Grizzly G0586 8" Jointer - Dust Collection

[Carl Hunsinger]

I am in the process of assembling a new Grizzly G0586 jointer ("Thanks, Microsoft..."). I have seen a few threads regarding the open top of the dust chute on the G0490 / DJ20 type of jointers, so, when nobody was watching, I peeked up the the chute of the '586 http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif. Slightly different situation, but the chute is open in a few places. This can't be good for the dust collection efficiency.

It looks to me like one of two things happened here:

1) A bone-headed design tradeoff was made to reduce manufacturing costs, at the obvious expense of proper dust collection.

2) Or, there is some technical reason why the chute has these openings, and I'm just not seeing it.

So, my question is, has anybody closed up the dust chute on a G0586, to make it look the way it should have been made in the first place, and if so, did this change result in a noticeble increase in dust-collection efficiency?

Carl

[glenn bradley]

Many of us have done this "fix" on our 490's. I have not had, nor heard of, any bad results from this. I can only imagine what my motor would have to "breath" without this fix. It's quick and simple (before assembly) and I see no reason not to do it.

[Mark Grotenhuis]

I have the 490X and I did the fix Glenn refers to, but then about a month later the adhesive I used to glue the boards on with failed and they fell off (should have also screwed or bolted them on). I have not replaced them yet, but honestly I don't notice any difference. There is never any dust under the cabinet so I think the holes may be intentional. Maybe they just provide better airflow? Either way I don't think it matters if you plug them or not.

[Jason Beam]

I haven't patched my '586 chute. I've been using it for almost two years and have yet to get any dust in the cabinet or underneath. Even if I forget to turn on the DC. I suspect that the openings are there to prevent choking off your DC. Completely sealing might increase the SP enough that your DC actually pulls LESS rather than faster. I left mine thinking if it was bad i'd fix it later. It's later and I still haven't felt the need to do anything about it! :P

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

Carl,

How happy are you otherwise with the GO586? I'm considering the same model, except with the spiral cutter. Fit & finish up to par? How do the adjustments work? Overall, does it feel like a quality machine?

I'm really considering it against the Laguna Plat. 8" model for similar money (well, 150 bucks more for the laguna).

[Jason Beam]

I'm not Carl, but I have one so I figure I have 2 years of use under my belt and could give a ... nah, i just wanna yak about my tools :D

I was impressed as heck when I got it. At the time, I had Jet, Powermatic and some off-brand machines. The castings and finish grinding on the G0586's cast iron surfaces were as uniform and clean as any of my tools. My PM tablesaw and my Jet bandsaw both had similar quality to the Grizzly. The powdercoat was good, the iron was great. Everything was flat and well-aligned.

The one thing that I had to "fix" was something I considered a known issue. The V-belts that came with it were lumpy and caused a good deal of vibration. I had already been sold on the link belts because they improved the quality of my PM and Jet tools as well. Once I put the link belts on the grizzly, the machine purred and I swear would pass the nickel-test with a piece of paper instead of a nickel. If I put my hand on the infeed table when I go to turn it on, i can barely sense any vibration.

I took my OneWay multi-gauge to it immediately. One end of one knife was low by .002" - the rest were perfect. About 3 months ago, I went to tune it up after moving. It's still perfect today - after being hauled around in a trailer, not to mention 2 years of moderate use.

A healthy coat of wax on the fence and the beds and I haven't seen a lick of rust anywhere.

Can you tell I'm a fan?

So much so, my last big tool was a G0513x2 bandsaw. In two years, I can only say that things are even better. The bandsaw's ground surfaces are clean as the jointer's. The powdercoat is, dare i say, smoother than the jointer (and the Jet and PM castings, too).

The steel parts seemed to have been improved a bit - then again, maybe the precision is out of neccesity. About the only steel on the jointer besides the base is the belt guard. It was fabricated somewhat loosely in that the sides weren't quite lined up with one another - it's a VERY minor and non-critical piece. On the bandaw, the steel parts on the blade guard look like it was made with a little more care - the sides are parallel, the bends are uniform and identical. But again, this is a much more critical piece and may have been given more attention than a silly belt guard that sits behind the tool out of view.

Yeah - i'm a fan of Grizzly. I'm glad I took the leap with the jointer. I purchase and recomend their tools with total confidence. They're doing something right, for sure.

