8" jointers, PM, JET, Grizzly?

[Dominic Carpenter]

I'm looking to purchase a jointer for my home shop. I'm not high volume guy, I make three or four nice pieces a year. I'm looking for an 8" jointer that will be around for a very long time. I'm considering the PM 60HH, JET, and the Grizzly G0490X all spiral cutter heads. The PM comes with the Byrd and has a 54 carbide cutterhead, the JET and Grizzly come with a 40 carbide cutterhead. The cost of the PM is $1,000 more than the Grizzly and the is JET $900 more than the Grizzly. I have heard good things about Grizzly, but never owned one other their machines. I'll pay the difference for the PM (would love to have a gold machine in the room), but obviously like the $1,200 price of the Grizzly. I'm hung up on the number of CC on the Grizzly head and its long term quality. I don't think the JET is worth the extra $900, but I could be wrong. Any thoughts?

[glenn bradley]

Mustard yellow is quite attractive but, $1000!?! (sorry PM fans, don't start sending me hate-mail :)). I've run the pee-wad out of a G0490X for years without regret. I will temper that with the fact that I am a parallelogram bed bigot; the extra pony is a nice touch as well. The newer models have the well discussed belt-slap and dust-chute issue corrected by design. The older ones, like mine, required a simple modification.

The PM is also a nice machine. I have not seen the Jet but, have some of their stuff and have no complaints. If you are not committed to a badge or a color, your options are pretty open. I may have seen a few bad remarks about each of these machines but, mostly good reviews all around. I hold the sneaking suspicion that some people can find something wrong with almost anything :D.

[Mike Metz]

i have had the g0490x since it came out, its still running like day 1. i face joint and edge joint over 100bf a month on it and its always a perfect cut

[Carl Beckett]

I sold my Grizzly 8" (no spiral head) for $450. I worked flawlessly the entire time I had it, and I felt the next guy got a great piece of equipment.

Then I would also consider a Delta DJ20. Have heard nothing but good things about these.

Or you could go 'old arn'...:

http://erie.craigslist.org/tls/3443802200.html

ok... Im not answering your question. (but you might consider used and then upgrade to the head you want)

In terms of quality, I have had several Grizzly machines and have had very positive experiences and have not worn a single one out.

[Jim Riseborough]

I have two pieces of Grizz equipemnt, a table saw and planer. Both are superior to what I had. Could PM be superior to these? Hard to tell without trying. Go for the PM if you can afford, nice to have a Cadillac every once and a while.

[Dustin Brown]

I have a 490X as well. Must be pretty tough because the crate was demolished when it got here and it was still setup nearly perfect when I got it. Only had to adjust the outfeed table height.

The only bad thing I really hated was cleaning all the grease off. I was able to remove the cutterhead easily to make the cleaning less painful. So far I am very pleased with the purchase. I only have about 200bf of hard maple and walnut through it so far, but the cutters are still as sharp as when I got it.

The other thing that slightly bugs me is the track marks from the cutters. There some grooves the width of some of the cutters, not deep at all though. I just run one pass over that side on my planer with a byrd head. I have tried to adjust the individual cutters to make sure they are seated properly, but nothing changes. You really can't feel the tracks, but you can see them.

Overall its a great purchase for the money, I have no regrets and the money I saved allowed me to buy some other things.

[Andrew Hughes]

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/tls/3463795585.html. If I didn't already have a eight inch jointer I maybe tempted to look at something used like this.

[Dominic Carpenter]

Dustin's post (#6) is what I was most concerned about. I wonder how dramatic a difference there is in the quality of the cut between the 54 CC Byrd and the 40 CC Grizzly head? I guess it should be obvious, but is it one of those things you would like to see before you jump in. Thanks for the feedback on Grizzly everyone.

[Matt Day]

You could buy the Grizzly jointer w/o the spiral head (G0490 at $850) and buy the Byrd head ($330) and still come out way ahead of the Powermatic. That would cost you a whopping $55 over the G0490X ($1125), and you'd have a brand new straight knife cutterhead to boot - though you'd have some labor involved to swap the heads.

[Erik Christensen]

I have the Grizzly and it has seen moderate use for the 3+ years I have had it. Have yet to rotate the first cutter. I have never noticed any tracks in any boards I have run over it. would buy it again

[Bill White]

Go Grizz, and enjoy whatever tech support ya might ever need.
Color is one thing, but performance is the decider.
Bill

[Carl Beckett]

You could buy the Grizzly jointer w/o the spiral head (G0490 at $850) and buy the Byrd head ($330) and still come out way ahead of the Powermatic. That would cost you a whopping $55 over the G0490X ($1125), and you'd have a brand new straight knife cutterhead to boot - though you'd have some labor involved to swap the heads.


The byrd head is only $330?

Then buy a used Grizzly 8" - $450 to $500
A Byrd head - $330

You have everything you want for around $800

(ok, not quite everything. 2 cans of gold Rustoleum - $12)

[Joe Angrisani]

The byrd head is only $330?....

No.

The Byrd head for the G0490 is $385. The Byrd head for the G0656 is $339.95.

