Prior to this machine I used a 6" Delta open stand jointer. This was
a great beginners jointer. When needed it did a good job. But, when
I would use this jointer there would be times when I wished I had a
longer bed and a wider bed. I was always dreaming about an 8"
jointer. When I decided I had some extra money to spend on a jointer,
I was thinking I would upgrade to the Delta 37-275 CS 6". I work out
of my garage and space is at a premium. Going to a closed stand would
help with space and in moving the tool around the garage. After
giving it some thought I realized I would still want to upgrade that
machine to an 8" and the extra cost would not be too significant if I
purchased an import machine like the Star W8J, the Grizzly G1018HW or
the Yorkcraft YC-8J. I decided to go with the Grizzly G1018HW.

I feel that this jointer is a great value. It is considerably less
expensive than the Delta and Jet equivalents. Like I said, I was
considering a Yorkcraft YC-8J, but with $170 shipping (to Houston) the
price was about equal to the Grizzly and the Yorkcraft was out of
stock for a month. And I read some user concerns over the extension
of the Yorkcraft fence beyond the body of the jointer. I looked at
the Delta equivalent at the Houston woodworking show, (some say the 6"
and 8" Yorkcrafts are identical to the Delta versions) and didn't like
the way the fence rack & pinion shaft extended out from the back. I
did like the long, 4 ¾" tall fence, but I preferred the 65" long
Grizzly table to the 72" of the other machines. For a garage shop an
8" jointer is big, but having the tables a little shorter makes for a
better fit in my garage.

So I went to Grizzly's website and placed the order. This is my first
large tool purchase from Grizzly so I was a little nervous about the
purchase. With the tracking number from Grizzly I was able to call
the shipping company the day it arrived at their docks and arranged
for a pick-up. The shipping company wanted to charge $65 extra for
liftgate service and I doubt that they would have been able to back
the trailer in my driveway anyway. Plus I hate that "we'll be there
between 12 and 5" stuff, and they usually show up at 6. So I used my
little trailer and picked it up myself. The unit ships in two boxes.
One box has the stand, and motor, the second, is a crate that hold the
jointer table with fence and the other assembly parts. I was able to
place the box in the back of Expedition and shipper loaded the crate
on my little trailer with a fork truck. I was able to just back my
little trailer into my garage and didn't unload the crate until after
the table was removed. The unit was fairly well packed, although the
table was not bolted to the crate and it could and I'm sure it did
bounce around inside the crate. There were a couple of paint chips on
the fence but all-in-all, great shipping. So far, so good.

I had downloaded the manual from Grizzly before the purchase and had
already read it prior to the unit arriving. Assembly was fairly
straightforward and easy. I called over a friend to help lift the
table up on the stand (the table is very heavy, you'll need some
help). I have the stand mounted on a Jet universal mobile base.
After cleaning the tables, I put my precision straight edge on the
tables and fence and found them to be extremely flat.

I was a little concerned with aligning the belts. There is no room
for a straight edge. Per the instruction manual I made a plumb bob
from a piece of string and a couple of 3/8" nuts. This seemed to get
the pulleys close in alignment, but I still can't confirm that the
pulleys are coplanar. An email to Grizzly resulted in a call from a
technician. They assured me that this alignment would be
satisfactory. The manual also says to not use any sort of leverage
device to tension the belts. But I saw no way to get enough pressure
on the motor mount to tension the belts. I used a spreader clamp
inside the cabinet and put the recommenced tension on the belt.
Grizzly also agreed with this method.

I have a brief note about the instruction manuals. I down loaded the
latest and greatest manual from Grizzly's web site. The unit actually
shipped with an older manual. The older manual was a manual for the
G1018 (lever version) with an insert for the hand wheel parts. The
older manual mentioned using a plumb bob. The new manual says use a
straight edge. The new version of the manual covers the G0500, G1018
and the G1018HW. There are a few additions to this manual that help
with assembly and check out. So go to Grizzly and get the latest
manuals. But don't trust that they are the same. Make sure you read
them both.

I do have a couple of minor issues with the machine. First issue was
with the belts. I was planning to order some Power-Twist belts at the
time of the jointer order. But I decided to wait and see what the
quality of the belts would be. Unfortunately, they were not good.
The machine uses two belts. The sizing did not match. One seemed to
not be in full tension as the other. Also the joints in the belt were
considerably thicker than the belts. I felt this was causing some
vibration. You could see the belts vibrating and bouncing around on
the pulleys.

I decided to go ahead and order some PowerTwist belts. Grizzly did
offer to send a new set. Their customer service has been good
throughout this process. They promptly answered emails and then
volunteered to give me a call. The Grizzly tech also suggested that
using the PowerTwist belts would help with vibration. In the end I
decided to stay with the PowerTwist belts. I installed them the day
they arrived and they have made a tremendous difference in vibration.
The vibration is virtually gone from the table. I am not new to the
PowerTwist link belts. I have them on my Jet Contractor TS, a Jet 14"
CS band saw and on my old Delta 6" jointer. After reading some recent
threads on rec.woodworking about PowerTwist belts, there seemed to be
some question about the effectiveness/value of the belts. But I'm now
convinced that they can make a big difference with vibration. I'm
sure a quality set of V-belts would do the same, but the link belts
are convenient and do work.

