Grizzly 6" and 8" Parellelogram Jointer

[jar45]

Does anyone have recent experience with the purchase and set-up of either of Grizzly's 6" or 8" parallelogram Jointers?
I am inclined to go with the 6" do to weight consideration and 120V vs. 240V power needs. 

Thanks
John

 

[mprzybylski]

I have the 6" 0604X. It's a good machine for what it is but I had some issues upon delivery (outfeed table wouldn't go up/down and infeed table wasn't ground flat at the lip by the cutter head so wood wouldn't go smoothly into the cutter head, had to get grizzly the top back and wait for it to be fixed) and I've been using it since. One things for sure is that either my fence isn't flat or I'm a total moron because I can't get the fence to be 100% square across the whole length to the table. The infeed side is square and the outfeed not or vice versa no matter how hard I try. I futzed with the parallelogram cams and got it "close enough" but if you're looking for perfection I'd look elsewhere although YMMV.

I was in the market for a Hammer A3-31 last week but I've decided to hold off and use my grizzly with a DW735 for planing until I get into a bigger shop and can get larger separates. Until then I'll make due with the imperfections on the jointer fence and account for it accordingly.

 

[SittingElf]

I owned a GO490, 8" unit until about a year ago when I bought my A3-41.
It was OK, but not great. Changing blades was a real pain, and as previously stated, adjusting the parallelogram tops was a nightmare.  Very loud operation, and I am MUCH happier with my Shelix style cutter on my new machine.

The one really great thing about the Griz was the built in mobility. Heavy, but easily manageable.

The final caution is that all the cast iron parts must be meticulously watched for rust. They do...quickly! And the powder coating is somewhat cheap on the frame. I frequently found spots trying to rust and bubbling UNDER the paint over the 9 years I owned it.

Good luck with your choice.

Cheers,

Frank

 

[jar45]

Thanks guys for your comments.  I did just look at the Hammer line.  Very nice.

 

[Gary in Texas]

John,

I had a Jet 6" jointer for several years, never had any issues with it, but eventually realized I needed the longer in/out feeds and width the 8" jointers provide.  I've since owned the Delta DJ-20 for the past decade+, and again, no issues whatsoever.  If you can handle the price difference, I would definitely recommend an 8" over the 6" jointer.

 

[polarsea1]

I've never had a parallelogram jointer and I just may be ignorant of the advantages but I've had good luck with standard jointers and found them pretty easy to adjust. I've even had to shim the ways on my old 1966 Delta 8" and it wasn't much trouble at all.

 

[mprzybylski]

Just to clarify, adjusting the parallelogram design is not hard IMO but it's extremely tedious, as in having to move it a very small amount, check all sides, move small amount, check all sides, rinse, repeat. Though I suppose that applies to any jointer adjustment, but working with the cams which are easily exposed rather than having to shim is much more pleasant to me.  If my fence wasn't warped I'd love this jointer for what it is, good enough. With my fence being warped it's just ok but like I said in my previous post, I make due and it really hasn't affected me that much thus far but I'm also just a hobbyist.

And yes, soon as you step up to 8" you'll need 220v.

 

[jar45]

Thanks for all your comments.  From my understanding, I need to forget considering a 6" and move to an 8" jointer or larger.  A friend mentioned to be sure, HH cutters are slightly skewed in order to make a smooth cut.  Particularly with highly figured wood, like tiger maple.  Similar to when using a hand plane, where you don't plane directly into the wood grain.  I own a mid price bench top planer with a HH head in which the cutters are not skewed.  Using this planer, I was not able to plane  tiger maple without a lot of tear-out.  Totally unacceptable.

John