Im just curious, we are looking at this appx size bandsaws right now..Id love to find a nice Johnson,ellis etc locally used but most machine shops etc in this area have choked out with the coal industry..Been looking for some time with no luck..You know you can only wait so long..The Griz is on sale right now. I have not read and bad things about this particular model saw of thiers but I thought Id ask..Also if you have any comments about Grizzly saws in general feel free to add them..Thanks

I've had a Jet 7"x12" horizontal, vertical band saw for better than 15 years and it's a solid piece of equipment I'd be lost without.

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty is right - Jets are plenty good for many years  - and the cost is very reasonable for what you can get out of them.

I've got a few pieces of Grizzly equipment and a clone of a slightly smaller version of the saw.  Grizzly stuff is ok as far as it goes but it is chinese (or taiwanese) made so you can expect to do some repairs (improvements) right out of the crate.  If they supply assembly bolts, chuck them immediately and get some decent quality nuts and bolts instead.  The bases tend to be a bit wonky so you may need to do a bit of beefing up (sheet metal bases).  Nothing huge, just basic improvements that are easy when new but a pain if you wait.

Basically, even when new treat them like a piece of used equipment that needs a going over to make sure things aren't awry.  The time will pay off later.

Overall, a decent value.

I've had a Jet 7"x12" horizontal, vertical band saw for better than 15 years and it's a solid piece of equipment I'd be lost without.

Frosty The Lucky.

my pops has had that same one for close to 20 years.  

He uses it 2-3x a week.  Always fabbing something up.

It's a workhorse. 

I got a Grizzly 9742 miter band saw 4 years back that I use a LOT. It's not a high production model saw but meets all my needs.   One day I'll replace the o-ring in the hydraulic feed and replace the blade guide bearings.  The only blade failures have been due user errors:  too fast of feed rate or not lubricating on thick stock. Definitely worth the bang for the bucks.