The second disappointment was with the dust hood. I feel that a
machine of this caliber should come standard with a dust hood. I
ordered the recommended hood with the jointer. I was impressed that
the mounting point on the jointer was pre-drilled and tapped for some
1/4"-20 screws. However the hood was not drilled. Grizzly list this
as the dedicated hood for this jointer, but it really is a universal
hood that happens to fit this machine. It works quit well. But I was
disappointed that I had go to my computer and lay out a pattern on
Visio. I cut the pattern out and with a little spray glue; I used the
pattern to drill the hood. The fit is perfect, but an extra unneeded
step in my opinion.

The jointer has performed well thus far. I have no complaints. The
cut finish is just perfect. I set the fence square to the table and
each cut is perfectly square. I'm going to enjoy this machine.

I'm also glad I chose the hand wheel version over the lever version.
The hand wheels are smooth and accurate. It is a real joy to use the
infeed adjustment.

This purchase has convinced me to consider buying a Grizzly drill
press and maybe someday upgrade my Jet Contractor TS to a Grizzly
Cabinet Saw.

I'm going to buy the 75" bed version of that jointer this summer and I have
a question. On those handwheels do they have the locking nut like the table
saw does? The reason I ask this is that my wife's uncle lost fingers due to
an idiot playing with the wheels on his jointer and I feel like the lock nut
would prevent this. Jointers scare the devil out of me, a healthy fear I
suppose.

KY

--

http://users.adelphia.net/~kyhighland

"KYHighlander" wrote in message
...
I'm going to buy the 75" bed version of that jointer this summer and I
have
a question. On those handwheels do they have the locking nut like the
table
saw does? The reason I ask this is that my wife's uncle lost fingers due
to
an idiot playing with the wheels on his jointer and I feel like the lock
nut
would prevent this. Jointers scare the devil out of me, a healthy fear I
suppose.

KY

No locking nuts on the wheels but the beds have locking "pins". There are
screw handles on each bed, that locks them in place. They dont move after
they are locked down. I can send you a picture if you like.

Darrell

No that's ok. sounds as though it would be just as good. I really like the
way the wheels lock on the Z series table saw.

--

http://users.adelphia.net/~kyhighland


"Darrell Dorsey" wrote in message
...

"KYHighlander" wrote in message
...
I'm going to buy the 75" bed version of that jointer this summer and I
have
a question. On those handwheels do they have the locking nut like the
table
saw does? The reason I ask this is that my wife's uncle lost fingers due
to
an idiot playing with the wheels on his jointer and I feel like the lock
nut
would prevent this. Jointers scare the devil out of me, a healthy fear I
suppose.

KY

No locking nuts on the wheels but the beds have locking "pins". There are
screw handles on each bed, that locks them in place. They dont move after
they are locked down. I can send you a picture if you like.

Darrell

KYHighlander wrote:
I'm going to buy the 75" bed version of that jointer this summer and I have
a question. On those handwheels do they have the locking nut like the table
saw does? The reason I ask this is that my wife's uncle lost fingers due to
an idiot playing with the wheels on his jointer and I feel like the lock nut
would prevent this. Jointers scare the devil out of me, a healthy fear I
suppose.

KY

If someone wanted to change the wheel setting, why would the locking
knob prevent it? It is not a key lock or combination lock. The lock is
just to keep it from drifting, but mine doesn't drift nor does it lock.
My shop door *does*.

--

Gerald Ross, Cochran, GA
To reply add the numerals "13" before the "at"
............................................
Never let your willpower get the best
of you.




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I believe the way he lost the finger was that a nephew came into the shop
while he was working and not watching him every second and played with the
wheel. Next thing he knew he was running a stump over it and the infeed was
set as high as it would go and the outfeed was low and he was a finger
short.

KY

--

http://users.adelphia.net/~kyhighland


"Gerald Ross" wrote in message
...
KYHighlander wrote:
I'm going to buy the 75" bed version of that jointer this summer and I
have
a question. On those handwheels do they have the locking nut like the
table
saw does? The reason I ask this is that my wife's uncle lost fingers due
to
an idiot playing with the wheels on his jointer and I feel like the lock
nut
would prevent this. Jointers scare the devil out of me, a healthy fear I
suppose.

KY

If someone wanted to change the wheel setting, why would the locking
knob prevent it? It is not a key lock or combination lock. The lock is
just to keep it from drifting, but mine doesn't drift nor does it lock.
My shop door *does*.

--

Gerald Ross, Cochran, GA
To reply add the numerals "13" before the "at"
...........................................
Never let your willpower get the best
of you.




-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----