Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Dec 31, 2003 10:20am | #1

   Grizzly makes good jointers, and spiral cutterheads in general have been discussed here at Knots.  I did an Advanced Search using "jointer spiral" as my search terms.  Here are a couple threads you could check:

   http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-knots&msg=15255.1

   http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-knots&msg=13802.1

   [the second one refers to planers.  A jointer is essentially an upside-down planer]

   Suggestion:  Don't let the jointer-knife set-up stories scare you.  There are several ways, some expensive, some cheap, to get those jointer knives set accurately.

   forestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

1. 
   2002XX | Dec 31, 2003 03:56pm | #2

   Thanks Forestgirl. I typed in spiral cutterhead last night in the advanced search and got several posts also. Most were like this where people wanted to go to the cutterhead but had not tried it out. Must be good or people would not be moving in this direction.  Thanks again RICK

2. 
   MatthewSchenker | Dec 31, 2003 06:49pm | #3

   Forestgirl,

   I'm also in the market for an 8" jointer, and Grizzly is a possibility.  I'm also looking at Delta and Jet models.  Just like Rick, I am not interested in having to fuss more than is necessary with the knife setup.  Of course, some fussing is inevitable!

   Do you personally have experience with a Grizzly jointer?  If so, please tell us all about it. 

   I would also like to hear opinions about the various knife designs -- spiral, regular, jack-screws, etc.

   Thanks.

1. 
   forestgirl | Dec 31, 2003 08:19pm | #4

   Hi Matthew.  I have not personally used the Grizzly 8" jointer, but there have been several long threads over the past several months discussing various jointers.  If you can find them, you will see that there are Knotheads who have pushed hundreds and even thousands of board feet of lumber over their Grizzly 8" jointers and are very happy with them (Frenchy comes to mind).  These "testimonials" are very substantial, IMO, since it's not just a dabbler like me who's speaking well of them.  [Ahhh, what the heck, here's a link:http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=14416.26  ]

   For those who really don't want to have to fuss with blade installation too much, there's always that retrofit kit that converts the cutterhead into a self-indexing blade system.  Can't remember the name off-hand, but it's sold on the web and also by Grizzly.

   I have no opinion (what?! impossible!) about different types of knife designs.  forestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

2. 
   TerryH | Jan 01, 2004 07:35am | #5

   Matthew,

   I have the Griz G0500. It is a fantastic machine. I have a full review of it on my site if you would like to check it out. I have no experience with the spiral cutterheads at all, but the jointer itself is great.

   Terry

   http://www.terryhatfield.com Registered Shopaholic

2. 
   logsend | Jan 07, 2004 04:47pm | #6

   Rick,

   I guess the question I still have is - "is the spiral cutterhead worth the extra $400?". 

   Randy

1. 
   2002XX | Jan 08, 2004 03:58am | #7

   I was hoping someone had this machine to tell me if it was worth the extra money and if the spiral cutterhead actually cut better and was simple to set compared to the knife system. It is brand new so I guess no one has it yet. If someone does get it let me know. THANKS RICK