From: ag900@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (David Burris)
Subject: Grizzly Survey Results.2
Reply-To: ag900@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (David Burris)
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 92 05:39:32 GMT


15)
From: shaw@hpfcso.fc.hp.com (Shaw Moldauer)
#1: $350 jointer.
1. Are you satisfied with your purchase?
        Yes, I looked carefully at all machines in this price
range.
Griz had the best looking fence and the longest table. 
2. Did the machine go together without any problems? 
        Machine went together with no problems, but stand required a
little forcing to get screws in holes.
3. What problems(if any did you have)?
        None.
4. Did customer service help?
        NA
5. How would you rate your Grizzly purchase?
        I'd trade any day for a reasonable Delta DJ-20. Given my
resources and space, I'd buy the same jointer again.
6. How would you rate Grizzly customer support?
(use 1-10 rating scale, 10 being the best)
        NA
7. Would you buy from Grizzly again?
        I did, see below.
8. How would you rate your woodworking skills?(Novice,Intermediate,
Advanced,Professional)
        I do mostly tables, bookcases, and around the house odds
and ends. Also some rougher construction. I do mortise&tennon,
dovetail, and board in dado type joints. The joints all look good to me.
Raised panel doors, drawers, half-lapped face frames........
How do you rate me? I'd say between intermerdiate and advanced.

#2: $160 dust collector.
1. Are you satisfied with your purchase?
        Yes.
2. Did the machine go together without any problems? 
        Yes.
3. What problems(if any did you have)?
        None at all.
4. Did customer service help?
        NA
5. How would you rate your Grizzly purchase?
        Good, though I sometimes wish I had a larger unit. The bags
fill up rather quickly when usin my 16" planer.
6. How would you rate Grizzly customer support?
        NA
7. Would you buy from Grizzly again?
        I did, see below.
#3: $350 lathe.
1. Are you satisfied with your purchase?
        Yes.
2. Did the machine go together without any problems? 
        One problem, a shaft didn't fit into the appropriate hole.
3. What problems(if any did you have)?
        shaft was too large to go into hole. So I hammered it in
and
it was misserably stuck.
4. Did customer service help?
        The said "sent it back, we'll fix the problem".
        They either got the two parts apart, or replaced both.
replacement came within a week of my sending the two off to them.
5. How would you rate your Grizzly purchase?
        Fine, I lloked at all the inexpensive lathes and liked this one
best. I'[d buy the same one again (if I hadn't already).
6. How would you rate Grizzly customer support?
        I can't see what they could have done better. 9
7. Would you buy from Grizzly again?
        Sure........

16)
From: STEVE.BUSSELL@OFFICE.WANG.COM ("Steve Bussell")
Dave,  In response to your request for Grizzly buyers, I am a
satified
customer.  I have only purchase a Brad Nailer from them but I have
called them on a couple of occasions to inquire about machinery and been
more than satisfied.  So to answer each question;
1.  Satified, YES!
2.  No assembly of the Brad Gun was required.
3.  No problems what so ever.
4.  N/A
5.  Excellent, for the price paid.
6.  Customer Support Rating - 9.
7.  I would buy from Grizzly again.
8.  I consider myself and advanced woodworker.
It will be interesting to see the results of the survey.

17)
From: KIMNACH@LIMS01.LERC.NASA.GOV
>1. Are you satisfied with your purchase?
Very much so.  I own the 6" jointer (model g1182), a dust collector
(g1027 ?), the 1.5hp shaper (g1035), and assorted tools (e.g., chisels,
shaper bits)
The table tops are beutifully machined compared to my craftsmen
table saw's top.  (I wish I would have gotten the Grizzly!)  Also, a
friend owns the 20" planar and loves it.
>2. Did the machine go together without any problems? 
Only the jointer required "substantial" assembley--the base.  It
had one hole drilled off-center.  Not a big problem.
>3. What problems(if any did you have)?
See above.
>4. Did customer service help?
Never called.
>5. How would you rate your Grizzly purchase?
A very good deal.  Another friend owns Delta only--I can't see the price
difference as being justifiable.
>6. How would you rate Grizzly customer support?
N.A.
>7. Would you buy from Grizzly again?
Most definately.
>8. How would you rate your woodworking
skills?(Novice,Intermediate,
>Advanced,Professional)
I am technically a novice since I just started woodworking. 
However, I've had alot of advice and am pretty handy meticulous, so I'd
consider myself an upper intermidiate.  There's alot that I need to do
for the first time ( e.g., dovetails) but I'll learn quickly.

