I am down to the short threads on purchasing a new 6" to 8" Jointer. I have
had the chance to crawl all over a G0500 and like what I see very much.
However the Powermatic 54A is on sale at a local shop this weekend and I
also looked at one pretty closely this week. While I had pretty much
settled on the G0500, the Powermatic is a great looking machine and it's bed
length is a real plus.
Prices I am looking at:
Grizzly G0500 with shipping - $853
Powermatic 54A with tax and discounts (avaliable locally) $709
I have seen good things about both, however G0500 reviews are still few and
harder to find. Everyone seems to love their 54A.
I am an avid, semi-retied woodworker and expect this to be my last jointer
purchase.
How 'bout comments from you users (good, bad, ugly appreciated)?
Thank You in Advance
RonB
Can only speak about the Griz's little brother, the G1182Z. I like it very
much and don't have any regrets at all - the table is flat and square to the
support and it runs very smooth. While it may be a mistake to assume, I
would say that the larger ones would be of at least the same quality with
the larger capacity. At that level, I don't think you can make an error
between the two you stated.
Don
"RonB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:CcBbd.4479$EZ.3003@okepread07...
> I am down to the short threads on purchasing a new 6" to 8" Jointer. I
have
> had the chance to crawl all over a G0500 and like what I see very much.
> However the Powermatic 54A is on sale at a local shop this weekend and I
> also looked at one pretty closely this week. While I had pretty much
> settled on the G0500, the Powermatic is a great looking machine and it's
bed
> length is a real plus.
>
> Prices I am looking at:
>
> Grizzly G0500 with shipping - $853
> Powermatic 54A with tax and discounts (avaliable locally) $709
>
> I have seen good things about both, however G0500 reviews are still few
and
> harder to find. Everyone seems to love their 54A.
>
> I am an avid, semi-retied woodworker and expect this to be my last jointer
> purchase.
>
> How 'bout comments from you users (good, bad, ugly appreciated)?
>
> Thank You in Advance
> RonB
>
>
Bob:
Thanks, very useful input. The $709 price I show in the original message
reflects the promotion and a dealers sale discount + tax.
Yeah - I know the big machine is going to be a space hog. I work from the
3rd stall of a 3 car garage and I spent about three days rearranging
everything a week ago. Looks pretty good, so now I am going to clobber it
all up with a big jointer (on wheels). Oh well, sometimes we just have to
suffer. I am, however, looking at a real possibility of having a dedicated
space within the next 1-2 years.
I had really settled on the G0500 for the wider table. I do have
opportunity to get rough sawn hardwood from time to time and the extra 2"
was appealing. When I look at the price and size difference thought + the
obvious respect from the 54A users it evens things out. My son in law
bought a G0500 this spring but has limited use on it. It is a great looking
machine but buying from the front end of a production run isn't always good.
Thank you again
"Bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "RonB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:CcBbd.4479$EZ.3003@okepread07...
>
>> Prices I am looking at:
>>
>> Grizzly G0500 with shipping - $853
>> Powermatic 54A with tax and discounts (avaliable locally) $709
>
> Ron,
>
> I don't know if it fits your circumstances, but the PM 54a is part of a
> promotion by WMHtoolgroup. You get $100 credit toward another large tool
> purchase or $50 toward accessories. Details are on www.wmhtoolgroup.com.
> See the green tag sale.
>
> I suspect you would be happy with either.
>
> I know you would like the PM 54a. I have one. I view it as my dumbest
> power tool. I bolted it together out of the box, set the height of the
> outfeed table, and just started using it. That was 10 months ago. It just
> does its thing and does it well. I was influenced by my local dealer who
> has one in his own shop and said he was pleased with Powermatic came out
> with the model. He said he had sold a lot of 8" jointers to customers that
> were upgrading from a 6" just to get the added bed length. I really like
> buying stationary tools from local dealers, rather than mail order. I
> like
> the local service and consultation of a local dealer.
>
> By the way, a decently long jointer is one of the most cumbersome tools in
> the shop. It demands long space to store and even more space to use it. I
> wish I could fold it up when I shut the shop down at night.
