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Grizzly G0622 Bandsaw

ryanflys

Member
I've been doing band saw research and this is my leader. Any one have any experience with this saw or recommendations in the under $500 ballpark. I prefer a purpose built metal saw over making speed modifications to a wood saw.
 
FYI

Ryan, I was laid off when I bought my bandsaw and it was cheap, $50 but new as old stock at Lowes. They are ~$120 now at big box stores. It was a two wheel, 9", and served me well for 7 yrs of cutting aluminum and making parts, even the 1/2" thick wedge for the tip up.

It was/is a standard wood blade and the first blade lasted 7 yrs of building. I use it to rip strips, cut angle, and more. Very useful for thin and alloy aluminum we use on the RV. It is NOT for steel, and the blade will dull very quickly cutting fiberglass. 6061 -T0 is ok if thin, but heats quickly. None of this alloy on the RV that I know of needs to be cut.

Using this saw and blade breaks all the cutting rules, but if you saw :)D) it work, it is amazingly effective, and easy to use. It needed no speed adjustment in spite of the rules.

If you can swing the purchase real metal cutting saw, you will certainly enjoy, but for the RV purpose you could get by with less if needed.
 
I started researching band saws, narrowed it down to a couple. Then went to a local power tool store that offers their own warranty in addition to the manufacturer's.

Enough research. Grabbed a 10" Rikon they had in stock.
Couldn't be happier.
 
Ryan, I have the Harbor Freight version of the saw you are asking about. Been using it for many projects for the last 20 years. I like the versatility of being able to cut both vertical and horizontal. I made several tweaks to mine, which is common for Harbor Freight stuff. Easily cuts 2" square 1/8" wall steel tube in horizontal mode. Easy to cut 1/16" to 1/4" flat 4130 steel sheet in vertical mode. I buy good bimetal blades from McMaster. Your pick is a good choice for cutting steel. I am not familiar with Grizzly quality, put my impression is that it is good, but truth is most of these units, sold by different outlets, are the same.
 
Unless you're cutting steel, the bandsaws for wood are fine. Hook-tooth blade works fine for aluminum.

For steel, yeah, you want slower speeds and the hacksaw looking blades.
 
Good feedback, metal saw maybe overkill for vans construction. You guys possibly saved me a couple bucks. For experience is a 9 in saw sufficient clearance for RV cuts or would I need to go bigger?
 
I also have an inexpensive Ryobi band saw from Home depot that I use, as mentioned above the wood saws work fine for metal.

The main drawback to those is the throat depth, where the blade is parallel to the throat; you are limited in the length of stock you can cut.

On the portaband, the blade runs at an angle to the throat, so you can cut tubing, angle, etc of any length. I find that very useful for metal working.
 
Good feedback, metal saw maybe overkill for vans construction. You guys possibly saved me a couple bucks. For experience is a 9 in saw sufficient clearance for RV cuts or would I need to go bigger?

Just one experience, but I can not remember being limited in the build with the 9" with a sheet. The exception was cutting angle, and I did that with a hacksaw.

My 9" has been taken to the hangar to continue to serve aircraft purposes and at home, a RIKON 10" has been purchased for other uses. It is really nicely built.
 
If you can find an old Rockwell Collins (Delta), like the one below, BUY IT NOW!
I bought one in the fall, changed the pulleys and blade and it rips right through aluminum and steel!

Multiple adjustments and built like a TANK!

I found mine on Craigslist for $400.

43b4edf18701713e569b726938cabe7f--band-saws-barber-chair.jpg
 
I decided to go with the cheap option and grabbed the Ryobi 9 in for $139 at Home Depot. $30 for stand at harbor freight, i found it very unstable but adding the scrap wood top definitely helped.

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Bought a craftsman on Craigslist for $50, then ordered a Lenox bimetal, variable tooth blade for more than that. It has performed flawlessly for years. I just keep the cutting of things not aluminum to a minimum. I like nice tools, but the cuts for the RV were not very demanding.

In my opinion, the blade makes as much of a difference as the saw itself.
 
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