Customer Reviews

Grizzly G0528 Router Table

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

OK forget those other reviews, they are by beginners and one of them has the mechanical aptitude of a silverback gorilla.

After nearly a year of research before finally deciding to buy this unit rather than some of the others (Bench Dog, Rebel, Freud, and a number of home made jobbies on eBay), I have to say I'm upset with the other reviews here and on epinions because those guys had no idea what they were buying or what they were doing. Proper reviews could have meant much less time and study. I plan to remedy that now if you can stick with me.

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Prologue:

If you're here for the quick read, this unit is a precision tool made up of a rock solid cast iron work surface, an aluminum sliding feed system and a precision adjust fence system. It is capable of all types of routing/shaping plus it can easily be adjusted for jointing without the need for shims.

It does come partially unassembled, so you need to put on the legs, the shelf, the fence (preassembled in 3 sections, and the switch/socket for the electrical. Other than that there are just little things like the hold-downs and the miter guides to bolt on. Assembly is easily under 90 minutes with two people, though it is possible to do it alone if you have the patience and strength (very heavy).

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Ordering and delivery:

Ordering via Amazon or Grizzly Online is super simple and you probably know how that's done. Grizzly answers right away to let you know your item is in stock and will be prepared to ship immediately. They then let you know when the item ships and give you the name of the carrier and a tracking number. The truck carriers seem to have much more detailed tracking than UPS or FedUp.

HOWEVER... your order will arrive on a TRUCK... and I don't mean a UPS truck... it comes on a semi... some have tommy lifts some don't. None of the drivers are required to help you unload, so bring a friend if you can... male if possible. In every case when I've ordered from Grizzly or Harbor Freight, the driver has helped me without my even asking, but I just want to say he isn't required to do so. If he does, perhaps a little tip would be nice.

This particular tool comes in a single box which is about 24X40X8 inches or so... and weighs 137 lbs. It can probably fit in your trunk if you decide to go get it from the truck rather than have him come to your house (I live down many small dirt roads in the country and turning around is difficult for a semi).

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Things I like (aka why you SHOULD buy this model)

HEAVY and SOLID... will not slide around in the midst of working 12 foot moulding.

Sliding feed for medium sized items... guaranteed straight feed with your material clamped in place... safer, more accurate, faster. This item is available as an add-on to some top of the line router tables for an extra couple of hundred dollars.

Precision Fence System... allows micrometer type adjustment of both the infeed fence and the outfeed so that you can set up for basic edge jointing quickly and easily. It probably isn't as precision as Freud's system but it certainly has all the precision you need. You can also slide the two fence halves in and out to get as close as you want to your bit.

Lift-up top for router adjustments and bit changes... but you don't have to lift it for height adjustments because you can easily reach the router under the table.

GORGEOUS piece of machinery!

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Things I Don't Like (aka maybe consider another router if these bother you)

Noise is not muffled in any way since the router hangs open below the table.

Raising the top is HARD because it's much heavier than the stand and shelf... you have to put your foot on the shelf and lift hard and fast to make it latch in the open position. Lowering it is difficult too. It's a matter of which you want, stable weight or easy to lift.

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Assembly: (download the manual for a better preview)

I must say packaging for this unit was beautiful, all but the shelf are well protected in styrofoam partitions. Unfortunately the shelf is only protected by the outer cardboard and if the shipping guys drop it on end, it will bend the shelf flanges... but that would be easy to straighten most likely... mine was not dropped or bent.

Parts that go together are packaged together... so the nuts, bolts and washers that go with the rubber feet are packaged with the feet. Leg and brace mounting hardware are all together. Fence hardware is with the fence... you get my drift... saves time.

You'll need help most likely to lift the assembled tabletop out of the box and place it in a good place to work. Instructions say put it on the floor but a low work bench seemed better and worked out fine.

You'll screw on the rubber feet, attach the legs to the base assembly after putting on the rubber bumpers for the fold-up top, connect the shelf, tighten hardware. Then you'll turn it right side up and put together the fence (very easy) and attach the miter to the sliding table top.

That's the easy part done.

