# Foot brake for a bandsaw?



## AaronMoore (Jul 22, 2013)

I'm looking into the Grizzly G0513X2 bandsaw which has a slight sale going on, cost is $1050. The G0513X2F is identical except that it has a foot brake. I've never used a brake before and it's $200 more for this feature. Should I even consider it at that cost? Guess it depends how long the G0513X2 takes to spin down without a brake (which I also don't know) so if anyone can shed some light on that I'd appreciate it. Thanks.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

A topic in a thread a few months ago.

Only you can decide whether it is worth it or not. Most band saws will take a few seconds to spin down by themselves.

I have the Grizzly G0513, the original model with aluminium wheels. I do not time how long it takes to spin down, but it is a few seconds. I just wait until the blade stops.

The one you are looking at has cast iron wheels. I would expect this to take a little longer to spin down due to more mass.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f12/couple-grizzly-band-saws-questions-49306/


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## AaronMoore (Jul 22, 2013)

Thanks for the link, I searched for Grizzly bandsaw threads but didn't see that one.


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## gus1962 (Jan 9, 2013)

You can control the band saw in slowing down after cutting and foot brake adds safety to the user.


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## WarnerConstInc. (Nov 25, 2008)

Mine takes 7 minutes to stop.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Great....*



WarnerConstInc. said:


> Mine takes 7 minutes to stop.


What's the zero to 5652 FPM time......:scooter:

Spinning bandsaw blades "scare" me. I'm always concerned I'm goona wipe across the blade with a workpiece or worse yet, a body part.

I think you can stop a 3 phase motor by putting it in REV... right? Except a bandsaw would have no REV position on the switch. 
Regardless, treat it like it's still running and don't go pickin' stuff from in front of the blade. I reach around the back and using a small scrap stick "bat" the scraps way out in front of the blade where I bat them further away OR can I safely grab them. :yes:


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## WarnerConstInc. (Nov 25, 2008)

I think it takes about 20 seconds to come up to full speed. 

I could slow it down fairly quick if I installed a VFD on it. Motor braking does worry me slightly when threaded arbors are involved.


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## Crusader (Jan 14, 2013)

I have that model and it takes 27 seconds for the blade to come to a stop. I timed it.:thumbsup:


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## AaronMoore (Jul 22, 2013)

Thanks, I think I'm going to get the electronic brake version. I don't plan on buying another saw and I'd rather spend more for the safety and convenience of 3 second stopping. Thanks again for the input.


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## gus1962 (Jan 9, 2013)

I wonder , why does it take awhile to spin down ?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*it's called "inertia"*



gus1962 said:


> I wonder , why does it take awhile to spin down ?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertia
One of the laws of physics is once a body is in motion, it tends to remain in motion or words to that effect. A bicycle wheel will spin a long time just like the upper bandsaw wheel. The bandsaw has other stuff attached, blades, motors, pulleys, etc, but it will still spin a long while. Cast iron wheels have more mass than aluminum wheels, and will take more power to get spinning and will take longer to stop.


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## WarnerConstInc. (Nov 25, 2008)

The motor rotor in my saw weighs 100 pounds, each of the 36" cast iron wheels weighs 75 pounds. There is a lot of spinning mass there.


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## gus1962 (Jan 9, 2013)

woodnthings said:


> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertia
> One of the laws of physics is once a body is in motion, it tends to remain in motion or words to that effect. A bicycle wheel will spin a long time just like the upper bandsaw wheel. The bandsaw has other stuff attached, blades, motors, pulleys, etc, but it will still spin a long while. Cast iron wheels have more mass than aluminum wheels, and will take more power to get spinning and will take longer to stop.


Thanks for the explanation. I don't have foot brake so I don't really know how it exactly works.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

WarnerConstInc. said:


> The motor rotor in my saw weighs 100 pounds, each of the 36" cast iron wheels weighs 75 pounds. There is a lot of spinning mass there.


Kind of like having three flywheels.:


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## billrlogan (Feb 15, 2014)

I like mine


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

I've never had bandsaws with foot brakes until a few months ago when I bought my Laguna 14 SUV. Except to show people how the brake works I haven't used it to stop the motion. 

What I *have* used, a lot, is the switch on the foot brake. Probably two dozen times I have touched the brake just enough to kill the motor because I usually only cut larger pieces on the Laguna and I want to hold on with both hands to what is now two pieces of wood. So the advantage is that I don't have to leave the saw running while I set one piece of wood down.


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## igster (Oct 31, 2013)

I have a friend who builds guitars in his basement workshop(fully equipped, with central dust collection, a cnc router, and more tools than you can shake a can of poly at )... his bandsaw is a monster that can re-saw a 12 inch log. That thing has a foot brake on it - I tried it one day and you really have to put some pressure on the pedal to bring it to a stop, otherwise it will coast for a good while.


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

igster said:


> I have a friend who builds guitars in his basement workshop(fully equipped, with central dust collection, a cnc router, and more tools than you can shake a can of poly at )... his bandsaw is a monster that can re-saw a 12 inch log. That thing has a foot brake on it - I tried it one day and you really have to put some pressure on the pedal to bring it to a stop, otherwise it will coast for a good while.


That's what I'm gearing up for, to build guitars (not saw logs :no:, unless it's logs or billets for sides and backs). I haven't timed mine but it will coast a *long* time if I don't press on the brake. My resaw capacity is about 14 1/2" and if the guide is all the way or even partially up, that 1" blade sitting there just coasting away is a bit intimidating. :yes:


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## Fishinbo (Jul 23, 2012)

This is quite an old thread. But I've been considering foot brake. Not sure though this would be necessary since I've been band sawing without it.


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