Brett Bobo
03-04-2013, 6:08 PM
First off, thanks to Grizzly for offering the 10% off coupon for SMC back several weeks ago. Saving several hundred dollars, essentially shipping, was enough of a tipping point to take the plunge.
Not that the shipping logistics relate to the review of the jointer but I figure that some may benefit of knowing this information as well, basically stepping through the process from the point of purchase to having the machine up and running. My order was placed late afternoon via the web on February 19th and was shipped out the following day from the Missouri location via Saia motor freight with liftgate service. About a day later, my tracking information was updated through my Grizzly order with a direct link to Saia's page. By February 22nd, two days after shipment, the jointer was at the terminal dock here in Houston ready for locally delivery. After a phone call with Saia to schedule delivery, the jointer was delivered on February 25th. Kudos to the driver, who is actually the same driver who has delivered equipment previously, but he went above and beyond to place the jointer where I wanted in the workshop.
Overall, I spent a thorough two hours uncrating the machine, inventorying and inspecting the parts, cleaning off the cosmoline, finishing the assembly, wiring the plug, etc. The machine was very well crated in a plywood shell and platform, sitting on a metal base frame. Essentially, the jointer comes pre-assembled with only a few minor sub-assemblies that the user must perform: installing the fence bracket and fence, cutterhead guard, the switch box bracket/pedestal switch for the on/off buttons, and installing a plug.
There were a couple of hiccups with damaged parts but I'm working those details out with Grizzly now and as expected, they're on course to make good on those items. However, overall the fit and finish was excellent. The tables and fence are precision ground and polished. The alignment of the table lip (both left and right of the cutterhead) and rabbeting arm in relation to the tables was excellent. Given the weight of the machine and the 3 HP motor, it passed the nickel test and there's minimal vibration.
The pedestal switch is a L-shaped bracket that attaches the back of the unit (bolted) and extends up to the housing for the on/off buttons. Having come from the G0490, I noticed that the L-shaped bracket was not as rigid/stiff as I'd like when turning the machine on and off. The L-shaped bracket has a weld seam at the horizontal tube to vertical tube connection. Instead of welding the entire perimeter, only the two vertical edges are (fillet) welded. Over time, I'm concerned about the fatigue of these welds, even as a hobby user. Ideally, a gusset plate could be added, a full perimeter weld, and/or increase the wall thickness of the vertical bracket tube to stiffen the L-shaped bracket. There is a noticeable deflection in the bracket when pushing the buttons and ideally, it's best to hold the back of the housing while pushing the buttons. Some of this may improve once the buttons have been used and loosen up but having had some close calls in the past, a one finger "punch" on the off button is very helpful.
As others have mentioned previously, I was informed about the metal to metal contact of the fence riding on the outfeed table, causing a visible scratch pattern. I don't believe any changes or improvements have been made at this point but I did notice that the perimeter edges of the fence were sharp to the touch. Before mounting the fence, I took a fair amount of time to file down the sharp edges along the perimeter of the fence and follow up with 220 sandpaper. As an extra precaution, which may be removed at some point, I used blue painters tape along the bottom edge of the fence as an added preventative.
The jointer does not come with a built-in mobile base, which I knew ahead of time, but I didn't realize how important it would be after the fact. I have the G0454, for example, which has a built-in mobile base and weighs in about 100 lbs. less than the jointer. Of course, I realize there's a limit on providing a built-in mobile base but given the jointer weighs 850 lbs., it seems feasible to do so. Aside from that, I have yet to find a mobile base that is offered for this machine based on the required capacity and the base footprint so I'll probably have one custom built. While I don't use the mobility of several of my machines very often, aside from an occasional cleanout, it would be most helpful in the event the machine needs to be physically moved to a different location, e.g. need for major service, house move, etc.
One of the key features I really like are the fine adjustment handwheels on both the infeed and outfeed side. Obviously, there won't be much adjustment on the outfeed side once it's setup but fine tuning the height on the infeed side is very handy. The handwheels operate smoothly and these allow the capability to fine tune the depth setting. Also, the handles pivot out for adjustments and similarly pivot in (flush against the machine) so there's no interference with the operator during use.
I haven't put the machine through its paces yet, other than fire it up and run it for a few minutes so there will be a continuation or part II to this thread for table flatness, fence flatness, table parallelism, setting TDC, etc. Hopefully, this information will be as useful to other potential buyers as was the information I received from others on this forum, in particular Steve Kohn.
