why he's going out of business. That's just phase 1 of Karma's Revenge. He's got more coming I'm sure. He'll lose that $250 7 fold. ...


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## jimmyjames

Hopefully it does, the shipper called me a bit ago and yes an hour away, he's a southern guy, really friendly and professional , the shipper also took pictures of the saw before he loaded it and sent it to me, there's some damage on the fence of the saw but I'm building a dial adjust resaw fence for it anyways.....

Reactions: Funny 1


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## jimmyjames

Let me make sure everything with the saw is kosier with it and if so I will drop the "dime" on him :)


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## jimmyjames

Holy crap, its here and its larger than I expected, its much bigger than the newer jet 20" saws, I'm guessing its 700 pounds+, 4 of us had a heck of a time unloading it out of a truck.....


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## jimmyjames

http://i178.Rule #2/albums/w249/jimmyjames1981/IMG_20130830_195848_409_zpsd8e68b5e.jpg

http://i178.Rule #2/albums/w249/jimmyjames1981/IMG_20130830_195900_572_zpsb0d60527.jpg


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## jimmyjames

The saw has seen very little use, the tires are like new and wheels spin nice and true


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## SENC

Glad its working out, finally!


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## NYWoodturner

Yeah - Thats a beauty. Hell its not even dirty! It may be worth all the aggravation 
Scott


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## Mike1950

Nice saw- I wonder when they started making them white. Almost bought one in 2000 and it was white.


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## jimmyjames

Its got some carpet fuzz in it but that's about it, it was used to cut a couple thousand 6" carpet squares for carpet sample books and that's it, still has the carpet knife blade in it, the blade guides show zero wear on them, usually the guide behind the blade gets pretty wore down and would have at least a few scars in it from cutting big stuff but tlnot one scar. Tomorrow I will get it rolled into its spot and put the new blade in it and fire it up and see how she runs!


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## jimmyjames

1999 was the last year for blue, the millennium is when they switched to all white, this saw was manufactured in October 99. This saw has been in a storage building for 8 years, that's what he told me anyway.


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## jimmyjames

Its also still bolted to the pallet it came on new


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## NYWoodturner

jimmyjames said:


> Its got some carpet fuzz in it but that's about it, it was used to cut a couple thousand 6" carpet squares for carpet sample books and that's it, still has the carpet knife blade in it, the blade guides show zero wear on them, usually the guide behind the blade gets pretty wore down and would have at least a few scars in it from cutting big stuff but tlnot one scar. Tomorrow I will get it rolled into its spot and put the new blade in it and fire it up and see how she runs!



I think you scored big. :clapping:


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## jimmyjames

NYWoodturner said:


> jimmyjames said:
> 
> 
> 
> Its got some carpet fuzz in it but that's about it, it was used to cut a couple thousand 6" carpet squares for carpet sample books and that's it, still has the carpet knife blade in it, the blade guides show zero wear on them, usually the guide behind the blade gets pretty wore down and would have at least a few scars in it from cutting big stuff but tlnot one scar. Tomorrow I will get it rolled into its spot and put the new blade in it and fire it up and see how she runs!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think you scored big. :clapping:
Click to expand...


I think i may have, i couldnt wait any longer, i drug out the shop light and strung out the extension cord and put the new blade on and fired her up, she cuts like an animal! Sure beats the little 14"..... id bog that thing down cutting duck call blanks....... With this aggressive of a blade i can push a 6" block through it pretty quick but the blade will cut faster than the saw can handle, i think down the line i will put a 5hp motor on it, right now a 6" thick block 12" long i can mow through it in maybe 10 seconds? thats on green boxelder..... Dang it sure is nice to have a descent bandsaw, its the tool ive always lacked in my shop.


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## rdnkmedic

Glad it worked out. We can still all meet in KC for dinner and a party with our buddy the carpet guy.


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## jimmyjames

yes that sounds like fun!


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## Treecycle Hardwoods

I am down for some KC BBQ!


