My G0490X Showed Up

[glenn bradley]

I ordered last Wednesday, it showed up today. FedEx did a great job. No visible damage (yet). I'll follow the advice of many owners who have posted; link belt, dust chute fix, etc.

Mandatory pic:

[Christopher Ryan]

You are gonna love it! I've had my SF model for about a year, and have only had to rotate 3 cutters. And we've pushed thousands of bf through it! (walnut, birds eye maple, poplar, mahogany, ash and oak)

[Jeff Cord]

Glenn, what's the fix you refer to?
I've got the G0490 and haven't done anything to it.
Jeff

[Brent Grooms]

I'm curious on that as well... The modification I made was to make a 6in port for it....

[glenn bradley]

Several folks had reported poor dust collection. Possibly due to an undersized DC or the fact that the p-beds maintain a constant throat opening at different heights. The reported problem was that chips would backup in the chute and the user would get chips on the jointer's working surface.

The fix was the installation of a piece of material over the top of the open chute to create more of a 'duct' out of the 'tray' that is built in. If you are not having issues then I would say you are in good shape. If my jointer was already together, I would have to be having serious problems to convince myself to dismantle the beast for this fix.

[Russ Massery]

Yep, It's a must to cap off the top of the chute. I didn't do it the beginning but did it when I installed my Byrd head (which I highly recommend). Still mystery why Grizzly doesn't do it. Congrats on the jointer Glenn. I'm very happy with mine.

[Pat Germain]

Great news your new machine is onboard. Do post more pics as you go through assembly. I'd like to see a few shots of the DC fix you're talking about. My ShopFox jointer could probably use the same modification. Would it require removing the beds from the base?

[Tom Ruflin]

Glenn, congrats on the new jointer. I have one with a byrd head and after a few adjustments/modifications its great. As far as the dust collection problem, I just put a piece of 1/4 inch plywood on either side of the dust chute to close the gap between the chute and the top of the base. Search the forums for G0490 and my name for pictures. The dust collection works fine with this mod and you only have to take the sides of the base off to install them.

[Russ Massery]

Here's a thread from awhile back. Allan Bookout did a great job on the mod of his shoot. Note the base is upside down in the pic.



http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=31515&highlight=G0490&page=2

[glenn bradley]

So here's the build and my comments:

Here's how a little guy gets a 3HP motor from the shipping position to the mounted position all by his lonesome:

88748

Got her in a level spot and ready for an assist lifting the jointer body:

88749

I had seen several fixes for the DC problems many have. This one was straight forward and tested perfect so I went with it (Thanks to Tom Ruflin):

88751

The fix keeps all the chips on the outside of the motor cabinet:

88750

I went straight to the link belt since they have done so well on other machines for me:

88752

There is such a narrow clearance for the belt, I raised the guard. Due to the angles this gives me a good 3/16" clearance from any surface (you can see it at the top of the link belt pic). No belt slap, every thing's peachy.

I face and edge jointed a piece of fir and a piece of oak. No scalloping. I'm running the Grizzly spiral head. The jointer tables are almost obscenely flat. I did find one area where I could slip a .002" feeler under my 36" straight edge if I positioned it just right. I systematically checked across the tables parallel and at angles to the front edge, all looks well.

The control box and column got a bit dinged. This was due to the breaking of the tie-wrap that was supposed to keep it in place. This allowed it to rock back and forth which did the paint job no good.

Grizzly has responded beyond all expectations to any small complaint. They have responded to every email the same or the next day (depending on what time I sent it). They have called me 3 times . . . all this over a scratched switchbox? End result is a new switchbox, column and cord on the way. Excellent CS.

[Charles Davis]

I recently purchased a G0490 and am trying to plan ahead for assembly. Can someone with a G0490 give me a heads up on how many people I'll probably need to assemble? I just assembled my 22124 Cman saw by myself but I guess I have no other option but to bug some friends on this one when it shows up... I'm guess that I can do everything by myself except lifting the jointer bed assembly on top of the motor base. Are two people enough to lift the jointer bed?

Also, I do have extra link belts... I wonder if I should just go ahead and upgrade the stock belt right off the bat like Glenn did above? Any thoughts on others experience would be appreciated.

Much thanks for any info...
-Charles

[Don Bullock]

First, congratulations to Glenn on your new jointer. I love mine and really haven't seen the need to do the "fixes" yet.


I recently purchased a G0490 and am trying to plan ahead for assembly. Can someone with a G0490 give me a heads up on how many people I'll probably need to assemble? ...
-Charles

Charles, I had three other people help me lift the jointer up on the base. While I realize that some have stated that they were able to do it with two people, I didn't see the need to take a chance. It just took a few seconds to hoist it up. One suggestion that make the process go more safely is to make sure to remove that all that "slippery stuff" that they put all over the metal parts to prevent rust. While I got it all off the top and sides of the jointer I neglected to wipe it off the bottom. When we put the jointer on the base it almost slid off onto the floor.

[alex grams]

Charles, I was able to put my 490 together with just the help of 1 friend. Lifting the bed onto the frame is the only heavy part.

[glenn bradley]

I'm a small guy and lifted the main assembly on to the base with one friend. Took 2 minutes and I bought him lunch ;-). I used a small block and tackle to get the motor in place easily.

[Charles Davis]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences... certainly helps me with planning things.

