The Griz G0500 was lovingly lowered into my garage a few days ago. A rather considerate, knowledgeable, and strong gentleman from Fedex did the job. No damage to crates or cartons.
I unpacked it and moved it out of the way for a few days. Had a mudroom bench for number 3 daughter's housewarming gift that needed finishing. I assembled it and my neighbor helped me lift the business end onto the stand. Fit and finish were pristine and all parts were in the packages. Had to dig out my metric wrenches out of the mechanics tool box. It was almost ready to fly without adjustment.
Talk about smooth. Man, it's lots better than the old Craftsman. Oh, I gave the El Muerto jointer to my neighbor. Even after explaining that it tried to kill me. He did ask if he could get new knives from Sears. Other than that, he's a good guy.
Congrats Jo4hn! - I have a couple of covetous questions...adjustment easy, smooth and micro? can you tell a big difference in the beds between this one and "El Muerto"? (thinking about an upgrade...)
[snippage] Adjustments are straightforward. Fussiness depends upon the human involved. Both tables are adjustable with wheels, which I like more than levers. Once set at the proper level, they are locked in place. Even the gibs are easily accessible. It comes with a blade aligning jig which is OK I guess but I won't be throwing away the Jointer Pal any time soon.
Zeke gave me some good advice: loosen the motor mount bolts with the stand on its side. It required a 14" breaker bar with a 19mm socket to break them loose. Not too bad as long as you don't have to do it with
3" clearance and standing on your shoulders. As it was, aligning the motor was a bit of a PITA but only required three bad words.
I got out a can of Johnson's paste wax and a soft towel. I applied the wax liberally to the machined surfaces, running my hands gently to and fro. I worked up to the edges and into every orifice: the jointer seemed to respond. I moved the towel in ever widing cirles polishing and protecting. My finger moved to the switch which I knew would bring it to life. I pressed the green button. I was instantly rewarded with the 240V motor springing to life with a purring sound. I touched the infeed table and felt myself respond in kind. I retrieved a piece of douglas fir and set it on the infeed table. I moved it forward gently nudging aside the guard. It moved into the cutters and gently but firmly shaved off a few thousandths. I firmly pushed the fir into the innards of the beast, my heart beating ever faster. I moved quickly and was rewarded with a burst of chips falling to the floor from the dust collection port. I raised the board to my eyes and saw that it was smooooooth. I pressed the red button and the machine quieted. I lit up a celebratory walnut joint and breathed deeply.
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