Pre-gloat.......................jointer...... IT's OFFICIAL NOW

[Ken Fitzgerald]

For a belated Father's Day present and birthday present, the LOML told me to order the jointer I've had my eye on.

I joined the Creek a number of years ago when I started building my shop. I have gradually over time, purchased some fairly good tools.

The one tool I need was a jointer.

Friday evening I ordered my first major Grizzly tool when I ordered a G0490X 8" jointer with the spiral cutter head.

I have a good Ridgid lunchbox planer but someday I'd like to replace it.

However, with the purchase of this jointer, I have an arsenal of tools that is capable of more than my capabilities.

I will provide a review after it delivers next week.

Now it's time to practice and improve my abilities.

[Gordon Eyre]

Congrats, it is always nice to get a major piece of equipment.

[Paul McGaha]

Ken,

Congratulations on the new jointer. I visited the Grizzly site to look it up and it is a fine looking jointer.

PHM

[Mikail Khan]

Congrats on the new tool.

MK

[Jim O'Dell]

The 490 has been in on my want list ever since it came out. The addition of the spiral head makes it that much more intriguing. One of these years. :rolleyes: With so many new jointers by Grizzly, I'll have to really study to see if the 490 is still at the top of the list. What was the thought process on your decision? Jim.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jim,

The wood I just used to build shelves for my new shop cabinet demanded the use of a jointer. I could have used it yesterday!

While I would love a larger jointer, 8" seems to be the maximum size within my budget.

With a possible impending retirement, I would prefer to get one before retiring.

I don't have a lot of patience so buying the spiral head eliminates blade alignments problems.

IF the parallelogram bed operation is an improvement over the standard dovetailed keys, this one has the parallelogram.

At half the cost or less of a PM or equivalent and 1/10 the cost of a Northfield, the Grizzly met my budgetary constraints.

[Jacob Mac]

Congratulations. I bet you will get a lot of use out of your jointer.

[gary Zimmel]

Congrats on the new jointer Ken. Make sure to give us a couple of pics when she is in her new home and making chips....

[glenn bradley]

I have been running my G0490X several times a week since May of 2008. I have yet to rotate the inserts. I just got the G0453Z spiral head planer. Even after all the material I have run across the jointer the surfaces it yields are just as smooth as the ones off the brand new planer head. You are going to be very happy.

The new version has addressed many of the immediate "fixes" many of us have learned. Your dust chute is already a sealed pathway instead of an open top channel that I closed up. Your belt and pulley system will have addressed the belt issues that led many of us to link belts and altered belt guards.

Congrats on the latest version of a proven platform that will give you years of service without a hitch.

[jim tracy]

Congrats Ken,

I am also in the market for a new joiner. I have a Jet 6" that I find very limiting. I wish Grizzly would make their G0706 in an 8" or 10" verison. I love the 60" bed on the G0706 for my very small shop. I would love the 12" but it's just priced a little out of my reach.....:D

[Ken Fitzgerald]

The truck driver called last night. It will deliver after 1200 today.

I may be running out of luck with my truck drivers delivering tools, though.

Of course, I'm now deaf so I didn't take the phone call, the LOML did.

The driver tersely told her he'd deliver it with a lift gate to set it down on the cement. Whoa! The only cement on my property is floor of my carport or the floor of my shop. I think he probably means the asphalt which means I'll be making a mad dash to the rental place for a pallet jack.

Every other time I have had a large tool delivered, the driver has very genereously helped me get it into the shop.

It wouldn't surprise me if my luck ran out.

Just for kicks, I ordered a straight edge too. I have never owned one for personal use. It delivers later today also.

[Rod Sheridan]

Congrats Ken, always nice to get a new piece of machinery.

Hope the delivery guy helps you out...............Regards, Rod.

[Matt Armstrong]

Congrats! I found my grizzly jointer beds to be about the most precise pieces of cast iron in my shop (which is a good thing, obviously). I am very happy with my non-spiral G0490, but I have an older model with a super noisy belt and belt guard. Some day I'll see if I can't fix it, but it works for now.

