I am getting ready to order the grizzly ultimate BS with riser and have two questions. Anyone know why I shouldn’t?, I have read lots of reviews and it seems like a sweety for the money.
Another thing. I have never dealt with ordering anything like this before. Do they deliver to the house and unload from the truck to the ground or do you have to get it off the truck yourself. Do I have to go pick it up at the dock. How do you schedule the drop off if it is at the house.
thanks
dave
Replies
This is always a problem with buying machinery. The shiping costs that Grizzly quotes you is for tailgate delivery only, yes, you are responsible to unload it. This can be a very unreasonable task with most machines.
You do have options, the trucking company does not just show up at your door, they will call first. Tell them you need lift gate delivery and how much extra will that be. Plan on having a furniture dolly or heavy duty hand truck to move it into your shop.
Next option is to pick it up at the depot, if you have a truck that will handle it, they will usally load it in your truck with a fork lift. Unloading from your truck is always easier(lower to ground) and you can wait until some friends can be tricked over to your house.
Alway be careful, once the machine decides it wants to fall to the ground, you will not change its mind.
Good luck.
Bear
Hi Dave. I too was a newcomer to ordering from Grizzly last November. I went up to their PA showroom and picked up a table saw and the 14-inch bandsaw. Saved about $150 in shipping. The trucking company is responsible for getting it to your driveway, not off the truck. I would suggest you find out which trucking company is transporting the BS and pick it up yourself. The trucking company would put it in your vehicle. If you cannot pick it up from the trucking company, get a good set of ramps to offload it - and a couple of friends.
Good luck.
Marty
Hey Dave
I just bought not to long ago the grizzly ultimate band saw and a tablesaw from them. I can let you know how i handled it. The band saw isnt huge it comes in a box that can be handled by one person once its on the ground. I had the trucking company drive it to my house then the driver helped me get it down off the truck and on to my handtruck. Once it was on the hand truck it was cake. Now assembling it was kind of tricky by myself especially putting on the riser block. The one major bit of advice i can offer you is when installing the longer guide post for the blade guide WATCH OUT FOR THE STAINLESS STEEL BALL AND SPRING IN THE ONE CURRENTLY ON THE SAW THE MINUTE YOU TAKE THE OLD GUIDE POST OUT THAT THING WANTS TO SHOOT OUT SO BE CAREFUL OR ITS GONE.
So you can pick it up at the shipping company if you have a truck but I dont think the package size is life threatening either if you have it delivered to your house.
later centaur
the driver helped me get it down off the truck and on to my handtruck..
NOT trying to start anything.. BUT.. Do not count on the driver helping you.
This is against insurance regulations for most carriers.. I think.
I had a friend fired for it when the company found out... He was just trying to be nice and help out .. Yes, he did know he was not suppose to help unload.
My experience is that the different Grizzly locations use different carriers. Stuff that comes from WA is delivered by FedEX (an LTL - Less than truckload - carrier they bought recently). Currently their trucks, at least in this area, all have lift gates and the drivers are super nice. They ran the 8" planer right into the shop on their pallet jack. They did say that lift gate will become a special-order add-on soon ($75 IIRC).
Stuff that's come from the mid-west comes to CA on a different carrier and they really try to encourage dock pickup vs. local delivery (big $$ add-on). At least the Horiz boring machine was light enough I could un-box it in the pickup and bring it in in pieces :-)
Thanks to everyone for the advice. I will call Grizz tomorrow to see what they say and go from there. I do not own a truck, but I can borrow one. I can get it if I need to from the dock and I can rally up some buds to help grunt it. I have a stout dolly and it is a short distance from street to garage and all paved. I am high as a kite thinking about ordering it as it will be my first solid piece of equipment. thanks again
dave
Dave,
I bought a Grizzly 1023S cabinet saw. Fedex was the carrier. Grizzly was able to check and find that Fedex used Viking (recently acquired by Fedex) and Viking used lift gate trucks.
When the truck arrived the driver unloaded the saw on a pallet jack and put it in my garage. I mean shop. lol. He also helped strip the cardboard from the saw to make sure it wasn't scratched. There was a large hole in one side. He also noticed the fence box was ripped open so he wanted to check it as well. Neither of us was sure if any bags of bolts were missing. He gave me the dispatcher's number and his cell number if I found out I was missing anything. He said sometimes they would find a bag of hardware that falls out on the dock. Fortunately nothing was missing.
Bottom line is you may have nothing to worry about. Hope that's the case.
Enjoy you new saw.Hi, I'm Len and I'm a Toolaholic...
