Grizzly Jointer/Planer G0634 Review - Part 1

[Frank Martin]

Hello all,

Finally, I got around to posting my review for this machine.
Overall, I am very impressed with this machine based on my initial experience with it and would feel very comfortable suggesting this to a friend. Below is the long version.

I am sure as some of you will recall (I got many pm's here so far asking about my experience with this machine) I was asking lots of questions about this machine back in March/April before it was even released. I had no prior experience with Grizzly and as a result I was extremely skeptical about this machine and Grizzly products in general mainly because of the price point. I was mostly looking to buy either a Hammer or a MiniMax version of this machine. However, the spiral carbide insert cutterhead and the center mounted fence on the Grizzly really got my attention. Shiraz responded to my messages here and also we exchanged several pm's. After communicating with Shiraz, I felt comfortable enough to order the machine.

I received the machine back in late June. I was told this is the very first machine shipped in the US. I guess I am a really early adoptor:-)) The shipping/delivery was uneventful, just how I like it. Crating was well done. The machine did not have any damage. The driver delivered inside my 1 car garage size shop.

Between a very busy work/family schedule and couple parts (no biggie) I needed to replace, I never got around to finalizing the setup and testing after the delivery in June. Finally, this weekend, I installed everything, adjusted the infeed and outfeed tables (needed minor shimming) and the fence. I tested the tables with a 50" straight edge. I am extremely impressed with how flat the tables are. The outfeed table is perfect (could not even insert a 0.001" feeler gage under the straight edge) and the infeed table is near perfect as well. The overall fit and finish is at least on par with the Delta machines I am familiar with. I have not used euro machines and cannot compare with those.

Also very satisfying was my Grizzly customer service experience. I have contacted them couple times and received very professional, prompt service. I put a lot of value to customer service and I am very glad to find out Grizzly is doing a great job at that.

The machine operates perfectly. Changing from jointer to planer and back is really no big deal. What I am mostly amazed so far is how quiet it is. Before this I had a 13" Delta benchtop planer and a 6" Delta jointer. The planer was extremely loud with its universal motor. The new machine is very quiet, part of it is the belt driven motor, other part is the spiral head.

So far I have only tested the machine with a few boards, and have not really used it for a long time. Unfortunately, between work and family I get very little time for woodworking. The last time I built something was back in December 2006. Just to show I actually have a shop and occasionally build something I have added a few pictures of my shop and the cherry bench/shoe storage I built for our entry. I also built a macthing console table and a mirror frame that are located on the other side of the hall, but could not get a good picture of those with all other things on/around them. Please see my replies to this post for other pictures.

I hope to enjoy using this machine for a long time. Actually, because of my experience with this machine, I will sure take a very close look at the Grizzly offerings in the future. My next machine is going to be a bandsaw. There is a new Grizzly model that I really like, but as you can tell from my shop pictures, I don’t have any space to put one in. Hopefully, in about a year or so we will move to a larger house.

Please see the next thread (Part 2) for additional pictures. One day I will figure out splicing multiple pictures to stay below the limit.

[Frank Martin]

More pictures of Grizzly jointer/planer and pictures of my shop...

[Frank Martin]

Nothing to do with the Grizzly machine. Just some pictures of the bench/shoe storage I built in December 2006. No projects since then...

[Pete Brown]

Cool, thanks for posting.

For someone who never gets to do any woodworking, you have some nice tools (woodrat, even!)

How do you like the finish coming off of that jointer/planer? That can be hard to show in a photo. How about power with jointing a full-width board?

Pete

[Frank Martin]

Pete,

The surface finish has those very small ridges typical of the spiral carbide insert cutterhead. However, no big deal really as they come off easily with sanding. The spiral insert cutterhead has so many advantages (long carbide cutter life, easy to change inserts, low noise, etc.) at least for me there is no going back to old style cutterheads. This and the center mounted fence were the main reasons why I chose this machine over the euro versions of this machine to begin with.

Regarding power when jointing full width, it sure has plenty to spare. I typically take off very little, about 1/32" per pass or sometimes even less, so I did not feel that power was lacking. With the 5hp motor, I doubt power will become an issue for reasonable stock removal.

Actually, before my son was born and before I switched to a more demanding career, I used to do a lot woodworking. I made most of the furniture in our house, including all in my son's room. As for the tools, I actually have a lot of others in the cabinet below the bench and in other cabinets. Too bad I don't get to use them much these days. Surely, spending time with my 2.5 yr old son is more fun than woodworking, at least most of the time.

The Woodrat is an excellent machine. Due to limited marketing and exaggerated learning curve most people here in the US don't even consider it when they are shopping for joinery solutions. I use it for most of my joinery needs. Now that I also have a Domino, I won't likely use it for loose tenon joinery anymore, but there are many other things I use it for.

Cool, thanks for posting.

