Another Happy Grizzly G0490 Jointer Owner

[Mike Goetzke]

(first thanks to SMC's deals/discounts for posting the 20% MS-Bing cashback a few weeks back)

Thanks to others that posted assembly suggestions and Jason H. for the PM help he offered.

First Grizzly CS was excellent. I wanted to delay shipment by 2-weeks and it was delivered on the exact date I wanted it. The UPS guy had no problems wheeling it into my garage. Plus best of all it cuts perfectly, moves very easily on the mobile base, and is actually quieter than my old 6" Shop Fox. Good thing I don't have a long straight edge I can trust or else I'd probably be messing with the parallelogram bed adjustment :D (maybe after Christmas).

If you click on the image it should start a slide show (I hope), but, it doesn't display my notes.



http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/My%20Tools/Grizzly%20G0490/th_IMG_0393.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/My%20Tools/Grizzly%20G0490/?action=view&current=f4a9cf38.pbw)

Mike

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Congrats!!!! There have definitely been a lot of good things written lately regarding Grizz CS....

I can't view the show here (at work), so I'll have to check it out from home later on...

[Carroll Courtney]

I bit you will be happy w/the new jointer,sure looks great.Like the slide show as well.Congrads----Carroll

[keith ouellette]

Glad you like it.

Yours has a nicely up graded drive pully and belt over my year. Makes me wish I waited a little longer to get mine. I bet its a big improvement.

[Mike Goetzke]

Glad you like it.

Yours has a nicely up graded drive pully and belt over my year. Makes me wish I waited a little longer to get mine. I bet its a big improvement.

I was glad to see it too but probably just luck. The mfg. date is Sept. 2009. FYI - it still has a little jumpiness at start but then purrs like a kitten.

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

What's this I see about upgraded drive pulley and belt?

About a month ago, I was starting my 490x and this horrible noise came from the base. It sounded like the drive shaft spinning on the pulley. Guess what, the drive shaft was spinning on the pulley!

Some how the key was tossed and I found it laying on the floor under the jointer. No apparent damage. I put it all back together and its been fine.

Do you get any snipe off the tail end of the cut? I do for some reason.

[glenn bradley]

I am impressed at how Grizzly responds to customer (and industry) reactions to their products. The dust chute fix and change to a poly-vee belt are a perfect example. The addition of a G0513 model with cast iron trunnions is another. You'll love that machine. I love my G0490X and dozens of other owners I have communicated with love their 490's as well.

[Don Bullock]

Mike, congratulations on your new G0490. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine.

[Scott Vigder]

Wow! Maye we can start a G0490 club?

[Jason Hanko]

Congrats again Mike! She looks great!
Im jealous that you got the newer version (pulley/dust chute fix) and I didnt when we ordered at basically the same time! :rolleyes::(
I was able to see your comments to the slide show just fine, unless those were just the picture names and you had more detailed notes that werent visible.
You know, Lee Valley has free shipping right now until Jan 3rd. It might be the perfect time to pick up a quality straight edge (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=50074) and/or feeler gauges...:D

[richard poitras]

Wow! Maye we can start a G0490 club?

Count me in on the club I just got the G0490X about 3 weeks ago..

I will be waiting to see what the club logo looks like.:D

Richard

.

[Salem Ganzhorn]

Oh but now you have all the long straight edges you want :). Congrats!

[Mike Goetzke]

What's this I see about upgraded drive pulley and belt?

About a month ago, I was starting my 490x and this horrible noise came from the base. It sounded like the drive shaft spinning on the pulley. Guess what, the drive shaft was spinning on the pulley!

Some how the key was tossed and I found it laying on the floor under the jointer. No apparent damage. I put it all back together and its been fine.

Do you get any snipe off the tail end of the cut? I do for some reason.
I'm by no means the expert here but this may be due to the outfeed table being lower than the blades?

[Neal Clayton]

or pressing too hard on the infeed side of the blade.

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

I'll have to put a straight edge across the outfeed table and blades to be sure.

I feel bad I'm thread-jacking here...one other quick question. Is snipe going to be "indented" into the wood, sort of concave, or is it raised or convex? Not sure if that makes sense.

[Cary Falk]

I'll have to put a straight edge across the outfeed table and blades to be sure.

I feel bad I'm thread-jacking here...one other quick question. Is snipe going to be "indented" into the wood, sort of concave, or is it raised or convex? Not sure if that makes sense.


