Advice on new jointer

[Chuck Burns]

I'm new to the list but have been reading posts and am amazed at the civility and level of discourse.

I'm getting ready to equip a home shop. I've decided to spend the money on a SawStop (for it's safety features, general quality and customer service). I'm up in the air on the jointer. If I go with Grizzly is the 490 a better machine than the 586. The 586 gets great reviews but I haven't seen any on the 490. The 490 looks like it should be better. I understand the cost diffence is little since the 490 is going to be on sale for 725 which is only 130 more rhan the 586. The other jointer I'm considering is the Powermatic 60B. It has a 5 year warranty and no shipping (and the dealer won't upcharge for residential or liftgate). I can get the 60B for 1199. The 490 is 869 plus an additional cost for liftgate. Is the 60B worth an extra 300?

The cost of the Jet is very close to the 60B and after I paid shipping on the Steel City it would also be very close to the PM. Is there something else I should be considering?

Thanks

[Denny Rice]

I have had the 586 for about a year now and it is "rock solid" . I purchased it because of some of the reviews I read but I liked the way it was laid out too. The 586 comes in two boxes the jointer base in one the jointer in the other. It took about an hour to hook everything up and another hour to clean all the grease off of the machine. But the jointer needed NO tweaking of any kind, it was perfect out of the box. I love mine.

[Don Bullock]

I recently got the 0490 from Grizzly. While I can't compare it to the 0586, I can say that I paid the extra because I wanted the Parallelogram Beds. While there may not be many reviews on the G0490, I did find many posts here and on other forums that were very positive. Many who have used theirs a lot have reported that they think it's a good machine. The only negative comments revolve around the noise from the belt at start up and when it's shut off. Adjusting the belt to eleminate the clang takes a little time with some trial and error. Grizzly fixed the problem of bent motor mounts by shipping the motor in a different location, bolted the the jointer. It does have to be moved and it's heavy. Having the base shipped already assembled by Grizzly is great. Getting the jointer up onto the base takes at least three people.

Right now the price difference between the 0490 and the 0586 is much bigger than you think. I just checked the Grizzly site and it shows the G0886 on sale for $595. That's $100 off the list price.

Liftgate service for me from Grizzly was an extra $20. The jointer came FedEx Freight and the driver lowered the jointer to the street and wheeled it right into my garage. Once it was on the ground he waited for me io inspect it before he asked me to sign the receipt. Everything was perfect. It was an excellent experience. Others have reported different delivery conditions. You may want to check with people in your area to see who Grizzly uses and what kind of service they received.

Congratulations on your decision on the SawStop. I'm really enjoting mine. It's a super saw and has made me much more conscious of safety in the shop than I ever was.

[Bartee Lamar]

Really, really consider the sprial cutter heads. That would be a G0593.

With Sprial cutter heads, you can replace one little cutter at a time if you happen to hit a metal. Also you never have to adjust cutters. Sprials also do an much better job on figured wood.

I just get one and it is GREAT. You can also get the Sprial heads on the G0490 ( I am not sure if you can get them factory installed )

I think 3HP would be better than 2HP. While 2 HP seems to be ok I can see that it is just enough.

[Cary Swoveland]

Really, really consider the sprial cutter heads. That would be a G0593...

...You can also get the Sprial heads on the G0490 ( I am not sure if you can get them factory installed )

I think that would be Grizzly's new G0490X, for $1195. Although I am extremely happy with the 593, the 490X looks awfully good. It has the parallelogram beds and a built-in mobile base (unlike the 593). However, either of these models would be a great choice.

I think 3HP would be better than 2HP. While 2 HP seems to be ok I can see that it is just enough.

I think that depends on how you use the tool. I have 2hp and have never found it lacking. 3hp (as on the 490X) "might" be helpful if you have to remove a lot of material from the face of a wide board in order to make it flat, something I rarely do. Whether jointing faces or edges, I normally take just a small amount, and don't feed overly fast (for a nice smooth cut). For those cuts, 2hp is more than enough.

Cary

[Eric DeSilva]

I'm in the market for a jointer as well, and have been intrigued by the Grizz product line. FBOW, I failed to pull the trigger on a Powermatic 8" parallelogram jointer I saw on Craigslist for $750, largely because I didn't think I could get it into my basement shop. I sort of have the same worries about the Grizz jointers, although I'm intrigued by what Denny Rice said about it coming in several boxes. My issue is that access to the basement is via an external stairwell that isn't particularly wide, then a right turn through an exterior door. Alternatively, I can go through the house, as long as the wife isn't home and doesn't see what I'm doing to her hardwood floor; basement is unfinished, and that stairwell has the benefit of being a relatively straight shot--or, at least its open where is makes a turn three steps from the bottom.

While I like the parallelogram beds, I think the 490 is probably too much to move given my circumstances. Anyone with the 586 or 593 (I assume they are the same but for the spiral cutter head) care to offer any suggestions on how moveable those are? I just got done moving a unisaw in using an appliance dolly with a stair feature, but can't see how that would work with a jointer--stuff sticks out on the sides too much... Any chance the jointer is palleted/blocked so it could be moved vertically? Could I bolt it to the appliance dolly and move it vertically? Given the weight of it and the inability to grab it by the feed tables, can you get three people on it side-by-side to go down stairs?

BTW, the pricing on Grizz's site is lower for all of these models right now--Don noted the 586 was $100 off ($595), but the 490 is $70 off ($725) and the 593 is $150 off ($925). I was also hearing rumors that Nov. is sale time for Grizzly?

Not trying to hijack the thread, but any help/comments appreciated...