You should clarify that if you set the outfeed table to the height of the cutter head body ( and not the knives ) that this machine is a stump grinder , not a jointer
It is a difficult setting on this jointer. I've done some experiment and the body is a little low and takes a slightly deeper cut than I'd like. I set it between .002 and ,004 below the tip of the knives.; To do this I use two feeler gauges and set them under each end of my straight edge. you might be able to this with thin painter's tape as well. I can then level the outfeed with the blades knowing the actual outfeed is lower by the desired amount. Working off the body produces good results as a tarter point. @@Elihoood
@@Elihoood same , my unit was shipped with an incorrect user manual the did not include the pages showing how to set tables in relation the knives/ cutter head correctly . The online manual does have more helpful instructions / diagrams . That being said the table adjustment is EXTREMELY temperamental and needs to be done frequently and made even more difficult by my outfeed table being out of flat.
The thing about all these table top jointers is the ones that are really good are still not great. This one I think is above average. If you have the money, I would jump straight to a parallelogram style one with as big of a bed that you can afford. I think the parallelogram style is even more important than helical heads as it it makes it much easier to use and maintain. Realistically, cost and space are a consideration for most people and I think that is where these benchtop ones excel. For a hobbyists doing small projects like boxes this is great. You quickly start seeing the limitations working with larger pieces and the weight of those pieces knock it out of calibration a lot quicker.
Very good & thorough review & set-up. I really appreciate it! Only comment is that I initially set up the outfield table as you directed (off the cutter head & not the blades). But that gave me bad snipe at the end of the cut. I adjusted the outfeed table to the cutters themselves & that was much better.
The instructions say to do it that way. I think to prevent the wood from not clearing the outfeed and kicking back or grinding. I agree through, that setting it closer to the blades reduces snipe.
Great video! As a neighbor to the North we have the Grizzly sister company, Craftex up here. Ive been humming and hawing over what to do about upgrading from my current 6" Rockwell/Beaver. While I was already ~80% decided, after watching this I'm set...placing the order right now.
Congrats Eric! It works very well for me. Just make sure you take you time and dial it in if it needs it. I also recommend mounting it to a heavy bench if you work with larger pieces. I’ve been able to joint up to 13 inch boards on it using it in combination with my Dewalt planar without issue.
Great review and walkthrough of setup. I bought this jointer during the same promotion as you and would have appreciated this guide during my setup. I'll have to go back and check my extension wings as I haven't had to use them so never checked them against the rest of the bed.
So strangely enough I was adjusting the wings again the other day and noticed one side was hex and the other side was torx. Double check the screws before you make that adjustment to make sure you strip anything. And sorry about posting this late I’ve been sitting this video for a about a month. I’ve run a lot of would through now and it does a nice job for this size jointer. Only issue issue I have is makes me want to do bigger projects and push it to its limits :)
Good review, I’m on the fence about a jointer. I don’t really have have much space which is why I started researching this model. In the meantime I’ve been getting by with a planer, table saw and jigs. Thank you for the review
You are welcome. I think the choice comes down to what kind of work you want to do. If you do small pieces a lot this will likely work for you. For the occasional big project you can you a sled and your planer to joint most boards. It is slower, but not a big deal. Ultimately, if I was doing a lot of bigger pieces like full sized furniture, built ins, etc. I would have gone with something bigger. This is a good benchtop jointer though with a nice capacity. It is a benchtop jointer though and is limited in what it can do. Make sure you expectations are in line with what it should be capable of doing and I think it makes the choice easier. It is very compact and light making it easy to move. In my shop (a one car garage) I have it bolted to a work surface to keep it steady as a push through things that are way too big, so I might be missing out on the space savings. I did build the super dooper shop scooter to sit under it and fit both my compressor and spindle sander. If you are looking to save space check out that scooter video. Happy building!
It's great to see that you took the time to go through the manual and demonstrate the proper procedure for setting it up and dialing in the adjustments. I'm sure the hard work in the beginning pays for itself with better quality milling results. Subscribed!