Not that the shipping logistics relate to the review of the jointer but I figure that some may benefit of knowing this information as well, basically stepping through the process from the point of purchase to having the machine up and running. My order was placed late afternoon via the web on February 19th and was shipped out the following day from the Missouri location via Saia motor freight with liftgate service. About a day later, my tracking information was updated through my Grizzly order with a direct link to Saia's page. By February 22nd, two days after shipment, the jointer was at the terminal dock here in Houston ready for locally delivery. After a phone call with Saia to schedule delivery, the jointer was delivered on February 25th. Kudos to the driver, who is actually the same driver who has delivered equipment previously, but he went above and beyond to place the jointer where I wanted in the workshop.
Overall, I spent a thorough two hours uncrating the machine, inventorying and inspecting the parts, cleaning off the cosmoline, finishing the assembly, wiring the plug, etc. The machine was very well crated in a plywood shell and platform, sitting on a metal base frame. Essentially, the jointer comes pre-assembled with only a few minor sub-assemblies that the user must perform: installing the fence bracket and fence, cutterhead guard, the switch box bracket/pedestal switch for the on/off buttons, and installing a plug.
There were a couple of hiccups with damaged parts but I'm working those details out with Grizzly now and as expected, they're on course to make good on those items. However, overall the fit and finish was excellent. The tables and fence are precision ground and polished. The alignment of the table lip (both left and right of the cutterhead) and rabbeting arm in relation to the tables was excellent. Given the weight of the machine and the 3 HP motor, it passed the nickel test and there's minimal vibration.
The pedestal switch is a L-shaped bracket that attaches the back of the unit (bolted) and extends up to the housing for the on/off buttons. Having come from the G0490, I noticed that the L-shaped bracket was not as rigid/stiff as I'd like when turning the machine on and off. The L-shaped bracket has a weld seam at the horizontal tube to vertical tube connection. Instead of welding the entire perimeter, only the two vertical edges are (fillet) welded. Over time, I'm concerned about the fatigue of these welds, even as a hobby user. Ideally, a gusset plate could be added, a full perimeter weld, and/or increase the wall thickness of the vertical bracket tube to stiffen the L-shaped bracket. There is a noticeable deflection in the bracket when pushing the buttons and ideally, it's best to hold the back of the housing while pushing the buttons. Some of this may improve once the buttons have been used and loosen up but having had some close calls in the past, a one finger "punch" on the off button is very helpful.
As others have mentioned previously, I was informed about the metal to metal contact of the fence riding on the outfeed table, causing a visible scratch pattern. I don't believe any changes or improvements have been made at this point but I did notice that the perimeter edges of the fence were sharp to the touch. Before mounting the fence, I took a fair amount of time to file down the sharp edges along the perimeter of the fence and follow up with 220 sandpaper. As an extra precaution, which may be removed at some point, I used blue painters tape along the bottom edge of the fence as an added preventative.
The jointer does not come with a built-in mobile base, which I knew ahead of time, but I didn't realize how important it would be after the fact. I have the G0454, for example, which has a built-in mobile base and weighs in about 100 lbs. less than the jointer. Of course, I realize there's a limit on providing a built-in mobile base but given the jointer weighs 850 lbs., it seems feasible to do so. Aside from that, I have yet to find a mobile base that is offered for this machine based on the required capacity and the base footprint so I'll probably have one custom built. While I don't use the mobility of several of my machines very often, aside from an occasional cleanout, it would be most helpful in the event the machine needs to be physically moved to a different location, e.g. need for major service, house move, etc.
One of the key features I really like are the fine adjustment handwheels on both the infeed and outfeed side. Obviously, there won't be much adjustment on the outfeed side once it's setup but fine tuning the height on the infeed side is very handy. The handwheels operate smoothly and these allow the capability to fine tune the depth setting. Also, the handles pivot out for adjustments and similarly pivot in (flush against the machine) so there's no interference with the operator during use.
I haven't put the machine through its paces yet, other than fire it up and run it for a few minutes so there will be a continuation or part II to this thread for table flatness, fence flatness, table parallelism, setting TDC, etc. Hopefully, this information will be as useful to other potential buyers as was the information I received from others on this forum, in particular Steve Kohn.