I picked up the G0490 at the Bellingham store a few days ago. Also got the spiral cutter head to retrofit unto it. It took a day to set up (I am slow at these things). So, a few comments..
I wanted the spiral cutter head and the folks at Grizzly told me to get certain bearings to fit them. Wrong bearings. In their defense, the manual was wrong. A machinist friend who helped me with this told me that that is not uncommon. The engineering and production people enhance the product and a lot of times it does not get to the manual writers in a timely manner. So we move on..
Once put together I was amazed at the lack of need of adjustment for the out feed and in feed beds. They were very true parallel wise (bad grammar, sorry). The beds themselves were well machined. Using a long machinist’s straight edge I could not slide the smallest feeler gage under it from any angle. That is the good news and it it what the machine is primarily made to do.
The bad vibe is the fence mechanism. Strikes me as mickey mouse. I just don’t trust it to remain at 90* every time I need to move it (although that is rare). It sits ON the out feed bed and I find that I have to lift it to prevent it from scratching the bed. Poor design.
The other annoying thing is the belt. I tried the OEM belt and the link belt. Both have the same phenomena: when decelerating, at a certain speed it flaps against the guard. Not much, lasts for about 1.5 seconds. My physics guru told me that it is because the mass of the motor and the mass of the cutter are sufficiently different that they decelerate at different rates. He went on to explain the reason and I could not keep up. The only real work around is an idler pulley and that is beyond the scope of my annoyance.
All in all, I hope I got a decent machine and am looking forward to using it.
Cheers,
Peter
Edited 4/28/2007 1:29 am by PeterDurand
Replies
I wonder if there is space allowance that you could glue some felt on the bottom of that fence to stop it from scratching the table.
I have the same jointer and adjusted the fence to sit 1/8" above the outfeed table.
A.J.
Opps... I directed this to RC instead of Peter.... I must be getting old! OH well...
Good morning Peter.. RC and everyone.................. :>)
I have the basic same 8" jointer, but it is a Steel City. It has a 5" high fence 48" long. The extra length and weight should cause rubbing and scratching the fence on bed, but it doesn't as they put a built on insert of that slick stuff to keep it from rubbing and smooth the action.
Call Eagle America @ 800-872-2511 and get a roll of Slick Strip Roll in 3/4" for $5.99. Run a strip on the under-side of your fence and your problem will go away. The rest of the roll can be put on your TS fence, BS fence, etc. and you will be surprised at just how easily they will slide. This stuff is almost as valuable as duct tape.. well... nothing is that valuable. ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Edited 4/28/2007 10:19 am ET by SARGEgrinder47
'Morning Sarge,As you can see in my other post, the problem has been solved. However it is a good idea to stick some of that stuff on just in case. Is the stuff you were referring to the same as this LeeValley product? http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,43455&p=53293It is more convenient for me to go there (20 min drive) if that is the case.Cheers,Peter
Morning Peter...
That's the "right stuff". Having a roll on hand eliminates a lot of potential problems and really slicks up the shop.
Glad to see your problem resolved on the Griz. I almost purchased it as it is an excellent jointer, but went with the Steel City for the larger fence (5" x 48") and a few other extras along with the 5 year warranty. With the rebate, I still came out spending slightly more than the Griz shipped to me which is the same basic machine as the SC in the case of the 8" jointers.
Both for the money are excellent IMO. I don't think you will have any regrets and think you will enjoy it and it's larger capabilities immensely!
Sarge.. jt
Edited 4/29/2007 10:05 am ET by SARGEgrinder47
Thanks Sarge.I would have gone to the SteelCity but they would not have a spiral cutter before 4th quarter of this year. Still, I am happy with the Grizzly.Cheers,Peter
Hi,Ah, thank you. So it can be done. I guess yesterday, at then end of a long day my mind was not where it should have been. So after reading your post I went down for a fresh look. Turns out the set screw for the adjusting cam just in front of the locking lever was set facing the rear of the fence..unseen. Only after taking the whole damn thing apart did the obvious stare at me in the face. Now all is well. Thanks again.I take back my comments on the poor design.Cheers,Peter
Morning Peter..
See post #4 to RC, as I goofed up. For punishment, my wife is making me pressure wash and paint the house. ha.. ha...
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Peter Durand
My 8 inch Grizzly has worked flawlessly for 5 years and nearly 50,000 bd.ft. of hardwood.. I'd expect yours to do the same..
Thanks for the info. Nice to hear nice things about Grizzly.
Good afternoon Peter,
I have a Grizzly GO586 8" jointer. Like yours, the tables are flat and parallel. The only annoyances were 1.) getting the motor pulley co-planar with the cutter head pulley (an issue with all power tools that have the motor having slots in two directions allowing it to twist out of alignment when you tighten the belt. If there is a better tecnique for this please chime in and tell me) and 2.) trying to adjust the fence perpendicular to the table because every time you tighten the locknut it stretchs the stop bolt and moves the fence out of adjustment. (this was solved by moving the locknut to the other side of the fence ear. this might require a slightly longer bolt). Other than that it is a great machine and I am very happy with it. Good luck with yours.
Cheers,
Bruce
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