Replies

1. 
   RickL | Apr 17, 2007 06:53pm | #1

   http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=40833

   I find the pro-active approach much faster. There's about 100 hobby woodworking forums out there, so just find the one that has already asked the question.

1. 
   artd | Apr 17, 2007 09:14pm | #2

   Thanks Rick.  I had already read that post and a few others. Since it was written last year I was hoping someone who has used the machine for a year or more would make a comment. Most things out of the box are great but what is it like a year or two down the road? I wanted to hear things like the tables go out of wack or the fence is still easy to adjust, things that you notice after cutting few 1000 bf and changing the knives a few times. Thanks  Art

1. 
   RickL | Apr 17, 2007 10:24pm | #3

   I've been tuning machines for over 20 years and have dealt a lot with the DJ20's, and DJ30's and they don't go out of adjustment with the tables so I  wouldn't expect the Grizzly to go out of adjustment. Lifting them by the tables would cause them to go off adjustment.  A year isn't much time and I think the problem with many machines is the skill level of the operator. I personally don't put much stock in machine reviews in magazines or in the reviews in the forums. I have no idea who any of these people are or their level of expertise.

2. 
   frenchy | Apr 18, 2007 12:40am | #4

   ArtD

    I have the older G0586 and that was so wonderful that It started my addiction to Grizzly. 

    If I were buying again today I'd buy the G0593 and get the spiral head cutter.. But then I've run as much as 40,000 bd.ft across mine thus far and replacing cutters is become much more of an issue then when I started out..

    You may not need the spiral head,, do you mind noisy?  the spiral head is a lot quieter  (a lot!)   Do you ever do tough work like burls and fiddle back or Birds eye? if not then the regular one is fine otherwise, you'd really benefit from the spiral head.

    If your wood could never have  pieces of grit inbedded in it or nails etc.. don't worry about the spiral head..You see if you hitsomething instead of chaging the whole blade you just rotate the cutter 90 degrees where it's affected.

    Finally if you don't run a lot of wood and aren't  concerned about the sharpnness of your blades.. Don't bother to spend the extra from the cutter.

       I don't suppose you'd consider buying the spiral head anyway and taking my straiight bladed one in trade?   I have several sets of blades and a couple of those dispose a blade set ups..   

       

1. 
   artd | Apr 18, 2007 02:35am | #5

   Rick you are right a year is not much time on a good machine. I also don't take a lot of stock in what is said in forums either. But if a number of people say they don't like a certain thing about something, that would put a red flag up or it might be a thing  I could live with. I'm just looking for more information to make the right decision for me.

   Frenchy I had not considered the spiral head. I do a lot with Curly Maple I will have to think more about that. Thanks guys, I've written more on this thread than I have on all of the forums I belong to combined. Thanks Art

2. 
   colebearanimals | Apr 18, 2007 04:01am | #6

   Hi frenchy,

      I've got the G0593. Outstanding. A real pleasure to use. The spiral cutterhead is superior in every way. Now I'm going to see if I can stuff one of those in my 15" planer.

                        Paul

1. 
   frenchy | Apr 19, 2007 02:17am | #9

   colebearanimals,

    Ahh! you don't really want that machine, I'll do you a favor and trade you even up for my older model without the troublesome spiral cutterhead.  ;-)

     What a deal! A real vetern that knows it's way around wood for a newbie like your G0593.  Just to show you what a sport I am I won't even charge you anything for all the character and identity marks I've developed.  ;-)

    PS

          I still have that deal on the Brookyn Bridge!

3. 
   astro | Apr 19, 2007 05:35pm | #12

   I have the 0593 and really love it. The spiral head is wonderful and I'm looking forward to not having to change out and align knives. I too was deciding between the 0490 and the 0586 but changed my mind and bought the 0593 when they had the special. No regrets at all from my standpoint.  Fit and finish was excellent. Went together without a hitch.

    

   Rick

    

3. 
   RangerTim | Apr 18, 2007 04:37pm | #7

   Art,

   Perhaps you noticed my recent post on this machine. I purchased it a little over a week ago. I have since run about 100' of rough sawn black walnut through it. It was not difficult to set up. Here are some additional thoughts on this jointer:

   1) Grizzly needs to address the belt guard on this jointer. Both the belt opening and the guard are slapped by the belt upon startup and shut-off. I left the guard off and am switching to a link belt. I have not contacted Grizzly about this as I have barely had time to write this note. Perhaps I'll give them a shot at the problem this afternoon. I found references to this problem in the knots archives about a year ago. So far this is a minor problem and not a deal breaker. I can deal with this and increase the opening for the belt, if necessary.

   2) It did a fine job surfacing the walnut and was flat and true out of the box. More than enough power - I'm glad I got the 3 hp model. I have a bunch of sycamore to surface next. I will be on the second set of blades soon; I can tell by the increasing volume of the cutters, even though the surface doesn't indicate any dullness yet. Walnut is tough on all blades, especially bandsaw blades.

   3) I have really enjoyed the ease of mobility with the built-in wheels.

   4) I will be getting the spiral carbide cutter eventually, after I tire of having blades shuttled back and forth from the sharpening service. SWMBO will need to give the go ahead on this one though.

   5) All the lumber I use is from the property here at Scout Camp. I cut, mill and dry all my own stock. I wanted a machine that would hold up to a lot of use yet be easy to adjust. We felt a parallelogram bed would be better over the long haul. I prefer levers over handles as well. Our camp wood shop is well outfitted, but the jointer had to come out of my own wallet.

   6) $795 is a heck of a price for an eight inch parallelogram bed jointer! And one that works to boot!

   I will post again after I change blades the first time. It will be interesting to find out whether I have jack screws, springs, or both. I use a homemade magnet jig (also found on this site) for rough knife adjustment, then I drop the outfeed table a smidgen on our six inch machine, which has worked for me for years. I used to maintain an old Parks 12 inch jointer at a former cabinet shop and it was a pain to keep adjusted.

   Overall, this machine has produced a beautiful surface that is true and easy to obtain. In the end, that is what counts the most.

   Edit: I forgot to say that you need to attach the fence base as far up or high as allowed to prevent the fence from dragging a groove across the table. If you do this it will work well. There is no discussion of this in the instructions. The floor model in the showroom (Muncie, PA) had a nasty groove worn in the table. I was concerned about this until I figured out the solution during assembly. My machine now has a small 1/8 inch gap between the fence bottom and the outfeed table, even when loosened for adjustment.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 4/18/2007 9:47 am ET by RangerTim

1. 
   JJV | Apr 18, 2007 11:31pm | #8

   Ahoy Ranger-

   How did you set your fence over the tables?  I'm still having a bit of an issue with it, and I want to avoid the aforementioned groove.

   Thanks. 

   Maybe someday I'll know a little something.

1. 
   RangerTim | Apr 19, 2007 02:48am | #10

   Hi JJV,I lifted the fence base which bolts onto the rear of the jointer as high as I could before I tightened the bolts. That was the only way I could figure out to raise it high enough over the tables. I'm not sure it would work for another model.

1. 
   JJV | Apr 19, 2007 03:53pm | #11

   Thanks.  I have the 6" version of that and from what I gather they are the same animal outside of the size.  I'll give that a whirl. 

   Maybe someday I'll know a little something.