Grizzly Frustration

[scott vroom]

The service may well be "pretty darn good" but you should not have this issue with new machines! I have heard too many horror stories here and on Lumberjocks about damaged and late deliveries. I need a new jointer and although I can save 150 bucks and get an 8" from Grizz, I will buy the 6" PM54A, knowing I will get a quality machine shipped within 3 days.
If I have missed something, please let me know.
Ed

Sounds to me like like you're missing 2"

[Peter Kelly]

Randy, I'm kind in the same boat as you with flattening wider boards. When making this equipment upgrade I seriously thought about a nice 12" combo unit, the cost was about the same or maybe a little more for a nicer combo. But I've used a 6" knife Jet for the past 8 years and its served 95% of my needs, how often would I flatten 9-12" stock? Although the space saving of a combo is attractive, I still lean towards the convenience of two stand alone units. I can always use a planer sled on rare occasions for wider stock. Anyhow, woodworkers are quite a varied lot in the items they produce and certainly vary greatly in the tools and methods they use to accomplish the end result. Like you, I think I will be quite pleased with the move to an 8" helical.

Julian, it's been some months, how did the work out? Did you finally receive the jointer?

Since you're in Arkansas, I was going to suggest checking out Rojek combination machines at Techmark in Fayetteville: http://www.rojekusa.com

[Jim Andrew]

I have several pieces of Grizzly equipment including the polar bear version of the 15" planer, and a 12" jointer, and all have been delivered with no issues.

[julian abram]

Well, still on the waiting list for the Grizzly jointer. Customer service says shipment should be at the end of April, so I'm trying to be patient a few more weeks. Back in Jan. I contacted an area Jet/Powermatic dealer (thanks for the tip Jim Hagar) who said he could have a Jet 8" helical in one week, I told him to order it for me. He called back in a couple days and said sorry, it would be several weeks before one could be shipped. So I canceled the Jet and have just decided to wait a few more weeks on the Grizzly. Back in Feb. I went to Lowe's and bought the little 6" benchtop Porter Cable unit to get me through some edge joining for projects. When I finally get the 8" the Porter Cable will be on the Craigslist. The Saga continues!

[julian abram]

Peter, also thanks for the tip on Techmark. I have never heard of this company but looks interesting, will check them out.

[Peter Kelly]

Sorry–I meant to write that Techmark is in Little Rock AK.

[Brad Cambell]

I've been waiting for the 20" planer to be back in stock and have called twice, only to be told that they would be arriving in April. Well, I called yesterday and not there is a "non-committal" date of June 1st.

I ordered a 20" powermatic yesterday.

[julian abram]

No problem, as matter of fact I was in Little Rock today for a Doc appointment.

[julian abram]

Same deal with my jointer order. Was told in January it would ship mid Feb. Told in Feb. it would ship end of March. Told last week ship at the end of April. I'm trying to be patient because it is the unit I would prefer and a great price but I think about June will be my red line. Time to move on, Probably with a Jet.

[Ben Grefe]

I’ll give a ray of hope to everybody waiting. I chimed in on this thread a month or two ago about my Grizzly 454Z 20 inch planer order. It ended up taking 4-5 months, but the machine came in and It’s great. As a hobbyist, it was worth the wait. Grizzly sent a letter after a couple months outlining the reasons for the delay. I thought their communication was pretty good through out the whole process. I was told at the time or order that it would be multiple months.

All these things are made in similar factories. All the manufacturers are facing similar rules and roadblocks. PM might have more stock, but it’s only because they charge more.

I probably could have have gotten a 15 inch PM for similar money, but after using the 20, I can’t fathom them being comparable. It’s similar to when I upgraded my 6 inch jointer to 8. It might not sound like much, but it’s night and day different.

[Steve Spencer]

I am one of the many who ordered a competitor product. I wanted a G0490X and after months of non excuse excuse I bought a PM. I had to pay almost double but had it in 2 days. I am curious how all of these issues have only seemed to affect one company? I am in the market a 20" helical head planer now and have found several available for immediate delivery. The notable exception is Grizzly.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Steve,

I would suggest that the price point difference between Grizzly and PM is such that Grizzly sells many times more than PM just because a lot of hobbyist woodworkers like myself are on a budget. Ships are scheduled months in advance and so is manufacturing runs within a factory that produces products for more than one company. Sheer volume of sales could be difference.

BTW...I own both Grizzly and PM.