shop fox 8" jointer models w1741s vs w1741sw

[Brandon Hanley]

While getting ready to click submit on the order for a shop fox w1741w for $1212 I see an advertisement for the w1741s for $1364. That catches my interests because its only $150 more and has the spiral cutter. While trying to research it i keep finding stuff referencing the w1741sw which seems to have the exact same specs but rings up $1593.

I cant seem to find any info on the differences and am assuming the more expensive one is a newer production of the same thing. Does anyone have any more solid info than that?

Im willing to spend the $150 to upgrade from the non spiral model if it is infact an upgrade, but if some sort of issue is to blame for them changing the model name i wonder if i would be better off just sticking with the W1741w and paying to upgrade the cutter head later if i feel the need.

[Cary Falk]

I don't know the differences between all of the model numbers. Grizzly changed mfg facilities and added some letters to the G0490( same as the W1741)so I would guess this is the same deal. I have W1741 and spent $300 to put a Byrd head in it. I don't regret it one bit. I have never heard anyone say that they regretted the spiral in their jointer either. You might try calling Grizzly or Woodstock Int. and see if hey can tell you.

[Brandon Hanley]

I may have to do that. so far the only difference in the listings i see is that the w1741s doesnt mention "single v belt drive" maybe that is the only differance, not sure if that in its self is a big deal or not.

[Ernie Miller]

Do you have a ShopFox dealer nearby? If not, getting parts is a hassle as you can't order them from Woodstock Int. You must order through a dealer.

[Doug Garson]

On another forum I belong to there is a thread on Grizzly service, only a few posts but all positive including some relating how they got parts shipped directly to them from Grizzly with no hassle.

[Ernie Miller]

Yes, you can order parts directly from Grizzly, and many of them (but not all of them) can be used on the equivalent ShopFox version. Several of my machines (ShopFox) are needing replacement, and I will buy Grizzly to avoid the parts hassle.

[Matt Day]

I've order a number of grizzly parts for other clones (jet, ship fox, Powermatic, etc) and never had an issue with parts.

[Brandon Hanley]

The grizzly is the one I want, I am just sick of waiting it seems like it has been on back order for the last year. Meanwhile the shop Fox is available now with free shipping and no sales tax for the same or less than it would cost for the grizzly.

Shop Fox list Fastenal as a dealer and I have a few of those around but I don't see many shop Fox tools at all listed on their website

[Brandon Hanley]

I talked to Grizzly today but they didn't have any good news. It seems I have a few options but none that I really like. I hate the idea of waiting months for a jointer considering I've already got a project in mind that I need it for but I also hate the idea of not being able to get parts for months at a time later on down the road. If there are a few reliable dealers for shop Fox Parts in the area I wouldn't mind having to deal with them but so far unless the website is out of date they only listed about 4 places as dealers and Fastenal was the only one I have ever heard of.

All the 8in grizzly models with parallelogram beds and spiral cutter heads are on backorder until at least mid-october and she said the keyword was "hoping" they would have more in-stock with that shipment. The plain g0490 that has the parallelogram beds but not the spiral cutterhead is expected to be back in stock middle of next month.

That leaves me to these options none of which I really like but I don't see anything else that I would like better either in my budget

1. Wait a month and a half for the exact Grizzly model I want with parallelogram beds and spiral cutterhead

2. Get the grizzly without the spiral cutterhead and later make the decision if it is worth upgrading or not or even if I should just get the spiral cutter head for a planer instead.

3. By the shop Fox with parallelogram beds and spiral cutterhead and have it within a week ready to rock and roll until it doesn't rock and roll anymore and hope I can find parts.

I'm leaning towards the second option. Only because of the issue with trying to get parts for the shop Fox. It scares me to spend that much money on a tool that may end up just sitting around broken for months on end. If I could somehow be reassured that I would have no problem getting parts for the shop Fox I would order that in a second.

[Ernie Miller]

You might call Grizzly again and ask if Grizzly parts will work on the ShopFox machine. If so, that would make your decision much easier.

[Brandon Hanley]

I should have mentioned but I did pacifically asked that and was told that while some parts are compatible others aren't. That was about as much as I could get out of her.

I had already gathered that much from the internet but the only issue is nobody scenes to know exactly which parts are and aren't interchangeable

[Mike Hollingsworth]

Think about Grizzly 12" Jointer/Planer Combo with Spiral Cutter. Checks off all the boxes.
Sell your Planer. Never Look Back.

