Comparing grizzly 8" jointers - G0490x vs. G0858?

[Michael Pompliano]

In the market for a new 8" jointer, looking for a helical or spiral cutterhead, have it narrowed down to these two models. From what I can gather, the dimensions are slightly different but not significantly so, with small differences in the number of cutterheads and RPM's, etc. I've also read the G0858 is a few hundred pounds lighter, which may be concerning, but overall they both look like very similar machines outside of the price.
Does anyone have any experience with the difference or recommendations between the two?

[Gary Petersen]

I did the same search about a year ago and ended up buying the G0490X. It has worked out very well for me. The comparison between the two and a third model I was considering follows. I don't remember what the three highlighted cells represented to me. I'd have thought significant differences, but there are others I didn't highlight. The one was something I couldn't find in the specifications, which is where all of this data came from. All of the data is as it was on the Grizzly site just over a year ago.

The thinner table thickness of the G0490X hasn't been an issue for me. Parallelism of the two infeed and outfeed tables was spot on right out of the box. It has been a great tool and a purchase with which I've been very pleased. Gary
Grizzly Jointer Feature Comparison.jpg

[Robert Hazelwood]

I have the G0857 (same as G0858 but with straight knives instead of spiral). It is not that much lighter than the G0490- I think Grizzly has some incorrect info out there in some places and I wonder if it has scared people away from this machine. The shipping weight is 487 lbs, which matches pretty closely with what I remember from the freight company. The machine itself is listed at 365 lbs, but I can tell you there isn't 120 lbs of crating. The G0490 shipping weight is ~560 lbs, machine weight at 508 lbs. That seems more reasonable. Figure the G0858 is about 70-80 lbs lighter in reality. But it's easy to get the impression from their specs that its 200 lbs lighter.

The G0858 is built in Taiwan vs China for the G0490. Usually Taiwanese stuff has a little better build quality. Also right now you avoid paying a tariff. The G0858 comes basically assembled, you just have to mount the fence and cutter guard. I think on the G0490 you have to lift the table base onto the sheetmetal base

Anyways I am very pleased with the machine. The tables were nicely ground and pretty flat- the biggest deviation was a 0.003" dip along the length of the outfeed table. Fence was flat and not twisted as well. The table alignment was good enough for most people, but I had to see if I could get it perfect. The table adjustment is very easy with the parallelogram mechanism.

[Chris Hachet]

I have the G0857 (same as G0858 but with straight knives instead of spiral). It is not that much lighter than the G0490- I think Grizzly has some incorrect info out there in some places and I wonder if it has scared people away from this machine. The shipping weight is 487 lbs, which matches pretty closely with what I remember from the freight company. The machine itself is listed at 365 lbs, but I can tell you there isn't 120 lbs of crating. The G0490 shipping weight is ~560 lbs, machine weight at 508 lbs. That seems more reasonable. Figure the G0858 is about 70-80 lbs lighter in reality. But it's easy to get the impression from their specs that its 200 lbs lighter.

The G0858 is built in Taiwan vs China for the G0490. Usually Taiwanese stuff has a little better build quality. Also right now you avoid paying a tariff. The G0858 comes basically assembled, you just have to mount the fence and cutter guard. I think on the G0490 you have to lift the table base onto the sheetmetal base

Anyways I am very pleased with the machine. The tables were nicely ground and pretty flat- the biggest deviation was a 0.003" dip along the length of the outfeed table. Fence was flat and not twisted as well. The table alignment was good enough for most people, but I had to see if I could get it perfect. The table adjustment is very easy with the parallelogram mechanism.

This is good to know, thinking about a jointer upgrade myself.

[Ralph Turney]

I just uncrated my Grizzly G0858, and your statement about the weight of the crating had me thinking you were right. However, out of curiosity sake, I weighed all the packing and the crate material when I was done. It came out to 117 pounds!!! Close enough. I was surprised myself, but it was all weighed with a high end digital scale and it didn’t lie.

