ShopFox vs. Jet 8" jointer

[Dave Rosner]

Hi - I've been saving my Amazon points for 2 years in order to accumulate enough for me to get a 8" jointer for the shop I've been building. Amazon has the SF W1741W (~1250) for about $200 less than the Jet 718200K (~$1450).

https://www.amazon.com/Shop-Fox-W174...8+inch+jointer
https://www.amazon.com/Jet-718200K-J...8+inch+jointer

I have a Grizzly TS, BS, and DP and i'm more than happy with that brand which I think is pretty much the same thing as Shop Fox. On paper the SF looks like a great bargain and a better choice...

SF vs. JET

3hp vs. 2hp
adjustable parallelogram bed vs. standard
4 knife cutterhead vs. ??
77" long vs 74" long

Not sure why i'm struggling with this since SF is a solid brand but I also know Jet might be a step up. I've got just enough points to get either one....

Welcome any recommendations.

[Cary Falk]

I have the Shop Fox 1741. I have zero complaints with it. I have owned several Jet tools. I don't see paying extra for Jet unless it has some feature that you want. I like the parallogram bed design better. One other difference is Jet has a 5 year warranty vs the 2 year with Shop Fox. Warranty value disscussions vary depending which tool the poster favors. Lever vs handwheel is a personal preference. I started with handwheels but now that I have levers, I love them. Super fast to adjust.

[Matt Day]

I had the Shop Fox and it was a great machine (got rid of it when I upgraded to a bigger jointer). SF and Griz are the same besides the color - Shop Fox is the retail arm of Grizzly if I'm not mistaken.

[Ernie Miller]

I have several Shop Fox machines and they're fine. That said, I wouldn't buy another ShopFox for one reason - you can't get parts from ShopfFox's website. If you live near a ShopFox dealer it's no problem, but if you don't (like me), getting parts is a real, time consuming hassle. You can order the same part from Grizzly, but there's no guarantee they will fit. I tried, and they didn't.

[Matt Day]

Ernie, what parts didn't fit? It was my understanding that they're identical.

[Ernie Miller]

Ernie, what parts didn't fit? It was my understanding that they're identical.

The lever that locks my 12" disk sander table got stripped out and became useless. The replacement from Grizzly was not the same size - close, but not close enough. Not a big problem for me as the table is locked at 90 degrees to the disk, and I never tilt the table anyway. It's still not working, but I didn't bother to track down a ShopFox dealer to order the part for me. That's the only way you can get ShopFox parts.

On the other hand, the metal bracket that is used to set the depth stop on my drill press (ShopFox radial drill press) was quite thin and eventually bent, making it unusable. I ordered the equivalent part from Grizzly, and not only did it fit, it was a much heavier gage and has given me no problem at all. Like I said, although the machines are thought to be identical except for paint, it's not true for every part. Some may work - some may not.