# Just what I wanted



## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

Hi guy;

Sounds like you're pretty happy with the machine. What we used to do in the shop is set the jointer to remove 1/16" per pass. This way we can rip a board to 1/8" wider than the finished width we want and joint both edges.

But we found if we use a rip sled and table saw to straighten the edges of our boards we get a whole lot more accomplished. Saves the jointer knoves a considerable amount of work.

It gets used mostly for surfacing one face.

If your machine is anything like the Delta, you can loosen the set screw holding the fence and turn it towards the fence. That will tighten the tension so it covers the blades completely.

Have fun,

Lee


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## Vrtigo1 (Mar 18, 2010)

Lee,

I don't know anything about the delta, but Grizzly have incorporated a stop on the guard so that it can only spin a set amount. It is kind of hard to explain, but what you suggested was my first thought to fix the problem and I discovered that this stop on the guard prevents you from doing that. They also made part of the metal post that the guard pivots on flat so you get full registration with the set screw, so even if you could simply rotate the guard a bit to take up the slop I have a feeling it would eventually come loose from having the set screw contacting a round surface. The new spring they sent cleared the problem right up though.


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## live4ever (Feb 27, 2010)

Good stuff and congrats! Thanks for the review. When I move into a larger shop this is the one I'd want. Did you consider the spiral version?


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## Vrtigo1 (Mar 18, 2010)

I did consider the spiral version, but decided against it because I couldn't justify the extra cost for a simple hobby shop where the jointer will only see maybe 5 hours of use a year. The finish coming off the standard HSS knives is very good, but like anything I suspect it'll get worse as the knives dull. I think the big advantage to the spiral cutter (other than being able to fix knicks easily) is that you don't have worry about setting knife height, but I figure I'll be changing knives once every year or two so it wasn't really a big selling point to me.

I wanted to add a follow up - today I received a call out of the blue from Grizzly letting me know that they'd read my review and would be refunding the cost of the liftgate service since I didn't end up using it. That right there is what I call proactive customer service. While this isn't my first Grizzly tool, it's the first one I've bought new and I can say I will definitely be looking at Grizzly in the future when I upgrade other tools.

Hey Grizzly - if you read this feel free to send me some free stuff. Maybe I can be to you what Mark Spagnuolo is to Powermatic! Hehe.


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## rvicelli (Jan 12, 2011)

Thanks for the review. Looks like a nice machine, I do not own any grizzly products yet but it seems most people are really happy with them.


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

i am curious and too lazy to go see this information but you could shar it how big is this jointer and what was the price I have a 6 inch 54 a from powermatic and i love it I paid 900 dollars for it so i am curious what a good deal is compared to my 54a


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## Sarit (Oct 21, 2009)

On the DJ-20, which this is a clone of this, you can increase the tension on the guard by first loosening the socket cap screw in the top of the pivot point/axle. Then with some adjustable pliers (I covered the teeth w/ duct tape) grip just the top disk and turn clockwise to increase tension with one hand. Finally, while maintaining tension on the pliers, tighten the socket cap screw with your other hand.

thedude50, the PM 54a is a 6" jointer with dovetailed slides whereas the DJ-20 and its clones (G0490) are 8" jointers with parallelogram movement tables. I know 2" doesn't sound like a lot, but for some reason all 8-inchers seem to be twice as big as their 6" counterparts.
For comparison, I got my DJ-20 w/ a Byrd shelix head used for $800.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

it's a nice looking machine. Congratulations.

Rufus Carswell


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## Vrtigo1 (Mar 18, 2010)

thedude50, it is an 8" with 72 or 76" overall table length and I believe I paid approx $900 so with shipping it was about $1050. As I recall you were trying to help me get my old rigid jointer to work properly and I was getting to the point of wondering if the problem was me or the machine and I can say that it was definitely the machine as the new one works perfectly.


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