After all of the favorable reviews that Grizzly has received on their jointers, I decided to pick one up (after great internal debate on size vs. cost).  In the end, I decided to go with http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0480.  I’m just a weekend worrier… but my wife and I have good jobs and not kids.  Ultimately, I decided to get the 10-inch because I have several hundred BF of wide (9” to 10”) boards that I scored a few years ago… for next to nothing.<!—-><!—-><!—->

After placing my order, the machine arrived less than a week later (shipped to Denver, Co).  I had to drop an extra $20 for lift-gate service… but that was a total no-brainer.  The machine arrived in a single crate and had no visible sign of damage.  At this point, it sat in my garage for a week or so until I could get my dad over to help me unpack it… it was a painful wait.  <!—-> <!—->

When my dad came over, we used his engine hoist (I do wood, not cars… so if I used the wrong name – you must forgive me) to lift the jointer off the pallet.  Fortunately, Grizzly installed a hook on the front right corner of the base and another hook on the opposite rear corner… so it was easy to hook on to and get lifted.  Once the machine was lifted, we installed the leveling feet in the cast-iron base and lowered it down.  I’ll say that the casting on the base is a bit rough and the feet were a little tough to get started (grrrrr)… but we got them in and the machine leveled.  <!—-> <!—->

Next, I had to unbolt the pedestal-mounted control, rotate it 45 degrees and remount it (4 screws, 2 minutes).  Finally, my dad and I mounted the fence (less than a minute), wired the plug for my 220… made a few adjustments (fence stops, clean and adjust the infeed/outfeed tables, etc).  Lastly, was the wood test.  I ran some red and white oak, no problem…  Next, I pulled out a few scraps of 3’ x 6” figured cherry… OMG, it was like I had died and gone to heaven.  The surface had zero tear out.  <!—-> <!—->

In closing, the machine represents a good value for the money and I would not hesitate to do it again.  IMHO, jointers need to have enough power; flat, parallel tables – that are as long and wide as you can reasonably afford – Grizzly has done an excellent job hitting that mark. <!—-> <!—->

As for any complaints and/or areas for improvement…  <!—-> <!—->

The blade guard is a little flimsy.  It has about an inch of sag from where it mounts to the end of the guard.  It doesn’t appear to be a big deal…  but if anyone has an idea on how to correct this – I’d be grateful.<!—-><!—->

As mentioned earlier, the threaded holes for the leveling feet were hard to start.  Fortunately, I didn’t have to re-tap them.  That really would have sucked. <!—-><!—->

The cast iron base has a bowed front.  While it looks pretty – this really sucks if you want to put it on a store bought mobile base.  For now, I have it sitting on the ground and it is completely stationary.  But at 7 feet long, it really eats up a lot of real estate.<!—-> <!—->

The paint job looks a little hurried.  Fortunately, the tool is not a show car and probably saved me a few bucks.  Everyone needs to hit their price point.