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## jimmyjames

Cut some somewhat flamedbox elder with the new saw this morning, cut a couple of ppm blanks, I've got an entire pickup load of blocks to cut, you can see in the picture that the cut is somewhat rough, its almost like the set on the blade is too much, the blade is .032" thick but the kerf is probably .100". I knew these wouldn't be the best quality blades but then again I'm cutting green turning blanks that aregoing to spin roundy round on a lathe so I guess it doesn't really matter...

http://i178.Rule #2/albums/w249/jimmyjames1981/IMG_20130831_093640_805_zps65f9c440.jpg

http://i178.Rule #2/albums/w249/jimmyjames1981/IMG_20130831_093640_805_zps65f9c440.jpg

http://i178.Rule #2/albums/w249/jimmyjames1981/IMG_20130831_093640_805_zps65f9c440.jpg


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## jimmyjames

http://i178.Rule #2/albums/w249/jimmyjames1981/IMG_20130831_093659_853_zpsf7927bee.jpg


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## jimmyjames

I'm not sure why it posted 3 of the same pictures ...


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## Mike1950

I have found that the woodslicer or supercut 3 TPI 1/2" leaves a much better finish BUT they gum up pretty quick for me in green wood.


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## rdnkmedic

Jimmy, you probably didn't even sleep last night. You layed awake, dozed off, got up at 4 to see if it was daylight yet, went back to bed, layed there for 30 minutes, got up, checked the clock again, went back to bed, apologized to your wife for making so much noise, dozed off again, 15 minutes this time, got up again, made a pot of coffee, drank it, looked outside, it's still dark, dang, watched some tv, drank some more coffee, finally the sun comes up and you FINALLY got to turn the bandsaw on, then your wife came out and said why are you making so much noise at 6 in the morning and you sheepishly slinked back to the living room for another pot of coffee.

Is that pretty much how it went?


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## Kevin

Not trying to get off topic () but I'm sure you already know the FBE like that with the heavy gold/green/creme pigmentation - those cells are going to collapse dramatically. You got to seal that stuff thick as fleas on a coon dog. It will wreck bad if you don't. It's going to be bad enough even sealed. I'm thinking you know this but can't help myself making sure when I see that pretty wood.


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## ripjack13

Thats a great saw. I am glad it is finally in your possession. 
Congratulations man!!!


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## jimmyjames

Kevin said:


> Not trying to get off topic () but I'm sure you already know the FBE like that with the heavy gold/green/creme pigmentation - those cells are going to collapse dramatically. You got to seal that stuff thick as fleas on a coon dog. It will wreck bad if you don't. It's going to be bad enough even sealed. I'm thinking you know this but can't help myself making sure when I see that pretty wood.




Yes I will be sealing all of it, I picked up a 5 gallon bucket of anchor seal and also a pump sprayer


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## jimmyjames

Oh and I also got a Barrett BMG 50 with a $9,000,000 scope, thought I'd throw that in there..


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## jimmyjames

rdnkmedic said:


> Jimmy, you probably didn't even sleep last night. You layed awake, dozed off, got up at 4 to see if it was daylight yet, went back to bed, layed there for 30 minutes, got up, checked the clock again, went back to bed, apologized to your wife for making so much noise, dozed off again, 15 minutes this time, got up again, made a pot of coffee, drank it, looked outside, it's still dark, dang, watched some tv, drank some more coffee, finally the sun comes up and you FINALLY got to turn the bandsaw on, then your wife came out and said why are you making so much noise at 6 in the morning and you sheepishly slinked back to the living room for another pot of coffee.
> 
> Is that pretty much how it went?



Not really, my daughter has a terrible cold and I was up with her half the night. I did get up at 5:30 and drink a pot of coffee and cut a bunch of blanks before my wife went to work, I've got an awful lot of cutting to do this weekend...........


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## jimmyjames

Mike1950 said:


> Try supercut bandsaw blades- there is a thread here about them somewhere. Inexpensive and pretty effective. I have a 20" Rockwell. I find if I clean the blades they come to life again. Greased lightning melts the resins right off.



I used this yesterday to clean one of my blades, sure does make a world of difference getting that resin off of the blade, thanks for this little tidbit of info mike


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