[Ted Baxter]

Like you I got tired of waiting on tne Grizzly G0490X jointer so I started looking around. I ended up on the phone with a very nice gentelman at
Woodstock International I have since forgotten his name.

We discussed the fact that Steelex, Shop Fox, and Grizzly among other companies are all owned by the same person. I mentioned that the Steelex was the same as the GO490X as far as I coud see. He said they were pretty much the very same machine except the Steelex has the Helical cutter head with 15mmX15mm carbide inserts and the head runs at a higher RPM making more cuts per minute.

Also the Steelex has a 2 year warrenty the Grizzly has a 1 year warrenty. Since they only do wholesale he sugested a couple of dealers that have the Steelex in stock. I asked him if I could buy it from Grizzly he checked their inventory and said yes. He was very kind and informative after I hung up I called Grizzly and asked if I could order a Steelx ST1011 he said sure they were in stock and it would ship the next day since i was calling after 5.00pm I bought it and it was here in 3 day. It was $1350.00 plus free shipping $45.00 less than the Grizzly G0490X I got more bang for my buck and still deal with Grizzly who I have had good service from in the past. I have had it setup and running for about a week and I am please with it so far. Just for fun I downloaded the Grizzly G0490X manual to compare and they are almost indentical clearly they are the same machine except for the few differences mentioned. I would sugest you call Grizzly and see if they still have them in stock if not call woodstock Intern. and they will give you a dealers name that has them but they may cost more.

[Matt Day]

#3 hands down. It's the same machine as the grizzly - you won't have parts issues.

Or don't take my advice and waste a month and a half and hope what you want is in stock.

[glenn bradley]

Of coursethere's a reason they can't make them fast enough :-) They have been one of the best bang for the buck 8 inch jointer's for quite some time.

[Brandon Hanley]

Well, it looks like I have lots of time to think about it. Optics planet advertises like they are in stock until you click checkout. As of right now the only thing available to ship is the plain SF w1741w with knives for $150 more than the g0490 that is out of stock until 9/8. The g0490 specs show a cutterhead speed of 4800 v5's 5350 of the SF

Optics planet says 15-26 days on the spiral head models so about the same time as grizzly.

[Brandon Hanley]

If I were to just Pony up the extra cash and by the shop fox now and the spiral cutterhead separately is there any reason besides cost to choose one spiral cutterhead over the other?

I hate to spend an extra two hundred bucks but I would hate to put everything on hold for a month and a half just to find out the other ones didn't come in anyway

[David Kumm]

How about a straight knife head with ESTA holders? A spiral on a jointer is no big deal as it isn't a finish machine anyway. It may not be that manufacturing is the back log but rather that a container isn't full. Stuff from China or Taiwan is only shipped in full containers. Because the cast iron isn't seasoned anymore, machines can be cranked out pretty fast. Shipping is slow. Dave

[Ted Baxter]

Hi Brandon did you get a chance to check with Grizzly about the Steelex ST1011 I see where they have added a steelex jointer on their web site but it doesen't have the helex head?

[Brandon Hanley]

Steele was another brand I ask about when I was on the phone and was told the same as shop Fox. If someone has been under the hood of both and could verify the parts are the same so I could order parts from Grizzly I would gladly go with one of those. At the moment though I'm really considering just ordering the shop Fox with knives and calling it a day

[Matt Melville]

I was in the same boat as you waiting on the grizzly. I went to Springfield to pick up the one without parallogram beds with the spiral head. While I was there they had a steelex on the floor to look at. I asked the sales guy what was the difference and it basically comes down to the stand the steelex sits on. The jointer itself is a grizzly painted white. The guys at grizzly confirmed that they will be carrying parts. Also the steelex st1011 which has the spiral head is not on the website but they do carry it as I bought one on Monday. It runs 1350 plus tax. The jointer carrys a two year warranty vs one and so far has been a great machine. I can't say enough good things about it.

[Ted Baxter]

Hi Brandon check out my earlier post maybe I wrote to long a post but I bought the ST1011 from Grizzly it shipped the same day for $1350.00 and free shipping it makes more cuts per minute, and has the helix/sprial head with 15mm inserts the grizzly uses 14mm.

Do yourself a favor and download the Grizzly GO490X manual and the ST1011 and compare. I did and they are clearly the same machine inside except for the cutter head and the pully that causes the steelex to run faster and the extra year of warrenty. And I will go through Grizzy for parts and service. I am glad I bought the steelex.

