Input on Grizzly Industries

I have no exp. with them, but a buddy of mine set up a small gunsmithing shop with that brand after he graduated from school. He does custom 1911 work and such, I know he's pleased with the quality work he's able to do with that brand.

 

I think they are about the same quailty as "jet" or "delta" tools. Good to very good from what I have heard. Just not a proven as "powermatic" or "porter cable."

 

Chuck for the most part they are the same machines as harbor freight the big difference is in the specs and quality control. They are held to a much higher set of standards than harbor freight does, the machines are also spec'd different on certain things giving them better motors and switches and better machines overall. I have used the drill press you pictured, a friend of mine bought one about 2 years ago, it works fine. The saw I can say nothing bad about as I have not used that particular model. The one thing I will say is that Grizzly has a very good customer service setup and usually stands behind there products real well.

 

My father uses an industrial table saw from Grizzly for grist mill restoration, it is far & above better in quality than anything you get at Harbor Freight. Their customer service is also very good.

 

I'd go for the Grizzly drillpress but the band saw no,delta,jet,rockell would be my choice.The guides make the band saw work right and grizzly you would have to upgrade,good guides could cost you as much as $300.00 ,even buying a used rockell would the best bet,just my 2cents bin in woodworking biss for 30+ years.

 

Check out www.shoptask.com for one of the best 3-n-1 machines, I have seen. Coming from a machinist, it is quite impressive!

 

I had one and it was not worth the time it took for me to open the box. It would jam contantly. Bought a Porter Cable and finished building my log house with only a few jams. Used it for all of the trim, tounge and groove cieling, etc.

HF equipment is not all bad. Just some things are not worth the trouble. It seems that everyone has thier own opinions. Guess that if one person buys a few pieces and they work for them, they will say it is great stuff. On the other hand someone else only needs one or two bad experiences with the same stuff and it becomes "junk"

Sorry nothing beneficial to add about the grizzly line

 

:iagree:

 

I've had the green HF bandsaw for about 3 years now with no problems whatsoever. First thing I did was replace the blade with a Starrett from Grainger.

 

HF isn't a manufacturer, is it? Aren't they just an importer/distributor of products from many different manufacturers, mostly Chinese? I've bought a lot of small stuff from them, some is crap and some seems fine for my needs. Got a hankerin' for one of their 440/880 lb. electric shop hoists. Don't know that I'd buy any big-ticket items for heavy use from them though.

 

It might be worth you while to look for distributors of used equipment in your area. Typically you can get better quality equipment for great prices if you dont mind the fact the stuff doesn't look new.

Extreem

 

I have the green saw that I got from MSC in 1992, the thing has sawn 1000's of feet of solid bar stock. Its been a great little saw. I use Lennox band saw material on mine, I have them welded at a local shop with a band blade welder. It is the same saw that Harbor freight sold back in the early 90's and is about 40lbs heavier than the newer models. No plastic of any kind other than the handle for the vise and the pulley cover.

 

Pm sent Chuck!!!

 

x2 on that bandsaw. I'm just a hobbyist and don't have the patience for it. Got a Delta and am happy now.

I've owned some Grizzly woodworking stuff, but never metal working. I don't think it is comparing apples to apples to say Grizzly is on par with HF, or vice versa. I think Grizzly, like a lot of tool manf, have more than one product line. They've got some cheap junk, and they've got some heavy stuff. I used one of their heavy jointers one time and loved it. Had infeed/outfeed as big as an aircraft carrier, all cast iron. I have never bought a tool at HF that I "loved."

I own almost all Delta now, primarily because I've got a local supplier. I've noticed Delta has about 3 different lines instead of two. I would stay away from the "Shopmaster" series, IMHO.