Grizzly or Jet - floor OSS

[Mike Heidrick]

Looking for a new oscillating spindle sander. I think I want a floor model.

Any reason to buy one model over the other? Any problems with either model? Are owners of one or the other happy with their selections and why?

Should I consider any other brands/models?

[Tom Cowie]

Hi Mike

I have the Jet floor model and would highly recommend it. Use some kind of dust collection, they generate a lot of that. The extra weight and the ability to run a 4" drum is why I bought mine.

Tom

[jim gossage]

i have looked carefully at both the jet and grizzly and the grizzly wins hands down. they are nearly identical machines in many ways, and are probably produced in the same factory....however.....the griz has heavy duty cast iron trunnions, while the jet has thin steel ones. the table was warped by 0.025" on the jet and only 0.012 on the griz. the griz is about $500 less!

[J. Greg Jones]

Mike, I don't own either one but a floor-standing OSS is next on my big ticket buy list, so I have been researching both the Grizzly and the Jet. They do appear to be nearly identical machines, but I'm leaning towards the Jet. What I like about the Jet is the 5-year warranty (1-year on the Grizzly) and the table height is nearly 6" higher on the Jet, 42" vs. 36 1/4" on the Grizzly. I think I would prefer the 42" height to save my back, but then I'm 6'2" and prefer my work heights to be taller than some people do. The Jet is about 25 pounds heavier (307 vs. 284) than the Grizzly-don't know where the difference is as the additional 6" of stand on the Jet would not be 25 pounds?

The pluses for the Grizzly include the cast trunions and the price. Cast iron is nice-I thought the Grizzly's trunions might be aluminum which could explain part of the weight differences, but Jim says the Grizzly's are cast. As to price, I'd prefer to buy locally when possible, and I can get the Jet from Osolink Machinery for $939, which is $250 more than what the Grizzly is delivered. Now I don't have the luxury of throwing $250 away, but the additional table height, warranty, and buying locally are worth $250 to me. YMMV.

[Ron Bontz]

If I am hijacking this thread please feel free to delete it. But oddly enough I came on line this AM to find out about floor model spindle sanders. As I understand it, I might be wrong, Shop Fox is made by the Grizzly folks or vice versa. The shop fox is about $200-$250.00 higher in cost. I have looked at the Grizzly at the Springfield warehouse but not very closely. I was a bit overwhelmed in the candy store at the time. So does anyone have first hand knowledge of the Shop Fox floor model as well? W1686 I think.:)

[Mike Heidrick]

So does anyone have first hand knowledge of the Shop Fox floor model as well? W1686 I think.:)

This is good info for me as well. Thanks for asking it!!! Maybe we can get a deal on two of them. I am not brand partial in this race - however so far on two forums the Jet wins 12-2 or so :)

[Ron Bontz]

I have come across a Shop Fox the last several days that's supposed to be new. The price is $550.00 plus tax of course, which is less than the Grizzly. Only a 30 day warranty though. It is also very close, St. Louis, so no shipping cost or long drives. I would tend to prefer Jet, based on name only and good past experience with Jet's other tools and after sale service. But having looked at Grizzly they do appear to be quite similar to Jet, General, Steel City, etc. I just wonder how the bearing specs. and motor windings compare. I don't plan on making another big purchase for a long while. I am at the point now if I buy something then something else has to go. No money, no space, end of story.:)

[Ron Bontz]

I just noticed you are rather close by. If you are ever down in the area give a yell.:)

[Peter Quinn]

Not an owner of either machine, but I frequently used the Grizzly 1071 in a cabinet shop I worked in. It was in daily use by a crew of 7 and seemed to hold up well. Pretty simple machine, not one where the warranty would be a major factor in the decision for me.

Settings for table tilt were painless enough, paper sleeve changes and spindle size changes were easy with the big wrenches provided, and it has more than enough table size/mass to handle full sized curved millwork. Plenty of power too, so hold on to your work piece! Ours was on a mobile base and still felt pretty stable, in fact a bit heavy to push around. It is a dusty bugger, so a good dust hood and enough CFM's for proper collection are advisable. Our hood was a simple clamp on thing one of the guys made out of 1/4" plywood, like a small floor sweep.

I am not by and large a huge grizzly fan, but this is one piece of their machinery I feel I can endorse for a small to medium shop.

[Steven Wilson]

The floor model Grizzly OSS is one of their best woodworking tools. The cast iron table and trunions are very nice (even if you do need to clean up some cast slag with a file), and the machine runs very smooth. The dust collection even works reasonably well. For the price it's a no brainer - get the Griz.

[Eddie Darby]

I like the way the extra spindles store away inside the body rather than out in the open on the General model, but the price is steep.

King Tools and Busy Bee Tools, in Canada , also sell these units.

I would download the manual and read up on it first.

There also was a recent thread here about a Jet OSS leaking oil, that might be helpful.

[Terry Achey]

I purchased the Grizzly about two months ago and can't find a darn thing that I don't like. Well made and does what it's supposed to do. That said, I didn't have access to the JET brand to inspect in person. Picked mine up at the Grizzly store.

[John Bush]

Hi Mike,
How's Bloomington?? Originally from the Danville area. I have the G1071 and think it is the best value. The Jet and Shopfox are identical machines guts wise with possibly some external differences. I had buyers remorse when I first brought it home but use it all the time and am happy to have it now. I haven"t had the need for any repair issues so iI would suggest getting any of the machines at the best $$$$$. Good Luck, JCB.

[jim gossage]

As with another poster, i was impressed with jet's 5 year guarantee vs 1 year on the Griz. however, the Griz is so heavy duty that i can't imagine anything that's going to break in the next 20 years. it is quiet and has essentially no vibration. everything is cast iron or steel. the OSS is basically a motor and a spindle unit. the only other moving parts are the table and trunnions. i have included a picture of the Griz trunnions below, which are cast iron and all 3 components are at least 1/2" thick. the jet trunnions were stamped steel, about 3/16" thick. so in my opinion, the difference in guarantees is moot. if the machine makes it through the first month, it will last for many years.

[John Carlo]

I traded a Stanley 55 Plane with all the cutters and the original box and screw driver for a used Grizzly floor model and it has never disappointed me. I have used it extensively over the past few years.

I purchased the Jet floor model for my school shop program. It works great but had a small oil leak. I never followed up on this because they closed the shop. It had less insert plates than the Grizzly. It now sits in the corner with all the other shop equipment in a school where the philosophy is that students no longer need these skills. Sad!