Help me with a Grizzly Jointer decision Please!!

[Tony Cox]

I am ready to pull the trigger on an 8" jointer. The 6" I currently have just doesn't do the job any longer. Mostly the table is too short. It's only about 38" long.

I was looking at 5 of the 8" jointers from Grizzly and I have pretty much narrowed it down to the G0490. What I need help with is whether or not I should get the spiral cutter? Is it really worth the extra money? I don't mind spending it if it makes a difference. My thought is if you are more than likely sending the pieces through the planer then is a spiral cutter on a jointer a benefit. I see it maybe being a plus as far as longevity of the cutting edge, but I would like to hear from others on the subject.

Thanks for playin'

[Brian Kincaid]

Longevity of the blades might be a factor, but for most it is this:
. Much quieter operation
. Less tearout
. Ease of blade change (essentially 4 sets of blades included)

Which is why I have a Byrd at the house ready for install in my G0490.

-Brian

[Brian Tymchak]

I don't have a spiral head on my current jointer or planer, but my next jointer and planer certainly will, for the exact reasons the other Brian noted.. ;) <- for some reason the smilies are not showing up on my session today...

Edit: oh.. now they show up in the post... hmm. not used to the new UI on the Creek here I guess.

Brian

[Cary Falk]

. Much quieter operation
. Less tearout
. Ease of blade change (essentially 4 sets of blades included)


This but in opposite order of importantance to me .

[paul dyar]

I got the GO490X almost 2 years ago. I had more of a problem with the length of the bed on my Jet 6" than the with. I mill my own boards. And the longer the beds the better. Love the spiral cutter. Had to stiffen the motor base, but other than that, no problems I spent hours getting the knives set on the Jet. The closest I ever got was .003. I would recommend this machine to a friend.
Paul

[Erik Christensen]

get the spiral cutter - i have it in my griz jointer and 15" planer - it IS worth the $$ IMO

[Samuel Butler]

I recently purchased the G4090 with the spiral cutter from Grizzly. Fantastic! Smooth cut, no blade adjustment (just table allignment). Would never go back.

[Keith Hankins]

I've got the G609 (12" grizzly) and struggled with the HSS .vs. spiral cutter. In the end I could afford the 12" with the 4 HSS or get the 8" with the spiral. I went with the 12" and could not be happier. Great tool. I figured I could always add the head later and you don't save getting it up front. I'll give you that that ease of change will be nice but you just don't do it that often. I think either way you are going to be happy. I have to admit that first time I took that 8' x 11" board and ran it through in one pass it was sweet! It's a heavy sucker but what the heck.

[Josh Rudolph]

Definitely get the spiral head option. The inserts are carbide which will last you longer than HSS. Then you have 4 sides to each insert. That is the equivalent of sending your blades out 3 times for sharpening (maybe 4 or 5 when you factor in the edge durability of carbide over HSS). You then have to factor in down time between sharpening or have a second set.
The noise reduction is awesome...I am wanting to convert my 20" planer, but that is a healthy investment...wish I would have bit the bullet when I bought it but was too impatient. I'll probably bite the bullet when I have to have my blades sharpened.

[glenn bradley]

I've given the same answer so many times over the years I'm just going to cut to the chase:


I have pretty much narrowed it down to the G0490.

Good thinking.


What I need help with is whether or not I should get the spiral cutter?Absolutely get the spiral head.


Is it really worth the extra money?From the minute you start to use it.


I don't mind spending it if it makes a difference.Night and day; you'll love it.


ThanksYou're welcome ;-)

[Mark Henshaw]

Ditto to what everyone else is saying. Just recieved a Grizzly 12" jointer/planer with the carbide sprial cutter to replace my 6" jointer. I am very satisfied with the short term performance of the head. I resently planed about 75 board feet of highly figured birdseye maple with absolutely no tear out. The 12" machine with a 5 hp motor is quieter planning 11" wide boards then my 6" one hp model was planning 4" boards.
As a side note, I was originally worried when I first examined the cutters. The carbide cutters do not feel near as sharp as a normal HSS blade that I was used to dealing with. My first board through the machine made a believer of me.

[Charlie McGuire]

I have had the G0490X for about 2 years - very happy with it.

[Rick Bunt]

Another very happy G0490X owner. Love the spiral cutter head! This jointer is my favorite tool in my shop.

[Phil Thien]

If I could only have one (spiral jointer or spiral planer), I'd go for the spiral planer.

I'd hope to be able to have both.

But I have neither.

[Van Huskey]

If you can get the spiral head. If you need more coaxing search helical head and see what the general opinion is on them...

[Dave Verstraete]

I've given the same answer so many times over the years I'm just going to cut to the chase:


Good thinking.

Absolutely get the spiral head.

From the minute you start to use it.

Night and day; you'll love it.

You're welcome ;-)

+1 couldn't say it any better....go spiral, you'll never regret it.

