Grizzly GO622 4x6 band saw

T

Tom Lambert

Member
I'm in the market for a cheaper metal cutting bandsaw. I've had good luck with Grizzly machines what is your thoughts on the model GO622. It has a vertical setting and looks like a good table .
 
I can't comment on the performance of the Grizzly saw, but I own the Harbor Freight model that is identical to the Grizzly model ( as in folks have identified casting marks that match on both models) and I really like the one I have. I also live near the Bellingham, WA Grizzly showroom and to me the saws look and feel the same, I purchased mine out the door with a 20% off coupon and the 2 yr replacement plan for $250.

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Tom Lambert said:
I'm in the market for a cheaper metal cutting bandsaw. I've had good luck with Grizzly machines what is your thoughts on the model GO622. It has a vertical setting and looks like a good table .
Click to expand...

Grizzly is a few shades better than HF. That said I have the 4 x 6 HF Metal bandsaw and its works fine for close to 15 years.

Just get a Lennox or other USA Bimetal blade and you will be fine.
 
Tom, if you are just about to get started in metal cutting with a bandsaw, it's an awesome time to read up on blade break-in. It's a PITA, because it takes a longggg time - dozens of blades at minimum - but it makes a huge difference in blade life. Laurence is spot on (as always) about the Lennox Diemaster II blades. While cheap blades, like the one that comes with the saw, likely won't last long, if the good ones die early, it is because the blade wasn't broken in properly.

Just trying to save you a learning curve that we've all been through. :)

Rob!
 
I just got a used Milwaukee deep throat off of craigs and ordered a v3 off road table for a total of $240. works great!
 
My harbor freight model is 15 years old or so and still going strong. Clamp a home made seat in the vise, take a seat and get to cutting.

Bill
 
I'm a second-generation machinist, and I have never heard of breaking-in a bandsaw blade. Growing up in my father's shop, he never mentioned it either. Not trying to be difficult or drift the thread, but I'm dubious as to whether its worth any effort at all. Wear on tooling is just that: wear. Anything that you do to season, condition, or "break-in" the blade will invariably add wear. If you use any tooling with appropriate feeds and speeds and coolant, you slow down the wear and I truly believe that is the best that you can do. Anything other than that and you are simply gilding the lily.
 
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I had my doubts about the break in of band saw blades myself. I still might but they are less than what they used to be.

Most of the blade manufactures recommend blade break in. From what I read (I will have to look around to see if I can find it again) from one manufacture that kind of made sense to me is this:

Breaking in a blade tends to round over the tooth vs. breaking a tooth off. This is all on a very small scale of course. When applying half pressure or feed rate, what ever that means when hand cutting on a typical 4x6 saw, for at least the first ten minutes, your break in cutting action doesn't rip up larger chunks (again, very small scale here) but tends to round off the cutting edge to better handle a full load (again, what ever that is) after ten minutes.

I can't prove what this blade manufacture said (it was either Lenox or Olson) but their argument makes some sense to me. Generally, I make it a point to be easy on a new blade, at least for the first few minutes of use, and then return to pushing it as hard as I can because I have no patience for cutting stuff on a band saw. Your mileage may vary and it may be silly to even think of breaking in a blade.
 
I had my doubts about the break in of band saw blades myself. I still might but they are less than what they used to be.

Most of the blade manufactures recommend blade break in. From what I read (I will have to look around to see if I can find it again) from one manufacture that kind of made sense to me is this:

Breaking in a blade tends to round over the tooth vs. breaking a tooth off. This is all on a very small scale of course. When applying half pressure or feed rate, what ever that means when hand cutting on a typical 4x6 saw, for at least the first ten minutes, your break in cutting action doesn't rip up larger chunks (again, very small scale here) but tends to round off the cutting edge to better handle a full load (again, what ever that is) after ten minutes.

I can't prove what this blade manufacture said (it was either Lenox or Olson) but their argument makes some sense to me. Generally, I make it a point to be easy on a new blade, at least for the first few minutes of use, and then return to pushing it as hard as I can because I have no patience for cutting stuff on a band saw. Your mileage may vary and it may be silly to even think of breaking in a blade.

here is a link from one band saw blade seller. Look at the 3 pictures: http://www.bandsawbladesdirect.com/media/tech-docs/Blade-Break-in.pdf
Still, that is from a reseller, not a manufacture. Let me go poke around some more.
 
Crude copy and paste from the Lenox Band Saw web site. This is from a PDF they have for reference.


What is Bla de Brea k-In?
A new band saw blade has razor sharp
tooth tips. In order to withstand the cutting
pressures used in band sawing, tooth tips
should be honed to form a micro-fine radius.
Failure to perform this honing will cause
microscopic damage to the tips of the teeth,
resulting in reduced blade life.
Why Brea k-In a Ban d Saw Bla de?
Completing a proper break-in on a new band
saw blade will dramatically increase its life.
Blade Break -In
Getting Long Life from a New Band Saw Blade
How To Brea k In a Bla de
Select the proper band speed
for the material to be cut
(see charts on page 17 and 20).
Reduce the feed force/rate
to achieve a cutting rate 20%
to 50% of normal (soft materials require a larger feed rate
reduction than harder materials).
Begin the first cut at the reduced rate.
Make sure the
teeth are forming a chip. Small adjustments to the band
speed may be made in the event of excessive noise/vibration.
During the first cut,
increase feed rate/force slightly once
the blade fully enters the workpiece.
With each following cut,
gradually increase feed rate/force until
normal cutting rate is reached.
FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE WITH BREAK
 
I was a skeptic too. We cut a fair bit here - not by industrial standards, but probably way more than most knifemakers. On the 4 x 6, 64.5" saw, we've gone from a blade a week to maybe three a year. The 1 1/2 HP 18" saw showed similar results. The problem is that I found little effect to any 'quickie' break in and a huge PITA for a break-in that takes days. I'd pay double for a blade that came properly broken in. The difference is astounding!

Note the bandsawbladesdirect sheet says the break-in should gradually increase over 60 - 118 sq" of cut. That's a huge amount on 1/8" steel. Probably dozens of blades profiled..... but it works. Why can't they give us something ready to rock?
 
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I just have personally use experience on this tip guys,

one thing i've found is to keep a old candle by the saw and just run some of the wax onto the blade while cutting steel every minute ot two. It seems to cut a little smoother with less chatter and doesn't make a mess like using a oil to lube would.
 
I personally never had any luck with my 4X6 (not HF or Grizzly but the same under another brand name from here in Canada). I read that they are hit and miss and I obviously got a miss. :(
I bought a Dewalt Portaband and it cuts so much better, in a completely different league. Only drawback is the limited throat depth but you can work around that to some extent.
I hope you do better than me if you do decide on the 4X6.
 
You guys should have seen PJ Tomes cut metal with his bandsaw. Blade speed was 10,000 feet per minute. Friction cutting at the speed of dangerous.
 
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