For someone who never gets to do any woodworking, you have some nice tools (woodrat, even!)

How do you like the finish coming off of that jointer/planer? That can be hard to show in a photo. How about power with jointing a full-width board?

Pete

[Kevin Murdock]

Hey Frank,

How do you find it on the mobile base?

I purchased the "Super Heavy-Duty Mobile Base" for mine and I find it very difficult to move. The casters just don't seem up to handling the weight, and the angle iron mounting plates are visibly bending under the close to 700lb load.

Thanks,
-Kevin

[Don Bullock]

Frank, thanks for the post. I've been wondering about the G0634. It's good to see your information. As one who gets less time in the shop than I'd like, I sure understand the delay on getting it all put together. Please give us an update when you have had more time working on your jointer/planer.

[Sue Wise]

Kevin and Frank,
I am very interested in this thread as I have been waiting to purchase one.

Kevin, what has been your experience with it?

[glenn bradley]

Hey Frank,

How do you find it on the mobile base?

I purchased the "Super Heavy-Duty Mobile Base" for mine and I find it very difficult to move. The casters just don't seem up to handling the weight, and the angle iron mounting plates are visibly bending under the close to 700lb load.

Thanks,
-Kevin

Blatant thread-jack; Kevin, I have that base on my BS which is half the weight of the combo machine and it is inadequate for that task. You might want to look at some of the high end HTC bases.

Did your machine require adjustment out of the box as well? Do you get the surface ridges while face planing? Neither of these is a bad thing. Just trying to get a feel for the new product.

[David Weaver]

Thanks for posting this. I have a similar space situation and a delta 22-580 and a small delta 6" jointer, and would love to replace both with this.

My wife would crap if I spent $2400 right now, though.

[Roland Sherman]

Frank, Thanks for the information and a look at your shop. I am also interested in the woodrat and have been looking for sometime...don't want to put out the money yet, I noticed that there is one on ebay and was going to bid on it, how is it for cutting dovetails and M&T's

[Frank Martin]

Kevin,

The mobile base is one thing I won't be purchasing from Grizzly again. I had to replace all the casters, because the outer layer on them just crumbled when I moved the machine literally inches. To Grizzly's credit, they sent replacement casters right away. However, it is still very hard to move the machine. I actually bought very high quality urethane casters, but they don't fit the base. I may just try first replacing only the wheels with the urethane ones to see if it improves anything. If not definitely a new mobile base...

Also, not as important as the function, the fit and finish is poor, it had rust in couple places and a poor paint job. Definetly not in the same league with the Delta mobile bases I am familiar with.

Hey Frank,

How do you find it on the mobile base?

I purchased the "Super Heavy-Duty Mobile Base" for mine and I find it very difficult to move. The casters just don't seem up to handling the weight, and the angle iron mounting plates are visibly bending under the close to 700lb load.

Thanks,
-Kevin

[Frank Martin]

I have done quite a bit of dovetailing and M&T. It is just fine for dovetailing. It provides lots of flexibility. Because there is no template or bushing, you can use any dovetail bit. Variable space dovetails is also the nature of the machine as again you are not using a template. For M&T, I did traditional M&T, for which it worked just fine, but I like the much simpler loose tenon joinery much better, which Woodrat makes it very easy to do.

If you want to find out more, just oder the DVD, it is very useful in understanding the flexibility and capabilities of the machine.

Frank, Thanks for the information and a look at your shop. I am also interested in the woodrat and have been looking for sometime...don't want to put out the money yet, I noticed that there is one on ebay and was going to bid on it, how is it for cutting dovetails and M&T's

[Kevin Murdock]

Hey Frank and Glenn,

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately there appears to be a common thread on the effectiveness of the Super Heavy-Duty Mobile Base.

That's too bad as the G7315 models are sold as being able to handle up to 1200lbs.

My usage is 700lbs and its overloading the casters.

I bought 2, as I was going to use one on my 650lb bandsaw. Though I'm guessing that is will have the same result.

I guess I'll contact Grizzly about returning them.

As to the question of performance of my Jointer/Planer, I'm not setup yet.

-Kevin

[Frank Martin]

Kevin,

I have no idea how these bases would work with 1200 lbs. They are definitely not up to the task for half the weight. If I could I would return mine in a heart beat too. Actually, had I seen it in person before purchasing, I would not have bought it based on fit and finish.

Do you know if there is an HTC base that would fit the machine?

Hey Frank and Glenn,

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately there appears to be a common thread on the effectiveness of the Super Heavy-Duty Mobile Base.

That's too bad as the G7315 models are sold as being able to handle up to 1200lbs.

My usage is 700lbs and its overloading the casters.

I bought 2, as I was going to use one on my 650lb bandsaw. Though I'm guessing that is will have the same result.

I guess I'll contact Grizzly about returning them.

As to the question of performance of my Jointer/Planer, I'm not setup yet.

-Kevin