I just adjusted my Delta DJ-20 jointer which is almost identical to this Grizzly jointer shown. The method I used was the exact same as done in this video even though I had no prior knowledge or experience in doing so. Just sort of looked at it and made a few measurements and created a game plan. The outfeed table was far out of adjustment by 0.010” across the cutterhead. To get it inline I had to adjust all four bushings to get it even. The infeed table adjustment was the most difficult. It seemed like the best I could get it was a compromise of a few thousandths. That’s where I left it which seems to not be any problem. My jointer has three 8” straight blades that I just received back from a sharpening service. That set up I have done before, is a PITA and I sure wish that a helical head was available when I purchased this made in the USA Delta jointer in 1995. The longer the straightedge you use the more accurate you can be. A set of feeler gauges is helpful in measuring the table with the straightedge while setting the beds complainer. In the end it’s still wood and the most minor differences don’t matter.
The piece of information that I needed, that seems always missing from all explanations and printed documents is how to read the position of the eccentric bushings. The dot indicates the thickest side of the eccentricity. The neutral position of all the bushings is with the dot horizontal. Maybe it is just me, but not being able to see what is happening inside keeps me confused. Not knowing that reality, my brain was imagining turning a cam instead of a bushing. (I could have looked at the parts diagram and not made that mental mistake.) The two eccentric bushings hold a rod that passes through holes in the table casting, so moving the dot (thicker radius) downward raises that side of rod and the table. Moving the dot toward the top means the thinner part of the bushing supports the rod and the table lowers. (If it were a cam, the opposite would be true. It's little things like that make me feel stupid sometimes.)
Question... Let's assume my outfeed table at the cutterhead is .003 higher on the operator side. When I adjust the can 1st that location, will an adjustment be required on the opposite corner to compensate? It seems I will build a "rock" in the table on the cams if I don't. Am I thinking this correctly? Thank you!
I ordered an 8 inch jointer last May its almost a year later I still haven't received it yet. For months they told me it was on back order. Then someone told me I should have been told that the 8 inch jointer I ordered was no longer available so I got bumped to the back of the line for the next 8 inch jointer model. I am still waiting.....
First: why did you remove the back panel? I did not see anywhere this was necessary. Second: On my G0604ZX it seems that the rabbeting table extension is in the way of the setting bolts of the eccentric bushing. Do I need to remove the rabbeting table extension? BTW my jointer was way off from parallel after I assembled it. From operator POV the back right side of the infeed table was almost 1/4" high.
Brad Hedges Well honestly I did run thru it too fast. But still the cutterhead can be turned easily from the front. Much easier than taking off the back panel. I suppose for Grizzly's liability they felt they had to do this. Another dummy-me thing I noticed was that part of the reason my infeed table was so far off was because my fence set too low thus limiting the up movement when trying to adjust for smaller cuts. I followed the assembly instructions precisely but apparently did not tighten the fence mount good enough and the fence lowered over time. On another note I just rotated the cutterheads but can still see shade lines where the blades cut the wood. I am not yet convinced that the spiral head was worth the $.
It's interesting to hear that you're not convinced the spiral cutter head is worthwhile. I will be buying a jointer and planer in a couple of months and have been researching options. Almost everyone recommends them, but I have seen several others who say keep the standard blades.
Brad Hedges My previous jointer was a standard 6" Grizzly that was about 30 years old. I loved it aside from changing the blades. But I wanted a longer one to be able to flatten longer boards. What I notice on the positive sides with the spiral cutting head is that it moves through the hard tiger maple I am jointing with ease and I really don't notice tear-out. AND I haven't done a true test with other materials such as walnut, cherry, oak, etc. Obviously the hard maple is well.......very hard. It is possible that I ran the maple thru the jointer too slow and the shade lines I can see are heat related. Keep in mind that I am not a professional woodworker but have dabbled for a long time on and off. I will try to report back soon after more tests with other materials since now I think I have it dialed in.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I am using an 8 inch Grizzly planer w/ helical head at the shop of a friend when I need one. They are nearly half an hour away... So that is not optimal. I have pretty much decided on a pair of new Grizzly tools, the 0490x 8 inch jointer, and the 0454z 20 inch planer, both with helical heads. I am building a lot of stuff to sell, and really need them close to hand. I appreciate hearing your experiences, they provide another view I haven't heard much of.
My question is why not adjust the inner edges of both tables parallel to the cutter head? You seemed adamant not to do that. If one has a magnetic base dial gauge then one could be assured the near and far sides of each table near the cutter would be accurate. Then lift the infeed table to match the outfeed with a 12" rule. A long straight edge across both tables would allow you to see the variance in the ends of the table wings and more easily decide whether the far end of the outfield table should go up or down, so the infeed table was in its proper range.
