OT Grizzley Tools

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Just got my Grizzley tools catalog.   Was wondering what the general take on thier quality is.   It seems to again be import stuff.  I was trying to upgrade from HF quality for a Lathe and Metal band saw.  I think they are same items as sold in HF.  Some of the items even had the same descriptons and picture as HF did.INtersted in your feedback.Steven
Reply:They are probably from the same manufacturer, but the quality is much higher. Grizzly and JET have a reputation for high quality import machines, and their customer service ranks up there. Also, if you need a part for your machine, they have them in stock, not like HF. They do this to accommodate their customers. I have not bought anything from them personally, but at a shop I worked at, we had some JET mills, and I'll tell you what, the quality was top notch. I can't tell you if they lasted a long time as I left there soon after I was hired, but I imagine that if the machines are for a home shop that you will be the one using the machines, you can't go wrong.Just my $.02.
Reply:You would be corect about the country of origin for many of their tools.   That doesn't mean that everything that Griz sells is made in China, but a good portion is.In any event my take on the quality of the equipment is this, look before you buy.   At the low end the quality isn't any better than HF, unless Griz did somehting to improve a specfic machine.    For example Griz use to install US made motors on some equipment.   As the equipment becomes more expensive I do believe that the Griz hardware quality improves.As an example I have made two large $$ purchases from Griz over the last couple of years.   In each case I looked the items over at the Griz store in PA.   One was a tool box that was rather good quality and pretty much was exactly what I wanted.     The other big item was a drill press.Now with the drill press I went there with a general idea of price and size.    The thing was upon inspecting the tools on the show room floor I became very dissatisfied with the quality of the lower end machines.    The issues I could see right off the bat where poor chucks and wobbles in the quils and possible the spindle.    It is pretty bad when you grab a drill press spindle and can feel clanging when shifting the spindle side to side.    Rememeber this is Griz showroom tools.    So I ended up getting a much larger drill press that was a few $$$$ more or almost double what I had budgetted.   I've also gotten a HF lathe (9x20) which is the same machine as the Griz.   I would have to say in both cases the basic machine is there, the accessories for them though are questionable.    Expect that you will want a new chuck and arbor for the drill press for example.    For the lathe I do believe it is impossible for the chinese to make a good quality MT lve center, as I've yet to see any of these from any vendor fit a MT socket correctly.Of course it does matter what you expect to do with the tools.   If you want industrial qualtity you can get it from Griz, just don't expect everything they sell to fill that role.   It is still a matter of you get what you pay for.So in your case I suspect that if you want a good lathe you can get it from Griz if you are willing to pay the price.    It won't be the 9x20 though.    As far as the band saw goes I suspect the same issue you won't get what you want for $195 or what ever the going rate on HF cheap band saw is.    You will have to look up scale for both items to get really good performance that meets your expectations.    The thing to do is to go to a Griz store and look at what they have available and compare to what you can get locally.Dave
Reply:The big advantage to Grizz is that all they do is sell tools, and they actually stock parts for most of them, translate the manuals into english, and stand behind their stuff. Their cheapest stuff is similar to HF. But unlike HF, they also sell better quality machines. Not great, but better.If you buy from Grizzly, always buy the very best model they sell. I still think Jet is a bit better, but a lot of folks have had good luck with Griz.
Reply:At the plant I work we have two grizzly drill presses and a standing band saw. One drill press had the chuck lock up and the other had a motor burn out and the band saw wore out a few rubber rings that go between the blade and pulleys. Not too bad considering we used them everyday for several years. The stuff is cheap and of decent quality but not great quality.
Reply:Thanks for the info guys.Here is the particular bandsaw I was looking at http://www.grizzly.com/products/G9742And the lathehttp://www.grizzly.com/products/G9972ZIf you have any specific comments I would appreciate those as well.I saw a JET model bandsaw that was the same as the Grizzly.  Unfortunately it would be hard for me to visit a showroom since the closest is in MO and I am in FL.