Thanks so much! When I do a “review” I try to show what the manual doesn’t and walk everyone through using the tool. I know there are a lot of people who have never seen these tools before but want to get good results so I try and cater to that. FYI it is pretty good out of the box but checking the adjustments while it is in good shape makes it easier to learn how the mechanism works. The most common issue you might encounter would be concave joints. If you get that the infeed is too high. Also I’ve now done several big projects with this and it has performed really well for a bench top jointer. Thanks for subscribing!
I'm really on the fence to buy it. As a "long term" review, does the fence stay square or do you have to calibrate it often? That's the only thing that makes me hesitate.
Hi Francis, I check the fence for square everytime I start using it. Sometimes it is out, but to be honest it only take a few seconds to square back up. I push this unit to its limit regularly with 4/4, 8/4 and even 12 in length from two to 8 feet. If I was using smaller lighter weight material I doubt it would get knocked out as much and even with that is is minimal. Personally I have no issues, but based on what I make which is larger pieces, I will likely upgrade at some point to deal more easily with the heavier, longer pieces. If you are doing cutting boards, frames and generally pieces of wood less than 4 feet, I think you will have no issues with this unit.
Thanks for the feedback. The only thing about the Grizzly to be careful about is the aluminum tables. You can twist them out of flat if you torque the screws to hard when you calibrate it. I’ve used it on numerous projects now and have had no issues. The new combo jointer planer is interesting as well but I haven’t had the chance to work with it
I still use it every few days and the only thing I've had to do is check for flatness, that the fence is square and rotate a few cutter blades that got nicked. I really can't complain for a table top jointer. I put some heavy pieces of wood through it which honestly a table top jointer is not made for. Because of that I probably knock it out of whack more than most people would. Even with that I say I recalibrate every 4-6 months and just need to check the square on the fence which is very easy to adjust if you knock it out. I've had no issues with the motor or any mechanical issues. The cutters are good. I only needed to rotate a few after running some reclaimed lumber that likely had some pin nails and rocks that did it. St this point I'd say I've run 3-4K board feet mostly 4/4 and 8/4. That said if you can afford it and have the space for it a full sized parallelogram jointer is the way to go. If you need the space, are a hobbyist and don't mind having to tweak it every once in awhile this is a good option in my opinion.
I think it a great choice for small projects and you can make it work for a large piece here and their no problem. If you have any questions let me know.
I love how the 8 foot board came out! Was it very difficult jointing that board on a bench top planer? Also, what was that street edge you were using? Great review!
Hi Mark. It wasn’t super difficult since it was a 4/4 board and Peruvian walnut is t super heavy. I screwed the planar to bench though for safety. You just need to go slow watch that everything is aligned and oat i or tangly that the bed is waxed. This is the straight edge I used. amzn.to/43HfKvD. Thanks for watching and let me know if you have any more questions.
I've watched this 3 times and it's excellent info. I'm just afraid that once I start tinkering with the screws and trying to do what you do, I'm gonna mess it up and it'll never be properly flat. I never realized it takes THIS much to get it dialed in. I'll just have to watch this some more. I'll get it eventually, just frustrates me because I'm new to this machine and these types of things
@@WoodlandRevivals If it makes you feel better it was near perfect out of the factory. You wouldn't need to do that process unless something happened in shipping. I just went through it to show it. However, eventually it will start to go out with use and you will need to tweak it.
This was very helpful. Thank you! I do have a question about leveling the feed tables. You were saying that turning the counter sunk screws right raise the table and left lowers. My infeed table is slightly dipping towards the right side of it so I would need to adjust the outer screws a little bit, but I cannot turn them right because they are fully tightened. The direction say to place a shim underneath. Any chance you could clarify what the best approach would be?
Hi Rooooos - Happy New Year! Which model do you have? Are you sure it is the same? You really shouldn’t need to shin this model. Is the blade side of infeed too high? I haven’t shimmed mine but if you had too it would be a huge pain in the butt since you’d need to remove the whole table. I would call Grizzly. The table shouldn’t be that far out from the factory in my opinion.
Great video! Adjusting this jointer is a huge pain but you did a great job explaining it. My jointer straightedge lays flat when laying it horizontally across the two beds but when I put it diagonally there's a dip in the middle. Any idea what might be going on?
