Band Saw Riser

Paul Douglass

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S E Washington State
I have a Grizzly G0555X band saw. I am beginning to wish I had more resaw capabilities, i.e., height-wise. I have put off getting a riser block for it because I have quite a few nice blades for it now that will be become worthless to me if I change the saw. But, I also like scrolling the bark edge wood, which is normally not available in the thickness I want.

My question is, are this riser blocks good. I'd like to hear from people that have them on their saws, pros and cons.

Thanks.
 
I bought a riser kit for my old 1hp Rockwell/Delta 14" from Iturra Design a couple of years ago and Larry helped me set it up on his summer tour. I also got a "Woodslicer" 5/8 resaw blade and use it just for that purpose now. I haven't used it much for the full 12" capacity, but if you take it to that limit with the hp I have, you'd need to be patient. I'm setting up a General 15" for finer curved work.
The expanded saw works great. No regrets. A big resaw machine would be nice sometime, but it's way down the list.
 
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I put a riser on my Shop Fox W1706 (pretty comparable to your G0555X) when I first bought it, but have used the extra capacity a lot. My saw only has a 1hp motor compared to your 1.5hp Grizzly, and it does fine as long as I use good blades and don't try to force the cut. Yes, you'll forfeit some of your existing blades, but you might be able to recoup some of your money by selling them here or on Craigslist.

And when you buy your new blades, I urge you to check out Ellis blades. As good or better than the "name brand" blades at less than half the price. You'd be wanting blades from the "Flexback" list here:

http://www.ellissaw.com/Band-Saw-Blades/48/band-saw-blade-stock-list

And if you're slicing up logs for bark-edge scrolling blanks, I'd strongly suggest making a good sled to hold the logs. Cutting logs (and other round stock) can be tricky and dangerous on bandsaws.
 
... And when you buy your new blades, I urge you to check out Ellis blades. As good or better than the "name brand" blades at less than half the price. You'd be wanting blades from the "Flexback" list ...

I can't help you on the riser question, but I'll give a real big DITTO for Ellis blades. Call them, tell them what you want to do and they'll steer you in the right direction on blades.
 
Thanks for the input. Really thinking serious about it. I will wait a little while, I am one of those that gets it in my head I gotta have something, and them use it a couple times and move on, or after I order something I get good, stern advice why I shouldn't have. This usually comes via my wife,,,,,
 
Paul, I have the Grizzly G0555X Band Saw with the risers installed. I've had them since day one. They work well. Saw will cut very well with the right blades. I have been using Ellis blades as others have mentioned. I've used 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4" blades.


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Paul I have a delta 14" bs and it is a 1.5hp motor and shortly after getting it I put the riser on for same sort of reasons. Run all sizes of blades on it and no issues.
Go for it life's too short and its not huge bucks really.
 
I put a riser on my Shop Fox W1706 (pretty comparable to your G0555X) when I first bought it, but have used the extra capacity a lot. My saw only has a 1hp motor compared to your 1.5hp Grizzly, and it does fine as long as I use good blades and don't try to force the cut. Yes, you'll forfeit some of your existing blades, but you might be able to recoup some of your money by selling them here or on Craigslist.

And when you buy your new blades, I urge you to check out Ellis blades. As good or better than the "name brand" blades at less than half the price. You'd be wanting blades from the "Flexback" list here:

http://www.ellissaw.com/Band-Saw-Blades/48/band-saw-blade-stock-list

And if you're slicing up logs for bark-edge scrolling blanks, I'd strongly suggest making a good sled to hold the logs. Cutting logs (and other round stock) can be tricky and dangerous on bandsaws.

I can't help you on the riser question, but I'll give a real big DITTO for Ellis blades. Call them, tell them what you want to do and they'll steer you in the right direction on blades.

Paul, I have the Grizzly G0555X Band Saw with the risers installed. I've had them since day one. They work well. Saw will cut very well with the right blades. I have been using Ellis blades as others have mentioned. I've used 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4" blades.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Paul I have a delta 14" bs and it is a 1.5hp motor and shortly after getting it I put the riser on for same sort of reasons. Run all sizes of blades on it and no issues.
Go for it life's too short and its not huge bucks really.


I'm with these fellers. I've got a delta I put a riser on day 1, ellis blades. I have never regretted the purchase even once in all the time I've owned it.
 
I put a Grizzly riser on my 14" Delta band saw... one of my smarter moves... The extra capacity has been a real boon on doing my bowl blanks.
Biggest problem I've run into is the guide bar for the blade that holds the blade guides on the Grizzly riser was smaller in diameter than the original bar on the delta.... still it works well for me.

Haven't tried the Ellis blades yet, I buy most of mine from Packard Woods.
 
Doesn't look like you need much (if any) more input, but I have the Delta riser on my 14" saw as well. The only regret I had was that I wasn't planning on installing it, so when I did I had about 5 new 93" blades to dispose of and replace with the 105 inch ones the saw now needed.
 
Ole Cheapo me, my Grizzly riser for my G0555 has been sitting in it's original box for over five years because, like you, I have a good library of blades and do not want to have to buy all new again. Oh, well. I need the floor space. Will probably install soon and get some Ellis blades. Tod reccomends them.
 
Thanks all for the input. maybe we need to start a cheapo club. The blades is the big reason I haven't done it before. Looks like everyone here has done it, guess no one is in the market for 93" blades.....

Is a big chore to install it? I mean would it be feasible to keep the 93",,,, never mind. Right now I rarely use my band saw, but I'm thinking I would get good use out of it if I could resaw some lumber.
 
...Is a big chore to install it?...

Not real hard, but I enlisted the help of a neighbor to help lift and hold the upper part while I bolted them together. For me, it would've been real tough to do by myself. As Fred mentioned, you have to get things adjusted after installing the riser, so it's not something you'd want to swap back and forth.
 
...Haven't tried the Ellis blades yet, I buy most of mine from Packard Woods.

Packard sells good blades, but they are 2 to 3 times more expensive than they need to be. Last I compared (which was a few years ago), I was paying about $8.00 for the same blade that places like Packard and Highland were selling for over $20.00. ;)
 
I have the G0555 with the riser block. I have resawed with it, but eventually got a bigger saw for Resawing, (MiniMax 24 inch from Centauro with 4.8 hp motor) and will never go back. I have kept my G0555 for scroll work and bowl blanks. The G0555 did an adequate job for resawing, but nothing like I can get from the big bandsaw - I only have to joint the face every 3-4 cuts, so can get 6 or more veneers out of a 3/4 inch board. Off the bandsaw, the cuts are smooth enough to glue as veneer, then sand the surface smooth after the glue dries.

I would not consider removing the riser block to use an old blade.
 
The G0555 did an adequate job for resawing, but nothing like I can get from the big bandsaw

Definately agree with that. I'm sure it was not designed for regular resawing. I do occasionally on mine but understand it's limitations. However, I do get frustrated at times because my riser is sitting in a box on the floor and I have a 6 1/2" hunk of wood to cut. :rolleyes:
 
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