Grizzly G0555LANV Bandsaw

Let me start off by saying I have no affiliation with Grizzly Industrial, Inc. I have been in the market for a bandsaw for a while now and due to overwhelmingly positive product and customer support reviews I decided I would try my luck with a Grizzly. It also happened that they had their 30th anniversary edition of their popular G0555 band saw on sale for $100 off the regular price. Sounds like a winner here.

This is the first “real” band saw I have owned. I say “real” because about three years ago I purchased a 9″ Skill brand benchtop band saw. That turned out to be more of a craft saw than anything so I sold it at the first chance I had. I also have some experience with a much larger 32″ band saw from a previous job (frame mill in an Ashley Furniture manufacturing facility). I’m not going to make this post into a product review but rather I would like to give you my honest opinion about the saw.

The first thing you notice is how beautiful the piece of machinery is. Cosmetics are something that I really do not care about in tools. I could care less if the tool was painted pink with purple dots as long as it works well. That being said, this bandsaw sure is pretty. I throughly looked the saw over and can’t find any cosmetic defects. All the paint lines are crisp and clean and the black painted metal is flawless, even on the blade wheels.

grizzly g0555 band saw

The blade guide setup consists of Carter style bearing guides. One larger bearing spaced .016″ away from the back of the blade and two more bearings stop the blade from wandering left to right. In case you are wondering, .016″ is roughly the thickness of a dollar bill folded twice (thanks to the easy to follow directions). The adjustment of these bearings is extremely easy with an included allen wrench. There is a set above and below the table.grizzly g0555 band saw

The height of the upper blade guide is adjustable to give support close to your thinner stock or to allow a maximum rip capacity of 6″. There is a riser kit you can purchase to allow a higher max rip height but I don’t see myself ripping anything that tall anytime soon. I can always purchase it later if need be. The adjustment is made via a large hand wheel in the back and a smaller locking knob on the side. Both are easy to use. grizzly g0555 band sawOn the back of the upper wheel housing is the blade tensioning unit. This is a real clever feature if you ask me. The large lever handle near the top is a quick release for the blade tension allowing fast blade change and the turn knob on top is for adjusting blade tension. grizzly g0555 band sawSpeaking of blade tensioning. The tensioning assembly has a nice handy blade tension gauge with markings for each common blade size. I really like this. I remember watching the maintenance crew at Ashely Furniture plucking the blade like a guitar string and listening to the tone to get a certain tension. This makes it fool proof. grizzly g0555 band saw In the rear of the saw is the motor and dust collection hookup. The motor is wired at 110v and rated at 10A. I cut about four feet of 4″ poplar shortly after I assembled it with the stock blade with no problems. The dust collection hookup is ready for a 4″ hose. I use a 4″ harbor freight dust collection hose and it slips on snuggly with no problems. grizzly g0555 band sawThe dust you see in the picture above is from above the table. A bandsaw and a miter saw are both pretty difficult to get 100% dust collection. The dust collection works great inside the lower wheel housing though. grizzly g0555 band sawThe stand is impressive if you ask me. The only other tool I have in the same price range that came with a stand is my Porter-Cable PCB270TS table saw. Having assembled, handled, and used both I can say that this stand feels a lot stronger. The metal itself feels thicker and I believe the solid sides also add a lot of stability. The stand is leveled via 4 leveling feet hidden on the inside. grizzly g0555 band sawThe saw also comes with a lockout switch for those worried about kids or other people who shouldn’t be using the saw. A large keyed lock is included. I don’t see myself ever using this lock but I can give a big thumbs up for including it. Kids are curious and including a simple inexpensive lock goes a long way in preventing unnecessary accidents.grizzly g0555 band sawThe miter gauge that it comes with feels solid. It is a standard 3/4″ wide so I can use it in on both my table saw and band saw. The lettering on the miter gauge is large font which makes it easier to read. I don’t want to sound older than I actually am but I have horrible vision and little details like these are very welcomed. I also like the taller adjustment knob as it is much easier to use than my table saw miter gauge (left of the blade in this picture). The table is also very nice. An easy to adjust positive stop bolt ensures a quick return for the table to perpendicular to the blade. grizzly g0555 band sawThe fence rail is a single piece of extruded aluminum. The fence itself is a t-square style fence that glides very easily and locks down tight. There are a few adjustment screws in the front to adjust for any blade drift. grizzly g0555 band sawOverall I have to say that I am very pleased. I feel like this was money well spent and again, I do not have any ties to Grizzly tools. Simply put, when you make a quality product you have happy customers. I am extremely happy with this purchase and have no problem with letting everyone know. There are a lot of tool companies out there that make a great overall product but always seem to skimp out in one or two areas. I don’t feel that way here. From top to bottom I can’t find anything to complain about…at all. Even the assembly instructions were easy to follow. So if you are in the market for a 14″ bandsaw I say try your luck with Grizzley and get a G0555. I’m glad I did.

29 COMMENTS

  1. Glad you are happy with it. I have been thinking of getting one myself. As soon as I have the funds I may. Be sure to give us an update after a few months of use.

  2. I’ve been eyeing this exact saw and thank you for the review. I’m hoping to purchase one of these in about a year. Unfortunately I don’t think the anniversary addition will be available by then but hopefully the standard addition will suffice..