>
> I might get an 8 or 10 inch jointer someday, right after I get my 5 hp
> table
> saw, 24" Bandsaw, and the 15" cast iron planer with helical blades.
>
> Bob
>
>
By the way - I do understand the bed width tradeoffs between 6" and 8". I
am most concerned with value and durability.
"RonB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:CcBbd.4479$EZ.3003@okepread07...
>I am down to the short threads on purchasing a new 6" to 8" Jointer. I
>have had the chance to crawl all over a G0500 and like what I see very
>much. However the Powermatic 54A is on sale at a local shop this weekend
>and I also looked at one pretty closely this week. While I had pretty much
>settled on the G0500, the Powermatic is a great looking machine and it's
>bed length is a real plus.
>
> Prices I am looking at:
>
> Grizzly G0500 with shipping - $853
> Powermatic 54A with tax and discounts (avaliable locally) $709
>
> I have seen good things about both, however G0500 reviews are still few
> and harder to find. Everyone seems to love their 54A.
>
> I am an avid, semi-retied woodworker and expect this to be my last jointer
> purchase.
>
> How 'bout comments from you users (good, bad, ugly appreciated)?
>
> Thank You in Advance
> RonB
>
"RonB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:CcBbd.4479$EZ.3003@okepread07...
> Prices I am looking at:
>
> Grizzly G0500 with shipping - $853
> Powermatic 54A with tax and discounts (avaliable locally) $709
Ron,
I don't know if it fits your circumstances, but the PM 54a is part of a
promotion by WMHtoolgroup. You get $100 credit toward another large tool
purchase or $50 toward accessories. Details are on www.wmhtoolgroup.com.
See the green tag sale.
I suspect you would be happy with either.
I know you would like the PM 54a. I have one. I view it as my dumbest
power tool. I bolted it together out of the box, set the height of the
outfeed table, and just started using it. That was 10 months ago. It just
does its thing and does it well. I was influenced by my local dealer who
has one in his own shop and said he was pleased with Powermatic came out
with the model. He said he had sold a lot of 8" jointers to customers that
were upgrading from a 6" just to get the added bed length. I really like
buying stationary tools from local dealers, rather than mail order. I like
the local service and consultation of a local dealer.
By the way, a decently long jointer is one of the most cumbersome tools in
the shop. It demands long space to store and even more space to use it. I
wish I could fold it up when I shut the shop down at night.
I might get an 8 or 10 inch jointer someday, right after I get my 5 hp table
saw, 24" Bandsaw, and the 15" cast iron planer with helical blades.
Bob
On Thu, 14 Oct 2004 15:20:52 -0500, "RonB" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I am down to the short threads on purchasing a new 6" to 8" Jointer. I have
>had the chance to crawl all over a G0500 and like what I see very much.
>However the Powermatic 54A is on sale at a local shop this weekend and I
>also looked at one pretty closely this week. While I had pretty much
>settled on the G0500, the Powermatic is a great looking machine and it's bed
>length is a real plus.
>
>Prices I am looking at:
>
>Grizzly G0500 with shipping - $853
>Powermatic 54A with tax and discounts (avaliable locally) $709
>
>I have seen good things about both, however G0500 reviews are still few and
>harder to find. Everyone seems to love their 54A.
>
>I am an avid, semi-retied woodworker and expect this to be my last jointer
>purchase.
>
>How 'bout comments from you users (good, bad, ugly appreciated)?
>
>Thank You in Advance
>RonB
>
Ron,
I have the G0500 and I love it. The four cutter heads are very smooth
and it is relatively quiet. The fence is rock solid - I always check
it for square after every adjustment, a habit I developed from my
previous jointer, and it is always square. I have flattened 8 inch
hard maple and cherry on the jointer and it had more than enough power
to deal with the load. The infeed height adjustment has some backlash
but I always overshoot to a larger thickness than I really want and
then tweak it back to the final thickness so I don't consider this a
big deal.
I have mine on a mobile base since I have to move it against the wall
when it's not in use. I just made some four 22 inch wedges that I jam
under the base (2 back to back on each side) after I move it into
position so the jointer is rock solid when I use it.
TWS
http://tomstudwell.com/allprojects.htm