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Grizzly Tools - your opinion please.

Started by TGS, December 07, 2012, 12:55:26 AM

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TGS

After years of mix matched equipment I'm looking forward to building a new shop and upgrading my tools this winter. My only experience with Grizzly is a contractors grade table saw that I bought off of craigslist. Overall the saw seems to be ok, but the blade height doesn't want to stay put. There is a point right around the 3/4" mark where the blade wants to fall. I didn't assemble the saw so maybe the fella who did left something out.

I plan to go with a cabinet saw with a nice wide cut and accurate fence. I will also be upgrading my lathe to something that will give me at least 42 inches between the centers for shaker rockers, and a new jointer with 8" capacity. I also plan to upgrade to a 20 inch planer and will be adding a drum sander. If any of you have these tools from grizzly I would greatly appreciate your review of them.

Thanks.

WDH

I have the 453Z 15" planer with spiral head with carbide inserts.  It leaves a perfect surface.  At only 3 HP, you can only take 1/16" off at a time in hardwood, but the quality is excellent.  I also have a 2 HP 8" jointer with the spiral head, and it is the most awesome tool in the shop.  You can edge joint two 7 foot pieces of white oak and they will be dead straight and glue up perfect.  I use mine a lot, and they have performed very well.  I would not hesitate to buy them again.  As to tablesaws, you should look at a SawStop with the flesh sensing technology.  It costs more, and after you have it, you will forget about that.  The safety aspect is worth every penny. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Norm

I have their spiral head planer and spiral head jointer. Both have been good tools, although I'd buy a bigger jointer if I'd known better.

On the table saw I'm really temped to sell my PM2000 and buy the SawStop. When I was younger I had an uncle who cut off 4 fingers on a tablesaw.

Busy Beaver Lumber

Have their 15" spiral cut planer and 6" spiral cut jointer for over two rears now. Use them a lot and love both machines. Real work horses and built like a tank.

So far as you blade height not staying constant, would give them a call and see if they have a manual on the used saw you bought so you can see an exploded view of the height clamping adjustment retaining mechanism. A lot of times, it is just a simple adjustment.

Forum member TY had a problem with his LT-10 head creeping down and two minutes on the phone with Woodmizer Tech support had an exploded view and specific details about what to adjust to correct the issue. It was that easy and I know Grizzly has good tech support too because a few years ago a friend of mine turned to them for help and parts on a lathe he was restoring.
Woodmizer LT-10 10hp
Epilog Mini 18 Laser Engraver with rotary axis
Digital Wood Carver CNC Machine
6 x 10 dump trailer
Grizzly 15in Spiral Cut Surface Planer
Grizzly 6in Spiral Cut Joiner
Twister Firewood Bundler
Jet 10-20 Drum Sander
Jet Bandsaw



Save a tree...eat a beaver!

Magicman

I have a large heavy duty table saw (I don't know the model#) that I have never been pleased with.   :-\
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

metalspinner

I have their 20" spiral head planer and have no complaints.  My jointer is one of the tools I need to upgrade and the Grizzly 12" is on my wishlist.
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

opticsguy

Grizzly has excellent tech support.
Manuals for their machines are online on their website.
I just purchased a 10" Grizz saw.  Not set up yet. 
I passed on the saw stop for one reason.  Every actuation of the sawstop safety feature will destroy your blade and also require a new $100 sawstop module. I would not mind if I am saving my fingers.  However the technology is based on moisture detection, so if your wood is slightly damp, not really dry, you could activate the safety mechanism every few minutes.  Who could afford that? 
Very pleased with my grizzly machines.
TK 1220 band mill,  1952 Ford F-2, 1925 Dodge touring, too many telescopes.

Tree Feller

I have a Grizzly 3 hp cabinet saw, a 17" band saw, a 8" jointer and a 15" planer...purchased individually in that order. There are better woodworking machines than Grizzly sells but there's not a better value out there.

While I have an issue with the legal shenanigans of Sawstop's owner and inventer, it is the safest tablesaw on the market and by all reports is extremely well made, even though it is an Asian-built saw like Grizzly. I'll be getting a Sawstop or perhaps another brand with similar technology if my 4 year old grandson takes an interest in woodworking later on.
Cody

Logmaster LM-1 Sawmill
Kioti CK 30 w/ FEL
Stihl MS-290 Chainsaw
48" Logrite Cant Hook
Well equipped, serious, woodworking shop

jueston

when i buy a cabinet table saw it will be a sawstop, i know too many carpenters and woodworkers that are working with less then 10 fingers.

and i haved used them and they are well built machines.

thurlow

About oncesta a year, they have a BIG tent sale in Springfield, MO;  a friend of mine has been 2 or 3 times and highly recommends it.
Here's to us and those like us; DanG few of us left!

metalspinner

QuoteHowever the technology is based on moisture detection, so if your wood is slightly damp, not really dry, you could activate the safety mechanism every few minutes.  Who could afford that?

