Grizzly 12" Jointer vs extreme 10" Jointer

[james bell]

Firmly believing in two principles that one, you get what you pay for, and two, bigger is better, does anybody have experience with the extreme versions of Grizzly versus their regular power tools? The G0480 10” Extreme series jointer is about the same price as their G0690X 12” jointer.

Is the quality of the extreme series worth losing two inches?

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

Good question. I was under the impression that the "Extreme" series weren't really different in quality, just added features...

On friday the 26th, I am definately going to find out...stopping by the Muncy, PA Grizzly showroom on my way to the inlaws in NY. This will be the highlight of my weekend at the inlaws.

[james bell]

John, they advertise the extreme series as being made in an ISO 9001 factory, so definitely a different plant. I emailed them a while back asking the differences in the extreme vs non-extreme and basically was told the machines were better, and not just features. Grizzly has some believers and some non-believers - currently I don't own any of their products, but their pricing seems excellent and enough blogs/reviews are out there which tout them, so I am willing to try.

I have been searching for any write-ups on comparisons, but haven't found one thus far.

I would be interested in finding out what you learn during your trip - very good side distraction. Hopefully weather cooperates ... jim

[Rick Moyer]

JM of L,
If you have not been there yet you'll likely be spending some time ogling the machinery. Fortunately, if your wife is along and not interested, Grizzly is next to the Lycoming Mall. Oh, there is a Gander Mountain across the entranceway to peruse as well. Have fun. I was just there yesterday, and need to go back shortly to pick up my 0440 DC.

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

Interesting, James. I had noticed that before about the ISO factory, but didn't think too much about it. You're probably right though. I don't have any Grizzly machines, but after the reviews and positive statements about their tools, I'm not too scared to buy. My considerations right now are for separate J&P, i was sold on the idea of combo machine for a bit, but think i'm leaning towards separate machines now.

Rick, I was at grizzly a couple years ago, but now that i'm really getting into woodworking and have been studying/researching machines, I'll know what i'm looking at a bit better.

[John Bush]

Ho Ho Ho to all,
I sold my PM 8"er and got the Griz 609X for the extra 2 inches, and primarily for the spiral head. I have visited the showroom many times and have looked over all the machines until I felt a bit dazed. Did you know saliva causes rust on CI??? The Extreme series have a different look but I doubt they have any extra features that would enhance their performance worth the extra cost. Of course, conjecture here... The 609X is a great machine. Comes in one crate, just attach the fence and attach a plug and you are good to go. F&F, etc,etc,etc, were all great. Weighs a bunch so be prepared with buddies and beer or a hoist. Only issue was the belt(s) tension and vibration when I would fire it up. Link-belts solved it, but likely tightening the belts would have worked as well. Only bitch is the fence. Solid and easy to adjust but has a slight twist to it. Griz tech said was within tolerance. I still get good glue joints. When I am milling bigger stuff, the fence seems to flex slightly, also doesn't seem to affect flattening stock at all. Griz tech says within tolerance. I guess he means my tolerance because I am happy with the results I get. Table height adj. is super smooth with the big wheels. Spiral head leaves a very nice finish. I milled a bunch of bloodwood, purple heart, and Santos mahogany with virtually no tearout even with the squirrely grain. I built a base for it using Great Lakes leveling casters and it is so solid(heavy) I have only had to lock the feet a couple of times when flattening larger dim., heavier stock. I waxed the deck and solved that issue as well. All in all I am VERY pleased with the machine and think it would be a better deal than the X10" model. I believe Griz has two styles of spiral cutter heads, the newer version having more of a skew cut. When you visit the showroom be sure and compare. I have a parks 12" planer the I used to flatten the other side of the stock and it had tearout. I was looking at the Griz 20" planers with spiral and had decided to get one next year, but found one on CL ~~ 1/3 cost of new. Now how often does that happen!! Now I can get tearout free surfacing done. Yippee!! I think you will be happy with it. Showroom visits will help you decide as well. Best Holiday wishes, JCB.

P.S.: Anyone looking for a Parks 12"er in excelent condition. I think it will fit down the chimney!!

[Wilbur Pan]

Caveat: I haven't actually seen either one of these machines.

But, if you want my two cents anyway, I'd pick the 12" jointer.

First of all, extra width is really useful. Not so much for jointing that 11" board, but more for the ability to skew a narrower board as you're jointing it to help with tearout. I know that these jointers will have spiral cutterheads, but you'll want any advantage you can get when you get that board with the gorgeous grain that just screams "Tearout alert!"

Second, the 12" jointer has a larger diameter cutterhead than the 10" jointer. This means that the little micro scallops that any jointer will leave will be slightly shallower with the 12" jointer than with the 10" jointer.

