Your Grizzly Shop

[Charles Wilson]

I was just wondering what Grizzly tools you have and how you like them. You need not comment on the TS as I am pretty much set on a Grizz. Also, what has been you experience with customer service and product quality?

Thanks,

Chuck

[John Daugherty]

I have the G0586 jointer. I have been really pleased with it. It didn't take much adjustment out of the box. The beds are flat. The finish was fine. It has plenty of power.

Customer service when ordering was very nice to deal with. I haven't had any problems to see how they would handle it.

[Jim Young]

I currently have a 2HP DC which has been working just fine for about 6-7 years. Had the heavy duty lathe but didn't like it. I felt it was too noisy and vibrated a little too much, for the price though it was pretty good.

[Bart Leetch]

I have the G1017 portable planer purchased used works fine.
A G1029 DC with pleated filter purchased separately it works good & would be better if I could re-plumb it with 6" duct.

A G1019 14" Band-saw with riser that I re-powered from a 3/4 to a 1 1/2 HP motor worked ok before but even better now.:D

A G1014Z Combo sander works good.

A G7946 Radial Drill Press works good.

I also have a 1940 Unisaw that used to be 3 phase that now has a Grizzly 3 hp cabinet saw motor & box style door & Shopfox Biesmeyer style 50" fence. Works great.

Customer service hasn't been a problem the few little problems I've had they took care of right away. I live about 1 hour from the Bellingham Washington store.

[Jeff Kerr]

1023sl saw.
2hp DC - bag style.
G0490 - 8" jointer
G0453 - 15" planer
brad nailer
air stapler

Overall I like all of them very much. The nail guns are not the best, but they work and they were not expensive. The guns may just need a little adjusting.

Their service has been great and prices are very reasonable.

[Ray Phillips]

I have the 1023sl tablesaw and I like it very much. When the trucking company delivered it they must have dropped it because when I unpacked it to check the condition the motor was broken off the trunion. I refused the order and the next morning I called Grizzly. The customer service department was great. Within 48 hours a new saw was shipped and I received it 4 days later. I think this speaks highly of Grizzly's customer service. When I purchase my next major tool I will certainly consider Grizzly.

[Tom Young]

I have the G0513X and could not be happier. My band saw came without the table leveling pin. I called customer service and they sent one to me immediately. This is my first and only Grizzly tool (so far) and I would not hesitate to buy another.

Tom

[JayStPeter]

I have a G1018 8" Jointer and a G0513 17" Bandsaw. Both are nice tools. I had to excercise the customer service with the bandsaw and they took care of me. It was sort of like computer customer service though. I had to jump through a few hoops before being passed on to the next level where my problem was immediately taken care of. They did take care of my problems very well though and I consider the experience to be good customer service overall.

[Todd Solomon]

Absolutely a dream machine. I did a review on Amazon.com and on Woodcentral Articles, if you'd like more detail.

Todd

[Keith Outten]

These are the Grizzly Tools I own now;

G1023 10" Cabinet saw - Great Saw, even though you didn't want the rating.

8" by 72" Joiner - Excellent machine, perfect right out of the box.

15" 3HP Planer - Excellent machine, has paid for itself many times over.

1.5 HP Dust Collector - Still running after a 1.5 decades of use. My next DC should be half as good as this one has been.

Bench Mill/Drill - Better than any drill press I ever used...plenty of power and rock solid.

ShopFox Planer/Molder - Excellent machine, probably the best for fit and finish...very smooth and powerful.

G8749 Drum/Flap Sander - This sander makes short work of shaping rocking horse legs and sanding odd shaped parts, has saved me countless hours.

In the past I have owned the following;

15" Band Saw - Good machine, I upgraded to a Jet 18" two years ago to get more resaw capacity.

24" Dual Drim Sander - My least favorite Grizzly tool, seriously lacking in dust collection capability but plenty of power. The fit and finish was poor. This sander has been improved since I had mine.

G9969 Radial Drill - This 525 pound drill was poorly designed IMO. It had lots of capacity and was flexible but had design problems that made it difficult or impossible to adjust the head within reasonable working distance to the table.


Some of my Grizzly machines are so old they aren't in the catalog anymore. The fact that they are still in my shop is the best recommendation i know. Overall I am a big Grizzly fan and have been since the seventies.

[Joe Mioux]

Some of my Grizzly machines are so old they aren't in the catalog anymore. The fact that they are still in my shop is the best recommendation i know. Overall I am a big Grizzly fan and have been since the seventies.

Hey Keith.

I bet you just made Shiraz's day.

Are you sure the seventies? ;)

Joe

[Jim Becker]

G1276 6"x48"/12" Combo Sander. Works just fine and the lower speed has less burning. This is the only Grizzly machine I own.

