Ok, well maybe not in the earthy sense of the word but the shop has gone green literally.   With the proposed kitchen remodel looming in the near future larger and upgraded equipment has become a must!!  So with having purchased a 17″ Grizzly band saw I thought I would continue on with the green theme, stick with Grizzly and purchase a 15″ Planer with shelix head, 8″ jointer with shelix head and 10″ cabinet saw with router table extension and out feed roller system. In the next month or so, after I have had a little time on each of them, I will be posting reviews.  So far my opinion is mixed but overall a very positive one.       

Ron

Ok I am not blind but I am getting older. Not that I am that old but old enough to have reading glasses in the shop in order to see the small things easier:(  I really don’t mind wearing the glasses so much as having to swap out to the safety glasses on a regular basis or worst yet leaving the cheap reading glasses on in lieu of the safety glasses.

As of now this has all changed! During a recent trip to my local Louis and Company I noticed the “Cateyes” by FastCap and thought these were for me!! Wow what a concept safety glasses with small magnifiers in them (safety glasses with bi focals) LOL.  Now these aren’t prescription safety glasses but they do get the job done.  Yes, it does take a couple minutes to adjust to the bifocal type area but in no time you don’t even realize they are there!  They come in various magnification powers from 1.5 to 3.0 and the best part is they run about $6.99 a pair.  So far I have found them to be pretty comfortable and the 1.5 power just right for me.  So if you too have a slight visual impairment like myself I would definitely recommend checking a pair of these out.

In my honest opinion there are three things that make or break a project, the finish, material and the proportions.  Often we just copy what we see in the store with regard to materials and dimensions so that leaves the finish up to us.  It hasn’t been until recently, in the last couple of years, that I have been able to actually create a professional finish.  But why???  Probably because often times I knew what to do just not why I was doing it.  This all changed after 38 minutes with  The Wood Whisperer’s ” A Simple Varnish”. 

In fine Wood Whisperer fashion Marc does an exceptional job of getting behind the scenes of “why” we do what we do!  What I thought I knew I now know and understand much better! 

Clear and concise, Marc takes us from beginning to end with a basic finish.  Starting with surface preparation, application, the final coat as well as variations on different woods and various tips and tricks along the way.   Probably the only thing I would to have liked to have seen more of is rubbing out a finish.  I do understand though the time constraints and what he was trying to package but maybe next time?  Below is a clip from the DVD.

The bottom line?  Probably not for the seasoned craftsmen with lots of experience.  Not a bad idea for those of us in between.  If you are just starting out, then what are you waiting for?  I would have killed for this information when I was starting out!   For $14.95 the information is a steal.  The worst part is that this is the only one and now I have to wait for another:(

From time to time you will see various suppliers reviewed as well as equipment and various other woodworking paraphernalia.  Some good, some not so good.  Regardless, I expect the same service and quality from my suppliers as my clients should expect from me.  With that in mind, below is my latest experience with Spray Gun World, an online spray gun equipment and accessories supplier.

About a month ago I was in the market for a 2.2mm tip set for my Asturo ECO1 conversion gun. Having purchased this gun from them in the past and hoping I was in for a better experience I decided to, once again, go with the low bidder.  (<on=”smack upside the head”>off)  The spray gun purchase came with mixed emotions.  The price was unbeatable but the service was less than desirable.  Hoping this wasn’t the standard I tried a second time. 

I placed my order on the internet and within a couple hours I received an order confirmation by email.  The next day I received an email stating the order was being processed.  Shortly thereafter, maybe a couple of hours, I received another email stating that they had made an error and would need to charge me shipping.  I guess this wasn’t a part of the deal so I agreed, no sweat, and authorized the $8. 

One week, two weeks then pushing 3 weeks and still no tip set???  Feeling the blood starting to boil I placed multiple calls and left multiple voice mails over the next day (it seems they are only open 4 hours a day?)  and still no response!  Finally, I get a real person on the phone only to spend a total of probably 15 mins on hold in order to get a tracking number only to find out it will be here the next day.  Why was this so hard?  Are they working out of someone’s apartment?  Three days later I receive an email stating that they have no information on my order???

The bottom line is I received what I ordered in good condition and paid an unbeatable price.  However, the severe lack of customer service won’t bring me back in fact it’s lead me to writing this review.  If you are in it for the price then sure Spray Gun World is your place but I hate to think what will happen if I actually had a problem!  With that in mind they won’t get my business again!

Having started with a 14″ Rigid my guess is that anything would be awesome but based on my budget and the projects I wanted to tackle I thought the Grizzly 17″ G0513×2 Bandsaw would be a good fit.

My typical new machine quest took me to all the online reviews and to a bunch of the forums to get some actual real world feedback. Starting at $750 I hoenestly didn’t think the saw had a chance but the more I dug around the more I was seeing an awesome saw it could be for the money. I guess the great thing about getting cheap tools from the beginning is knowing what I didn’t want again!! Now Grizzly has a couple different models to chose from the G0513 is really just the basic 17″ model while another $200 gets you cast iron wheels, a larger 24″x16 Table, a large resaw fence, cast iron trunnons, double ball bearing blade guides.

Shipping:
I think shipping run me about $100 with an additional $35 or so for the drop gate service. This service allowed UPS to almost drop it off in my shop which was sort of nice when the shipping wieght came in at about 400lbs and well I don’t have a forklift handy so… The saw arrived in undamaged with no missing pieces.

Assembly:
This was actually pretty easy and went pretty quick with the exception of doing the wiring. This model comes prewired to 220 but can be prewired to 110v. If you are going to run it on 110 you will need a dedicated 30 amp service. All the plugs and accessories to get it to 110 will probably run you about an additional $75. The instructions were ok. I think the only thing I wished I would have done prior to assembly would have been to check the wheels to make sure they were coplaner. I figured it was assembled and running so as long as it performed well I wouldn’t bother at this point. For a great bandsaw set up video check out The Wood Whisperer’s video on bandsaw set up. Bandsaw Set Up

Operation:
While reading on another forum someone had mentioned the penny test where you place a penny on it’s edge start the machine up and see if it will fall over. WOW it stayed right there. For kicks I tried resawing some 6″ Koa to an 1/8″, with a 1″ 3hook blade I don’t think it was off 1/64. So far so good!

Blade changing

Now I have heard this to be a nightmare on the Grizzly but really it’s not the blade changing that’s tough it’s setting all your clearances that’s time consuming to be honest though nothing is really tough on the this machine. The quick tension release makes this process easy as well as the view windows for blade tracking and blade tension.

The Fence

The 6″ fence is actually a stock feature on the x2 which is pretty nice. Having read many of the reviews I was really expecting to find the fence perform like crap but honestly I can’t see what people have mentioned about it.

The ability to swap from a 6″ high fence to something about 1/2 quickly is nice. The only drawback however maybe if you are trying to resaw something less than 6″ high. As you can see you really can’t get closer than about an inch or so to the blade

Dust Collection:
With two 4″ dust ports the dust collection is very effective and does a great job!

Overall thoughts:

All in all I am happy with my purchase and would by this machine again without question. The overall fit and finish is better than I expected for the price. The Shop Fox base on the other hand I could probably live without but live and learn.