Thank you. Dis you measure horizontally in the front middle and back across the beds? Is it equally out diagonally left top to right bottom and right top to left bottom. Generally a dip in the middlemeans one corner is high. It is possible though you torques one of the tables too tight on one corner and warped the table. Check each table is flat. How bad of a dip are you seeing?
Hi Tommy. Before you put the paste wax on make sure you get all the protective grease off using a degreaser like WD40 and a clean rag. It can take a few applications to get that off as it is pretty sticky and there only to protect the jointer during shipping. You can then apply the paste wax like you wax a car. Put some on a clean cotton rag and rubbed across the entire table too until it looks cloudy. Try to keep chunks of wax out of the leveling holes. It doesn’t hurt anything if it gets in there but saw dust will stick to it and you will need to clean them out, let the wax sit for about ten minutes then come back with another clean rag and buff it until it is shiny. Try sliding a piece of wood against it before and after and you will see how much a difference it makes. Happy holidays and if you have any questions during the setup, let me know,
Hi Chris, the maximum width of the board to be jointed in a single pass on the bed in 8 inches. The minimum length board that you can joint is 10 inches. You should joint short boards as they can tip into the blade and bad stuff happens. Sorry if this wasn’t clear and always make sure you check the instructions for the most accurate information. If you have any question just let me know. Happy Holidays and hoping Santa leaves you a jointer!
Thanks Matthew. If you have any questions, please let me know. I’ve had it put to work for several months now and it has lived up my expectations for a benchtop jointer.
Not that I know of. But I don’t think it would be worth it on this. The spiral design is better than straight blades and gives a pretty nice finish. True helical would likely be better, but with not worth the money on this type of bench top design. Just my opinion though. Considering the price of those upgrades you’d could get and overall better machine for the combined price.
Good question. I don’t know as I haven’t had the opportunity to try one. I am curious about them. The 12 inch bed is a nice feature. My main concern would be my workflow. I go between the jointer and the planar a lot. Enough that I hate switching the dust collector :) I could probably tweak the workflow but I like having the separate machines and I can do 13 inch boards with my bench planar which with a sled can be jointed at well. Probably not much help :) if you get one let me know what you think. This video has been pretty popular. Maybe Grizzly will send me one to compare :P
If I had to guess the same overseas factory makes a lot of these bench top tools which is not uncommon. There are usually differences specified by the company that sells it. I have seen a wen and it a little more plasticy but did not use it. The Wahuda is also similar and has some nicer features. You really need to look at the co trolls and materials used. Otherwise they all Look similar.
Fairly quiet, less than my table saw and a lot less than the shop vac. Another metric would be loud enough you should wear hearing protection but not load enough to wake the sleeping kids if I work in the garage:)
It is royalty free provided through TH-cam so it can’t be stolen. The first videos I used it in are 5 years old now which is older than the Hooked on Wood channel. It is just coincidence that we picked the same music, but technically I’m pretty sure it appeared in my intro first :)
He definitely does. We did grow 100% this month :) I'm also more DIY and Tool reviews than him. I like making things things but I am not a fine woodworker. I hope to get better though!
You should clarify that if you set the outfeed table to the height of the cutter head body ( and not the knives ) that this machine is a stump grinder , not a jointer
Thanks John. Unfortunately TH-cam doesn’t have a feature to allow videos to be modified but I will pin this comment for others.
it's unbelievable they didn't catch that, this is my first jointer and it was a complete waist of time my initial setup as the manual indicated.
It is a difficult setting on this jointer. I've done some experiment and the body is a little low and takes a slightly deeper cut than I'd like. I set it between .002 and ,004 below the tip of the knives.; To do this I use two feeler gauges and set them under each end of my straight edge. you might be able to this with thin painter's tape as well. I can then level the outfeed with the blades knowing the actual outfeed is lower by the desired amount.
Working off the body produces good results as a tarter point. @@Elihoood
@@Elihoood same , my unit was shipped with an incorrect user manual the did not include the pages showing how to set tables in relation the knives/ cutter head correctly . The online manual does have more helpful instructions / diagrams .