The parallelogram table height adjustment probably only really has an advantage over the other mechanisms in those cases where you need to re-align. I havne't had to align my jointer.

[Dan Hintz]

Normally I wouldn't suggest such a thing, Ken, but if the driver is a pain, play up the disabled card... tell him your loss of hearing makes it difficult to move large equipment because you can't hear people yell when you drop things on their toes, or you can't hear the molding peel off when the item is juuuust too big to fit through the door.

Meh, it's worth a try...

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I don't think it will work Dan.

I suspect I'll be making a mad dash out to rent a pallet jack.

Here's the sad part. We average 13" of moisture per year. 3" inches less we'd be a desert.

Guess what the weather is doing today?

If I could just get it onto the carport out of the rain, I'd be happy!

[Dan Hintz]

Better pick up a small tarp while you're out there, then...

[Gene Waara]

Congrats on the purchase, Ken. The driver rolled my G690 up a steep driveway into my garage a couple of weeks ago. I, too, was afraid I would get a grouch who would drop it on the street and wave good-bye. That was not the case so perhaps the driver was lowering your expectation and will do the right thing. My driver was very appreciative of the $20 I slipped him as he was leaving - worth a try!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Gene,

Every driver that has helped me put them in the shop got an extra $20. The last guy argued with me for 10 minutes about it. I finally folded it up and put it in his pocket and told him he shouldn't argue with someone old enough to be his father.

[David Weaver]

My driver is good, too. He takes the money, but he doesn't wait for pay to bring it in the shop. he looks at the order, he sees that my shop is downhill (not far, but downhill) from the back of the truck and walks it down and I give him $20, same as you.

I'm lucky. A lot of the things I've gotten don't offer liftgate, and I've told him that I would've paid for liftgate were it an option. I do pay for it when it is.

He's cool by me, and the fact that he uses the liftgate and rolls it down into my shop means he's on to his next delivery a lot faster than he would be if we were pushing it off the truck and onto a tall cart I have, only to then move it off the cart so the next box can be put on the same cart.

[Marty Paulus]

ummm Ken, As per the standards set forth in this Forum. No pics it didn't happen. However since we are mere minutes away from delivery and I am sure you will drop everything just to post those pics (can you hear the sarcasm in there?:D) I will congratulate you on your purchase. Not to mention this is a pre-gloat...

I am also looking to get a jointer soon. Just need to finish a few details up in the garage to make the room. Then I too can have another tool that is beyond my capability.

I am definitely looking forward to your review once you get things set up.

[David Christopher]

congrats on the new jointer Ken, hope you enjoy it

[Ken Fitzgerald]

David,

You are going to find this hard to believe but since you visited my shop I thought I'd tell you.

As of 5 minutes ago, there are no more saw horses with plywood set on them in my shop.

I finally got enough cabinets built to everything away but wood.

Once I get this jointer cleaned up and set up, I have a cherry pedestal table that needs a finish put on it. Then a wood rack will be built.

Then I can have an somewhat organized shop.

[Brett Nelson]

I'm jealous. I just took delivery of a very similar Grizzly jointer, but couldn't (or simply didn't) justify the spiral cutterhead. Really wish I would've now. Ughh..... But congrats!!!!!

[Chuck Wintle]

Gene,

Every driver that has helped me put them in the shop got an extra $20. The last guy argued with me for 10 minutes about it. I finally folded it up and put it in his pocket and told him he shouldn't argue with someone old enough to be his father.
Ken,

looking forward to some pictures and your review of the new machine! :D

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Gene,

Every driver that has helped me put them in the shop got an extra $20. The last guy argued with me for 10 minutes about it. I finally folded it up and put it in his pocket and told him he shouldn't argue with someone old enough to be his father.

BTDT You know they appreciate it. One driver said he keeps his tip $ and spends them at Woodcraft and Lee Valley--I told him he was a pretty smart guy.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

It's in the shop.