Warning... my prewired switch was wired incorrectly... easy to fix, but if you don't know how to wire a socket, ask somebody or look it up on the web... know which is neutral and which tab on the socket it should go to.

Also, directions don't show the switch assembly mounting properly... it mounts upside down of what they show, otherwise you're putting the plug right on top of the switch when they should sit side by side... you'll see what I mean when you get there.

Mounting your router to the table. People seem to have trouble with this, but use your noggin folks. You don't need to make templates or panels or jigs or anything... I mounted my big Hitachi M12V router which is very heavy and had no problem whatsoever... and it has a very thick plunge ring which in no way prohibited me using any of my bits as per the previous review. Here's how it's done:

Before you start, if you have a plunge router, remove the springs. If you have trouble with this, there are sites online that show how. Also, There are many many t-slots on this unit and some will have antirust glop in them so be sure to clean them out. HaHa you'll see what I mean.

1. Mount the router as per their instructions with it somewhere near the center. Make sure you have your router body set square, not because it is important but because it makes the mounting clamps center up better.

2. Close the table top and loosen your mounting handles just slightly.

2. Put the smaller snap ring in the table hole. Find a router bit that is just a little smaller than the hole in the snap ring. Adjust the position of the router until you can slide the bit into the router and not jam up on the snap ring.

Simple. Do remember to tighten the four mounting handles on the router before turning anything on.

Adjustments:

Of course squaring things up is simple logic. I suggest you square your miter jig to the sliding table first, then square your basic fence adjustments to the miter jig with the fence all the way forward or all the way back to keep the in and out fences close to the same position. Loosen the nuts that attach the vacuum nozzle and set your fences to a straight edge.

Of course since this unit has so many t-slots and adjustments, you'll spend some time getting used to them. They're all quite logical. Use your eyeball to sight along the fences to get the right bite on your infeed, then lay a straight edged board along the outfeed to position it properly for jointing... it's easy once you figure it out. A little oiling here and there is needed and of course you'll need to take good care of your cast iron parts... they need to be cleaned and waxed occasionally to prevent rust. I use carwax, but that has to be replaced pretty often due to scraping and rubbing... obviously.

Note: If you do small, intricate work you don't want to be leaning over the large sliding feed all the time, plus the feed is about 1/32 inch above the router table surface and it gets in the way sometimes. I emailed Grizzly about this and the customer service guy said I should buy another table for small work... he's wrong. All you need to do is mount your fence on the sliding table side and stand on the other side of the table... works great.

Final Note: I will add any additional info I come up with as I discover it. I wanted to rush this review online because I think Grizzly is unfairly under-rated for this item due to inept reviews. I would actually rate this 4.5 but that's not a choice, so i rounded up due to the other unfair reviews.

First, I have 'destroyed' a couple of wood tables over the last few years. I decided to go for the Grizzly for its advertised durability, as well as the sliding table. It arrived about a week after I ordered it. The box was compromised and I could not tell if anything was damaged so I refused the shipment. Before I was back at my desk, Grizzly customer service was calling to inform me that a replacement would be sent out immediately. What a great response! As far as the table goes, it took about 1.5 hours to put togehter - not really what you would call a challenge. And, It performs great. The wood and metal tables of my past are not even in the same league as the Grizzly. This is a serious tool and worth the money.

There's useful and accurate information in some of the reviews of this table and inaccurate misleading information in others. The former do a service to this community, the latter frustrate me. Given both (I've read them all), the most helpful advice I can add, as a woodworker with 20 years experience, is to be sure this tool fits your needs and experience. If you've used a router or router table very little or have little woodworking experience, then this is NOT the tool for you. First, because it's probably more than you need (there are cheaper, lighter, easier options), and second because the setup and use of this tool require knowledge, experience, and common sense well beyond directions supplied by Grizzly. This table is appropriate for someone that can put it together by either skimming the manual or not reading it at all. Good woodworking requires resourcefulness. You won't find step-by-step directions for the use of any tool to fit all of your particular needs.

Some specifics.

