Picked up my new 8" Grizzly jointer from the terminal this AM. Pick up went smooth. I was in and out in 10 minutes. My only complaint is the Byrd head is on backorder, possibly for a month. Nothing to be done about that, I should have ordered earlier.
Off loaded dad's truck with a cherry picker engine hoist. Turned the box sideways, uncrated and picked up the head and set it on the assembled base. I already had it on a mobile base ready to go. Had a court subpeona so it had to wait for a few hours to finish hooking it up.
An hour or so later I have it wired with all the parts on ready for a test fire. After checking that everything was tight and there wasn't an obstruction I fired it up and it ran fine. A few tweeks and it is in operational shape.
The knives were set to about .0005 of the outfeed table and were within .001 across the full 8" width. Maybe I could improve that but not without much foul language. I don't have a precision straight edge here so I couldn't check the tables for coplanar but with a level and an 18" straight edge they appear to be right on. I'll check with a 36" starrett soon.
First test is some 1/4 sawn red oak for a library I am building. 1/16" off the face of a 7 3/4" board was smooth as silk. Nice cut with almost no force needed to push it through. Runs smooth and quiet. Has me wondering if I should cancel the shelix head and stick with the straight knives?
Compared to my Ridgid 6" this thing looks like a brontosaurs sitting there. Overall I am very happy with the overall unit and believe it will be a great addition. Mandatory picture included and no it isn't in the final location as I have some DC pipes to rerun.
Joe
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