The cyclone is still in the box on the trailer, but the stand called to me this morning. I am guessing that most interest will be in the cyclone and how it performs, but I have decided to comment on all aspects of this purchase from beginning to end. Perhaps we might run onto something along the way that will be of interest to anyone who is thinking about purchasing one of these machines or, in the case or someone who has ordered one, this is what they might expect to experience.
As I mentioned previously, the packaging looked very solid from outside the box. That feeling was substantiated when I opened the stand box. Everything was bubble wrapped and all loose parts (nuts, bolts and washers) were nicely segregated and bagged. The manual for the stand is very well thought out. It has two clearly illustrated pages on parts identification. Admittedly, putting a stand together is not rocket science, but the manual lays stuff out in a thoughtful and logical manner and sets a standard I expect to see when I unleash the beast in the big box. I own a BCS 2- wheeled tractor which is generally seen as one of the best machines of it's type. It would be nice to be able to say the same for the quality of the BCS manual. I have seen worse than the BCS offering,(actually, much worse), but BCS could do well to aspire to the quality of Grizzly's manual.
As for assembly of the stand, I applied the Carroll Melvin standard to how well it went together and how long it took. Carroll Melvin was a very crotchity (sp?) old man who owned College Hardware and Cyclery in Sacramento from somewhere near the mid '40s till he died around the late 80s or so. Carroll sold two things: hardware and bicycles and I worked for him during the early 70s when I took a hiatus from working with seriously disturbed kids. There wasn't anything odd about hardware stores in those days selling bicycles and hardware, but in Carroll's hardware store, you could buy a Schwinn Stingray or a Masi, Cinelli, Colnago or DeRosa, along with your Black and Decker toaster.
Carroll hired me to assemble, set up and tune the high end bikes, but hardware stores being what they were, I did my fair share of Varsity and StingRays, too. Only trouble was (from Carroll's point of view), I spent nearly as much time on the Varsitys and Stingrays as I did on the Cinelli's; my logic being, many of the cheaper bikes needed more attention than the more expensive bikes and little kids would be riding them. That point was a constant source of friction between Carroll and me. After all, time was money.
So, I put the stand together thinking of Carroll (he was actually as kind and generous as he was grouchy) and I think he would have approved. The stand went together fast and easy because of several factors. All parts were easily identified and accounted for. Remembering the scars from assembling the cabinet stand for my Jet jointer, I was glad to see that there were no sharp edges on the Grizzly stand. As I already mentioned, the manual was pretty much all a manual should be. Fit, finish (hard electrocoat, it appears) and attention to detail on the stand, itself were spot on.
One interesting item was that the stand from Taiwan is fitted with SAE fasteners. I wondered if this is a sign that the rest of the world has thrown up their hands and given in to the the notion that the metric system will never take hold here (even I didn't think that). In any event, it gave me a chance to use my SAE wrenches. Now, if I can only find a use for my Whitworth wrench set.
Pictures are of the manual and the finished stand which went together nicely square. Note the "two or three strong helpers" suggested in the manual for righting the finished cyclone. Also note the page that mentions the "machine mounts". I will probably head on over to the local hardware store to get these, but I thought I'd mention them for anyone who has ordered the stand. They might assist in leveling and perhaps, noise transmission through the floor.
Stay tuned, I might even get to opening the big box today.
...Bob
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