One buddy is all you need, unless he's been bedridden for the last couple of weeks, LOL. As mentioned, you could do it all by yourself, but it's not alot of fun.
A silly note here: A friend of mine put his G0555 together a couple of weeks ago and mounted the fence rail in the wrong holes. Really confused himself. So, when the time comes, mount that dude in the lower holes, not the upper ones, LOL!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Dave.. Don't forget to tell us about your new tool when ya get it!
Dave,
I picked up a similar BS at Rockler with the station wagon and had the cabinet saw delivered by Grizzly. With both these boxes..they open up..and the weight can be significantly reduced by removing some parts, such as the cast iron table for the BS and maybe the top half of the bandsaw..its really not an issue.
You would not believe how long it took me to find that ball once it shot out. Naturally my shop was a mess when it happened.
The assembly instructions warn you about this occurrence.. but for the life of me I could not prevent it from happening.
And installing that riser block solo is real humdinger, too. :>)
If the saw you're buying is the 14", the riser will be shipped separately. This saw is not much more than 200lb and is really easy to move around. If you can lift more than 80lb, you can assemble it yourself, but if you have a second person available, it'll just be easier. I did mine by myself, but OTOH, I'm a bit of a go-rilla. You don't need anything special for ramps, either. A sheet of 3/4" plywood or a couple of 2x10's will do it. Do yourself a favor and don't even ask about or bother with the blade that comes with it. Look here for other threads about BS blades(there will be a lot for this particular saw) and find a local supplier if you're in a hurry to use it. Good blades aren't terribly pricey in most cases.
If you want to avoid the spring-loaded ball issue, slide the new guide rod in and butt them together before completely removing the short one. This way, the ball shouldn't dislodge. If it does, Use a magnetized screwdriver or punch to hold it and press it into the hole while you slide the guide rod into position. This works best in good light.
As far as reasons to NOT buy it, I have absolutely none. Unless someone is going to give you one.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Edited 4/2/2005 6:32 pm ET by highfigh
Dave,
I have to echo everything that highfigh said. I ordered the exact same thing, and made it fine by myself. The truck was too big to comfortable get to my home (52 footer), so I met him at Home Depot and we (the driver and I) off loaded the saw to the back of my Expedition. I took it home and unloaded it alone with a two wheel dolly. The riser arrived later via UPS. I did get my son to help me set the saw on the stand, but it is all quite managable. I had no problem with the ball and spring when I followed the instructions. I am very pleased with the saw's performance.
Woody
Some good ideas so far. If you can pick it up at a depot and have a fork truck load it into your truck you should be in good shape. You don't even have to unload it at home, you can open the box in your truck and take it out in pieces.
Or, you may be able to have it delivered to your work. I worked in a factory and had it delivered there. The shipping guys used a fork truck to put it in the back of my van.
Some trucking companies are so used to dealing with residential deliveries, they just automatically use a lift-gate truck, no additional charge. 'doesn't hurt to ask.
Another possibility is to pick it up at their local warehouse, with a trailer. I have a small tilt-bed trailer that's lower to the ground than my pickup: very easy to unload.
I also recently picked up an engine hoist on sale as Harbor Freight. Makes unloading heavy things and moving them around very easy.
Hey Dave,
I recently purchased a bandsaw from Grizzly and decided to have them keep it at the freight forwarder and then I just called them, drove my truck over at my convenience, and they loaded it right into my truck. I then had to get it into my shop on my own but it made it more convenient for me to pick it up at my convenience. Do you have a truck?
Regards,
Buzzsaw
Dave,
I have a lot of Grizzley machinery and I'm happy to say I'll buy more in the future..
It depends on your local trucking company most of the time they deliver it to you with a lift gate but that isn't a requirement. I have had a couple of deliveries where it cam on the back of the semi and I just took it out of the crate in the truck and had the driver help me set each piece that was too heavy for me to handle by myself down to where I could get it into the shop.
I don't think any one piece in the crate has been over 200 pounds. While that was a grunt it was going down the whole time and all I needed to do was lift one end at a time.. I could never lift 200 pounds (I'm an old wimp) but I can set 200 pounds down easy enough..
