Not much posted on this machine anywhere, so I thought I'd post in case anyone is interested. The lead is, I like it, but it's not without it's issues. I've had several jointers and few planers, the last of which was a MM FS30 Smart that I just sold to downsize. I wanted something that would be smaller and lighter and could do passable work, so I chose the Griz G0959 Jointer/Planer. I did consider other machines like it, as they are likely all made at the same factory, however I know that companies can call for their own specs to be followed by the manufacturer. I chose this machine for its helical head, greater capacity and Grizzly's reputation for offering good, solid machines.
The G0959 came fully assembled, but for the fence, so assembly was no sweat. The reviews that I did see said that the machine worked right out of the box, so I tried mine and found I was not so lucky. Out came the One-Way Multi Gauge and Veritas straight edge. All indications were the tables were surprisingly flat, although not at all co-planer. First I set the outfeed table even with the helical cutters using brass shims in the ways, then I uot the infeed table co-planer with the outfeed table, again using shims. Having to shim the ways was a trial and error pain, however since I won't be raising or lowering the tables once set, it worked out ok. Here's the weird part...it has always worked for me to make the outfeed table even or .001" below the cutters, however this time, my the best jointed edges came from the outfeed table being .005" below the cutters. At any rate, I ran some 4 foot boards through the freshly adjusted tables and it produced very flat and smooth surfaces, something I really didn't expect. Will the ways hold adjustment over time is a concern, however only time will tell.
I then ran some 10" wide boards through the planer. As long as I didn't cut too deeply, again the surfaces were very nice and from edge to edge, the thickness difference was .004", which is close enough for me. Initially, I did get some snipe, however supporting the ends on infeed and outfeed eliminated that. After making sure the planer was working to my satisfaction, I installed a Wixey remote digital readout, which will be a big upgrade from the OEM thickness gauge.
Now for the fence...it's pretty solid and works well on the jointer. My fence wasn't real flat from top to bottom, so I had to shim the length of the face with some UMHW .010" tape. The one big pain is, the fence has to be unscrewed and removed from its base to make room for the dust shroud when using the planer. It sure would have been nice if the fence could just slide back away from the table to make room for that shroud, however that's not the case, as it is stationary and only has one position over the end of the cutter head, which is a drag. That fence design is the real drawback to this machine.
So...it's a very nice little machine that exceeded my expectations. It joints and planes flat on 4 foot boards and likely longer, producing smooth surfaces. The main draw-back is the stationary fence, that has to be unscrewed and removed every time you switch from jointer mode, to planer mode, to make room for the table mounted dust shroud, which is mediocre at best, in dust collection. Coming from jointers and planers that cost several times what the G0959 cost, I'm very happy with its performance as it exceeds my expectations, the one caveat being the fence, which I'm working on. If you're looking to downsize, but don't want to give up quality jointing and planing, I can recommend the G0959. so long as you don't mind putting in a little time and effort on the common J/P adjustments.
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Originally Posted by Bill Dufour