  3. I’ve been trying to decide whether to buy this saw or the Rikon 14″ BS. This is the only review I has seen for this saw. Thank you, after having read your review I will get the Grizzly 055 LANV.

  4. You will not go wrong with that saw. I have had the GO555 standard saw for several years and have had absolutely no problems. Loved it so much I just bought a Grizzly cabinet saw based on my experience with the GO555.

  5. I looked at that saw as well. I went with the Rikon 14″ Deluxe Bandsaw Model 10-325 because I could pick it right away and no shipping cost. The main thing is have fun with it. Also your band saw box looks good. I got the plans and put in CAD and made a few changes to it. Thanks for your video on it because it made me want to get started with mine now.

  6. Hi,
    Would you mind sharing how much you paid for the bandsaw? Want to get a sense of what is a good price. Thanks!

    • $450 while it is on sale. You can look it up on Grizzly.com for a more accurate price. Not sure how long it will stay that way but it is a great value if you ask me.

  7. I am looking for my first bandsaw. Grizzly is high on the list, especially the G0555X model. I like the extra features. You did not mention purchasing the riser kit or a better blade. With your experience with the unit, have you wished you had the riser for re-saw capabilities?
    I also noticed the fence is the standard unit, do you feel the need to purchase the higher fence unit? Sory for more than one question, Grizzly has just impressed me in consistency of design and American made!

    • If I had access to rough lumber I would probably look into the riser kit. The fence is solid to me so I would just build an attachment for it. I used the saw yesterday and still love it :) Best bang for the buck that I have ever put in my shop.

  8. I am questioning how many times I would using the re-saw process, which is leading me to strongly consider the 1 hp version as sufficient. I believe I would hedge with the better fence system. This then leads to the question what size of blade(s) has proven beneficial and what manufacturer has produced the best results? Have you ever had a situation that the 14′ table size was not sufficient?

  9. I first bought a Harbor Freight bandsaw about 2 years ago and after adding a riser block and Carter roller guides, I thought it worked great. I also added the enlarged Table top accessory I built from plans I found in Wood Magazine. It wasn’t a Grizzly but it was affordable. We’ll, as luck would have it, the tensioning mechanizing broke down and since I bought the 2 year service plan, they told me to take it back for new bandsaw replacement. After spending an hour taking it apart, I took it in and got a new one but it turned out to be inferior to mine. Smaller motor, no hinged doors. I returned it and after 2 hours of trying to get my money back, I left.

    I Checked the big box home improvement store, Amazon, Internet. I found that the Grizzly website had the lowest price. I called customer service to have questions answered and found out about the GO555 LANV that was on sale. I ordered it with the matching riser block. To my great surprise I found it comes with excellent accessories, like a fence, roller bearing guides, a quick release tension handle,etc.
    I am looking forward to it’s delivery in couple of days. Now I have to find a buyer for my old rizer block and Carter guides. Thanks for the opportunity to vent my feelings

  10. Jay thanks for the run down on the Bandsaw , I just got the OK from the family financial planner (Read:Wife) so I’m ordering my G0555LANV this weekend. Can’t wait.

  11. After tons of research, I pulled the trigger and ordered one today, with the ShopFox mobile base. Thanks for the great write-up as always. I’m excited to make some sawdust with it, it’s my first bandsaw.

    • Very cool. You’ll love it. Make sure you get decent blades though. Don’t waste your money on blades from HD or Lowes. I recommend 3-1/6″ 4tpi skip tooth blade for curves and a 1/2″ wood slicer for resawing. I get mine from Highland Woodworking.

  12. I too bought the same saw. I believe it is my fovorite tool in my shop (I do like a great looking machine ). Performance is great and it has been problem free. I would say the only complaint I have is with the factory blade it comes with. I tossed that very fast and got a quality blade and it became my dependable workhorse. CCan;t say enough good about it.

  13. Thank you for the review. I have been looking for a band saw and was leaning towards the grizzly. Once I saw it in your video i was sold!

  14. Thank you for your review. I have been waffling between this another Grizzly band saw, so I have a question – do you find the 1hp motor to be 100% sufficient for your needs and business? And it is still $545 plus free shipping.. Ok, thank you for your answer.

  15. I just picked up this bandsaw and added the 6″ riser. I have an issue changing the blade trying to get it around the fence guide on the left near the switch and above the bottom door. The door doesn’t open out as far as the top one, is there a trick to this?

    Also the only other thing I don’t like is the right blade guard that’s orange, for the riser, it needs to be bent in a little, you can still see the blade. I think they could have improved on this feature.

    Aside from that I’m pretty happy with my purchase. The price was great.

  16. Good write-up, Jay.
    I got this saw recently, and was setting it up last night. I was following some directions from the Grizzly YouTube channel about how to tension the blade, and I guess I unscrewed the tension rod so much that the little red square came unthreaded from it and shot out of there. I got the spring put back in and the little square, but I can never get it to indicate what the blade width is that I’m using, like the manual says I should be able to. I just talked to Grizzly and they said that should not matter, but it is just a guide.

    I just wondered if you had any ideas or comments about it, having owned this machine for years now.

    Thanks,

Comments are closed.