"Indented" into the wood.

[Cliff Holmes]

Is snipe going to be "indented" into the wood, sort of concave, or is it raised or convex

Indented. What happens is that the wood "drops" as it comes off the infeed table and the blades take a slightly deeper bite for that last few inches. Either your outfeed table is slightly lower than the top of the cutterhead or you're pushing down on the infeed side of the head and shoving the wood into the head.

[Cliff Holmes]

What's this I see about upgraded drive pulley and belt?

I'm hoping the new ones are compatible. I've emailed Grizzly. Unfortunately, the parts purchase form doesn't list the new pulleys/belt yet.

[Mike Goetzke]

I'm hoping the new ones are compatible. I've emailed Grizzly. Unfortunately, the parts purchase form doesn't list the new pulleys/belt yet.

I was lucky mine came with the new design but someone here posted the part numbers and I made an inquiry about cost to Griz before I took delivery of the jointer: (plus someone suggest to get shaft key replacements too)

Thank you for your email dated December 8, 2009.

We appreciate your interest in upgrading your G0490 8” Jointer to the flat drive belt. The parts listed are the only parts that should be required. I have provided pricing below with ordering and shipping information. This will bring your G0490 up-to-date with the 2010 model. While using the original equipment is acceptable, the new equipment does not drastically change the performance of the machine. If you needed to replace one pulley or the other later down the road, you would most likely be required to upgrade your machine at that time.

Quantity Item Number DescriptionPrice (each)
1 P0490070V2 Cutterhead Pulley $8.00
1 P0490225V2 Motor Pulley $9.75
1 P0490224V2 Flat Belt $11.00

Items under 70 lbs. are assessed a shipping and handling fee based on the total dollar amount of the items.

Shipping and Handling Charges
(Items under 70 lbs. and not oversized)
Order TotalShipping
$0.01 to $24.99add $7.70*
$25.00 to $49.99add $9.70*
$50.00 to $74.99add $11.70*
$75.00 to $99.99add $13.70*
$100.00 to $199.99add $16.70*
$200.00 to $399.99add $18.70*
$400.00 and upadd $20.70*
*Includes a $0.75 fuel surcharge. Standard shipping to AK and HI is USPS Parcel Post. Additional charges may apply.

[Joe Hathcoat]

I think I may have been the one who originally attempted this conversion. Things got busy and I was never able to post my findings so I'll give you what I found.

First off you will have to modify the slot in the stand to use the new belt. I think I made mine wider by a 1/2". On mine the pulley for the motor was more sloppy on the motor shaft than the one that came on the jointer and kept coming loose. Lastly I had trouble tensioning the belt, it just always seemed to loose.

I by all means am not telling you to try or not try this upgrade. You may have a much better experience than I did. For me, I didn't see any improvement over the regular V belt. In fact mine might have been a little worse. I played with it for about 5 hours and finally just went back to the original pulleys and got a better V belt.

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

I think I may have been the one who originally attempted this conversion. Things got busy and I was never able to post my findings so I'll give you what I found.

First off you will have to modify the slot in the stand to use the new belt. I think I made mine wider by a 1/2". On mine the pulley for the motor was more sloppy on the motor shaft than the one that came on the jointer and kept coming loose. Lastly I had trouble tensioning the belt, it just always seemed to loose.

I by all means am not telling you to try or not try this upgrade. You may have a much better experience than I did. For me, I didn't see any improvement over the regular V belt. In fact mine might have been a little worse. I played with it for about 5 hours and finally just went back to the original pulleys and got a better V belt.

Thanks for that information - very good to know! That all being said, I think I will just buy a link belt at some point. I too had a loose pulley. I never checked it to begin with from new, as I didn't know to. But over time the pulley key eventually came out.

I used to experience a lot of start-up/shut-down "studdering", but now that I've really tightened things on properly it has mostly eliminated that. There is still a bit of "studdering" sound that you hear but I think that is just at that natural point where things are out of balance. Once its up and running, its pretty smooth and vibration free.

[Randy Klein]

Bringing up an old thread, but I just got my G0490X and was wondering if had the "improved" 2010 model or not. Mine has a manufacturing date of 2009-05. Does anyone have pics of what a pre- vs post-improvement looks like?

[Mike Goetzke]

Bringing up an old thread, but I just got my G0490X and was wondering if had the "improved" 2010 model or not. Mine has a manufacturing date of 2009-05. Does anyone have pics of what a pre- vs post-improvement looks like?