That being said the table adjustment is EXTREMELY temperamental and needs to be done frequently and made even more difficult by my outfeed table being out of flat.
The thing about all these table top jointers is the ones that are really good are still not great. This one I think is above average. If you have the money, I would jump straight to a parallelogram style one with as big of a bed that you can afford. I think the parallelogram style is even more important than helical heads as it it makes it much easier to use and maintain. Realistically, cost and space are a consideration for most people and I think that is where these benchtop ones excel. For a hobbyists doing small projects like boxes this is great. You quickly start seeing the limitations working with larger pieces and the weight of those pieces knock it out of calibration a lot quicker.
Bought this jointer over a year ago. Actually got around to using it today. Your video was extremely helpful. Thank you
Great to hear!
Thank you for taking the energy and time to make this video. Lord knows i have neither.
You are welcome - if you have any questions let me know
Very good & thorough review & set-up. I really appreciate it!
Only comment is that I initially set up the outfield table as you directed (off the cutter head & not the blades). But that gave me bad snipe at the end of the cut. I adjusted the outfeed table to the cutters themselves & that was much better.
The instructions say to do it that way. I think to prevent the wood from not clearing the outfeed and kicking back or grinding. I agree through, that setting it closer to the blades reduces snipe.
Great video! As a neighbor to the North we have the Grizzly sister company, Craftex up here. Ive been humming and hawing over what to do about upgrading from my current 6" Rockwell/Beaver. While I was already ~80% decided, after watching this I'm set...placing the order right now.
Congrats Eric! It works very well for me. Just make sure you take you time and dial it in if it needs it. I also recommend mounting it to a heavy bench if you work with larger pieces. I’ve been able to joint up to 13 inch boards on it using it in combination with my Dewalt planar without issue.
Great review and walkthrough of setup. I bought this jointer during the same promotion as you and would have appreciated this guide during my setup. I'll have to go back and check my extension wings as I haven't had to use them so never checked them against the rest of the bed.
So strangely enough I was adjusting the wings again the other day and noticed one side was hex and the other side was torx. Double check the screws before you make that adjustment to make sure you strip anything. And sorry about posting this late I’ve been sitting this video for a about a month. I’ve run a lot of would through now and it does a nice job for this size jointer. Only issue issue I have is makes me want to do bigger projects and push it to its limits :)
Good review, I’m on the fence about a jointer. I don’t really have have much space which is why I started researching this model. In the meantime I’ve been getting by with a planer, table saw and jigs. Thank you for the review
You are welcome. I think the choice comes down to what kind of work you want to do. If you do small pieces a lot this will likely work for you. For the occasional big project you can you a sled and your planer to joint most boards. It is slower, but not a big deal. Ultimately, if I was doing a lot of bigger pieces like full sized furniture, built ins, etc. I would have gone with something bigger. This is a good benchtop jointer though with a nice capacity. It is a benchtop jointer though and is limited in what it can do. Make sure you expectations are in line with what it should be capable of doing and I think it makes the choice easier. It is very compact and light making it easy to move. In my shop (a one car garage) I have it bolted to a work surface to keep it steady as a push through things that are way too big, so I might be missing out on the space savings. I did build the super dooper shop scooter to sit under it and fit both my compressor and spindle sander. If you are looking to save space check out that scooter video. Happy building!
It's great to see that you took the time to go through the manual and demonstrate the proper procedure for setting it up and dialing in the adjustments. I'm sure the hard work in the beginning pays for itself with better quality milling results. Subscribed!
Thanks so much! When I do a “review” I try to show what the manual doesn’t and walk everyone through using the tool. I know there are a lot of people who have never seen these tools before but want to get good results so I try and cater to that.
FYI it is pretty good out of the box but checking the adjustments while it is in good shape makes it easier to learn how the mechanism works.
The most common issue you might encounter would be concave joints. If you get that the infeed is too high.
Also I’ve now done several big projects with this and it has performed really well for a bench top jointer. Thanks for subscribing!
Awesome video thank you
You are so welcome! Let me know if you have any questions.
I'm really on the fence to buy it. As a "long term" review, does the fence stay square or do you have to calibrate it often? That's the only thing that makes me hesitate.
