Thinking about getting a larger planer. I have a small 12 inch Shop Smith, but it is too light of a machine for the hardwoods that I use. Does anyone have any experience with the Grizzly 15 and 20 inch machines in 220 volts. They look like decent machines and their price range is all my buget will allow for. Thanks for your responses!
We have a Grizzly in my dad's woodshop. The only problem we had was when my dad accidentally ran a board with nails and nicked the blades. Luckily, a set of replacement blades was under $100. I have used the Grizzly to shave some roughcut 6" by 8" by 8' beams down to 7" thick, just did multiple passes with no problems.
I have a Grizzly 15 inch which I have had for a number of years.
Overall I would say I am satisfied with it. I think Grizzly offers two models of the 15 inch size now. I would go for the one that has the rollers on the top, which would make returning lumber back for another pass just a tad easier.
Don't know where you live, but if you are near one of the Grizzly show rooms it is a great place to visit on a rainy day! The one here in PA is huge! Fortunately [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] it is about four hours away from me...
Ed king and Macher
Thanks for your replies! I am looking at the 15 inch with the top rollers. I am also looking at the disposable blade system for the planer. Any experience with these? I would love to visit their show room, but it would be a day or two trip!
I've also owned the Grizzly 15 inch x 6 inch planner for several years. The rollers on top would be nice. No real issues with it. The plattens are not exactly parallel since the height mechanism adjustment is a chain and sprocket system. I think mine are off about 0.005 from side to side. I've heard similar issues with some of Delta's planners. I used to sharpen my knives myself but this is time consuming. I now use the disposable knives and like them. Setting them is easy once you've set the planner up with them. However, I make very certain all wood to be planned is clean. I typically pass it through my abrasive planner to clean it, then check for any metal. Of course, you need a good dust collector hooked to the planner or you make quite a mess. Oh, don't plane a rough 6" thick board without making certain it's not thicker than 6 1/8". Did this once by mistake and had quite a time getting that 6x6 out because of the anit-kickback cauls.
Thanks jtd, I appreciate the information! It sounds like the disposable knives are the way to go! I am going to expand the shop and put in a more efficient dust collection system to handle a larger planer!
I cut my own wood with a bandsaw mill and run a metal detector over the log before cutting. You would be surprised what you find in a log! One of those abrasive planers would be nice, sure would save a lot of sanding. But due to budget restraints will have to stick with portable sanders and cabinet scrapers.
Yes, I've been cutting up some of my pines that died due to beatle infestation recently. My neighbor has a Woodmizer model 40 that sure cuts sweet. We found nails, barbed wire and buckshot in them. Found the buckshot when the sawblade hit it and sent it flying. I use the abrasive planner for general sanding, then finish with portables and scraping. I prefer the look of scraped wood for most of my projects - depending on the wood species.
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