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The new Shop Fox W1741 is a relatively new product, and there is not much available in terms of useful reviews of this machine. I have been told that it is the same machine as the Grizzly 0490. Other than what people told me, the details on the Shop Fox version were a little hard to come by. In fact, this model is still not even mentioned on the Woodstock International web site. So now that I have run the machine some, I figured I would offer a little review here.

First, the specifications. Since there was no info on their web site, I emailed WSI and received these specs in a press release format:

MAIN FEATURES:

* 3 HP 220V Motor
* Pedestal Mounted Controls for Easy Access
* Four Knife Cutterhead
* Parallelogram Bed Adjustment
* Built-In Mobile Base with Jack and Lock System
* Available in 2006, this Shop Fox machine is covered by a 2 year warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS:

* Motor: 3HP, 220V, 18A, Single-Phase, 60 Hz
* Motor Speed: 3450 RPM
* Max Width of Cut: 8″
* Max Depth of Cut: 1/8″
* No of Cuts Per Minute: 21,400
* Overall Dimensions: 76-1/2″ L x 24″ W x 48-1/2″ H
* Fence Size: 36″ W x 1-3/16″ W
* Fence Height: 5″
* Fence Stops: 90° & 45° Tilt in and Out
* Knives: 4 HSS Straight Knife
* Knives Size: 8″ L x 25/32″ W x 1/8″ T
* Knife Adjustment: Jack Screw
* Cutterhead Type: Straight Slot
* Cutterhead Diameter: 3-5/16″
* Cutterhead Speed: 5350 RPM
* Table Size: 76-3/8″ L x 8″ W x 2-3/4″ T
* Table Adjustment Type: Eccentric Bushing Structure
* Table Movement Type: Lever Adjust Type
* Table Height from Floor: 32-11/16″
* Construction: Cast Iron Table, Body, Base, Fence
* Cabinet Construction: Sheet Metal
* Coating: Oven-cured Powder Coated Paint
* Blade Guard: Moulded Aluminium
* Parallelogram: Yes
* Dust Ports: One 4″
* Bearings: Ball Bearing Permanently Lubricated
* Power Transfer: Belt Drive
* Electrical: Magnetic Switch w/Thermal Overload
* Controls: Soft-start Push Button & Emergency Shutoff
* Weight: 510 lbs

These specs are pretty much identical to the G0490. Based on a recent review of 8″ jointers in FWW magazine, the Grizzly came out looking pretty good. So I was satisfied that the Shop Fox would likely be just fine.

This machine looks very similar to the venerable Delta DJ-20. Like the Shop Fox, the DJ-20 has a parallelogram design, 76″ bed length, longer infeed table, same size/design fence. However, the Griz/Shop Fox versions have some real advantages over the Delta. For example, the DJ-20 has only 1½ HP motor, a 3-knife cutterhead, and cuts 16,500 CPM at 5500 RPM. The DJ-20 is also about 100 lbs lighter, which I see as a disadvantage for the Delta. The DJ-20 does not even have a magnetic switch! Now IMHO, the higher HP/knives/CPM of the Griz/Shop Fox is nice, but this only matters in a production setting. In a home shop like mine you can just slow down the feed rate a little and get the same cut quality. But the DJ-20 costs almost $1000 MORE!!! When Gregg (vbgregg) put together a group buy on these Shop Fox machines at a nice price, the choice was pretty clear.

In my research I came across some “issues” with the Griz/Shop Fox machines. I saw spotty reports of damaged crates, bent motor mounts, rough castings, too thin power cord, and a swivel caster problem. So I was looking for these issues on mine. Here is what I found:

First, this thing came in two packages (a box and a crate), which were largely undamaged except for a few minor dings. Inside, the bed assembly was bolted to the bottom of the wooden crate, and was in perfect condition. I think the manufacturer solved the problem of bent motor mounts by shipping the unit with the motor temporarily mounted to the cabinet instead of the motor mounts (click the thumbnails):

It was a PITA to get to those mounting screws, since there is very little clearance between the motor and mounting bracket. Mounting the motor and lifting the bed assembly required two people (thanks again, Woodguy!). The pulleys were hard to align precisely, since you can’t get a straightedge to go across both pulleys (see last pic above), but I found that it was easy enough to just “eyeball” it.

A couple of comments about the power transfer. The motor quality is probably OK, but I noticed immediately that it only has one capacitor instead of the usual two. Runs fine, but it’s just an indicator of a bit less quality. The power cord supplied was 12/3 gauge – plenty big enough for 18A I think. But it wasn’t long enough for me. The cord barely reaches past the opposite (left) end of the jointer, so if your receptacle is on that side, you’ll have to lengthen the cord like I did. You need some 14 gauge sized fittings to match what was on the original cord (original cord on the bottom, my replacement on top):

Once I got it all put together and running, I was quite happy about the performance. I have read reports about rough start/stops, etc (on the Griz), but I really think that has to do with pulley alignment and proper belt tension. I know when I increased belt tension on mine, that rattle went almost entirely away. Also, this is the smoothest running tool in my shop right now – passed the nickle test with flying colors! The knives were all set pretty even (though not exactly), and the outfeed table only had to be moved a few thousandths. Based on my 48″ aluminum straightedge, I cannot see any problems with the flatness of the beds. They were machined perfectly, with no missed spots or rough castings. Face jointing an 8″ wide piece of walnut was a breeze… just a couple of passes totally eliminated the twist, which is the one thing I had the most trouble dealing with on my smaller jointer. And the resulting surface was glass smooth – you know it’s smooth when you can feel the suction as you’re lifting the board off the outfeed table!

The parallelogram ajustment is smooth and easy – very nice! It has a nice magnetic switch, mounted up on a pedestal. The red light glows, letting you know your breaker is on. It comes with the manual, two curiously yellow push blocks, some wrenches/allen tools, and a knife setting jig. The power cord has no plug, and is at least a couple of feet too short, IMO. Dust collection is good, with the included 4″ DC port. The built-in mobile base is great, although it does drop with alarming force if you’re not careful. Also, it is possible (if you push hard enough) to move the jointer some even in the locked position.

All in all, I’d say this is a great machine, especially for the price. There are a couple of minor issues, in addition to what I pointed out above. First, my machine does have the wonky caster problem. If you look at this caster (in the raised/mobile position), you can see that the bracket is not level to the floor:

This causes the wheel to preferentially flip around like it is in this picture. This makes steering more difficult than it should be. I wrote to WSI and got a replacement bracket with almost completely fixed the problem.

Another thing I don’t like (this is just a personal preference) is that you have to use an allen wrench to adjust/remove the blade guard. I’m just used to the Jet version, I guess.

And, of course, just in case you didn’t notice in the above pics – I got the ultra-limited edition Model W_741, instead of the standard W1741!!!