Hi Francis, I check the fence for square everytime I start using it. Sometimes it is out, but to be honest it only take a few seconds to square back up. I push this unit to its limit regularly with 4/4, 8/4 and even 12 in length from two to 8 feet. If I was using smaller lighter weight material I doubt it would get knocked out as much and even with that is is minimal. Personally I have no issues, but based on what I make which is larger pieces, I will likely upgrade at some point to deal more easily with the heavier, longer pieces. If you are doing cutting boards, frames and generally pieces of wood less than 4 feet, I think you will have no issues with this unit.
Good review everything explained well I am looking at some planers and joiners very interested in the grizzly
Thanks for the feedback. The only thing about the Grizzly to be careful about is the aluminum tables. You can twist them out of flat if you torque the screws to hard when you calibrate it. I’ve used it on numerous projects now and have had no issues. The new combo jointer planer is interesting as well but I haven’t had the chance to work with it
How well has this jointer held up long term?
I still use it every few days and the only thing I've had to do is check for flatness, that the fence is square and rotate a few cutter blades that got nicked. I really can't complain for a table top jointer. I put some heavy pieces of wood through it which honestly a table top jointer is not made for. Because of that I probably knock it out of whack more than most people would. Even with that I say I recalibrate every 4-6 months and just need to check the square on the fence which is very easy to adjust if you knock it out. I've had no issues with the motor or any mechanical issues. The cutters are good. I only needed to rotate a few after running some reclaimed lumber that likely had some pin nails and rocks that did it. St this point I'd say I've run 3-4K board feet mostly 4/4 and 8/4. That said if you can afford it and have the space for it a full sized parallelogram jointer is the way to go. If you need the space, are a hobbyist and don't mind having to tweak it every once in awhile this is a good option in my opinion.
Nice overview - I'm considering this jointer down the road.
I think it a great choice for small projects and you can make it work for a large piece here and their no problem. If you have any questions let me know.
I love how the 8 foot board came out! Was it very difficult jointing that board on a bench top planer? Also, what was that street edge you were using? Great review!
Hi Mark. It wasn’t super difficult since it was a 4/4 board and Peruvian walnut is t super heavy. I screwed the planar to bench though for safety. You just need to go slow watch that everything is aligned and oat i or tangly that the bed is waxed. This is the straight edge I used. amzn.to/43HfKvD. Thanks for watching and let me know if you have any more questions.
Im honestly so confused, I'm about to send this jointer back lol
What's going on with it?
I've watched this 3 times and it's excellent info. I'm just afraid that once I start tinkering with the screws and trying to do what you do, I'm gonna mess it up and it'll never be properly flat. I never realized it takes THIS much to get it dialed in. I'll just have to watch this some more. I'll get it eventually, just frustrates me because I'm new to this machine and these types of things
@@WoodlandRevivals If it makes you feel better it was near perfect out of the factory. You wouldn't need to do that process unless something happened in shipping. I just went through it to show it. However, eventually it will start to go out with use and you will need to tweak it.
This was very helpful. Thank you! I do have a question about leveling the feed tables. You were saying that turning the counter sunk screws right raise the table and left lowers. My infeed table is slightly dipping towards the right side of it so I would need to adjust the outer screws a little bit, but I cannot turn them right because they are fully tightened. The direction say to place a shim underneath. Any chance you could clarify what the best approach would be?
Hi Rooooos - Happy New Year! Which model do you have? Are you sure it is the same? You really shouldn’t need to shin this model. Is the blade side of infeed too high? I haven’t shimmed mine but if you had too it would be a huge pain in the butt since you’d need to remove the whole table. I would call Grizzly. The table shouldn’t be that far out from the factory in my opinion.
Great video! Adjusting this jointer is a huge pain but you did a great job explaining it.
My jointer straightedge lays flat when laying it horizontally across the two beds but when I put it diagonally there's a dip in the middle. Any idea what might be going on?
Thank you. Dis you measure horizontally in the front middle and back across the beds? Is it equally out diagonally left top to right bottom and right top to left bottom. Generally a dip in the middlemeans one corner is high. It is possible though you torques one of the tables too tight on one corner and warped the table. Check each table is flat. How bad of a dip are you seeing?
