# Something this heavy should work!



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I'm a little confused,why would you give this planner 4 stars when your so unhappy with it ?


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## abie (Jan 28, 2008)

Jim, He Gave it One star on my page.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

excuse me I was looking on the upper right side of the page.


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## LoriF (Apr 5, 2013)

*a1Jim* - I could be wrong but it appears that shu gave it 1 star which is on the left side of the header, and the 4 star review on the right side of the header is "5 reviews total".
If not for your post I wouldn't haven't noticed that previous reviews could be viewed by clicking the "5 reviews total".

*stu*- I wonder if you just got a lemon considering the good reviews by others. Just a thought as I didn't read through the other reviews. Sorry that you're stuck with your machine because of Grizzly's failure to stand by it's product meaning Refund or Replace and free shipping for customer returns. That's good customer service in my opinion.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Thank you Lori ,Yes I did notice that ,us old guys get confused sometimes


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## ScottKaye (Jan 19, 2013)

Sorry it didn't work out for you Shu. I have had my supermax 19-38 since November, and I have never had to adjust the belt tracking since I took it out of the box. In fact the only thing that was some what a pain in the arse was adjusting the table to the drum but I quickly figured out how to do that easy enough using feeler gauges. Maybe you should give grizzly a call and see what they recommend. If I recall that model is notorious for having to constantly adjust the belt tracking.


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## bowtie (Dec 23, 2011)

I have the same sander and grizzly sent me a new belt which works better but still requires a watchful eye and occasional adjustment.
I have a hard time keeping the sand paper from bunching up on the right side of the drum so its basically good for 10-12" stock, forget a 36" board on 2 passes it cuts a groove every time.
Poor dust collection.
Extremely underpowered.
I'm surprised anyone ever gave it over 2 stars if used at all.
I know a lot of people who love grizzly but I have to agree with shu, this is a poorly designed and cheaply built anchor


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks for the review. I have had this one on my watch list for when I can afford a wide drum sander…

I kind of gave up the idea, and have been admittedly VERY slowly, been working on building my own drum sander.


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## shu (May 25, 2014)

Thanks for all the comments.

Yes it is a one star rating. I am not so upset that Grizzly made a machine that doesn't meet their usual quality. That can happen to any company. It is the fact that they gave me the run-a-round when I offered to purchase something better with a trade-in, and it took three tries and six months for a customer service decision maker to get back with me. I will never buy Grizzly again until they take this machine back and compensate me for months of trouble, wasted sanding belts, and the extra parts that i purchased.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

Sounds like you may have got a lemon. Drum sanders are a bit finicky tho. Maybe they'll refund you, or give you another.


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## Albert (Jul 28, 2008)

Too bad, I would have expected better from the Griz people. I have the Delta version and there was quite a learning curve to using it and getting it aligned. I recall there is a break in period for the drive belt, it has to get accustomed to my machine as it initially stretched, and now 'sort of' runs true but still required an occasional tweek. 
I suppose part of woodworking is dealing with frustrations but poorly designed equipment brings it to another level, I hope the Grizzley people eventually help you out.


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## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

Most of the other reviews of this machine mention the same difficulty you have with it; they don't seem to mind but I think I'd side with your opinion; the constant need to have to adjust belt tension would drive me crazy.


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## harveysoriginals (May 1, 2014)

I have this sander too and have not had this particular problem. Once i got it aligned, I have never touched that adjustment again. The only issue I have had with this sander is the spring that holds tension on the sandpaper. It has broken twice now. They have been great about that and sent me parts and fortunately, it is an easy fix. Actually, the customer service guy talked me through the procedure the first time. It makes a huge racket when it does break though and will definitely make you jump!
Other than that though, it has been a work horse for me. I will say that I have never used in on anything that wouldn't fit in it though. 17 inches across has been my maximum. I think it would be too hard to hold a 30 panel while it went through the drum.


