Any experience out there in knots land with Asian-made OAV bandsaws? On paper they look and sound good, and I’m being offered a 12 inch model (4800A) at a great price.
Malcolm
New Zealand | New Thinking
0.06% of the world’s people are Kiwis
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I think it's a generic Grizzly - imported from Taiwan direct to New Zealand under the original manufacturer's label.
So what can people tell me about the 12in depth of cut Grizz?
Malcolm
0.06% of the world's people are Kiwis
Grizzly's only 12" saw is a 3-wheel version. I wouldn't waste money on it.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" .... :>)
Wrong saw - it's the one listed on Grizzly's web site as the GO514 I think. If I could figure out how I'd paste the picture here! I've attached photo instead.
MalcolmNew Zealand | New Thinking0.06% of the world's people are Kiwis
The G0514 is a 19" saw. Your original post said 12". Slight difference, 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" .... :>)
Yeah but - I did say 'depth of cut'. Currently my old Taiwan machine (bought at a local auction for about $US50) will resaw 6 inches. Doubling my resaw capacity will be a great boon. This machine is available in New Zealand for $US1,310 which seems a good deal to me.
So what should I be looking out for - Grizzly is not a brand available in this market, so I'm not familiar with these machines.
No-name Chinese-made equivalents are available, for about this price.
Malcolm
New Zealand | New Thinking0.06% of the world's people are Kiwis
Oops! Didn't say depth of cut! Meant to!!
Edited 5/11/2005 9:11 pm ET by kiwimac
Sorry, I've never heard of or seen an OAV machine, but after doing a big of Googling, I found some info online. They've been around for 25 years and are now located in Taiwan. OAV stands for "Overall Advanced Vigor." Hmph! interesting. Points to their business strategy it seems.
Going to their home page and and moving past the business mumbo-jumbo, the description below looks quite similar to the Grizzly approach to Asian-based tool manufacturing. My guess is, they're following the Grizzly model which has been so successful in the US.
Here's the page for their products, including bandsaws. You can double your resaw capacity by using a 14" saw with a riser kit, but the quality of the machine would undoubtedly be better with the larger saw you pictured. Based on the specs and pictures, it's not a duplicate of the Grizzly machine but the design is very similar. If I were in your situation, I'd probably go for it. Let us know how it goes!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" .... :>)
Thanks FG
This machine is being retailed by the MiniMax agent in New Zealand, and is recommended by them, and that's all the assurance I need about quality. I hope!
I'm in the market - I'll get a whole lot more than the added resaw capacity.
Cheers
MalcolmNew Zealand | New Thinking0.06% of the world's people are Kiwis
"...retailed by the MiniMax agent in New Zealand, and is recommended by them." The way this thread started out, I thought maybe someone in a traveling tent was selling them!
"...that's all the assurance I need about quality." Good thing, since no one here seems to have used/seen one.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" .... :>)
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