Now to be fair, here are some reasons to get the 10" jointer instead:

1. The cast iron base looks way cool.
2. You like dovetailed ways more than parallelogram table movements on your jointers.
3. The term ISO 9001 makes you weak in the knees.
4. If it turns out that the fence on the 10" jointer is better than the one on the 12" jointer.

But I'd still go with the 12" jointer, if it was me.

[james bell]

great replies, thanks.

John, one question you may want to ask them during your visit (based on John Bush's comments) is do the specs on the extreme versions have better tolerances than on their regular products.

For the most part, you get what you pay for.

All of my tool are on casters, though my current shop is now large enough where I don't have to move the large tools - still roll the drill press, mitre saw and old makita planer/jointer to the door which makes clean-up easier. John Bush - what did you use to build the frame or does the 609X have threaded holes for casters? (I have tried to find threaded casters for my MM16 but they are metric and haven't had any luck thus far.)

[Jerry White]

I have tried to find threaded casters for my MM16 but they are metric and haven't had any luck thus far.

James, I used the Zambus AC-300S on my MM16. Expensive, but works like a champ. The threads on the caster fit the leveling screws that come with the MM16, which are 12mm x 50 mm with a 1.75 mm pitch, I believe. Some MM16's require a longer screw (mine did), which are available from McMaster-Carr. If I remember correctly, I used an 80mm long screw.

Zambus: http://www.zambus.com/product/ac300.php

McMaster-Carr: http://www.mcmaster.com/

Also, some have used an alternate source for the MM16 casters, Great Lakes Casters (cheaper price): http://www.greatlakescaster.com/products.php?cat=262

Jerry

[Mike Heidrick]

I use the Great Lakes Casters on my MM20. They work almost too good! Really find the unlevel spots in my shop floor. GLC gives a discount as well to woodnent members - I think 10 or 15 %.

[james bell]

Jerry, thanks. I had talked to Great Lakes but they did not have anything - or so they said. My google did not turn up the other two. Merry Christmas

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

James,

I was able to visit Grizzly this past Friday. I spoke w/ a sales rep about the Extreme 15" planer and he didn't give me a whole lot of information. I specifically asked if the Extreme series was made to better tolerances since it was ISO factory,etc. He said no, it really came down to the features. The main feature in this case was the Byrd head instead of Grizzly spiral head. From my own observations, I couldn't really pinpoint anything different other than paint color and some different style pieces (handwheels, table lock knobs, physicall dimensions, etc.)

So, all in all, i didn't get the feel that they were anything extra special from a spec/mfg standpoint...just features.


great replies, thanks.

John, one question you may want to ask them during your visit (based on John Bush's comments) is do the specs on the extreme versions have better tolerances than on their regular products.

For the most part, you get what you pay for.

All of my tool are on casters, though my current shop is now large enough where I don't have to move the large tools - still roll the drill press, mitre saw and old makita planer/jointer to the door which makes clean-up easier. John Bush - what did you use to build the frame or does the 609X have threaded holes for casters? (I have tried to find threaded casters for my MM16 but they are metric and haven't had any luck thus far.)

[John Shuk]

Quick question. What is ISO 9001?

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

International Organization for Standards. There are several standards...in this case the 9001 standard is basically a quality management standard, for domestic or international companies both private and public sector.

Basically, to me it doesn't mean a whole lot. It certainly is a positive thing, but frankly if you put junk in, you will get junk out...and ISO really won't guard against it...your junk will just meet standard protocol...

For more thrilling reading, you can goto www.iso.org and find out enough to put you to sleep in about 30 seconds.

:)

Quick question. What is ISO 9001?

[james bell]

having sold products internationally, I have had a lot of experience in ISO since it is mandatory for international sales. boiled down to a nutshell, it basically requires a company (there are different ISO900x numbers for different types of companies - manufacturing, distribution, sales, etc) to have a written set of procedures for all processes in the plant.

There are audits to ensure they are being followed - but naturally nothing like random drug testing.

That being said, whether or not the employees follow the written standards is not part of ISO. It is a good thing for new employees to know what they are suppose to do, but if there is a short cut outside the procedures, we all know what happens.

Being a non-ISO company does not mean they don't have the same procedures or quality, it probably means they haven't invested the time and expense to go through this process to get certified. For sales in the US, no big deal since nobody cares.

[Louis Rucci]

I just ordered their G0609 and the Shelix head with extra bearings an hour ago. I was contemplating the G0690X but hesitated after realizing that the spiral cutter head wasn't what I really wanted. The cutterhead that comes with it is similar to H7591

Spent some time on the phone with Customer support and he recommended I purchase the standard G0609 with Shelix head (H9291) and bearings. Total price was $2215, not counting shipping.

I think I'll be very pleased with this purchase.