Grizzly Jointer G0490 & G0593

cc4digital · 11-01-2006, 07:23 PM

For Christmas my better half is letting me buy a Jointer.
From my research everyone seem to say go with an 8" Jointer.

I find that Grizzly seems to make a good 8" Jointer. I can't believe I will own 3 products from one manufacture. Amazing in todays world.

Anyway I am looking at the G0490 8" with Parallelogram bed Vs. G0593 8" Jointer with Spiral Cutterhead. The price dffierence is about $245.00

From my research thus far, it seems the Spiral Cutterhead could justify the cost difference.
But I also found the Parallelogram Bed Vs the Dovetail bed is easier to align should that become an issue. Dovetail you have to shim while Parallelogram Bed you can adjust.

So, Do you have suggestions? Do you own one of these? Which would you buy and why?

Thanks for all the great feedback. My objective is to only buy the tool once in my life and be happy. This forum has help me a lot in my buying objectives. And that is due to you. So thanks.

mshel · 11-01-2006, 08:07 PM

My pick would be the GO490 with the Byrd head but then again, I have a Shop Fox 8" with the standard blade set and it works fine. There were five of us who went in on a group buy and got one for $695 + tax. It is exactly the same as the G0490 only with a different color scheme. Unless you are hung up on a Griz, I would check into the Shop Fox and maybe you can get a Byrd Shelix head for comparable money. You might give Paul a call at the Woodworking Shop on Capitol Blvd. in Raleigh and see what his price is. Hope this helps.

Mike

SteveColes · 11-01-2006, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by mshel

My pick would be the GO490 with the Byrd head but then again, I have a Shop Fox 8" with the standard blade set and it works fine. There were five of us who went in on a group buy and got one for $695 + tax. It is exactly the same as the G0490 only with a different color scheme. Unless you are hung up on a Griz, I would check into the Shop Fox and maybe you can get a Byrd Shelix head for comparable money. You might give Paul a call at the Woodworking Shop on Capitol Blvd. in Raleigh and see what his price is. Hope this helps.

Mike

Mike, putting aside the byrd head, why are choosing the 490 over the 593, if you don't mind me asking. I am also looking at a 8" jointer.

Monty · 11-01-2006, 08:27 PM

I have the Shop Fox version that Mike is referring to (equivalent to the G0490 - see this thread). IMHO you can't ask for much more machine for the price. The parallelogram beds are really nice - this means that as the infeed table height changes, the gap between the bed and the cutting edge of the blade always remains constant. One thing to be aware of with the Grizzly "spiral heads" -The griz is not a true spiral like the Byrd head is. Take a look at these pics to see what I mean:

Grizzly's spiral head:

Byrd spiral head:

With the Griz, each blade is staggered but still cuts at 90° to the direction of travel. With the Byrd, the blades are all skewed.

So, bottom line, I think the best bet would be to get the G0490 (or the SF equivalent) and add a Byrd head to it if you want to.

mshel · 11-01-2006, 08:31 PM

Steve,

For me, the parallelogram bed on the 490 style was a selling point vs the dovetail ways on the 593. Also the 490 style is 3 hp vs 2 hp on the 593. Does 1 hp make that much difference? I don't feel it will for the hobbyist but if you are going to make a lifetime buy, I would go for the biggest I could get. I really like the lever adjustment for raising and lowering the bed height vs the hand wheel type. That is my personal preference and I am sure the hand wheel would work fine. The difference in bed length between the two is negligible, with the nod going to the 490 by 1 3/16". I guess what it comes down to for most is personal preference. I am sure either one will do a fine job. Lots of folks have purchased both models. Another thing to keep in mind is neither the 490 or the 593 have built in casters so both will need a mobile base. The Shop Fox model has built in casters.

Mike

cc4digital · 11-01-2006, 09:04 PM

mshel The 490 is mobile. But everything else you said is almost verbatim from Grizzly Tech support. It amazing how close your statements are to the call I made today. Kinda scary actually. Anyway, you summed it up very nice

Personal perference could be a bigger issue. Not exactly sure yet.

Chuck

cc4digital · 11-01-2006, 09:07 PM

Monty Wow, I didn't know that. Very good point.

SteveColes · 11-01-2006, 11:20 PM

looking at the grizzly site, it seems that 490 could be bought with the "regular" blades and grizzly offers the Byrd Shelix head specifically for the 490 a $395.

which makes it $750 + 395 = $1154 plus shipping

Shop Fox 699

NCPete · 11-02-2006, 08:31 AM

Steve, I think the 490 has a 3hp motor, and the 593 a 2hp? I like power, when it comes down to an 8" jointer, I'm going for as much power as possible. I had been trying to talk LOML into letting me spend some of my raise on a 16" at the auction site that Ashley_Phil works for, best she would let me spend would only insult the guy, so I withheld my offer.

mike_wood · 11-02-2006, 06:52 PM

I am interested in a new jointer too & have been following the Shop Fox & Grizzly comparison. But I am a bit confused at the Shop Fox ($699) price vrs the Grizzly $1000+ price. The SF does not come with spiral cutter so the real difference is ~$50. I found the SF for $700. The Grizzly catalog says they will ship for $85 anywhere in the US. The SF will cost ~$180 to ship. So the Grizzly comes out looking pretty good.