[Jason White]

I've had the Grizzly G0490 8" jointer for a few years and it's a solid performer. Exact same machine as Delta's older DJ-20 (I believe they were made in the same factory), which I also owned at one point. Only difference is the paint job and placement of the power switch.

My jointer had straight knives, which I recently replaced with a helical cutterhead and it completely transformed the machine. If you can find a used jointer and upgrade the cutterhead yourself, you might save yourself some money.

https://youtu.be/gKwX092vWu4

In the market for a new 8" jointer, looking for a helical or spiral cutterhead, have it narrowed down to these two models. From what I can gather, the dimensions are slightly different but not significantly so, with small differences in the number of cutterheads and RPM's, etc. I've also read the G0858 is a few hundred pounds lighter, which may be concerning, but overall they both look like very similar machines outside of the price.
Does anyone have any experience with the difference or recommendations between the two?

[glenn bradley]

We tend to gravitate toward what we are comfortable with. The G0490X is a helical-head clone of the old Delta design. I got mine in 2008. Like Gary, my tables were so true right out of the box . . . that I kept checking for what I had missed. My earlier version benefited from all the knowledge here at SMC. I enclosed the dust chute (now standard) and installed a link belt (serpentine now standard) to eliminate known 'modern' problems with the Delta design. It has done nothing but work ever since. I have never had to adjust the tables (Yay, p-beds!). Very happy with it. The variety of bases for these clones can effect the weight substantially. The Griz is a formed and assembled heavy gauge sheet. The Powermatic version for example has a heftier and more sculpted base that follows their aesthetic.

[Mark Gibney]

I enclosed the dust chute (now standard) and installed a link belt (serpentine now standard) to eliminate known 'modern' problems with the Delta design.

Glenn, what are the known modern problems with the Delta design?
A few months back I bought a used Delta DJ-20 and put a helical head on it.
The tables are as level / co-planar as I can get them, but the fence needs to be ground flat or else replaced.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Glenn got his G0490X a short time before I got mine. The dust chute was already enclosed when I received my G0490X. The other thing that was reported about that same time was set screws in the pulleys becoming loose during shipment. So when I got mine, I took the time to remove all set screws from the pulleys and reinstalling them with blue loc-tite. I have not had any problem with mine either. I am still running the original belt on mine.

[Stuart Hicks]

I've had the Grizzly G0490 8" jointer for a few years and it's a solid performer. Exact same machine as Delta's older DJ-20 (I believe they were made in the same factory), which I also owned at one point. Only difference is the paint job and placement of the power switch.

My jointer had straight knives, which I recently replaced with a helical cutterhead and it completely transformed the machine. If you can find a used jointer and upgrade the cutterhead yourself, you might save yourself some money.

https://youtu.be/gKwX092vWu4

Jason, just a little FYI, that is a good comparison of the DJ-20 with the G0490. When Delta decided to stop manufacturing the DJ-20, Grizzly actually bought the design/patent from Delta, which is why they are much alike. IMO, the reason why they are still so similar is that the design of the DJ-20 was and is one of the best ever.

One of the only marked differences between the DJ-20 and the G0490 is that the DJ-20 was manufactured with a dual voltage motor 115v/220v 16/8 amp respectively (~16 amps at 115v with a efficiency rating of 0.8 actually equates to roughly 2 hp). The G0490 comes with a nominal 240v 3 hp motor.

Side note - I know the "rule of thumb" is approximately 1 hp per 4 inches of table width, but I think that Delta had it right with the DJ-20. I personally have a Grizzly G0656X. When I bought it, it had the factory 3 hp 220v motor in it, which works perfectly fine, but I didn't have 220v in my shop at the time. So I replaced it with a "1.5" hp motor (actually equates to 1.75 hp with an S.F. of 2 hp) 14.2 amp at 115v. I haven't noticed any difference in face jointing larger hardwood stock at all. I think people get a little too caught up in how much hp a motor produces due to clever marketing, solely for the fact that they can charge more for a higher HP motor.