The unit is large and heavy. You need room for it, but that shouldn't be surprising when you need quite a bit of clearance for safe table routing operations anyway. And it's heavy for a reason. The last thing you want when doing heavy cutting, such as for raised panels, is for the table to move. The table should also be matched with a beefy router, probably not the one you use for handheld operations. The 3 1/4 hp Hitachi M12V is a good match and powerful enough for the kind of serious cutting this table was designed for.

Assembly took me about two hours, but I wasn't in a rush. The instructions are concise and expect that you're not new to this, as you shouldn't be if you bought this table. One note: There is no mention of the brackets attached to the table top to allow it to tip up for router installation. The front and side braces (skirt) bolt ON TOP OF these tipping mechanism brackets (assuming the unit is upside-down). Also, the L and R marks apparently refer to their orientation in assembly (upside-down, from the rear) not in operation. After setup, be very careful with the table tip lock mechanism. It's a bit undersized for the weight of the table and you need to be sure the lock has engaged on both sides before letting go.

Router attachment. The complaints about the difficulty of mounting a router have everything to do with insufficient user experience for this kind of tool and nothing to do with the table design. It took me about 10 minutes to mount my 3 1/4 hp Hitachi M12V. It's very simple: Remove the plunge springs according to the simple directions found at www.routerworkshop.com. With the router base plate off, rough mount it under the table using the mounting hardware Grizzly supplies. There is absolutely no need to drill and tap the table for custom mounts. Then slide the router carefully underneath the table to see if it will travel down the guides (up) and clear the mounting brackets. If not, adjust the brackets. To center it in the hole, the base plate opening may just be the exact same size or close enough to the size of the hole of one of the table inserts. Use that as a guide or do as another reviewer suggests and put a bit in the router that is the same diameter as one of the inserts and use that as a guide. I have to say in all honestly and with no intention to insult but only to realistically warn that if this process confounds you then you are going to have a lot more trouble later on cutting routed joints properly.

Electrical. The manual picture for installing the switch doesn't make sense so don't refer to it or try to follow it. If you've done some wiring then you will figure it out on your own. Bolt both green grounds to the hole on the table leg closest to the square switch cutout. Connect the white and black plugs to the switch as if it were a light switch. Just be sure to test the switch with something other than your router plugged into it in case you wired it wrong. Use a drop light then all you lose is the bulb if you've cross wired. Try again until it works.

The iron portion of the table top is covered in grease and wax paper to keep it from rusting in shipping and storage. Scrap it off carefully with a sharp putty knife then apply WD-40 to it and wipe or lightly steel wool. Clean up thoroughly with paper towels then wax (I use bowling alley wax) and buff thoroughly.

The sliding table should not rock on its guides. If it does (as a reviewer complained) then the screws were tightened the wrong way. The aluminum is so smooth that you don't really need the table to slide to smoothly push mitered stock along the fence, unless it's very narrow. In any case, your custom-made jigs work better than stock fences. Look at woodworking references for tips on important jigs to make for your router and router table.

Yes its heavy, yes the instructions to put it together are not the best...but it works, if you have half a brain you can manage it I promise. Took me 2 hours with a cordless impact and a 110 piece craftman tool kit. Nothing special ...I will admit I made a mistake assembling and had to back track...cost me 15 min on my over all time...darn...but more importantly the unit works very well and the weight is nice when working with long pieces or large bits on hard stock....enjoy...(I will not bother addressing the little details or the inner workings on this unit. If you are buying this unit you are, I would think, mechanical; and can figure out the best way to make this unit fit your style of working and your shop layout...)

My freud router mounted just fine but the collet was so far below table level it rendered my raised panel bit useless. The table is very stable and well made. It came to my house in only 3 days but because of the mounting sytem being so low it could render a lot of plunge type routers useless.

After untold hours, weeks, months, etc., of research into Router Tables, it was this machine that clearly stood out among the pack.

As a professional woodworker I can say, without hesitation, this Router Table is the standard by which all others should be compared.

Built of heavy (and I do mean heavy) gauge steel, extruded aluminum and cast iron, it weights in at a beefy 137 lbs. Though the weight may sound excessive to some, it is this very mass that eliminates virtually all tool vibration as well as provides a rock-solid base for long runs of trim or molding. No need to work about a lightweight table falling over here!