[Don L Johnson]

Mark,

How is the shorter bed on your 12" jointer/planer working out? I have a small shop, so the shorter bed would be a better fit, but I don't know at what expense for its overall use.

[Don Bullock]

Tony, I'm very pleased with my G0490. When I bought mine the X version wasn't available. While I probably would love the spiral cutter, the blades have been fine for me. Here in Southern California we don't have sawmills locally. Most of the lumber available is S3S so I rarely have to use the jointer on the face of the boards. I use the jointer for edges and the length is very useful when I'm working with longer stock. I consider the G0490 0r G490X to be very good machines for the money.

[Dave Zellers]

+1 with Don. Just have the 0490 and it's really good. I'm sure based on what everyone says that the spiral is better but a 4 knife cutterhead is pretty good too.

[Gregory Myers]

Tony,

I'm going to jump on the Bandwagon here....Get the Spiral Cutter!!!! I bought one from Grizzley, and I have to say that it's my favorite power tool I have in my workshop. It is so easy and comes out true everytime. I've loved mine so much that I'm considering getting a spiral planer now.

Greg

[Matt Kestenbaum]

Had to stiffen the motor base, but other than that, no problems
Paul

Paul -- not interested in thread-jacking...but I would REALLY like to hear more about this modification! You can PM me or start a new thread, whatever is easiest for you.

[Rick Moyer]

Tony,

I'm going to jump on the Bandwagon here....Get the Spiral Cutter!!!! I bought one from Grizzley, and I have to say that it's my favorite power tool I have in my workshop. It is so easy and comes out true everytime. I've loved mine so much that I'm considering getting a spiral planer now.

Greg
While I can understand the satisfaction of a spiral cutterhead on a jointer, why wouldn't one put one on a planer first? It would seem to me that it makes even more sense on a planer, yet most of you who have it on one machine have it on the jointer. I could live with a minor amount of tearout from a 4-knife jointer as long as the board was flat and square, because I could then surface plane it smooth both sides with the spiral on the planer. But, if I jointed it with the spiral then put it on the non-spiral planer to thickness I could still get tear-out. Am I missing something??

[Cary Falk]

While I can understand the satisfaction of a spiral cutterhead on a jointer, why wouldn't one put one on a planer first? It would seem to me that it makes even more sense on a planer, yet most of you who have it on one machine have it on the jointer. I could live with a minor amount of tearout from a 4-knife jointer as long as the board was flat and square, because I could then surface plane it smooth both sides with the spiral on the planer. But, if I jointed it with the spiral then put it on the non-spiral planer to thickness I could still get tear-out. Am I missing something??

Cost is a major factor. If you have a board that is very badly cupped or bowed, you might not have enough wood left to plane the side you just ran across the jointer . The biggest plus for me on the jointer and planer is no more setting of knivess.

[glenn bradley]

But, if I jointed it with the spiral then put it on the non-spiral planer to thickness I could still get tear-out. Am I missing something??

Nope, you're on target. That is why I went with a spiral on my planer upgrade. The jointer spoiled me and you can only plane out so much tearout. If I could only have it on one I would pick the planer. If I had material I wanted to use only the spiral on I would use a planer sled to face joint and then plane to thickness. I'm a lot happier with the spiral on both but, they aren't cheap.

[Rick Fisher]

Definately go spiral..

I have a Jointer that has Tersa knives.. For VG Fir and Red Oak, the Tersa straight knives are great.. For Eastern Maple, I end up running the Jointed surface through the planer (which has a helical head) to clean up the finish..

I built a cabinet out of quilted maple early in the spring, the Tersa Knives where a nightmare.. Planer with Helical cleaned up the mess but cost thickness..

I have plans to replace the Tersa head with a Byrd cutterhead in 2011..

[Hans Braul]

Add one more for the spiral, and I wouldn't spend the extra on Byrd. I have the Grizzly 12 jointer with their cutterhead and it's wonderful.

Hans

[Peter Aeschliman]

Sure if you have the money to spend, it make sense to get the spiral cutter on both a planer and a jointer. But keep in mind, less tearout is not the only benefit. For me, the noise wasn't a huge issue... and I'm not at a stage where I feel comfortable working with exotic, highly-figured woods... so tearout wasn't my primary concern. My main concern is the time it takes to set straight knives.

I'm a hobbiest who only has maybe one day per weekend to work in the shop. I don't want to spend half of one of those days trying to get my jointer knives set correctly. If you have to set the knives on your planer and your jointer at the same time, you could kill 6 hours trying to get those darn things set correctly.

So get the spiral cutterhead if you have the budget to do so. For time savings alone, it's easily worth it. The decrease in noise, less tearout, and much longer cutting life are just cherries on top, IMO!

[Chip Lindley]

The G0490 with straight knives--$895. G0490X with spiral head--$1095. If you are buying NEW, including the spiral head for an extra $200 is a no-brainer! Buying the spiral head later will be $330 or more--depending on sales. Buy Once; Cry Once!