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## kajunkraft (May 7, 2012)

I "up-graded" from a 16-32 Jet Drum Sander to the 19-38 SuperMax. It sure looks a lot like the Jet, and was designed/built by the same people, as I understand. While the Jet was not a huge problem, I did have problems keeping the conveyor belt in line and changing the sanding belt was a bit of a hassle, it was OK. However, the SuperMax is night & day better. No conveyor belt tracking issues and changing the sanding belt is a whole lot easier. Aligning the drum was no problem … when I first set it up I checked and it seemed to be right on. Still is.
I have several Grizzly products and am generally happy with them. I considered their drum sander but splurged on the SuperMax instead. Don't regret it.


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## Bogeyguy (Sep 26, 2012)

Weight has nothing to do with performance. Just sayin.


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## shu (May 25, 2014)

Bogeyguy: It is just a title to the review, but usually it is the light weight cheap plastic and pot metal items that don't work well. You would think that something that as solid as the Grizzly GO-458 would also have good engineering to go along with its weight, but technically you are correct.


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## thehammer (Jan 31, 2009)

These are a few of the things I went through when I purchased my Delta 18/36. This Grizzly seems to be based on that machine though your problems are a bit extreme. I removed my Tracking Belt and flipped it around and that helped alot but you still have to keep an eye on it. It's just the nature of the beast. I've had my Delta for about 15 years now and I originally was just going to sell it and get something better but each day that you use it, it grows on you and you learn how to make it work for you.


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## shu (May 25, 2014)

John and similar comments: Thanks for the comment, it brings up a good point.

That is well and good, and I am happy you could solve your problems, but it shouldn't be the responsibility, , "the nature of the beast," for the consumer to constantly have to re-engineer a piece of equipment. To allow and encourage corporations to produce products that are poorly engineered, knowing their clients will do their work for them, while they reap the profits is truly a cheap shot, and one that services the bottom line, not the customer
I have read many posts not only on this thread but on others where the owner has overcome the problems by performing some change to the equipment. Fine, I will engineer my Grizzly GO-458, and I am capable of doing so, but Grizzly will get the bill for my engineering services. I bought this to process 22 inch table tops, and other products, not figure out Grizzly's problems for them.


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## Albert (Jul 28, 2008)

Good luck on that, let us know how it works out for you.


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## thehammer (Jan 31, 2009)

I completely agree with you, BUT, sometimes I just have to ask myself if the headache involved is worth the effort. Delta sent me every single part I requested without any problem. I ended up replacing the feed table cause it was slightly warped, the drum cause it was out of balance, and the belt cause it got a little chewed from the drum being out of balance. I could have sent it back but I might have had issues with whatever I replaced it with. My Drum Sander if nowhere close to perfect but then again, if you look close enough, there are no "Perfect Tool". You can find issues with anything if you look close enough. I'm not implying what YOU should do, I was just letting you know what I did. Hope it works out for you whichever decision you make.


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## moke (Oct 19, 2010)

Shu,
Good review….I was interested in a surface planer and a friend who now goes south for the winter ( I live in Iowa) loaned me his delta until he came back. I have to say it was aweful, I came away with one conclusion. That was to give it back, and never to buy a planer that the table goes up and down as compared to the sanding head. I bought a 19-38 Supermax and returned the Delta the day after he got back. While it was very nice of him to loan it to me, he told me later he didn't like it either and wasn't surprised I wasn't willing to buy it. 
Sorry you got hosed…maybe eventually make it someone elses problem and move on to something else…there are many people that think they can fix anything!
Mike


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## shu (May 25, 2014)

Thank you Mike.. The latest update from Grizzly.. Customer service contacted me, talked very nice, wanted to know what the problems were again, and then asked me if I was still interested in using it as a trade in to another machine. I said yes, then told me that they would run it through their decision makers for a final decision. That has been over 2 weeks ago, and for the 4th time now, the decision makers have not gotten back to me as promised. Something must have happened within Grizzly management because they use to be a customer orientated company. Now they must be run by total bean counters, and corporate pigs.


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## richardchaos (May 12, 2017)

This sander is a WRECK. I have one too. Makes abetter boat anchor….


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