Popular Woodworking 2007-12 № 166, страница 38

GRIZZLY 12" Jointer/Planer with Spiral Cutterhead

Combining a jointer and a planer into one machine is nothing new - it's a popular configuration in Europe that has never caught on much in North America.

But now that Grizzly Industrial has gotten its sharp teeth into the category, we think you should take a close look. We saw the new G0634jointer/planer at the AWFS show in Las Vegas this year and were all quite impressed by the features, workmanship and the astonishing low price: $2,295.

Just try to get a new 12" j ointer and he avy-duty cast-iron planer for that price and you'll see why we think Grizzly is really onto something. The G0634 has the added bonus of being equipped with a helical cutterhead with carbide-insert knives, which ensures long times between tooling changes. And the machine has guts: It's powered by a 5-horsepower, 220-volt motor.

Switching the machine between its two functions is easy. Let me repeat that: it's easy. Don't let anyone tell you different. The only thing we would change on this machine is we wish it had the option of a European-style jointer guard. Grizzly opted for the more

GRAMERcY 9" Dovetail saw

traditional pork chop-shaped guard. But that's just our personal preference.

To be honest, we haven't gotten to use this machine yet - we have one on order. But our long history with Grizzly and our close inspection of the machine convinced

us that this machine belongs on our list (and in our shop).

If you're short on shop space and long on ambition to work with wide solid-wood boards, this Grizzly machine should be at the top of your list.

Most premium dovetail saws look and act a lot like the very sweet Lie-Nielsen model that has been available for many years. But the Gramercy is different. It has finer teeth, a smaller blade and a smaller brass back.

The net result of these differences is that the Gramercy is decidedly more lightweight and easier to start than its many competitors. We've put this saw in the hands of several dozen woodworkers, and many report that the handle is more comfortable than any other they've used. Perhaps even more telling, we know several woodworkers who abandoned their Japanese saws in favor of the Gramercy - high praise indeed.

FREUD Quadra-Cut Bits

Tools for Working Wood ■ 800-426-4613 or

toolsforworkingwood.com

While many router-bit manufacturers have improved their cutters with better carbide and closer manufacturing tolerances, Freud took a big leap forward in 2007 with its new Quadra-Cut bits.

As you might have guessed from the product's name, the Quadra-Cut bits have four carbide cutters instead of the usual two. The additional cutters are pitched in a different direction (two make an upshear cut; two make a downshear). The result: These new router bits remove material efficiently, and they practically eliminate the fuzzy edges produced by profile router bits when cutting across the grain.

Freud officials say the Quadra-Cuts will cost on average only about 10 percent more than the company's two-cutter bits. New profiles are being added all the time to the Quadra-Cut line - we think they're worth waiting for.

popularwoodworking.com ■ 59