Still a deal. I'd either go with straight knives or a Byrd head. I have a G0656 I bought used off Craigslist for $400 and I'm still quite happy with the knives. Works fine, so no early replacement of the blade cutterhead. But when the time comes, I'll go Byrd, not Grizz-brand.

[Charlie Barnes]

I was all set to buy the Grizzly G0490X last year and then happened upon a new, in the box PM60HH for $1200 from a local guy. It was 3 phase, so the guy hadn't had many interested lookers. I bought a rotary converter which added a couple of hundred dollars to the mix. Anyway, I'm pretty happy with it now. I've mostly edge jointed with it, but recently face jointed some cherry that twisted and I was very happy with the results. It seems to have plenty of power to do what I need it to do and the results are very smooth. But all I have to compare it with is my old 6" Jet Shopline.

[joe milana]

There's a DJ20 just listed on woodweb for $900. Reputable seller too.

[Jim Riseborough]

Grizzly has sales right now on Byrd Heads, for 250 i bought a 6" for my Ridgid, gonna make that last till next xmas and go for something bigger. I was bidding on a PM 8" with a helix head on Ebay, went for 1130 and change. I was 1105. Wonder if the winner is on here?

[Matt Day]

Sorry for the error on the cutterhead price, i did it quickly and picked the first 8" head. i still think that's the way to go, or find a used one in the $400-$500 range and upgrade the cutterhead.

[Dominic Carpenter]

Thanks to everyone. I'm going to look at CL and strongly consider the Byrd head with the Grizzly.

[Keith Avery]

Grizzly has sales right now on Byrd Heads, for 250 i bought a 6" for my Ridgid, gonna make that last till next xmas and go for something bigger. I was bidding on a PM 8" with a helix head on Ebay, went for 1130 and change. I was 1105. Wonder if the winner is on here?

Thanks for only bidding 1105!! I am going to get it on Tuesday. I have bought a ton of stuff from those guys at a fraction of retail. I really didn't think I would win as I think my max bid was $1135. I decided I would buy Grizzly for anymore than that.

[Will Rowland]

I looked for a year on Craigslist for an 8" jointer, and was able to score an Invicta-era DJ20 for $200 (gloat!). As the blades were shot, I purchased the Byrd head from Grizzly during their last sale for $325. So, the deals are out there. I just missed two DJ-20s prior, each went for around $700, but they were in excellent condition.

There were a couple broken parts on my DJ20 - the rabbeting shelf and the lock handles, and there wasn't a dust collection fitting. I ordered those parts from Grizzly (for the G4090 - 25% of the cost of the same parts from Delta) and, guess what - they all fit perfectly! Knowing that, and as long as the tables are reasonably flat, I really think the G4090 with the Byrd head is the best option for a new jointer.

I do business with several Chinese manufacturers, and given what I've seen, I would not be one bit surprised if the current DJ20 and G4090 are made side-by-side in the same plant. It is after all a jointer - not a milling machine - and after the tables what is most important is the cutter head.

[Jim Riseborough]

Thanks for only bidding 1105!! I am going to get it on Tuesday. I have bought a ton of stuff from those guys at a fraction of retail. I really didn't think I would win as I think my max bid was $1135. I decided I would buy Grizzly for anymore than that.
You suck! I was going to go higher, but with tax, and 600 mile round trip it was getting out of my budget, but for 30$ I could have made it happen. Let us know the particulars, I had asked them about the cutting head, but no more info given. Hope it's in perfect working order!

[Jim Stewart]

I have had a G0490 for 8 years now. I was worried about the China motor when I bought it but it is still doing fine. I changed the pulleys and the belt to the newer link belt system and this was a huge improvement in noise. Before I changed that it sounded like an old maytag washer. I also bought a Byrd head to replace the steel blades. This is now a quiet and extremely smooth cutting machine.

[Carl Beckett]

Thanks to everyone. I'm going to look at CL and strongly consider the Byrd head with the Grizzly.

Hi Dominic,

This is a useful search tool: www . searchtempest . com

[Dominic Carpenter]

Hi Dominic,

This is a useful search tool: www . searchtempest . com
Thanks, Carol. That is a nice search tool. I'll keep looking for a few weeks, nothing within 400 miles of South Bend right now. I'm starting to consider a jointer planner combo based on my space (sharing a 2 car garage with my wife's car.

[Curt Harms]

Thanks, Carol. That is a nice search tool. I'll keep looking for a few weeks, nothing within 400 miles of South Bend right now. I'm starting to consider a jointer planner combo based on my space (sharing a 2 car garage with my wife's car.

Certainly something to consider if you're space limited. I have a Jet JJP-12, it fits in a 2' X 5' space. I got mine from this guy:

http://www.equipmentsalesandsurplus.com/product_p/708-475.htm Free shipping including liftgate. Mine drop shipped from Tennessee.

[Jim Andrew]

The Grizzly sale runs out in December. But who knows what will show up in January. There is not much available used in Kansas, so I just buy from Grizzly. Have had my G0609 for several years, no problems. I ordered the Byrd head, only downside with the Byrd is you cut down your capacity by 1/4" and you can't do rabbits on your jointer.