Has anyone had issues with Grizzly's freight delivery? I presume they'll liftgate this sucker down and handtruck to somewhere reasonable such as up the driveway and into the garage. Just thought I'd ask... I'm sure I'll work this out with Grizzly... anyways, really looking forward to this jointer... do you think I will notice a performance difference over my current Delta 6" benchtop jointer? lol... for it's toy-like size I'd have to say that it actually did an OK job... plus you could pick it up with one hand and put it in your back pocket... :p

[glenn bradley]

Officially, unless you arrange otherwise, the driver lift-gates the crates to the ground and then, its yours from there. I had FedEx delivery (not arranged by me, just lucky) and called the local office to ask about getting the delivery into the garage. I was told they do offer that service but the guy who was delivering mine would just help me.

I would have never believed a tractor trailer could've backed into my suburbia-ville driveway. He not only did that but maneuvered the liftgate INTO the garage and dropped the crates right where I wanted them. I hope you are as lucky. As soon as you have your shipping number, I would call the local office just to be sure how they will handle your delivery.

[Wade Lippman]

I was interested in your DC fixes, but when I left clink on them nothing happens. When i right click on them and try to open them in a new tab it asks for my name and password, but rejects me.

I am currently logged in.
I don't suppose anyone knows what is going on...

[Craig Kershaw]

To answer Charles' question, my 18 year old son and I were able to pick up the jointer and set it on the stand. It's got some weight to it though so if you've got a weak back better get some additional help.

Congrats on the new machine!

[Charles Davis]

Officially, unless you arrange otherwise, the driver lift-gates the crates to the ground and then, its yours from there. I had FedEx delivery (not arranged by me, just lucky) and called the local office to ask about getting the delivery into the garage. I was told they do offer that service but the guy who was delivering mine would just help me.

I would have never believed a tractor trailer could've backed into my suburbia-ville driveway. He not only did that but maneuvered the liftgate INTO the garage and dropped the crates right where I wanted them. I hope you are as lucky. As soon as you have your shipping number, I would call the local office just to be sure how they will handle your delivery.

Just called grizzly and the default service is just to the back of the truck so I had to purchase liftgate service to ensure that at least the boxes will be left on the ground. This isn't feeling like such a great deal anymore with $150 shipping plus $32 liftgate service... especially when my jointer is just going from PA to NJ (1 day transit)... and presumably I'll need to purchase a more industrial size handtruck than what I have... :(

I guess I'm just a little bitter by comparison as I just had my 400lb 22124 saw delivered by Sears for $65 and didn't have to lift a finger to have it delivered in to my garage.

[Don Bullock]

J... and presumably I'll need to purchase a more industrial size handtruck than what I have... :(

...

I'm afraid that even an industrial size hand truck won't move your jointer from the curb to your garage. The driver that delivered my jointer wheeled it into my garage with a pallet jack. Hopefully you'll have a similar experience. If not renting a pallet jack would be the best way to move the jointer.

[Mark McGee]

I got my G0490 in July. The fence was warped and had to be replaced. The infeed table had a dip of about .008 inch and had to be replaced. That was a chore. I ordered the Byrd spiral cutterhead and the shaft was .4 inch too short. I am still waiting for the replacement cutterhead. I did enclose the dust chute using a hardware intensive approach and I offer a photo for your amusement.

[Mark McGee]

Here's a photo of the rig I used to get my G0490 from the garage to the basement via the yard. It's a Chinese garden wagon and a Chinese engine crane. My wife and I handled it with no problems.

[Charles Davis]

Mark - nice job closing the dust chute... Wonder why the have the open design to begin with... How did you detect the infeed table dip? (straight-edge and feeler gauges?)

Interesting to see the use of pulleys, hoists, etc... guess it comes down to fundamental physics to gain mechanical advantage (or at least I remember something like that from physics classes)... maybe I'll take a long 8/4 board of padouk and a block of something else as a fulcrum and jump on one end to delicately lever the jointer bed on top of the base... heh... I do have some old barn pulleys and block and tackles that I might attempt use as Glenn did to mount the motor... as for for getting the big crate into the garage from the street I'm thinking that I'll try to get them to lower the crate from the liftgate onto a mobile base or perhaps I'll demolish my home and just rebuild it over the crate.

[Mark McGee]

I used a straightedge and feeler gauges. I ordered the jointer and a tablesaw at the same time, so I bought a straightedge so I could properly inspect the new tools.

[Chris Friesen]

Are two people enough to lift the jointer bed?

Also, I do have extra link belts... I wonder if I should just go ahead and upgrade the stock belt right off the bat like Glenn did above? Any thoughts on others experience would be appreciated.

I have the King Industrial version of that jointer. The bed is 300+ lbs. Four people is best. I'm using the original belt, haven't felt a need to switch to link belt yet.

[Walt Caza]

Hi Glenn,
I missed this thread, but have stumbled across it just now.
I see your patience has been rewarded.
Congrats on your jointer, that spiral head will serve you well.

Happy jointing,
Walt

[Michael Sobik]

Hi Charles, I assembled my G0490x by myself. It was heavy, but doable. You can lift one end of the bed up on the base and then slide it up and on. Two people would be just fine, though.

I had a problem with my pulley falling off the motor. The first time, I just chalked it up to loose set screws and put it back on with some Loktite. It fell off again shortly after. Turns out those little set screws are difficult to tighten sufficiently. I ordered some stout screws with actual heads on them from McMaster (92635A256) and a 6mm x 1mm hand tap to clean up the holes (8305A17). After dimpling the motor shaft for the new set screws and tightening them up good and tight with some Loktite, I haven't had any more problems.

[glenn bradley]

Has it really only been 5 months that I've had this thing. I've gotten so used to it I can hardly remember being without it. It has been a real joy to have around.

[Peter Quadarella]

I agree Glenn, and I've had it less than you. Your threads were a real help actually! What an excellent machine.