I just adjusted my Delta DJ-20 jointer which is almost identical to this Grizzly jointer shown. The method I used was the exact same as done in this video even though I had no prior knowledge or experience in doing so. Just sort of looked at it and made a few measurements and created a game plan. The outfeed table was far out of adjustment by 0.010” across the cutterhead. To get it inline I had to adjust all four bushings to get it even. The infeed table adjustment was the most difficult. It seemed like the best I could get it was a compromise of a few thousandths. That’s where I left it which seems to not be any problem. My jointer has three 8” straight blades that I just received back from a sharpening service. That set up I have done before, is a PITA and I sure wish that a helical head was available when I purchased this made in the USA Delta jointer in 1995. The longer the straightedge you use the more accurate you can be. A set of feeler gauges is helpful in measuring the table with the straightedge while setting the beds complainer. In the end it’s still wood and the most minor differences don’t matter.
Thank you for the in depth response. Great to hear you were able to use the same method for your Delta jointer.
Fantastic tutorial for adjusting a Delta DJ20 jointer - essentially identical to the Grizzly shown here.
Glad it was helpful!
The piece of information that I needed, that seems always missing from all explanations and printed documents is how to read the position of the eccentric bushings. The dot indicates the thickest side of the eccentricity. The neutral position of all the bushings is with the dot horizontal. Maybe it is just me, but not being able to see what is happening inside keeps me confused. Not knowing that reality, my brain was imagining turning a cam instead of a bushing. (I could have looked at the parts diagram and not made that mental mistake.) The two eccentric bushings hold a rod that passes through holes in the table casting, so moving the dot (thicker radius) downward raises that side of rod and the table. Moving the dot toward the top means the thinner part of the bushing supports the rod and the table lowers. (If it were a cam, the opposite would be true. It's little things like that make me feel stupid sometimes.)
Question... Let's assume my outfeed table at the cutterhead is .003 higher on the operator side. When I adjust the can 1st that location, will an adjustment be required on the opposite corner to compensate? It seems I will build a "rock" in the table on the cams if I don't. Am I thinking this correctly? Thank you!
The DJ-20 manual says to set outfeed table .015 higher than the cutter head. If I buy a helical cutter head is it still .015?
I ordered an 8 inch jointer last May its almost a year later I still haven't received it yet. For months they told me it was on back order. Then someone told me I should have been told that the 8 inch jointer I ordered was no longer available so I got bumped to the back of the line for the next 8 inch jointer model. I am still waiting.....
Did you get your jointer yet?
Nice
First: why did you remove the back panel? I did not see anywhere this was necessary. Second: On my G0604ZX it seems that the rabbeting table extension is in the way of the setting bolts of the eccentric bushing. Do I need to remove the rabbeting table extension? BTW my jointer was way off from parallel after I assembled it. From operator POV the back right side of the infeed table was almost 1/4" high.
Almost the first step they showed was rotating the cutterhead pulley by hand, through the space covered by the back panel.
Brad Hedges Well honestly I did run thru it too fast. But still the cutterhead can be turned easily from the front. Much easier than taking off the back panel. I suppose for Grizzly's liability they felt they had to do this. Another dummy-me thing I noticed was that part of the reason my infeed table was so far off was because my fence set too low thus limiting the up movement when trying to adjust for smaller cuts. I followed the assembly instructions precisely but apparently did not tighten the fence mount good enough and the fence lowered over time. On another note I just rotated the cutterheads but can still see shade lines where the blades cut the wood. I am not yet convinced that the spiral head was worth the $.
It's interesting to hear that you're not convinced the spiral cutter head is worthwhile. I will be buying a jointer and planer in a couple of months and have been researching options. Almost everyone recommends them, but I have seen several others who say keep the standard blades.
Brad Hedges My previous jointer was a standard 6" Grizzly that was about 30 years old. I loved it aside from changing the blades. But I wanted a longer one to be able to flatten longer boards. What I notice on the positive sides with the spiral cutting head is that it moves through the hard tiger maple I am jointing with ease and I really don't notice tear-out. AND I haven't done a true test with other materials such as walnut, cherry, oak, etc. Obviously the hard maple is well.......very hard. It is possible that I ran the maple thru the jointer too slow and the shade lines I can see are heat related. Keep in mind that I am not a professional woodworker but have dabbled for a long time on and off. I will try to report back soon after more tests with other materials since now I think I have it dialed in.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I am using an 8 inch Grizzly planer w/ helical head at the shop of a friend when I need one. They are nearly half an hour away... So that is not optimal.
I have pretty much decided on a pair of new Grizzly tools, the 0490x 8 inch jointer, and the 0454z 20 inch planer, both with helical heads. I am building a lot of stuff to sell, and really need them close to hand. I appreciate hearing your experiences, they provide another view I haven't heard much of.
My question is why not adjust the inner edges of both tables parallel to the cutter head? You seemed adamant not to do that. If one has a magnetic base dial gauge then one could be assured the near and far sides of each table near the cutter would be accurate. Then lift the infeed table to match the outfeed with a 12" rule. A long straight edge across both tables would allow you to see the variance in the ends of the table wings and more easily decide whether the far end of the outfield table should go up or down, so the infeed table was in its proper range.
Just use two squares by the shaft.
My question is.. why do you not answer people’s questions?
Sorry for the delayed reply. We are working to get all caught up on social media now. What is your question?