New Grizzly bandsaw, Now what?

Safety tip number one dont touch the blade when it is running. lol but seriously dont do that make sure you do some practice cuts on scrap before going into a project to see where the blade is going to track and how straight you are going to cut.

-- http://aewoodworks.webs.com

You might like to follow this series… on the Circle cutting jig...

-- Don't drink and use power tools @ lasercreationsbylarry.com.au

i would suggest going to thewoodwhisperer.com videos on tool set up and check out Marcs bandsaw stuff

then there’s this Larry guy that lurks around here that does some awsome jigs and stuff

-- Jeff - Bell Buckle, TN

Clean the saw up. Set it up just like the 14” manual says(bearings,tracking etc) shouldn’t be much difference.
Buy a GOOD blade and like Rookie says use some scrap and play with it before trying anything serious. You will be just fine.

-- Life is good.

When pushing thick wood through the saw keep your thumbs out of the way!! Like the others said practice with scrap. Follow regular safety rules. Don’t cut too tight a radius for the width of your blade.

Definitely get the best blade you can find. When I got my bandsaw (which is a tiny little Ryobi from Home Depot) I was so frustrated with it …. and then I got a new blade! IMO it’s also worth it to get a couple of blades if you intend to do different kinds of cutting. Don’t just to get a one-size-fits-all solution.

And then get some clamps that really fit your bandsaw table. I like making my fences with just strips of wood and clamps. I find that some dedicated clamps and a dedicated little square help this a LOT.

And last- pull from the back! I like my fingers. I’d like to keep them. I’m sure you feel the same way.

-- Lis - Michigan - http://www.missmooseart.com - https://www.etsy.com/people/lisbokt

“The Bandsaw Book” by Lonnie Bird. Great book for beginning-advanced bandsaw use.

-- Sometimes the creative process requires foul language. -- Charles Neil

I got the Bandsaw book by Mark Dajinski and it has helped me a lot.

-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm

Don’t… touch…rapidly… spinning… sharp thing. OK, I’m taking notes. Seriously, thank you all for your replies and suggestions. Larry, you know I’ll be having one of those jigs. First things first, though. Where do you get Evaporust? I know Patron swears by it, how does everyone else feel? Next, would the blade length be any different from the 14”?

I’m sorry I don’t have pics up, but computer problems are slowing that down. Will have them ASAP, I know if there’s no pics, it didn’t happen.

-- Wish I were Norm's Nephew

Oh, I did get some info off the machine, mostly the motor. Made in 2000 in Taiwan, the motor is 1 HP and spins at 1720 rpm. There is no model number (except for motor) marked anywhere I could find on it. The manual says shipping weight is 165 lbs., I must be getting weaker. Of course the odd shape and fact I had to go around a riding lawnmower and then 20 feet to my truck did not help.

-- Wish I were Norm's Nephew

If anyone is still watching this, sorry, I’ve got computer issues and can’t upload my pics. My comp is old and getting crankier every day. I used to upload the pics to my Linda’s laptop, then email them to me. Tonight I couldn’t upload to her computer, so I don’t know what’s going on with that. I’ll keep trying, but I’m also going to start saving all the pics on this one to Picasaweb. USB port won’t work so I can’t back up info to a hard drive. Not looking good for me.

-- Wish I were Norm's Nephew

I also just bought a used Grizzly band saw and don’t have any wood band saw experience.I have used a metal cutting band saw, but not recently and not that much.
The Grizzly I bought is a 16” saw, from the early 90s, and it can resaw up to 10.5”. It is a mix of cast iron and stamped steel. It was in very rough shape when I got it home. Magnetic start/stop switch was bad, blade roller bearings were gone or in the wrong place(lowers were on top and top ones were on the bottom, fence had been jerry rigged with plywood, motor pulley was out of alignment with the upper pulley, etc, etc, etc. I just about have everything fixed except the rollers.I plan to replace all the rollers with Carters next month.
Good luck getting parts from Grizzly…They haven’t been very much help and can’t even make suggestions. Knowing the Model number really isn’t much help in my case either.
I will post pics when I get it up and running.
Good luck with yours.
BTW I had bad rust on the table too. I have a random orbit polisher and I use it with a Scotch Brite pad and WD40 to remove rust. I then use mineral spirits to remove ALL the WD40 from the table. I use wax on my table saw but for the band saw, but I bought some Bostic Topcoat. It’s been on there for about a week and no rust return so far. I have a can of Boeshield, which I have used in the past, but it is basically a corrosion preventive compound, never really dries, and is sticky.

nailbanger2, sounds like it’s time for a new computer. But of course that’s more money than the $150 for the band saw. Good luck with the saw and the computer.