Are grizzly machines good?

[Brian Holcombe]

I have had experience with their 8" and 16" jointers and their 'Extreme' 24" planer. I have relatively minor nitpicks with the user interface areas of the machine, I did not dig into the details of it. The fence on the jointer was fine, operated well. The tables are hefty but they are surface ground, on the face of it surface grinding seems fine but compared to the surface that SCM puts on their machines (circular cut) or a planed surface (linear grooves) surface grinding starts to quickly look less than ideal. I have a harder time face jointing on an 8" surface ground jointer than on a 20" jointer with a planed finish.

Their 24" planer was fine when new but after a few years of use it has feed issues that appear to be at least somewhat due to the smooth out feed roller. Other companies put a light texture on the outfield roller that doesn't damage the wood but does allow material to feed well.

I helped diagnose one of their 8" jointers at a local shop, turns out the webbing for the tables was laid out in a way that would actually allow the table to flex under load. I did not believe this until the shop showed me that when one of the craftsmen put larger material on the bed, the table flexed, and it was not material I would expect would flex a cast iron table. That said, probably its fine for the average home hobby shop.

Frankly, I prefer a buy once, cry once approach. I'm inherently thrifty but I like nice things, so I would just sniff out something good and used.

[David Sochar]

The Disclaimer: I do not own, nor have I ever operated any Grizzly Equipment.

Random notes:

I do enjoy the Grizzly ads as a yardstick for machine costs in general. I notice that over the years, the prices increase, but then the machines are stepping up in quality. It is a competitive world, and they have found that "entry level" and bargain equipment is just the tip of the market.

270,000 professional woodworkers in the US. 5.5 million amateur woodworkers in the US.

Laguna has been successful at at targeting the 'post grizzly' people that are moving up to a more professional level shop. They had terrible service problems when they began. When I had a problem with a bandsaw - a resistor that stayed hot [literally and figuratively] almost started a fire in the shop, the salesman admitted there was no parts manager or parts department, but he would be glad to sell me a new saw, that would work just fine. Eventually, I got a replacement motor and they made good on the whole, but it took several calls and months before it was resolved. In a commercial environment, I think of in-operational equipment in terms of hours, maybe days. This was months.

I do recall reading about lawsuits arising from the fact that one of the first Chinese knock-offs of the Delta 14"bandsaw had the Delta logo in their castings, thereby proving they used the Delta product to develop their 14" band saw that was selling for two-thirds of what the Delta sold for.

Finally, if you have never operated a Martin joiner or planer, or an Altendorf panel saw, or Butfering sander, you will never know what that experience is like. If you have never driven a Rolls or a Ferrari, you can't know the experience. Likewise, if all you know is Delta, Grizzly and Shopfox, you don't know what you are missing. You don't know what you don't know. Some people would say the experience is the same. I would argue that over time, the better equipment ages better, repairs more easily, sets up better and holds settings better than the lower cost machines. Yes, you do get what you pay for.

[Shiraz Balolia]

Today's society is very lucky to have great avenues to check out a company's reputation for quality, service and delivery because of forums and online access. This is a double edged sword as everyone is an "expert", even people who have formed opinions based on others' opinions, and no real first hand knowledge. That's not to say that people who have commented have no knowledge - they do, but we have seen posts from people that have no first hand experience with Grizzly machines, or the experience was based on a purchase that took place decades ago. We have come a long way since inception.

Grizzly offers the largest selection of machines under one brand in the World. We have machines for the beginner, for the intermediate user and the commercial user, all with different features and price points. There is a reason why we are the largest woodworking machinery company in USA and growing every year. We ship tens of thousands of pounds of machines every day and our sales do not depend on reasonable prices, but the whole package.

Many of you have watched the video "The history of Grizzly", but those that have not - it would be an interesting watch and might give you and insite into Grizzly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBQk1WmXpm4&t=6s

[glenn bradley]

Travis hasn't chimed back in so he may have gotten his answer. I own many brands and have already responded to this thread. I just wanted to add that it occurred to me while reading other's responses; I have only made one repair to any of my Grizzly machines in well over 15 years. A cent-clutch got replaced in my dust collector a decade or so ago. Other than that the Grizzly machines I have just do what they are supposed to without any fuss.

For the purpose of transparency, tools that have required repair are Ridgid, DeWalt Bosch and Delta. The Jets have fared well. My foray into Powermatic's drill press ended with a return. As mentioned in my previous post, different makers have different strong areas and one is wise to shop the tool, not the paint. A few of Grizzly's gems have given me more machine that I would have gotten at the time and they are still working just like new.

[Orlando Gonzalez]

I have a Grizzly table saw, band saw, mobile bases, and two dust collectors. I'm a very happy customer. The day my PM 50 jointer clunks out, I'm getting a Grizzly jointer based on my experience with their products and support they offer.

[andy bessette]

...That's not to say that people who have commented have no knowledge - they do, but we have seen posts from people that have no first hand experience with Grizzly machines, or the experience was based on a purchase that took place decades ago...

I have seen no proof of this.

My own experience with Grizzly has been unfortunate. Performance of a dust collector I purchased a few years ago was so poor that I sent it down the road. And a stationary buffing machine I own has failed and will be sold as soon as I can get it working again.

[Shiraz Balolia]

I have seen no proof of this.

Post 47 above.

Also, perhaps we are missing something, but would your purchases have been through another name because we are having a hard time finding you in our system. The only stationary buffers we used to carry under our brand were discontinued over 12 years ago.

[andy bessette]

Post 47 above.

Also, perhaps we are missing something, but would your purchases have been through another name because we are having a hard time finding you in our system. The only stationary buffers we used to carry under our brand were discontinued over 12 years ago.

1 post out of 47?
Both my Grizzly machines were purchased used, as were perhaps half the machines in my shop.

[Tim Nguyen]

For me, it has been the 14 inch bandsaw. It has been good. No problem. I have been considering the six inch jointer with the spiral blades.
I got the OK for a sawstop, otherwise it would be the Grizzly hybrid saw for me.

[Keith Outten]

I purchased my first Grizzly machines in the early 80's, it was a 15" planer and the Grizzly dust collector. Then a couple years later I ordered a 72" joiner and their cabinet saw. Along the way I bought their bench mill/drill and a small metal lathe. All of the Grizzly machines have proven to be reliable and great value. I operated a lumber kiln for ten years and ran more lumber though my planer and joiner than I ever thought possible. All of my Grizzly machines are still working fine in spite of their age. Most of the hours on my machines are commercial work for my sign shop these days.

The dust collector has done double duty for the last twelve years serving woodworking machines, my Laser Engraver and my CNC Router so it has more operational hours than any machine in my shop.