I cut green stickers on my Sawstop all the time and the mechanism does not activate. The machine is smarter than that. ;)

The only time I set it off was when I forgot to bypass the mechanism because I was cutting Pressure Treated plywood. I had made many cuts that morning and bypassed it each time. But that last cut I forgot and BAMM!

That mistake hasn't happened again. I am now a $150 smarter than I was before the mistake.
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

Al_Smith

I have no experiance at all with Grizzly wood working tools .The metal working tools I have seen are not what I would call well made .Then again I'm used to names such as Monarch ,Bridgeport , Southbend ,American Hole Wizard etc .

LeeB

I'll update on the 8" x 72" jointer as soon as I go pick it up. Ordered one for my Christmas presentthis morning.  :)
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

TGS

I forgot about the big sale in MO, it might be worth going down and buying my shop all at once.

Are there any American made manufacturers left?

Tree Feller

Quote from: TGS on December 07, 2012, 08:28:57 PM

Are there any American made manufacturers left?

I don't believe so. I'm pretty sure that General in Canada is the only North American manufacturer left.
Cody

Logmaster LM-1 Sawmill
Kioti CK 30 w/ FEL
Stihl MS-290 Chainsaw
48" Logrite Cant Hook
Well equipped, serious, woodworking shop

Woodey

I have a shop full of Grizzly Machines.   :)
They are good woodworking quality for the price.

I have noticed that the smaller Grizzly tools don't seem to be the same quality as the larger tools.

Grizzly 20" spiral cutter head planer.
Grizzly 12" spiral cutter head jointer.
Grizzly 6" x 80" Belt Sander.
Grizzly 12" Baby drum sander

and several other machines made by Grizzly.

I did have a problem with the Joiner motor after 9 months. Call Grizzly and they shipped me another motor out under warranty.



WOODMIZER LT40HDD34CAT w/accuset
JLG SKYTRAK 6036 Telescopic Forklift
NYLE L200 KILN
BAKER M412 MOULDER

Handy Andy

 I have a Grizzly jointer, drill press, thickness sander, and just today had delivered a new planer and 3 hp shaper and power feeder.  My experience with Grizzly has been good.  If I were you I'd skip the drum sander and go with the open end thickness sander G9983.  Belts last longer than paper wrapped on a drum.  For wide panels, I just run them on one side, turn them around and run the other side through.  The belts are 16 x 48, and it is not a huge sander, but works amazingly well for a smaller width sander, and it is open end so wide panels fit through it.
My name's Jim, I like wood.

jamesamd

All that is gold does not glitter,not all those that wander are lost.....

WDH

Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Migal

only makes sense to have a smaller version of a bandsaw mill in the shop :) appear's to be on my new wish list too  8)
Stihl learning and picked up my Log Master LM2 Cat 34hp 02 21 12! 230MF+ the toys that go with it! MS361 MS271 Stihl PB500 Echo 48" LogRite 16ft Bass Tracker Pro' Abua Garcia 5600 bait caster, Wood working equipment' Lake Lot never enough time! oh don't forget the fridge with ale! Loving Wife Rebeca

LeeB

Good bandsaw. Get the riser block kit to go with it.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

Schramm

I have Grizzly's Dust collector with remote and it is really nice.  Came unassembled, was very easy to assemble and works great.  As for the rest I do not know.  I can tell you if you want the best compound miter saw, go with Festool Kapex.  I also like Steel City's cabinet saw (you can lay 5 nickles on there side and they wont tip turning it on and off) practically no vibration.

Rob

Randy88

My sister and I bought my dad a new planer over 10 years ago now, its been a great machine, I'd have no idea how many thousand board feet we've run through it by now, he also had a dust collector, a jointer and some other tools as well, for the money for the average hobby type operation they are great, not sure about production type work, then maybe you could go up in quality and afford it and justify it, but for the average hobby it adds up fast enough the way it is.   I have a milling machine for my shop that's a grizzly, I've had for decades now, its been a good machine too for what I paid for it.   

mesquite buckeye

I have 15" and 20" Grizzley planers. Bought them before they invented spiral heads. Both have been good workhorses, but needed some touchup on the milled surfaces at the openings and edges to work well. I am happy with them both. The 15" survived the machine shed falling on it in a storm. Lost the wings and broke out the edge of the casting, but still works. ;D
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

scsmith42

Quote from: TGS on December 07, 2012, 12:55:26 AM
After years of mix matched equipment I'm looking forward to building a new shop and upgrading my tools this winter. My only experience with Grizzly is a contractors grade table saw that I bought off of craigslist. Overall the saw seems to be ok, but the blade height doesn't want to stay put. There is a point right around the 3/4" mark where the blade wants to fall. I didn't assemble the saw so maybe the fella who did left something out.