Omg, I need that t-shirt for my son.
lol - if you really want one I sell them on Etsy :) www.etsy.com/listing/1342500884/kids-demo-crew-neck-t-shirt?ref=listings_manager_grid
@@SoWeBoughtaHouse1:57
?
Checking your videos now. I get this exact jointer Tuesday the 12. How do I use Paste finishing wax?
Hi Tommy. Before you put the paste wax on make sure you get all the protective grease off using a degreaser like WD40 and a clean rag. It can take a few applications to get that off as it is pretty sticky and there only to protect the jointer during shipping. You can then apply the paste wax like you wax a car. Put some on a clean cotton rag and rubbed across the entire table too until it looks cloudy. Try to keep chunks of wax out of the leveling holes. It doesn’t hurt anything if it gets in there but saw dust will stick to it and you will need to clean them out, let the wax sit for about ten minutes then come back with another clean rag and buff it until it is shiny. Try sliding a piece of wood against it before and after and you will see how much a difference it makes. Happy holidays and if you have any questions during the setup, let me know,
Can take up to 8” but has a minimum of 10”???
Hi Chris, the maximum width of the board to be jointed in a single pass on the bed in 8 inches. The minimum length board that you can joint is 10 inches. You should joint short boards as they can tip into the blade and bad stuff happens. Sorry if this wasn’t clear and always make sure you check the instructions for the most accurate information. If you have any question just let me know. Happy Holidays and hoping Santa leaves you a jointer!
Great video
Thanks Matthew. If you have any questions, please let me know. I’ve had it put to work for several months now and it has lived up my expectations for a benchtop jointer.
Can you install a helical blade in this?
Not that I know of. But I don’t think it would be worth it on this. The spiral design is better than straight blades and gives a pretty nice finish. True helical would likely be better, but with not worth the money on this type of bench top design. Just my opinion though. Considering the price of those upgrades you’d could get and overall better machine for the combined price.
Would you suggest the 12" jointer planer combo?
Good question. I don’t know as I haven’t had the opportunity to try one. I am curious about them. The 12 inch bed is a nice feature. My main concern would be my workflow. I go between the jointer and the planar a lot. Enough that I hate switching the dust collector :) I could probably tweak the workflow but I like having the separate machines and I can do 13 inch boards with my bench planar which with a sled can be jointed at well.
Probably not much help :) if you get one let me know what you think. This video has been pretty popular. Maybe Grizzly will send me one to compare :P
It looks exactly the sa.e as the Wen?
If I had to guess the same overseas factory makes a lot of these bench top tools which is not uncommon. There are usually differences specified by the company that sells it. I have seen a wen and it a little more plasticy but did not use it. The Wahuda is also similar and has some nicer features. You really need to look at the co trolls and materials used. Otherwise they all
Look similar.
@3:33 ayooooo
lol
How loud is it? I know planer/jointer are typically very loud but how would you compare it with a table saw. Thank you for your detailed video.
Fairly quiet, less than my table saw and a lot less than the shop vac. Another metric would be loud enough you should wear hearing protection but not load enough to wake the sleeping kids if I work in the garage:)
@@SoWeBoughtaHouse awesome. That’s what I was hoping to hear. Thank you for the quick response. Cheers from Chicago.
Lol I was just in Chicago a few days ago. Great City!
You stole your introduction music from "hooked on wood" channel
It is royalty free provided through TH-cam so it can’t be stolen. The first videos I used it in are 5 years old now which is older than the Hooked on Wood channel. It is just coincidence that we picked the same music, but technically I’m pretty sure it appeared in my intro first :)
@@SoWeBoughtaHouse
I suppose you're right you beat him to it... I guess it just seemed that way since he has a bigger channel 🤷♂️
He definitely does. We did grow 100% this month :) I'm also more DIY and Tool reviews than him. I like making things things but I am not a fine woodworker. I hope to get better though!
@@SoWeBoughtaHouse you're doing great
Thanks!
would have subscribed but you put in too much filler and waste peoples time
Thanks for the engagement. Your comments help rocket videos to the the top of the charts!