Ordering was far to easy. Confirmations from both Amazon and Grizzly were almost immediate. Shipping information, dates and times, followed in about 24 hours from the manufacturer.

Shipped via truck because of its weight, it arrives in a large heavy and well padded box by way of Overnight Express; in my case about three days.

The assembly instruction were exactly what is to be expected for such machinery. They are not written for a 10-year old, but for an adult with some mechanical abilities, common sense, and the patience to initially lay things out in a logical and orderly manner before tackling the actual assembly.

Fortunately, assembling a machine is something you will do but once. So for those lacking in the aforementioned skills, relax, be patient, and everything will fall into place.

The sliding table is a "Godsend" for raised panel door operations. Smooth and accurate, the miter fence attachment is fully adjustable, rock solid, and easily lends itself to the attachment of a variety of jigs or fixtures.

When in the locked position, the sliding table remains solid and inflexible. The machined-in T-Slots provide perfect anchoring for featherboards and hold downs.

The "universal router attachment system" for mounting a router under the table is more than adequate, stable, and "beefy" for any size router including, in my case, a DeWalt 625. It makes no sense to critize the steps involved in mounting the router as others have done. Just use your head, cut a few 2x4 stacking blocks and the entire process is painless. Not unlike assembly of the machine itself, it is something you will only do once; suck it up and "get 'er done"

When shopping for a router table, look for words such as Laminate Top, Euro Hinges, Plastic, etc, and you will clearly see what sets this machine far apart from the others.

On the Grizzly G0528, even the dust collector is made of solid, indestructable metal.

If you are on a budget, be patient and save your money for a few extra months to buy this machine. Don't settle for any of the other tables of far inferior quality and versatility.

The Grizzley Router Table Model G0528 was easy to assemble, parts were properly illustrated and marked with the exception of the power switch. Once assembled the table showed poor thought to design. The sliding aluminum table travels on plastic glides, on my table the sliding aluminum part of the table was higher than the cast iron table causing stock to rock and produces defects in the routed finish. There was no adjustment for the aluminum table, the only option was to shim the cast iron table section. The center inserts are 1/16" lower that the cast iron table and when you pass wood over it the wood drops down and hangs up. This is not only inconvenient but can be unsafe. When the wood drops down it causes defects in the routing process. The fence is made of aluminum and has multiple grooves in its surface. When routing a cove or chamfer the sharp edge of the wood can slip into the groves in the fence. This results in a wavy surface or too deep of a cut. WIth the fence in the rear most position the offset between the center line of the router bit and the front face of the fence is only 2", not nearly enough for many woodworking operations. When sliding the table don't wrap your fingers over the edge on either end, you could end up with severely cut fingers.

If you do buy one of these tables and request a return authorization you will find that it can cost more than half the price of the table to return it for credit. The price quoted to me was $213.00. Grizzley does not offer their discount to return the table.

I would recommend a Bench Dog table over the Grizley Model G0528.

I bought the Grizzley Router Table after looking at all the other router tables at local wood working stores. I mounted my Hitachi 3-HP plunge router to the under-side of this beast (after removing the springs). This table is heavy duty, but lifting the top is just plain heavy. However, after using the router table, I found that I could easliy change bits by sliding the top out of the way and get my wrench in place to change bits. The sliding mechinism works flawlessly and the hold downs are very handy. If this table has any fault it is that it may be over-built. It does have a large foot print so plan on taking up some floor space with this unit. I will be putting this unit to the test in the next few months and hope to add to this evaluation then.

This part of my evaluation is an update to what I wrote above. The cast iron top on this monster is exactly what you need for large bits and now I am really happy I bought it. I use the Hitachi M12V router which seems like a good fit for this router table. From instuctions I found on someone elses reviews, I removed the spring from the router and cut the tabs in the base so bit changes would be easier. It took a while to get get the router lined up correctly. I found that putting the largest bit that would fit though one of the two included top shims was the most accurate way to align the router with the table. If you have the room and want a "solid" router table, this is the one.

I ordered this directly from Grizzly. They added a $7.00 fuel charge. No biggie with oil at over $100 a barrel..., nevermind!