My dear friend and neighbor saw the tractor/trailer pull up and he met him with his leather gloves on.

With this mornings rain and the height and length of his trailer, we'd never got the truck to my shop and the ground was too wet and soft to allow his pallet jack to make it to the shop. The driver helped us put it on the carport out of the weather and flat out refused a tip. He finally said, he take a hand shake as a tip. I thanked him.

My neighbor and I loaded the stand into the back of his pickup and got it to the shop. Then using come-along and a fence stretcher, we loaded the aircraft carrier beds and head crate into his pickup and got it into the shop.

It will be a few days before I get it put together. I have to help my oldest son paint his house first.

I will open the boxes later this evening to look for damage but won't be assemblying anything for a few days.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Ken,
I'm sure you know this but three pieces of pipe spaced under the crate will roll like it is on wheels. When the back one falls out, move it to the front. Good luck with the new tool. Quality wood working begins with flat stock.
butch

[Joe Mioux]

congrats ken!

I know you will have fun using it.

joe

btw: I like how it looks in your shop. :p:eek::eek::D

[Jim Becker]

Congratulations, Ken!!!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Well,

I finally got it assembled, dialed in and tested.

The beds and fence on this G0490X were less than 0.003" of being completely flat with no twisting. I am pleased.

I got two neighbors who helped me get it from my carport to the shop. I uncrated and assembled it by myself. After buying two 4' lifting straps and renting an engine hoist, it wasn't difficult at all to assemble it by myself.

Since I can't work currently, I took my time checking it out and performing the mechanical alignments.

There are some minor things with the fit and finish that I would have preferred to be better BUT....at 1/9th the cost of a Northfield, 1/2 the cost of a PM and $1,000 less than an equivalent Laguna, I am more than pleased.

The good news is that I tested it on a 30" piece of 5"x 5" cherry and it works wonderfully with no snipe.

So here's the required proof:

161129

161130

161131

[Paul McGaha]

Perfect. Congratulations Ken.

[Gary Hodgin]

Congratulations!!

[glenn bradley]

Congrats Ken. I have used mine several times a week for over 2 years now and still smile every time I turn it on.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Ken, Congratulations!! great post. :)Tom

[Bruce Page]

Congrats Ken, that is one sweeeeeet machine!

[gary Zimmel]

Looks great in it's new home Ken. Congrats..

[michael case]

Ken,
I would advise putting lock tight on the set screws on the lower pulley. They have tendency to work loose. The same is true for the allen screw that holds the top pulley in place. Also check the set screw on the centrifugal switch on the motor arbor. It also can work loose and grind up the arbor. It can also vibrate out of position and leave the motor with only 110 volt. You will know if this happens as the motor will run at a very slow speed. So IMO its worth opening the front of the stand and taking off the little motor screen in order to lock tight and tighten this screw. I have had screws in all three of these critcal areas loosen and cause problems on this machine. By the way I love this machine. It has power and accuracy and has been a great addition to my shop. Congrats.

[Dave MacArthur]

Looks great, Ken!
You may have gotten more "pre-gloat" mileage out of this than most-- I kept seeing you "buying a new jointer" and was thinking man that fellow uses up a lot of jointers!

Michael Case makes a good point above, I did read a thread recently about the pulley set-screws working loose and causing vibrations. Another good idea for those screws that I've seen employed on my PM66 is to use two stacked set-screws. Drive the first one in, lock-tite it, then screw another in on top. My PM66 has that on all it's handle and pulley set screws.

Really looks like a nice machine, waiting to hear how that carbide head works.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dave,

The piece of cherry I showed there was as smooth as can be. I would expect the the carbide cutters to work well. Glenn posted that he hasn't rotated his yet and he's been using it for 2 years.

[Darin Higginbotham]

Very nice Ken, maybe if I'm really good this year Santa might...well there is always next year. Congrats on the very nice machine.

[Van Huskey]

Congrats Ken!

[Marty Paulus]

Looks great Ken. Congrats!