I've used Grizzley for over 3 years and I currantly own the 12 inch table saw, 14inch bandsaw, 20 inch planner, 3 hp. shaper, 8 inch jointer, 2hp dust collector, hanging air filter,and somethings I can't think of at the moment..
i orderd several Grizzley machines 20'' band saw' 15'' planer ,3hp shaper thay were all beliverd by truck they will call whwn they get to your town. I always hire my a frind who has a farm loader . If you go to a Grizzley store to pick up your machine it is best not to have a topper on your truck, I picked up a shaper from the Spring field store' Well i had a topper on my truck , We ended up taking the topper loose co the crate would slide in then fasted it down again. It would have fit laying on its side but it is agenst Grizzley regulations to load freight that way. They told me it voids the warrenty
Have a nice day Lee
I recently ordered the 8" jointer. Weight approx. 480 lbs. It was delivered on an 18 wheeler. I got lucky and the driver helped me get it off the truck.
The important thing is that if you see any damage to the carton that it comes in you need to note it on the bill of lading. I noted that the bottom of the crate was sagging. Later when I had a chance to unpack the jointer I found the main cast iron part had a crack in it. I emailed Grizzly and the responded later the SAME DAY (!) that they were having it picked up and a new one delivered. No hassle at all. They said I made it easy because I had noted the damage on the bill of lading.
Good luck, hope you enjoy the new bandsaw.
Jack
Hi Dave... The G0555 was my christmas / birthday gift to myself. It is the first thing of this size and price that I've ordered from Grizzly. The shipping company called me 2 or 3 days in advance of the delivery. I was ready for anything on delivery day. I had two 12 foot long 2 x 6's to use as a ramp, an old sheet (4 x 8) of 3/4" plywood, a heavy dolly AND a handtruck. The driver had a drop-gate truck, lowered the saw to the ground and as long as it was on HIS hand-truck, rolled it up to my front door and into my house. I tipped him $5 for his 'extra' work. I put the box on its side and slid the whole thing down a flight of stairs into the workshop / basement. You will need a 10 and 13 mm socket wrench and a box or open end wrench. You will also need a 2.5, 4, and 5 mm hex keys for adjustments. The blade they ship with the saw is good for cutting up scrap lumber, nothing else. So... be ready with a good blade or two. The only time I needed assistance was in taking the saw out of the box and putting it onto the stand. (Wife wouldn't let me do it by myself!) My first three modifications were... I cut the cord short and put in a utility box with two outlets. I put on a 12 foot electric cord, and I drilled a few holes in the sheet metal and mounted a bracket for a goose-neck lamp. The first project using the saw was to make 100 small toys as a give-away at our local wood show. It works real sweet! You won't regret buying it. SawdustSteve
Well, I had a recent experience that didn't go quite to well. I had a G9860ZX jointer scheduled for delivery on Wednesday. The time was supposed to be 10 am to 4 pm. OK, so I worked from home that day. I paid the extra $25 for lift-gate delivery, as my tractor is in the shop indefinitely (they can't find a new flywheel; beware buying an old Kubota). I figured they could drop the liftgate right at the big, vehicle-size door of my shop, and wheel the 1200 lbs. shipping weight over to the right spot with their pallet jack.
The driver shows up at 4 pm. The jointer is loaded at the front of the truck. The space for the pallet forks at the bottom of the crate are too low for him to get his pallet jack underneath, so he can't move it to the liftgate. The driver was a nice guy, who said the loading dock made a mistake by not putting the crate on pallets. He willing to do some work with me to try to lift it a bit, with a Hi-Lift or engine hoist. However, the crate was 7 ft. long, and the liftgate on this truck was only 6 ft. wide. So I had my doubts about whether it could be used to safely lower the crate. Plus, I wasn't too eager to mash up the crate with a Hi-Lift, etc., lest it damage the contents.
I decided to Will Call it the next day. I have a small 4'x8' trailer that's pretty low to the ground, is rated at 1800 lb. GVWR, and has a tilt-bed. So I pumped up the tires and headed off. At the freight terminal, the records said the shipment was now Will Call, but of course the dock didn't realize it and it hadn't been pulled. A 25 minute wait while they look for it. The forklift operator put it on the trailer and said "you're going 40 miles?". But I know a way that involves only lightly-travelled roads, mostly with sub-50 mph limits. It took a couple of hours, but now the jointer is sitting on the trailer inside my shop. I just need to get it the 10 inches or so down to the ground. I have a plan.
Sheesh! Doesn't sound like the trucking company has its act together very well. You are a patient man!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Patient? Well, I've been known to throw a fit sometimes, when I thought it was necessary to get results, and I was able to aim it at the person responsible.
It clearly wasn't the truck driver's fault for the way the thing was loaded; no sense yelling at him. And I wasn't surprised when they didn't have the crate ready for Will Call the next day at the terminal - same thing happened when I arranged to pick up my DC a few years ago. I guess the terminals aren't really expecting Will Call's.
