Grizzly Industrial G0528 - Sliding Router Table

Regarding tools, and my workshop, this was (and continues to be) the worst experience of my life. This took me 4 hours to put together, and that didn’t even include installing the router and actually using the machine. That took an extra week because a) some parts arrived bent, and the table was stuck in the upright position (I couldn’t get it down, and it’s incredibly heavy and dangerous in this position).Most importantly: the first time I used my router (DeWalt) it came “unclamped” (that’s right, doesn’t even screw into place) during use. It was literally hanging by 2 (of 4) clamps while still running. Although I’ve never seriously injured myself in the shop, I’m most concerned about my kids. They love working in the garage with me. At this point, they don’t get close to these machines while they’re running, but if this router had fallen out and injured one of my kids it would have been devastating.Those were the most important issues, but not even close to all of the issues.When I first unboxed the router table, I was taken back by the sheer number of parts / screws that came with this thing. I’ve never seen anything like it.Then, not only were there a ton of pieces, the instructions didn't match what was in the box. For example: your were supposed to have bags A, B, and C. But the contents of those bags were split into bags A-F. I'm glad they took the time to better organize the physical parts, but none of the bags were marked or referenced in the instructions. So, the only way you could tell what was what, is by physically measuring each bolt / nut / washer / etc... against a diagram provided in the instructions. Once again, not the end of the world, unless you're dealing with a lot of pieces...which is an understatement in this case.One more thing on the instructions: there were a lot of instructions. I think there were 24 steps, and each of those steps had multiple steps in them. Several pages of instructions. So, as you're walking through the instructions and putting together the router table, you get to the end of a section (e.g. putting the legs together...which involved several of the 24 steps) and there's a note: e.g. "make sure the leg with the notch is in this particular spot". It's the only leg that needs to be in a particular spot. Instead of making this the first instruction in the section, they place the note at the end of the section...once you've already put the dang thing together.I know, I know...read the instructions first. But that's not very easy with this contraption, and that's just not how people work. Companies all over, through all industries, are spending money on user testing in order to knock out these problems before they make it to the customer. Grizzly has done nothing of the sorts.All it takes is one customer, and they could have easily pointed out how incredibly difficult this process is.Now, for the functionality. For something that cost $600, some automatic features would be nice.There is nothing on this table that doesn't need some kind of manual intervention and measuring on your part. To get the proper depth on a cut you have to unscrew the fence (left and right side screws), manually move it into position (nothing there to give you an idea of how much you've moved it), then screw each side back in (making sure they are both equidistant from the bit.Then, the fence is extremely unreliable. Held in by two screws: if they are tightened too much you won't be able to move them, and tightened too little they wiggle in place. To this point, I have not been able to remove 100% of the wiggle, making this fence impossible to get flush (left side to right side).In fact, the first cut I attempted to make (when the router fell out) got caught on the fence.I have spoken with Grizzly, and they are going to allow a free return. The difficult part is going to be finding a box to put it in (the original box was discarded), and I don't think they will help with that.Overall: for $600, this is way too much of a hassle, and doesn't really give you anything of value. Even those items that are standard on most router tables (e.g. the fence) just don't work very well on this unit.It looks like they've discontinued this model, and I now know why. I don't own any other Grizzly tools, but based on my experience with this, and the issues that are present, I would have a hard time purchasing or recommending Grizzly tools to anyone.At first you feel like you're paying the extra money for quality, but it seems like you're just paying the extra money for a small company who needs higher margins to survive.

Like a couple other guys said the fence flexes in the middle. This idea should have been junked. The sliding table works fine and you can clamp stuff well enough you don't need the fence but, for processes like jointing this fence is not going to work at all.I had my table less than three weeks when I adapted a 32 inch Bench Dog fence to it.Before that I tried to order another clamp assembly for the other end of the sled to make this thing work but Grizzly could not get this for me... not even through parts.I had no trouble putting this thing together. Put it on two saw horses upside down and completely assemble it there. You should have no trouble. I have a screw driver named Dion ... (in honor of a guy who did NOT show up for work one day and I needed to square up a footer... found a screw driver laying on the ground and used it to hold the tape) Use the screw driver to line screw holes and hold pieces in place. Once you're done roll it off the saw horses onto its feet.Mount the router before you roll it off the saw horses. I had no trouble mounting the a 800 series 2.5 horse Porter Cable.... very secure and stable.As far as shipping it came very quickly and we slid it out of the truck into my pickup. The ears were bent on the center shelf but that didn't make a difference as they straighten back up with no problem.I have yet to raise the table to adjust the router. Just slid the sled back and the router is right there.My next table will be the bench dog with the cast iron but I would not trade this table because the sled really works and it's right there at table top height.I don't care how experience of a wood worker you are if you can't make this work you're and idiot. But so is the guy who come up with the fence for the unit and that goes for the guy who let it(the fence)into production when it doesn't work.

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.

A fine table, assembly reasonable directions were poor. well built, stable and the sliding table is awesome. Best to have a router dedicated to it. if you use an overhead adjustable plunge router you will need to drill hole in the table top. so much better than a MDF table!!!