Grizzly Bandsaw Guide Bearings - Opinions Please

[bbrickey]

Murray M in this thread opined that the guides were so poor as to put the saw at the bottom of his heap.  Since I have not yet pulled the trigger on a saw, I was wondering what the rest of the here assembled thinks.  Saw in question is the GO513X2.  If you disagree with Murray M, please no bashing - I need a constructive discussion about the guides and guide mounts.
TIA

I have a 14" G0555 bandsaw with riser block. I've had it for 12 years or so.  I recently broke part of the bearing guide bracket while replacing a bearing.  I bought a replacement Carter guide set at Rockler.  It was in stock and I had some deadlines.

The Carter guides were a vast improvement on the original guides.  Looking back on it now, the originals may have never been correctly setup by me.  I don't blame Grizzly for this, it's on me to know my tools.

Will I buy something from Grizzly again?  Yes.  Will I also shop elsewhere for more precision equipment, yes.

I can't speak for Murray M's bearing guide positioning issues in his thread.  I will say that sometimes the difference between one saw and another may be a couple more finely tuned parts.  Those differences can make it a little easier.  You can buy it once or add after market items later.  I've used larger Laguna and MM bandsaws at the local college.  They use 'cool blocks' or whatever you call them for resawing. The blocks are noisy as all get out and seem to have a little more play in them than my Carter guides. On the negative side for Carter, the set for my saw are bearing guides, so you can get a bit of pitch or muck on them that may cause greater side to side movement in the blade when resawing if not cleaned.

I think a lot may depend on what you will use the saw for.  If resawing, cool blocks and a big a$$ blade may be your best bet.  If you are doing a lot of curves and bowl blank cutting, you may want something else as a guide.

[mdhills]

The Carter guides were a vast improvement on the original guides.  Looking back on it now, the originals may have never been correctly setup by me.  I don't blame Grizzly for this, it's on me to know my tools.

What, specifically, was better with the carter guides?

[Murray M]

This is a solid comparison for different guides.

[kurt18947]

For reference, here is a pic of the guides on my Grizzly 17 inch bandsaw.  Eight years of hobby use and the thrust bearings are still original.

I always thought thrust bearings should have the axle perpendicular to the blade so the blade rode on the outside of the bearing. Then i read that if the thrust bearing's axle wasn't EXACTLY perpendicular to the blade, the blade would want to run to one side of the bearing rather than wanting to stay centered. This would be less of an issue with the thrust bearing as shown above. So as usual things are not as simple as they seem at first glance.

[Murray M]

I always thought thrust bearings should have the axle perpendicular to the blade so the blade rode on the outside of the bearing. Then i read that if the thrust bearing's axle wasn't EXACTLY perpendicular to the blade, the blade would want to run to one side of the bearing rather than wanting to stay centered. This would be less of an issue with the thrust bearing as shown above. So as usual things are not as simple as they seem at first glance.

Hi Kurt,

I respect Grizzly. I suspect they probably scare the pants off of many tool makers. SO MANY PEOPLE HERE have and love their stuff. For most people, going with Grizzly saves them so much money they can buy a whole other tool--this is incredibly significant. 

If you already have your saw and you love it then you're solid. However, for folks who haven't bought a saw yet, it's fair to note that Carter style thrust bearings work better.

In my original comparison linked in the OP's first post, note that my experience is from a production environment. If something is gonna fail, it might not fail with hobby use for a long time but it will fail quicker when it's used daily. The 20" Delta I mentioned in that comparison was in an abusive production environment--that's why it's sideways facing thrust bearing failed in months. Hobby users will have to use their machines much longer before they see a failure like this. 

Your saw is a great saw that will make many amazing projects for a long time. And when your thrust bearings start to fail then simply replace them. Super easy. And you'll still have all the money you saved on your original purchase which will make you smile. Grizzly is a good match for hobby use. And it's 17" which is also incredibly significant!

[GeeDub]

Murray M in this thread opined that the guides were so poor as to put the saw at the bottom of his heap.

He also mentions that the thrust bearing gets destroyed.  I have never replaced the thrust bearing in my G0513X but, have been through a few side bearings.  Bearings in your guides are are subjected to a pretty nasty environment during use.  I have not replaced any bearings since I dialed in my "at source" dust collection.  However, I will not be surprised if I eventually do.  When the factory bearings started to get sluggish I bought a tube of side bearings and a tube of thrust bearings from VXB for not much money.  Given my current replacement cycle they should last the rest of my life.
We all have different experiences based on what we do an how we do it. The forums are a great dumping ground of experiences that help us make our best decision.

[Arlin Eastman]

The guides on the G0523X2 look exactly like the ones on my G0636X.  I've had my saw for a little over 2 years now and have absolutely no complaints with the saw or the guides. The guides worked perfectly fine when the saw was new, and after many hundreds, maybe thousands, of feet of resawing and veneer slicing they still work fine.  I have not replaced any of the bearings.  Adjusting the bearings isn't hard and Grizzly even supplies the wrench needed to do so.  What more do you want?  

I would not eliminate the G0532X because of one person's negative opinion of the guide bearings.  I've read many positive reviews from happy actual owners.  

John

I have the same one as John and bought bushings twice for it and now I put ceramic ones on that I made from floor tiles.  No more problems anymore.  I turned them on the lathe and sanded them to 1500g and put oil on them.

[jteneyck]

I have the same one as John and bought bushings twice for it and now I put ceramic ones on that I made from floor tiles.  No more problems anymore.  I turned them on the lathe and sanded them to 1500g and put oil on them.

Well I think my saw will be 4 years old in another couple of months, and the original stock guide bearings are still working fine.  Thousands of feet of material have gone through that saw now and it just keeps performing flawlessly.  

John

[Arlin Eastman]

Cripes how time as passed.  The VA got mine in 2009 or 10.

[Wizard of Oz]

I have a cheap HF bandsaw. It has the same bearing setup. Been using for over 10 years, and still on the original bearings. Just a hobbyist, but gets use a lot. I think proper setup is the key. Using good blades will make a difference. I have put on a riser block, and put on a link belt. Does everything I need it too.