[Will Overton]

Congrats Ken.

I have a Grizz 6" with spiral head ... based on my experience I think you're gonna love that 8" beauty.

[Phil Thien]

She's a beauty, Ken!

[Dennis Peacock]

Congrats to ya Ken.!!! Great machine and it's always nice to have flat and square stock and that machine will help you get your wood to that spot.! :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

[Sam Layton]

Good job Ken, congratulations. It is always nice to get something you have been looking forward to for a along time.

Sam

[Bob Turkovich]

What's the over/under on the number of threads in which Ken brings up his new jointer? :D (I think it's currently at 3 and counting.....)


It's not that I'm jealous or anything.......:rolleyes:

[Dave Zellers]

Ken,
I would advise putting lock tight on the set screws on the lower pulley. They have tendency to work loose. The same is true for the allen screw that holds the top pulley in place. Also check the set screw on the centrifugal switch on the motor arbor.

What is lock tight, what exactly does it do and where does one get it? When you later need to remove the set screws, is it now difficult to do?

I really, really, really want this machine (minus the 'X') and have it in my head that the sale prices end on the 25th. Is that true?


Keepin' the thread alive for ya Ken.:) Appreciate the pictures and recounting of the delivery and set-up as I prepare to swallow really hard.:eek:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dave.....Loc-tite is a thread locking compound and it comes in varying degrees of hardness. The varying degrees are variable for size of screws and threads and whether or not you might want to get the screw out in the future.

At one time I was told that it was a micro-organism that died when exposed to air and the organisms swole up when they died. Whether this is true or not, I'm not sure.

But, I often use the "blue" loc-tite which allows screws to be removed.

There are also thread locking compounds made for hydraulic conditions.

Loc-tite is a brand name.

Thread locking compounds are a generic term.

They are available at most automotive supply houses and hardware stores.

[Van Huskey]

At one time I was told that it was a micro-organism that died when exposed to air and the organisms swole up when they died. Whether this is true or not, I'm not sure.

.

AFAIK Lock-tite is a completely synthetic anerobic curing sealent. The trick at first was how to package and ship something that cures when and only when it is in a oxygen depleted state (such as between threads), close it up in a standard bottle and it cures. They ended up with a polyethylene bottle that is oxygen permeable.

[Ron Kellison]

So now that you know the jointer is flat, parallel and perfectly at 90 degrees, what are you going to do with the straight edge? ;)

Regards,

Ron

[Tony Perrone]

Congratulations!! makes my ridgid look lame:)

[Dave Zellers]

Well, I did it.:eek:

Ordered the G0490 (no 'X') this morning. Bought some blue thread locking compound.

Then this afternoon I found the perfect dust collector for me on craigslist, not just in my same town, but less than 2 miles away! A Jet Dust Collector (model DC1100C).

Wow. A very good day.:cool:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congrats Dave! It was a good day!

[Dave Zellers]

Thanks! Now I'm like a 10 year old waiting for it to arrive. Decided it will be better for me to drive the 90 minutes and pick it up at the trucking terminal than risk a huge semi trying to navigate my narrow dirt road. So maybe it will be there Friday.

Lots to do. Gotta make room for it and extend my 220v line. And think about piping for dust collection.

My shop has always been one of those ankle-deep-in-sawdust shops. I can't wait to get this DC hooked up. He also had the Delta Air Cleaner 50-868 and I bought that as well. 30 years of breathing sawdust is about to come to an end.

Thank you to the folks here who really pushed the value of DC. I just assumed I couldn't afford it but this was pretty reasonable.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dave,

I just came in from my shop.

My G0490X is running smooth BUT so many people have reported the set screws being loose on the pulleys, I decided to pull the covers again.

Guess what....I can verify the problem. One of the set screws on the pulley on the motor shaft was loose. I removed both of them and put blue loc-tite on them and reinstalled them.

I pulled the bolt that holds the pulley on the spiral cutter head and reinstalled it with blue loc-tite.