I plan to go with a cabinet saw with a nice wide cut and accurate fence. I will also be upgrading my lathe to something that will give me at least 42 inches between the centers for shaker rockers, and a new jointer with 8" capacity. I also plan to upgrade to a 20 inch planer and will be adding a drum sander. If any of you have these tools from grizzly I would greatly appreciate your review of them.

Thanks.

TGS, I have a lot of Grizzly tools in my shop, and overall I have been pleased with them.  These include 5 hp tablesaw, 16" combo jointer/planer, 5 hp shaper, 16" horizontal resaw, radial arm drill press, dust collection, 17" bandsaw, power feeders, edge and combo belt / disc sanders, spindle sanders, etc.

Their "Z-Series" and "Extreme Duty" series machines are quite good.  I would stay away from anything else, as it is lower quality.

I don't care for their drill presses, and finally bought a new Delta (which I have been very pleased with).  Like others, if I were in the market for a large tablesaw today a Sawstop would probably be my first choice.  Nothing against my 5 hp 12" Grizz though.  Their wood lathes are OK, but Powermatic's large lathes are great, and Delta's Midi is fantastic.  Jet also makes some great wood lathes.  Their G-513 and 0514 series bandsaws are excellent tools that have won a lot of awards.

Ditto the comments recommending a wide belt sander over a drum sander - much easier (and faster) to change belts.  Source your belts from Klingspor instead of Grizzly though.  Also definitely go with the carbide insert spiral cutterhead planer, over straight knives.  It runs much more quiet, has a smoother cut, and you can turn the carbide inserts 3 times before replacing them.
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

drobertson

Went to the tent sale this past Jun, not a bad show, got to be early, we were looking for metal working tools, found a good 14" metal cutting bandsaw, with welder on it, 1400 bucks, great lil saw, surface grinder was worth the money, but not like the Harigs, Okomotas, brown and sharpes,  but only 2300 bucks new, one thing to remember, that they will drop the price later in the day with some haggling, but the selection has been picked through, they have good tech support and timely shipping most of the time,  david
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

Corley5

  I've got an opportunity to purchase some Grizzly wood working tools.  There's a drill press, shaper with power feeder and some tooling but I don't know what's all there, 6" joiner with straight blades, 15" planer with straight blades, 18" bandsaw, belt/disc sander combo, large table saw (cabinet saw?) and a dust collector.  They belong to a neighbor whose husband passed away 4 years ago.  Hank bought everything new.  The table saw and planer he brought up from downstate when they moved here.  The rest of the stuff he bought about 7 years ago to do the finish work in the house they had built after he retired from Ford as a machinist.  It's all in pretty much new condition, stored in his garage/workshop where it was when he passed away.  The shaper with the power feed and the dust collector is what I really want but I'd take it all for the right price I guess.  It's not top of the line Grizzly stuff but appears to be a step or two up from the bottom.  She's told me to make her an offer on what I want.  Any suggestions on price  ???  I surely don't want to take advantage of her but don't want to shoot myself in the foot either.  It's two houses down the road from me too  ;) :)
   
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Woodey

Corley5
I would suggest 1/2 of what the tool cost new with today's price.

Example :
6 years ago I bought the Grizzly G1071 Oscillating Spindle Sander
for $595+shipping. Today the price is $775 on sale for $725+$99 shipping.
Total price $824.
1/2 price would be $412

The tools have increased in value over the years.
WOODMIZER LT40HDD34CAT w/accuset
JLG SKYTRAK 6036 Telescopic Forklift
NYLE L200 KILN
BAKER M412 MOULDER

beenthere

And given the lady likely wants them to be gone, and to a good home, I'd figure the value of each according to Woodey and then make an offer 1/3 for each if taking the whole lot. Both are winners then.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Randy88

I'll agree with beenthere, she wants the stuff gone in one shot, no hassles, to a good home, she'll jump at the offer you make no matter what it is, her other options are what?   You have to remember, she'll have to hire someone to load it, move it to a sale site, and pay commissions anyhow, in the end she'll be farther ahead to take what she can in one lot from you, your not taking advantage of her, your giving her about the same as she'd end up with anyhow, without the headaches.    Not many would want the whole lot for one money anyhow.     

Corley5

I didn't get to her place today.  Too much went on.  I'll have time tomorrow to talk with her  :)
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

LeeB

I'm pretty sure all of these items could be had on ebay. Hve a look and see what the prices are and go from there.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

Corley5

We came to deal on the equipment  8) 8) 8) 8)  I did well and she's pleased that she'll be able to park her vehicle in her garage  ;D 8)  I did end up with the cabinet saw which I really don't have room for so it will be on the market in a couple weeks.  We're not moving the stuff out until after the 8th of Sept.  She's going to be gone for some of that time and so am I.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

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