18)
From: wilkr@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (richard wilk)
I have ordered a number of small things from Grizzly.
An expensive 3-jaw chuck for my lathe - when I switched
lathes they promptly sent me new sleeves to fit
the new spindle, at reasonable cost, very fast.
The chuck is solid, clunky; works, but castings
are not very accurate and there is more play in them than
I would like. But hey, it was half the price of others I've
een advertised, and nobody else will fit so many different
size shafts.
The 8inch face plate is overpriced, and the slots are too
wide for most woodscrews - it should have a center hole
for a screw. Poor design - and the cost is too high.
The rolling center was the cheapest I've found anywhere,
and for my purposes it works just great. I only work about
5 hours/week in the shop - too many jobs and a kid:)
Ordered a buffing wheel & some compound; very cheap, quality is
fione, shipping was fast.
I was planning on buying the 14 inch bandsaw from them until
I read about the 18" on the list. From what I have seen so far,
you pays your money, you gets what you pays for.
Beyond that, they have been fast to ship and seem to have parts.
But their wood lathes are junk - I would not touch one after
seeing one at a yard sale. For a major tool, you want clean
castings, solid quality. I want to work wood, not run a machine
repair shop. 
So my impression is: buy little things from Grizzly - their
bits and calipers (my two are fine) and other stuff is cheap,
and most of the time not critical.
But for a major power tool, buy higher quality. Lots of places
will pay the shipping on a Delta tool, which makes it not
much more than a Grizzly where you pay the freight.
I am delighted with my Delta lathe - in five years
I won't remember the extra $150, but I sure will appreciate
the quality and reliability.

19)
From: Keith.Thompson@East.Sun.COM (Keith Thompson - Sun BOS Software)
i've had a few over the years...
>1. Are you satisfied with your purchase?
        1) 10" Table saw        - yes very much
        2) 6" jointer           - yes very very much
        3) disk/belt sander     - yes very much
        4) 18" scroll saw       - yes
        5) lathe                - it's ok (got the bottom of the line)
        6) flexable shaft grinder - yes very much (hey, it was over
$100)
        7) misc stuff < $100    - yes
>2. Did the machine go together without any problems? 
        1)      yes except for defective bearing
        2,3,4)  yes
        5)      yes except for broken belt
        6,7)    NA
>3. What problems(if any did you have)?
        see above
        had a question about 220v conversion
>4. Did customer service help?
        1,5)    both parts replaced promptly free of shipping charges
answered all questions
>5. How would you rate your Grizzly purchase?
(using 1-10 rating scale, 10 being the best)
        1,2,3,6,7)      10
        4)              7
        5)              5
>6. How would you rate Grizzly customer support?
>(use 1-10 rating scale, 10 being the best)
        10
>7. Would you buy from Grizzly again?
        yes
>8. How would you rate your woodworking skills?(Novice,Intermediate,
>Advanced,Professional)
        intermediate hopefully moving towards advanced!