I ordered the table on Monday afternoon. The New Penn tractor trailer pulled up to my house on Thursday. The New Penn drivers are always decent, professional guys. He called me 2 hours before arriving so I could bolt out of work early without taking the whole day off.

I'll touch on the complaints others have made. Remember, if you buy from Grizzly, you are getting a heavy duty machine at a great price. Maybe some things about their tools need a little shim here or there. Maybe you may have to use your brain and do a little re-engineering and use some basic ingenuity.
I have purchased 10 items from Grizzly. I had to fix a few of their mistakes along the way. So what, I saved a lot of money.
If you are new at woodworking or are mechanically inept, or maybe even clueless, spend twice the money and buy something nice and shiny with no rough edges.

The instruction manual was at best marginal but I had the table assembled in less than 2 hours with no help.

It feels very stable and strong. I added four 2 inch wheels with stop locks to be able to roll it around my shop. Picked them up at Lowe's.

I would not use a puty knife to remove the shipping gunk off the cast iron. A rag with some paint thinner works great. The knife will scratch the cast iron.

My center inserts are about 1/128" too low. Not nearly the 1/16" like another reviewer stated. A 1/16" of an inch is a lot. I doubt his is that low. Even so, the fix is to apply some masking tape to the bottom of the ring.

I too had a little difficulty getting the switch in the hole. The hole in the leg is tight. First, attach the wires, then tap in the switch with a mallet and some handy tool into the hole in the leg, (careful with that mallet Eugene) then secure the wire box. Done.

Getting everything square took about another hour.
It is NOT impossible to get the split fences parallel to each other. It is very easy if you realize how the thing is held together.
First, square the miter fence to the cast iron table, not the aluminim table as another suggested. Use a large square. At least an 18 inch tool. Then square the split fence to the sliding fence. You need to leave the 4 nuts that hold the dust port to the split fence a tad bit loose. Square the split fence closest to the sliding fence first and tighten 2 nuts. Then repeat for the other half of the split fence. It took a few tries but I got it dead square.

Someone says the split fence flexes when putting pressure on your work piece. I tried to flex my fences. I had to push hard to get any flex. If you need to put that much pressure on the fence, you are doing something wrong. End of story.

Yes, the split fence can move when you tighten the lock handles. So do this, loosen the lock handles just enough to move the fence. Got it where you want it? Hold the fence down with one hand, tighten the lock handle with the other. The fence will stay where you want it.
The fine adjustment bolts work ok but are a bit stiff.

The side supports that attach to the legs are shown in the pictures as being on the inside. Mine would not fit on the inside unless I re-bent them. I don't think so. I thought they packed the wrong supports. Not so. The side support fit perfectly on the outside of the legs. Strange but true.

The router clamps are almost exactly like the clamps that came with my Grizzly table saw router extension table. While routing with that unit, my router would loosten up and start moving. I tightened the clamps and broke off a piece of the clamp groove. So I did exactly as another reviewer stated. Drilled 4 counter sunk holes and bolted the router to the table. That works great! I'll do the same with the new router table if the router moves.

My aluminum table is about 1/32 of an inch below the cast table. This is easy to fix. Remove the sliding table. Turn it over. There are a bunch of bolts holding the runners to the table. Remove them and add some washers to bring the two tables to the same height. If the cast table is a bit too low, remove the washers installed at the factory.

I'll revisit my review when I get the router attached and tested.

This table has the potential to be a great table but it falls short on two huge features. The router mount mechanism is bad a best. Sure it allows for infinite adjustability and you can mount any router in the world but it takes lots of fidgeting to install it properly. This is also the least of its major drawbacks.

The table top is too thick. I used a Triton 2 ¼ hp router with this table. First of all this router allows for above table height adjustment which you can't do with this table. Shame on me for not realizing there would be no work around for this. The top is also so thick that I cannot get enough extension out of my router to use some bits to their fullest. I tried my Hitachi and Ryobi router also and same problem. Very bad design indeed.

I have to also agree with a previous review, the top is dangerous! It's hard to lock in place, very heavy and if by chance you were to close it on a finger.... Bye bye finger...