I thought I would take the time to write down my thoughts on the new jointer I picked up, a Grizzly eight inch parallelogram style model. I have never bought anything from them before so while on a short vacation my wife and I traveled to their PA location to look at the machines in person before plunking down our hard earned cash. I was attracted to the eight inch dovetail ways machine for around $600 but ended up with the $800 model instead. By the time I would have put a mobile base under the less expensive machine, I was going to be only about $130 away from the next higher model (which had built-in wheels). This also bought another horsepower so I figured it was worth it anyway.

Taking delivery was uneventful as the machine was loaded into the pickup via forklift. As the springs sagged I realized I needed to make some calls before I was going to unload this iron back home. It ended up taking three of us and everything we could muster in the way of strength to unload the truck. This tool comes in two boxes, one housing the stand, motor and wheels, and the other a long crate which holds the cast iron assemblies in styrofoam. After I retrieved my spleen from under the vehicle I proceeded to uncrate the jointer and inspect the parts. All seemed to be in order so I began to assemble the thing according to the instruction booklet.

What a joy these instructions are these days. Why can’t we get the same attention shown our tool manuals as most software companies show in their product support? I’ve seen videogames that sell for $30 that had an encyclopaedia included compared to what we get with our tools. Anyway, it would be nice to have a count of each type of bolt, nut, and washer, just in case one is missing. Not to mention a brief description of the hardware accompanying each assembly step. In fairness to Grizzly, I must point out that their manual is lightyears ahead of many documents that originate from the orient. A recent Harbor Freight tool manual I used was atrocious – It would have been better to include a blindfold instead!

Assembly actually went fairly smooth and trouble free for the most part. However there was the typical complement of nuts that required tiny premature baby fingers to start, usually while holding some monstrously heavy motor or part. There were also a few parts that required a bit of tinkering with while assembling, in order to be sure they were mounted in an optimal position. All parts did fit together well, with the exception of the top panel of the stand. This was a slight problem from the beginning but ended up not being a deal breaker by any means. More on this later.

All machine parts that are uncoated steel or iron were well lubricated with grease. It was as if someone got paid by the tube. There was so much grease on the infeed and outfeed tables I could have packed several wheel bearings with it. Don’t bother using a cleaning solvent until you have removed the bulk of it with a makeshift squeegee. I used a couple of pieces of cardboard to scrape this gunk off, then some mineral spirits to get things clean. I went ahead and waxed my tables while they were bare – Spare me the wax lectures, I won’t listen to you. Bowling alley wax has worked for me in my shop for years when nothing else has. This shop gets daily abuse and wax is cheap.

The factory installed knives were already adjusted dead-on and the gibs were tight as well. Both tables were parallel and the infeed cut depth indicator needed only a minute adjustment. The fence needed only minor tweaking to get the 90 and 45 degrees stops perfect. This fence is solid with no hint of play or deflection. We will see how it holds up over the next couple of years. After waxing I noticed a small series of scratches on one of the tables that appeared to be where a screw had been in contact with it (before I owned it). While they are not polished to a mirror shine like a typical Powermatic tool, the tables are very smooth and do not show any coarse grinding marks or other suface imperfections.

When I first powered up the jointer I heard a loud slapping sound, obviously the belt contacting the frame or some other part. I shut it down and found that the rear belt guard was too close to the belt and I was not able to adjust it into a proper position. I believe this is due to the top of the jointer stand being manufactured in a slight off center condition. I will need to enlarge the belt opening as well to accommodate this alignment problem. On the whole this will not affect the operation of the machine, but it is a definite black mark against Grizzly’s quality control group back at the factory. This is precisely the type of accuracy that we seem to be giving up when manufacturing jobs are moved out of country.

After tightening the belt a bit and removing the offending guard (I’ll have to fabricate a suitable replacement) I surfaced a few boards. First I chose a couple of pieces of twisty sycamore. This jointer ate it up easily with no hint of stress on the motor. Absolutely dead flat. No hint of tear out either. Hmmm, how about that walnut board I’ve been saving with the huge knot and burl-like figure? It handled it with ease. Boy, I’m glad I got the three horse motor! I feel like a kid again, not having to dread endlessly passing boards back and forth over a cheap six inch jointer: Just a couple of swipes and Bingo! A beautifully smooth board with virtually no tear-out. I was also surprised by how much I really enjoyed the lever handles and the ease of adjustment. I’m so used to the inherent slop of hand wheels on our cheap six inch machine that I never would move the table. This new Griz is so easy to adjust I think it could revolutionize my approach to this operation! Will I ever go back to a dovetail/handled model? Not if I can help it!

About then SWMBO (She WHo Must Be Obeyed) wandered into the shop and took a trial run with another chunk of sycamore. “How come we didn’t get one of these before now? You know, we might need to get that carbide Sheila thingy too,” she said.

Did I tell you that I love my wife? ; )