I just pulled the front cover and the cover off the fan end of the motor. In the morning after the sun is up, I will get my C-clip pliers out of my toolbox in my company van and remove the fan to get at the screw holding the centrifugal switch on the motor. I will loc-tite it and work my way back out.

Then a test drive and then reinstall covers.

[Dave Zellers]

Wow. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

This is exactly why I wanted to keep this thread alive since I knew I was about to bite the bullet and snag me one of these babies. Special thanks to michael case for pointing this out.

Blue lock tight all around!:cool: (I went generic) :D


I have to say, knowing I can come here and find answers makes the buying decisions a LOT easier. And in this case, avoiding a potentially big problem in advance is worth my $6 contribution times ten.

If not a hundred. Thank you michael, thank you Ken.

[Karl Card]

That has to be a good feeling. I am glad for you.

[Mike Metz]

Congrats Ken on your new toy :). I as well have had this model almost from it's release and have face & edge jointed several hundred feet of oak, cherry, black walnut and others, still to this day have not needed to even rotate any of the cutters. Its still cutting as well today as the first day i got it!!! One bit of advise is to find a good feed rate if you go to fast you will get alot of ridges on the surface, to slow and you will get divits and minor burning. Enjoy it!! i did so much that i ordered the 20" g0454z planer a couple of months ago and its just as great!

[Dave Zellers]

Man these guys are fast!

Ordered it yesterday morning, got a call this morning from the freight co, picked it up this afternoon.

Now somehow I have to drag this out of the back of my van. The cartons were in perfect shape.

[Curt Harms]

Man these guys are fast!

Ordered it yesterday morning, got a call this morning from the freight co, picked it up this afternoon.

Now somehow I have to drag this out of the back of my van. The cartons were in perfect shape.

Shop Cranes/Engine Lifts are a very good solution. One could save strained parts on you, cracked parts from dropped castings etc. Just something to consider, especially if you don't have help.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I bought 2 lifting straps and rented an engine hoist to assemble mine. I had 2 neighbors help me move it from my carport to the shop.

[Don Bullock]

Congratulations Ken. I have the regular G0490 and like it. The X model sounds great. It was introduced just after I bought mine -- the story of my life.

[Steven DeMars]

I don't think it will work Dan.

I suspect I'll be making a mad dash out to rent a pallet jack.

Here's the sad part. We average 13" of moisture per year. 3" inches less we'd be a desert.

Guess what the weather is doing today?

If I could just get it onto the carport out of the rain, I'd be happy!

I have found a $20.00 works just like a pallet jack . . . .:)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Steven,

Read my posts....

1. I offered the guy $20 just for putting it on the carport.

2. His tractor trailer won't fit into my backyard.

3. It was raining....the ground was soft...........his pallet jack wasn't going into my backyard to my shop.

So.....he not only put it on the ground....he moved from the street into my carport and then refused multiple attemtps by me to put $20 in his pocket. My neighbor was there and withnessed.

But you are right tipping the drivers often does wonders.

[Steven DeMars]

Sorry, was at work :o . . . . Was skimming, not reading . . . .As good as SMC is . . . . employers hate to see you reading . . . . Don't know why . . .

Steve


Steven,

Read my posts....

1. I offered the guy $20 just for putting it on the carport.

2. His tractor trailer won't fit into my backyard.

3. It was raining....the ground was soft...........his pallet jack wasn't going into my backyard to my shop.

So.....he not only put it on the ground....he moved from the street into my carport and then refused multiple attemtps by me to put $20 in his pocket. My neighbor was there and withnessed.

But you are right tipping the drivers often does wonders.

[Thomas Delpizzo]

Hey Ken, let us know when you're set up. I have some nice walnut and hickory that needs milling!! :D

Notice how as we get older we're more excited by new toys, er - tools, rather than the wife expecting another family addition?

enjoy and be careful with your new addition!!

[John Shuk]

Hi Thomas,
Just wanted to say hello. I'm right down the road in Cold Spring.
John