Randy - my G0490 had a Sept '09 date and it came with the upgraded serpentine style belt. You can see the pulley in the pic below. Plus I don't exactly remember but the dust port area in the lower cabinet was redesigned.

Mike

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/My%20Tools/Grizzly%20G0490/IMG_0397.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/My%20Tools/Grizzly%20G0490/th_IMG_0401.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/My%20Tools/Grizzly%20G0490/?action=view&current=IMG_0401.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/My%20Tools/Grizzly%20G0490/th_IMG_0402.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/My%20Tools/Grizzly%20G0490/?action=view&current=IMG_0402.jpg)

[Randy Klein]

Thanks, my dust chute and pulley look like that, so I guess I'm in the 2010 model club...

But what is a serpentine belt anyways? Is it the ridges that make it so?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Randy,

I believe you are correct.

I first heard the term serpentine belt when those type of drive belts showed up in cars and basically one belt drove everything. It twisted around, down, up and over. I think that's where it got it's name.

The V-belt on the other hand got it's name from it's cross-sectional shape.

This is purely unverified supposition on my part.

[Van Huskey]

Randy,

I believe you are correct.

I first heard the term serpentine belt when those type of drive belts showed up in cars and basically one belt drove everything. It twisted around, down, up and over. I think that's where it got it's name.

The V-belt on the other hand got it's name from it's cross-sectional shape.

This is purely unverified supposition on my part.

You are absoultely correct Ken, serpentine in this case is a misnomer, it is correctly called a Poly V belt, from the multiple small Vs in the belt.

[Van Huskey]

Randy,

I believe you are correct.

I first heard the term serpentine belt when those type of drive belts showed up in cars and basically one belt drove everything. It twisted around, down, up and over. I think that's where it got it's name.

The V-belt on the other hand got it's name from it's cross-sectional shape.

This is purely unverified supposition on my part.




You are absolutely correct about the car being the source of the name, Ken, serpentine in this case is a misnomer, it is correctly called a Poly V belt, from the multiple small Vs in the belt.

[Randy Klein]

I checked with Grizzly support and this is what they say:


The upgrade to the pulley and belt occurred in models that were manufactured on or after February 3, 2009.

So I guess I'm definitely there. Good to know at least.

[mike thomas01]

Can anyone tell me if there is a permanent fix for the "loosening pulley problem" on the G0490X? After reading the threads here on SMC, it appears that I am not the only one to experience this problem. I've tried everything... locktite, and a different style of locking set screw. Insured the pulleys are coplaner and the tension is correct on the belt. Still the pulley works its self loose. HELP!

[Matt Day]

What if I have the white version, can I join the club?

The only vibration I have on mine is after I hit the off switch and the belt slaps the belt cover slightly. Not much adjustment on the cover though.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Can anyone tell me if there is a permanent fix for the "loosening pulley problem" on the G0490X? After reading the threads here on SMC, it appears that I am not the only one to experience this problem. I've tried everything... locktite, and a different style of locking set screw. Insured the pulleys are coplaner and the tension is correct on the belt. Still the pulley works its self loose. HELP!

Mike,

I am in the process of assembling and adjusting my G0490X.

However, pulleys and sets screws are not magic. If I have any problems with one loosening up, the first thing I'll try is Locktite. If the set screw loosens up again, I'll take the old one to a hardware store and get a couple extras. I will then screw one in to make contact with the shaft and a 2nd one on top of the first one to prevent the first one from backing out and loosening up.

Which set screw is loosening up on your jointer?

Have you contacted Grizzly support for an answer to your question?

[mike thomas01]

Hi Ken,
Its the pulley on the motor that loosens up on me. I did locktite it but that didn't seem to help. I haven't tried "stacking" the set screws but I'm not sure if I can find screws that are short enough to place 2 in the one spot. I'll work on it though.
I did contact Grizzly and they suggested the same thing you did. Since its still under warranty..:).. I'm being careful not to modify it too much. I'll be back in contact with them shortly since I've completed nearly all of their suggestions. I did notice that the set screw holes for the motor pulley are not drilled at 90 degrees. Place an allen wrench into either of them and it leans seriously towards the user. Not sure if thats a concern or if it prevents locking of the pulley to the motor shaft.
I do have to mention however, that when this jointer is working..it kicks butt! I love it!
Thanks for your interest and any possible help.