Of course this assumes they are equivalent jointers. I have no way to compare. The Grizzly has done well in woodworking mag comparisons.

I don't care which one I buy. I am still gathering information.

Maybe I am missing something - I am sure someone will set me straight.

Monty · 11-02-2006, 07:29 PM

Talk to your local shop fox dealer. I bet you could probably get that SF for a better price, and not have to worry about shipping charges. The SF and the Griz are the same machine, so I'm sure the same Byrd head could be added to either.

vbgregg · 11-02-2006, 10:15 PM

Originally Posted by mshel

There were five of us who went in on a group buy and got one for $695 + tax.
Mike

Hi Mike,

One minor correction. We got the Shop Fox for $650 + tax, which is $45 less than you said. It ended up being about $695 after taxes, not before taxes.

Also, someone mentioned $180 shipping, but in our case there was no shipping charge since we picked them up at the local store. Someone also quoted a Grizzly shipping price of $85, but I think it's $135. I figure we got the equivalent of the 490 for about $200 less. The difference is even more now, since I think Grizzly's prices have gone up. Also, the Shop Fox warranty is 2 years versus 1 year for the Griz.

Gregg

mike_wood · 11-03-2006, 08:24 AM

One minor correction to your minor correction. Look at the Grizzly catalog, not online, and it says they will ship for $85 anywhere in the US. Additionally, you are comparing a special deal a group worked out to an individual purchase. I think it is great y'all worked that out but it is not available to me. I have to work with the prices I am quoted.

vbgregg · 11-03-2006, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by mike_wood

One minor correction to your minor correction. Look at the Grizzly catalog, not online, and it says they will ship for $85 anywhere in the US. Additionally, you are comparing a special deal a group worked out to an individual purchase. I think it is great y'all worked that out but it is not available to me. I have to work with the prices I am quoted.

Hi Mike (Wood),

I think you misunderstood my message, at least part of it. In the first part of my message, I was simply correcting the price that Mike Shelley quoted. In the second part of my message, I was pointing out (as others did) that you do not need to pay $180 shipping for the Shop Fox. It appears that you live in Wake County, so if you order from Klingspors' in Raleigh (a Shop Fox dealer), you won't have to pay any shipping. You would, however, have to pay tax and figure out a way to get the jointer to your shop. The tax is way less than $180, so that seemed like a good deal. I was worried about getting the jointer home and into my basement, but that worked out much easier than I had expected.

As for the $85 versus $135 shipping for the Grizzly, if they will honor the $85 that you saw in the catalog, that would definitely help. But when I was looking, and in every ad I've noticed since, the shipping price had gone up to $135. I had also heard a lot of horror stories about Grizzly shipping, so I was hoping that having a jointer shipped to a store and then picking it up might work out better. My crate (and jointer) came through with no visible damage, so at least in this one case it worked out fine.

From your message, it sounds like I offended you. I certainly did not mean to offend you. I was mainly trying to point out that the Shop Fox 1741 might be a cheaper option than the identical Grizzly 0490. I realize that you probably won't get the same low price that our group got, but I think the regular Klingspors' price for the Shop Fox is $750 + tax, which still works out cheaper than the Grizzly price, which I think is at least $750 + shipping. The price difference without a group buy might not be very large, but if buying from a local dealer and having a longer warranty are important to you, it still might be worth considering. Also, as of a week or two ago, Klingspors' had a Shop Fox 1741 on display, so if it is important to see one in person, you might want to visit their store (even if you end up getting the Grizzly). Finally, Klingspors' (like other dealers) have sales once in a while where they discount things by 10%, so you might be able to get the Shop Fox for $675 if you wait until a sale. Also, I have been able to negotiate on price with Paul at Klingspors'. Some dealers sell the Shop Fox for about $699, so Paul might match that (I don't know). Good luck,

Gregg

bonewood · 11-16-2006, 04:14 PM

I have owned both. Currently, I have the 490 with a Byrd head sitting on the bench awaiting completion of current project.
The mobility and the bed adjustment on the 490 are much of the reason I switched.
I set the beds once and have not touched them since; I recall fiddling with the other at least 3 times.
490 has a higher fence--me like.
More powerful--me like.
I've run almost 2000 bdft through that beast recently, but cant' seem to ruin it.

Is a good machine and good value.

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