20)
From: lac@rhino.key.amdahl.com (Larry Crosby)
I own a Grizzly 8" jointer and a 12" thickness planer.
> 1. Are you satisfied with your purchase?
Basically, yes.
> 2. Did the machine go together without any problems? 
No.
> 3. What problems(if any did you have)?`
The planer came without wiring instructions (220V only motor)
and the switch was miswired. One plastic knob was missing.
> 4. Did customer service help?
Yes, they sent out wiring instructions and a new knob.
> 5. How would you rate your Grizzly purchase?
8.5 on 1-10 scale.
> 6. How would you rate Grizzly customer support?  5
 I ordered add'l knife sets with both tools. They were backordered for
over two months and no substitute was offered. A letter to Mr. B.
resulted in an "I'm sorry" response, but no satisfaction.
> 7. Would you buy from Grizzly again?
Not sure. Their shipping prices are outrageous, and the latest
customer response on the NET was discouraging.
> 8. How would you rate your woodworking skills?(Novice,Intermediate,
> Advanced,Professional)
Advanced.

21)
From: gary_preckshot@lccmail.ocf.llnl.gov (Gary Preckshot)
> 1. Are you satisfied with your purchase?
tablesaw yes planer yes bandsaw pretty much
> 2. Did the machine go together without any problems? 
tablesaw yes extension fence sorta planer pretty much bandsaw no
> 3. What problems(if any did you have)?
extension fence: built more robust support
planer: filed mounting holes in base, replaced sprocket
bandsaw: posted as "A Grizzly tale"
> 4. Did customer service help?
planer: yes 2 days
> 5. How would you rate your Grizzly purchase?
tablesaw: 8 (unisaw = 10)
planer: 8
bandsaw: before fixes 4 after fixes 8
> 6. How would you rate Grizzly customer support?
8 but not enough data
> 7. Would you buy from Grizzly again?
probably
> 8. How would you rate your woodworking skills?(Novice,Intermediate,
> Advanced,Professional)
talented intermediate
  
22)
From: MYJAK@TITAN.KSC.NASA.GOV
>1. Are you satisfied with your purchase?
Generally, yes. 
>2. Did the machine go together without any problems? 
it went together without an extra pain. 
>3. What problems(if any did you have)?
I was unimpressed as others have been with the sharp (burnished?)
edges of the stamped steel parts. These could easily have been rolled,
or sanded, hell even filed. They are indeed sharp.
Also, I had a problem with the wiring at the power switch. After about
10 hours of use, the hot wire lead welded itself to the switch body.
>4. Did customer service help?
with the switch, yes. They sent me a new switch and mounting plate (they
are integral components) and as I was replacing the switch, I found the
real problem... the wire was apparently kinked and only a few strands
were making contact. It looked like the remaining effective wire gauge
was not enough to carry the load of the motor.
>5. How would you rate your Grizzly purchase?
Well, its a good piece of equipment. I did not care for the additional
20% shipping charge... which BTW is not advertised with the product
price, which made price comparisons difficult. Had I known that the
freight charge would have been so much, I probably would not have bought
the grizzly.  I felt like it was kinda of swindle, if you know what I
mean.
>6. How would you rate Grizzly customer support?
I would give them 9.
>7. Would you buy from Grizzly again?
I have no real problem with the quality of their equipment. I do have a
problem with their shipping charges (from Pa to Fla). I will look harder
at other machinery and pricing first. All things being equal, I probably
would.
>8. How would you rate your woodworking skills?(Novice,Intermediate,
>Advanced,Professional)
intermediate.

23)
from ag900@.Cleveland.Freenet.Edu
>1  16" Bandsaw
    12" Planer
     6" Jointer
     I bought the Makita blade sharpener for the planer blades.
I'd highly reccommend this tool for planer blades.
Very Satisfied with the performance of each machine.
>2 No
>3 The bandsaw base and the jointer stand needed some adjustments during
assembly.A feed roller was defective on the planer.The blade guide
holders both broke on the bandsaw.
>4 Yes
I didn't call on the assembly problems.They quickly replaced the feed
roller and guide assemblies.
>5 I'd have to give all 3 machines a 9.
>6 I'd have to give customer service a 10.
>7 Yes I would buy from Grizzly again.
>8 Advanced

Well I hope both these file came through OK.Thanks to everyone that took
the time to reply.
 

Dave
    
-- 
ag900@cleveland.freenet.edu

Newsgroups: rec.woodworking