[Robert Waddell]

I've had the GO513 bandsaw for 2+ years. Works well for me.
The 1182Z 6" jointer for almost as long. Works good. I've had to replace the switch twice and the guard spring once. The switch always goes out in the on position so you can still use it until another comes in by the plug unplug method. Next time I think I'm going to look into a higher quality switch.
I've got the the Shop Fox Radial DP. Had it less than a year. Under powered and some design flaws IMO. Belt is too long not to have an idler pulley in the middle. Motor is only 1/2hp. I still get a lot of work out it but it bogg's down a lot with forestner bits.
I got two hard years of use out of their benchtop spindle sander. I ran 10's of thousands worth of craft items by it. Not bad for a machine that has more plastic and melamine than metal. It still runs but the table is slap worn out and problems with worn spindle threads made me set it aside.
Overall I'd have to give Grizzly the best value award. Most of the time you get your money's worth and part of the time you get well beyond that.
Rob

[Mike Hill]

I have the 1023SL table saw, oscillating spindle sander and a tenoning jig. The saw and tenoning jig are made extremely well and do their job. I think the one tool I wish I had spent a little more money on was the sander. It is not made well and the table insert is cheap plastic and very poorly made. In addition, the dust collection is not the best. Some of their tools are excellent though and just watch out for those on the low end.

BTW, I bought a Delta Planer and Jointer last year at the same time I bought my Grizzly products. Both have had problems. The latest was the defective power switch on the jointer. They are sending a new one in the mail.

Mike

[Keith Outten]

Hey Keith.

I bet you just made Shiraz's day.

Are you sure the seventies? ;)

Joe

Joe,

I could be wrong it may have been in the mid eighties when I got my first Grizzly catalog and ordered my planer and dust collector. I was living in Hampton Virginia at the time and poor as a church mouse so I was glad to find a vendor that sold equipment that was affordable and more durable than the homeowner tools I had at the time.

I remember my oldest daughter was enrolled in a private elementary school and her tuition was not in our family budget so my small single car workshop had to produce enough revenue to pay her tuition. I was cutting out lots of craft items in those days...kitty cat shelves...man I must have made thousands of the dang things but they sold like hot cakes. I wore out several of the bench top band saws cutting kitty cats out of sugar pine :)

I graduated from Craftsman to Grizzly and eventually upgraded every tool in my shop as the workload increased. To this day I have never owned a tool that didn't pay for itself or had to be funded from the family budget. I remember buying the 8" joiner which at the time was a huge amount of money for me but I got a job that required a joiner and had the money in hand before the credit card bill arrived in the mail. About the same time frame I ordered an Ebac dehumidification kiln and everyone thought I was crazy drying wood in a small utility building in the back yard.

Those were the days...it seems like its been a century ago now :)

.

[brian lanning]

I was just wondering what Grizzly tools you have and how you like them. You need not comment on the TS as I am pretty much set on a Grizz. Also, what has been you experience with customer service and product quality?

Thanks,

Chuck

I have the G0453 planer and G0490 jointer. I've been happy with both. Most of my other tools are delta. The fit, finish, problems, and complaints have been about the same. Some people have had problems with shipping companies. Saia delivered both machines and did a great job.

The only quality problem I've had is that the planer's stand wasn't perfect. The flaw was so minor that I didn't feel the need to do anything about it. If I stand in the right spot, the base looks like it's not square to me. But the same is true for my (made in america) delta contractor's saw.

My only other complaint is with the built-in mobile base for the jointer. The jointer seems a bit tippy. And I prefer all the casters to turn, but these are fixed on one side. Also, when the lever is down (jointer on the casters) , the one that turns isn't level with the floor which makes the jointer want to drift an inch in one direction or the other while the caster finds the low spot. Again, not too much to complain about. I was going to make my own to get it higher off the ground anyway.

brian

[Cody Colston]

1023SLX Table Saw
GO513 Band Saw
GO586 Jointer

I didn't plan on "going Grizzly", it just sort of happened and I'm glad it did. The tools are well made and are the best value around IMHO. SAIA also delivered mine and the only problem was a bent upper door on the band saw. Grizzly CS took care of that right away.

[Kevin Scott]

I bought a G0555 bandsaw with riser block about a year ago. It arrived with a broken latch on the upper bandsaw door. Customer service was very helpful and sent the part right out to me. I have been extremely happy with the performance of this machine. I am planning on purchasing some additional Grizzly tools in the near future.

[Brad Townsend]

My only "complaint" on Grizzly CS is that they were TOO attentive. I got a G0586 jointer from them when they first came out. The cabinet base was dented. They were selling like hotcakes and parts were in short supply. I told them "no problem", as I could still use the machine. "Just send me one when it's available."

Over the following month, I had five emails and six phone calls from Griz CS apologizing for the delay and explaining where my new base was in the pipeline. It got to be a running joke with my wife. She would answer the phone and hand it to me rolling her eyes, saying "It's Grizzly again!" Over the years, I've often pestered customer service people, but this is the only time I've had them pestering me.:D

If this sounds like a complaint, it's not. I wish all companies were like this.

[Mark Pruitt]

Had a 1022 TS. Sold it last year, but for the years I had it it was a good saw.
Also a 6" jointer, which I sold. Very good machine, no complaints, just wanted a bigger one.
I now have an 8" jointer and like the 6" before it I have been very pleased with it.
My oldest Griz is a drill press which I've had for some 16 years. I don't think I'll ever wear it out. Solid, well built machine.

The one area where Griz needs the most improvement IMHO is with their lathes.

Griz Customer Service: They're the best. I've had so many good experiences with them. Even as they grew from a small company in the 80s to the giant they are today, they did not forget to treat their customers well. I have no financial interest nor do I stand to profit from saying this. Just a happy customer.