Which 8” Helical Head Jointer Do you Reccomend?
sf1988
| Posted in General Discussion on
I am looking to upgrade from my 20 year old Jet 6” straight knife jointer. I want to buy my new 8” jointer once and want one that will last as long as my 6”. I have read articles that suggest the Grizzly Go495X and others that recommend the Powermatic. The difference in price between the two, I can buy the Grizzly with the Parallelogram jointer. Same capability in PM is $1000 more. Which jointer do you recommend or have experience with?
Thanks for your feedback
Replies
I had that same dilemma a year ago when replacing an older 6" jointer and ended up purchasing that Grizzly G0495X at least partially to save the money. First Grizzly tool I had purchased in many years. It arrived in a seriously crappy shipping "crate", but having said that there wasn't a scratch on the actual machine and surprisingly on checking calibration NO adjustments were needed. Also, in spite of Grizzly's suggestion that the delivery company would only drop it at the driveway or I would have to take it off their truck, the delivery company delivered it into my garage which was a tight fit... I have used it extensively in the past year and it has been absolutely excellent. Impressively smooth surfaces in all woods that I have jointed. Love the extra long beds and easy adjustments. Actually quieter with less vibration than my 6" router. Plenty of power for surface jointing boards up to 8" wide. By the way, many people recommend skipping 8" jointers and getting 12" versions. The bed lengths and depth of those machines would not fit in my shop, but don't think I am really missing out with "only" an 8" jointer - for me it was about power and bed length, both of which have been perfect. Would purchase the same again without a doubt. Just wish they would upgrade their shipping "crates"... But would I pay an extra $1000 for a shipping crate - Don't think so... Good luck!
I have the Canadian Grizzly 8 inches parallelogram called Craftex and beige and gray instead of green and just love it. It’s only weakness has been the noisy cheap V belt that I replaced but I envy the true Grizzly that has a flat belt drive.
I have the PM 882-HH - the parallelogram version. I love the machine. I purchased it at Woodcraft and had it delivered since it was heavier than I could lift. The quality of the cut is outstanding and the machine is quieter than expected. It did not arrive coplanar, but it was fairly easy to adjust. I have only 2 negatives about this machine. First, it lets more chips escape than I would like. It's connected to a Laguna 2HP C-Flux, so I know that's not the issue. We have one at work - it also lets a lot of shavings escape. Second, I feel the quality control at Powermatic has slipped. After about a month the pulley key slipped out because the set screw was not properly installed. I should have checked them all at that point. I didn't. about a month later - same problem with a different pulley. I went through the machine at that point and tightened everything. No problems since, but I think it should have arrived with everything tightened. Just to restate - I love the machine and the output and the quiet.
The only real difference between the powermatic and the grizzly is the motor and of course the paint job. All other parts and components are virtually identical. I have the 8" grizzly dovetail style jointer and it works flawlessly. I have no reservations about recommending either. I do wish I had the parallelogram jointer over the dovetail ways, though. I would put my money on the grizzly over the powermatic if it meant parallelogram jointer vs. not.
I have a Powermatic PM 882HH parallelogram jointer, and it is a great machine. My only issue with it is some play in the fence locking mechanism that allows the fence to move out of 90 degrees to the bed over time. I keep a small square next to the jointer, and double check it before starting a milling operation. As to dust control, I put sheet rubber flaps on each end under the bed, and duct tape sealed the bottom of the jointer to the stand to minimize dust collector suction loss. I recently helped a fellow woodworker setup his new Grizzly G 0858 and my take away from that process is the PM is easier to adjust than the Grizzly. I had to remove a lot of panels to get to the adjustment cams on the Grizzly. Granted you should only have to perform a co-planer adjustment once or twice in a great while, if ever.
G0490X since 2008. Clone of the old Delta DJ-20. No regrets. She's a working beast.
Thanks everyone for your comments thus far. For me, it appears that the Grizzly has an edge over the Powermatic. However, I do like the adjustment capability better on the PM. But can’t except paying that much for a jointer and it can’t keep 90 degrees on the fence and someone has had to install rubber strips and duct tape to get the dust collection to work as it should have been designed. Unless anyone else can give me more cons about the Grizzly, I think the Grizzly wins my decision. Any other votes of persuasion for the PM?
Slightly off angle from topic... When I stepped up from a 6" griz helical I jumped to a 12" helical jointer/ planer combo. Beyond the in/out beds being a bit short for the occasional longer work I could not be happier. Being able to face joint 12" stock was a game change for me. ...Just tossing it out there.
Unless I’m mistaken, which is easily possible, the Grizzly Go495X with HH is $3,000 (there’s a sale until Monday) the Powermatic PJ882HH is $4,500, an even greater $1,500 difference. Grizzly has a 1 year warranty, Powermatic has a 5 year warranty. Whether that’s worth $1,500 is up to you. I own the PJ882, with a Shelix HH, and like it. I also notice when locking the fence angle it moves the angle slightly, so I always check it. But unless I’m face jointing I’ve always double-checked and squared the fence before edge jointing. As someone else said, the dust collection needs a little help, my 2hp Jet DC gets most chips, but some chips get hung up and aren’t pulled away. Gravity worked fine for chip removal on my old PM 8” jointer without a dust collector attached, so a better seal between jointer and base is helpful with the new version. I can’t speak for the quality difference, although a 5 year vs 1 year warranty makes me think about why that is the case. I have an old Grizzly 3hp shaper that works fine, but no experience with any of their other machines, and my memory of my long-gone PM, Delta, and Jet shapers is faded, but I would say I liked all of them better than the Grizzly, couldn’t pass up the great deal on it though :-)
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