Question for Grizzly owners

S

Steve6

Joined
Sep 29, 1999
Messages
128
I'm finally ready to buy some shop equipment after spending 8 months arranging to have sufficient space for a decent shop.

Grizzly has several different tools that I'm interested in.

I've read good reviews here in the past about their equipment.

My questions revolve more around their after sale service as well as overall customer satisfaction after the sale.

Any comments from current or former Grizzly customers, positive or negative, would be very much appreciated.

Also, any comments regarding satisfaction (or lack thereof) with the initial ordering and particularly shipping and delivery experience would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance
 
I had a grizzley grinder and I also own one of there buffers
i sold the grizzley grinder,and still have the buffer it runs smooth.
My father has had one of there mills for 15 years without a problem
there shipping is fast if the item is in stock and they have a
good return,if you have a problem.
The only down fall to the grizzly grinder it does not have a V/S
motor other than that they are a over all good grinder
Allen blade has some videos on grinding and a couple other videos
on knifemaking and he does all his grinding on one and he shows you
some mods you can put on one to make it run even better.also if you are going to do some flat grinding only Rob Frink makes a wheel to
to ad to the grinder to slow it down,it is worth checking out.
hope this has been of some help.:)
 
For the price you really can not beat grizzly. The ones I have used have held up as well as the name brand tools.
 
These are only MY experience and opinions...

I have one of their bandsaws, a jointer, a table saw and their 2x72 grinder.

Their service the past couple years has been first-rate.

They offer the top value for the money.

After a year I did some major mods to the 2x72 that ran about $400.00. It now is a first-class hollow grinder with [3] variable speeds.

I could never get it to track and grind smoothly enough for flat grinds.

I ordered a KMG1 from Rob Frink a couple weeks ago and it is due in next week. I bought only the base grinder with the platen, no contact wheel. Rob modified the platen assembly so that the platen will swing up and expose one of the wheels for finger grooves. That wheel was exchanged from the srandard 2" to a 1 1/2 inch for finger grooves.

If I were starting over with equipment now, I would skip the 2x72 Grizzly and buy the KMG and find a 2 horse DC motor and controller for it.

My Grizzly would absolutely not do flat grinds.

Just my opinions....

Dave
 
The grizz..............here`s mine
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and some of the knives I`ve made with it............
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It does a great job for the money but it doesnt give you many options for adding smaller wheels etc,the arm will extend upward to take up the slack when a small wheel is added but you cant go smaller than about 2.5".
Bossman
 
I have several Grizzly tools.Small mill does guards real well.
Have a scroll saw. also have the knife machine.
It grinds as good as I do.
You do have to make a few mods to help tracking and I have no problems with tracking. I also added a spring with adjustable tension to stop belt vibration. I have pics of all this but they are on photopoint and I can't access it.
I have a terrible time with plunge cuts so most of my knives don't have any.
Allen Blade has a couple of videos out with him grinding flat and hollow on a Griz and does a great job.
I would buy a Frink if I had the money and probaly will when I can afford one
Take Care
TJ Smith
 
I really like mine, it grinds better than I do and I have never had to find out about grizzlys customer service cause I've never had a problem with it yet. I did ask them to make sure that the contact wheels were balanced well before they shipped. It tracks very well. Only took a week to ship.

Chuck
 
I got a Grizzly grinder, here are some knives I made with it:
http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/~echang/kingwood.jpg
http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/~echang/tulipwood.jpg

I'm overall pretty happy with it. Would be hard to beat for the price, and their customer service is #1. Fast shipping, and when I got it, the casting on the platen bracket wasn't quite right, so I gave them a call, and a few days later, a new platen and platen bracket show up by UPS from Grizzly customer service free of charge. Their technicians were knowledgeable and willing to stay on the phone with me to discuss aligning the wheels for better tracking, I don't think they ever put me on hold when I called them either. Some of the friendliest customer service folks I've ever dealt with. You can't go wrong with them.
 
I have a Grizzly. It will grind anything I can grind.
Here is a couple mods done to help thing work better.
The side brace came from Allen Blades video and i thought up the belt tension adjustment.
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fdef6104.jpg

My 2 cents
Take Care
TJ
 
I haven't had any real probs with their grinder ( the only tool of theirs I have tried). My experience with their service was fine, but it was back in 1996. They sent me a new contact wheel for free, and let me keep the old one, when I found a defect in the first one.
Here are some of the current mods I have done with their machine:
http://www.redacorn.org/brome/
I will be rebuilding it to be a variable speed model and use the motor as a buffer some time this year. (Soon as I get my shop finished...)
I haven't posted any photos of the knives I have made on this machine yet (need to borrow my sis's camera again...), though I don't think your grinder plays too large a roll in how good your knives are; it is more how you use the tools and skill you have.
I also do a lot of restoration work and sharpening on the machine.
It is no Hardcore, but it is great for the money.
I would seriously consider the KMG-1, also. It is a little more $, but a lot more grinder, too.
Hope that helps some,
Brome
 
i also grind on a grizzly...with a 10 " contact wheel,i did the same mods as TJ and it tracks awesome...here is a pic of the last one i ground with it :D

fdd1bd07.jpg.orig.jpg
 
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