[glenn bradley]

I have the 490X and I did the fix Glenn refers to, but then about a month later the adhesive I used to glue the boards on with failed and they fell off (should have also screwed or bolted them on). I have not replaced them yet, but honestly I don't notice any difference. There is never any dust under the cabinet so I think the holes may be intentional. Maybe they just provide better airflow? Either way I don't think it matters if you plug them or not.


I haven't patched my '586 chute. I've been using it for almost two years and have yet to get any dust in the cabinet or underneath. Even if I forget to turn on the DC. I suspect that the openings are there to prevent choking off your DC. Completely sealing might increase the SP enough that your DC actually pulls LESS rather than faster. I left mine thinking if it was bad i'd fix it later. It's later and I still haven't felt the need to do anything about it! :P

This is good stuff. It sounds like it is not necessary.

[Steve Mellott]

I've used a Grizzly 586 jointer for 2 years and I think its a great machine. It was easy to set up and I am very pleased with the overall performance. Until I read this post, I was not aware there was a problem with the dust collection design. I use a Delta dust collector and it gets about 95% of the chips. Some chips fall behind the machine and I just sweep them up every couple months.

Steve

[Carl Hunsinger]

Carl,

How happy are you otherwise with the GO586? I'm considering the same model, except with the spiral cutter. Fit & finish up to par? How do the adjustments work? Overall, does it feel like a quality machine?

I'm really considering it against the Laguna Plat. 8" model for similar money (well, 150 bucks more for the laguna).

I will be assembling it this weekend, so I'll let you know. So far, it looks great.

Carl

[John Stan]

I have the G0593 - same as yours but with spiral head. I hooked up the dust collection as delivered by the factory and have had no issues. For me, the DC is just fine as designed and built. I have had the jointer for a little over a year and it gets used quite frequently. It has more than met my expectations.

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

Sounds like the spiral head served you well and provides clean edge joints which you can move right to gluing up?


I have the G0593 - same as yours but with spiral head. I hooked up the dust collection as delivered by the factory and have had no issues. For me, the DC is just fine as designed and built. I have had the jointer for a little over a year and it gets used quite frequently. It has more than met my expectations.

Thanks, Carl. Look forward to your thoughts on it.

I will be assembling it this weekend, so I'll let you know. So far, it looks great.

Carl


Thanks everyone else for their input - sorry if I "thread-jacked" a bit. I'm new to the forum as you can tell from my post count.

[Carl Hunsinger]

I assembled the beast tonight (almost). I still have to connect the power cord to the motor, and run through the alignment / verification, before I fire it up. Overall. I'm impressed with the build of this unit.

I did discover the reason for the open top on the dust chute. If it weren't open on top, you could not access the third bolt that holds the left side of the jointer to the stand. So it was a tradeoff of dust collection efficiency for the ability to assemble the unit.

If dust collection turns out to be less than it should be, I'll close off the chute and see if it improves.

Carl

[Mark Rios]

I also own the G0593 and can wholeheartedly give it another big-thumbs up. Love that spiral cutterhead.

My shavings/dust falls on the floor so I can't help with the DC, sorry.

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

Thanks for reporting in...glad to hear another pleased Grizzly customer. I think I'm definately going to be purchasing the Grizzly 8" jointer and 15" planer.

Fortunately, the Muncy showroom is on my way to the inlaws...so in two weeks when we go up to visit for Christmas I'll hopefully get chance to give a good once-over in the showroom before buying.

Excitement is building!


I assembled the beast tonight (almost). I still have to connect the power cord to the motor, and run through the alignment / verification, before I fire it up. Overall. I'm impressed with the build of this unit.

[Jason Beam]

John,

If at all possible, if you can swing it, buy soon!!! :D

Shiraz has let us know that prices will be going up after the 31st so if you can get in before the hike, jump on it! :)

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

John,

If at all possible, if you can swing it, buy soon!!! :D

Shiraz has let us know that prices will be going up after the 31st so if you can get in before the hike, jump on it! :)


Oy! Good to know! Thanks for the heads up. I will definately have to place my order. I was going to wait until first of january...I was planning to pickup at the showroom. I wonder if i can order and pay up front then pickup january 3rd. I'll have to call and find out.

[Aaron Petersen]

I regularly check the Grizzly site when I'm trying to avoid doing real work. I just noticed today that they reduced the price on the G0586 back to $595 and are listing it as a "Closeout Price". I've been eyeing one of these for a long time, so it looks like I better get on it before they're gone. Maybe Shiraz can let us in on what is going on with this model.