[Brandon Hanley]

Sorry to make you type that up twice I either didn't catch it the first time horse skimmed over it because I wasn't really looking very hard at the steelex at the time but that is exactly what I needed to hear and hopefully at some point I will be ordering from jmac Grizzly doesn't have it listed anymore

[Bob Coates]

Brandon,
I bought the grizzly plane cutter head and later updated to spiral head. It is a world of difference. Use to get some tear out, but no more. I am wondering what parts go bad on the jointers. The cutters and bearings on the cutter and ??? what else would cause problems. I would have to look but I think new bearings came with the spiral head.

Bob

[Brandon Hanley]

Funny you should mention that, I have also been wondering what parts wear out or go bad often on a jointer but I have zero experience with jointers. I figured if some of the more commonly necessary parts were affordable I would order some ahead of time to skip down time later if I ordered something other than the grizzly

[David Kumm]

Jointers are very simple machines. It is not the various parts that are any concern. A decent motor, and well balanced head are important but it is primarily about the cast iron. How flat are the tables over their entire length-.002-004 is as good as they will get but could be much worse. How thick and how heavily ribbed are the tables? Is the base designed to provide ample support if you need the machine on a rolling stand. How straight and flat is the fence? The fence is important and twist or the inability to return to 90 makes the machine no fun to use. Jointers made 100 years ago are still used every day if the tables are good so parts are not a big deal. Dave

[Ryan J Carpenter]

I just bought the steelex parallelogram too after being backordered on the Grizzly since February. Came in in great shape with tables +\- .003". I plan to put a Byrd head on it soon as I have not read great things about the Grizzly spiral head on figured wood. Their initial heads had the inserts perpendicular to the cut while the Byrds are angled into the cut. I noticed that slowly Grizzly is migrating it's heads to angled inserts but not sure if this model has that incorporated yet. Good luck!

[Brandon Hanley]

This jointer purchase has been a nightmare. It was depressing enough that all the known trusted sources for equipment were sold out, but what really bugs me is the shops that list it like its in stock then send you an email after they take your payment telling you it will ship a month later. Im currently waiting for refunds from 3 shops totaling over $4000. Once i actually get my money back im ordering the steelex with knives and will decide when/if to upgrade to helical later.

[Brandon Hanley]

I've finally got one on the way. Steelex st1006 shipped friday.

[Brandon Hanley]

TED,
Where does the power cord to your steelex exit the cabinet? I can't find any opening for it besides just letting it hang out the bottom.

[Ted Baxter]

Brandon sorry for the wait been busy. Standing in front of the machine the power cord comes out of the top right side of the cabinet just below the on off switch. Let me know if I can be of more help.

[Michael Shoffner]

well after all the deliberation Brandon, let us know what you think of the Steelex after you've used it for awhile.

[Brandon Hanley]

Sorry for the lack of updates. Work has been crazy but I actually have gotten around to getting some use out of the jointer. Now keep in mind I am a complete novice so having a decent finish without much tear out and being relatively Square is my main goal and what I'm looking for or expecting. With that said this joint or seems to work awesome I have used it quite a bit and wouldn't want to be without it. It left a finish like glass on both ambrosia maple and curly maple with no noticeable tear out. Now for the downsides. The instruction manual is completely useless it makes it seem like the parts are pretty much where they should be inside the main cabinets when instead they unbolted the motor and other things from where they are going to end up to wherever it is convenient for shipping which doesn't sound like a big deal until you lift the table and fence up onto the cabinet and then have to take it back off to move the motor. There are many other things wrong with the manual to so me and a friend ended up just spending a night trying to piece it together and iron out the bugs. Defense is kind of hard to adjust Imho but I think that is the design rather than just this example from steelex. The only other issue I have had has nothing to do with the Joyner itself but instead has to do with the wire cage that is built into my dust collector. When I started running full with wood across the jointer I plugged up the great on the dust collector and did not notice until it was completely plugged and spewing dust back out of the jointer. All in all I am very happy that I've spent the money and bought it and I can only imagine how much more I will love it once I have my shop setup right with dust collection and no longer need to move Tools around to use them

[Dave McKeithan]

Brandon, where did you wind up buying your Steelex from? I'm looking around and can't find anyone that has them in stock.

[Brandon Hanley]

Straight from grizzly website iirc