I was just glad that when I dug up the specs. on my trailer, it was big enough to handle the load. I've already put together the rigging to pick it up off the trailer with the engine hoist and a load leveler, and actually gotten it in the air, brielfly. It's just sitting on the trailer waiting for me to get home from out of town next week, where I'll get a couple of extra hands to help me faciliate getting it down.
I have to say again what a big help moving heavy things around the engine hoist is. 'wish I had gotten it a long time ago. 'almost killed myself putting my drill press together. ;)
Edited 4/18/2005 9:09 pm ET by BarryO
This delivery problem is not just a Grizzlly problem, but an industry problem. I have received deliveries of big items from Grizzly and Amazon. Most of the time the trucks didn't have power lift gates even though the shipping compay knew they were delivering to a residence. The drivers have always helped unload the item even though they were not supposed to. I usually offer them a tip if it is a big item. At some point in the delivery process there is usually a controlled drop to the ground involved and sometimes there is damage. I dinged up my Powermatic 66 table saw this way.
The vendors need to offer the option of delivery on the ground even if it involves an extra charge.
"The vendors need to offer the option of delivery on the ground even if it involves an extra charge." My understanding is, at least with Grizzly, you can pre-arrange for a lift-gate truck directly with the shipping company and pay the extra charge. Don't know about Amazon.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Amazon has a new policy that they deliver "to the curb" if the item weighs more than 100 lbs. To the curb means that there is a lift gate and pallet jack, and in my experience they'll take it as far as they can with the pallet jack.
A few years back they left it up to you to arrange for lift gate service yourself, which can be pretty expensive. The thing of it was, depending upon which shipper *they* chose, you'd get free lift gate service (e.g., FedEx Ground), or you'd get raked over the coals (e.g., ABF). I gave Amazon a hard time about it for failing to disclose the hidden charge with their "free shipping" deal. Of course, the thing of it is that they can negotiate a way better deal with the shipper then you the purchaser ever will, especially if it's already on the truck on its way to you. I'm glad that they finally saw the light. My DJ-20 just showed up yesterday via ABF, and I didn't have to fork over $98.05 for liftgate service.
Thanks, Doc, for the specific info. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
This delivery problem is not just a Grizzlly problem, but an industry problem..
My brother-In-Law.. Teamster truck driver.. Nice guy BUT when driving... if it is NOT IN HIS CONTRACT.. He won't do it! SO much for any help!..
Yea, my biggiest problem with unions is that their #1 goal seems to be to protect mediocrity. They make sure the lousiest worker gets paid exactly the same as the best. And in this case, they prohibit someone from going the extra mile and striving to give outstanding customer service.
BarryO
I wish I could have joined a union in my career. If I had I would have been protected from caprious bosses who changed employees on a whim..
7 differant times in my life I was the best performer by the companies own tote boards and I was let go when a new boss came in and replaced everybody with people loyal to him.. (sometimes in as little as 6 months later another new boss replaced all those empoyees)
While I took a little joy in seeing the miserable performance of those who replaced me, the fact is I'd lost all my senority, vacation time and once again had to start from the bottom..
What I like about unions is the fact that they helped to create a middle class where previously there had been no middle class..
No-one will ever claim that unions are perfect, sure there have been abuses, but in the end those who worked for a union did better than those who tried to go it alone..
'sounds like this would be a good discussion to take to the Cafe; unfortunately, I didn't sign up for access. I won't abuse the system by continuing the discussion here.
Thanks for a thoughtful reply. I agree.
I was NOT knocking Unions as such.. Just that they can get in real trouble if they do what is not in the contract.
Dave,
Take the bandsaw out of the box!
The pieces can easily be handled by two guys, you and the trucker. (slide him $10.00 or if your cheap a five spot and he will help you.
If not, I've gotten much heavier stuff from trucks by sliding it down a long beam or two..
I'm a fat old guy with a mostly sendentary job and still can handle several hundred pounds by myself if I lift one side and pivot it..
I didn't take time to read all of the responses but about 15 years ago I bought a jointer from grizzly and have been extreamly disappointed with it's performance. To get the tables level I eventually had to ship it back to them. They paid for the shipping but I had to disassemble it and reassemble it when it was returned. Now the jointer table's outfeed table is not flat with the infeed table. I have called several times to talk to their tech people and each time I get different advice. I know I should probably disassemble it again and send it back but right now my frustration level is too high. I don't know about the quality of there tools but my next jointer will be bought with a local dealership and service center in mind.
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