Grizzly planers

John S · August 15, 2014, 10:47:02 AM

I need to upgrade from my 12.5 Delta lunch box planer and was hoping some of you may have experience with Grizzly GO453Z and/or GO454Z. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. I mill stock from the LT40 on my DJ20 first and then surface on the little Delta but burnt out the pulley and belt last year and don't want to do it again. There is a JET dealer nearby, but they are quite a bit more expensive than Grizzly.
Thanks,
John

downsouth · August 15, 2014, 11:10:24 AM

I don't know about their planers, but I have a grizzly 3hp table saw I purchased new about 6 months ago and could not be happier. I looked at all the others and just could not pass up the price of the grizzly. It's a good quality machine.
I'm sure someone else will be along to talk about the planers cause I know a few of these guys have them.

mesquite buckeye · August 15, 2014, 11:56:35 AM

I am not current on the planer model numbers, but I have a grizzly 15" and a 20" planer I bought probably 15 years ago. Both machines came well adjusted and I only had to check everything to see that it was to spec. Both machines now have a lot of hours on them and have worked well for me.

That said, I would expect to have to do some touch up work on any of these new machines. Both of the Grizzlies had burs on the tables that might cut you or scratch up your wood. The table edges can easily be cleaned up with a file in a few minutes. The roller openings need to be beveled a bit to keep the boards from catching as they feed. I probably spent maybe a couple of hours all together fixing little stuff like this.

More recently I bought a 3hp Jet shaper which had burs so sharp it sliced my hands up. More file and sandpaper work. If you just expect to debur the machine when you get it, you will be fine.

I think they are in a big hurry to get the machines out the door and little things like deburring get forgotten. For the savings in money I don't mind so much having to do it myself.

mikeb1079 · August 15, 2014, 10:46:10 PM

QuoteI need to upgrade from my 12.5 Delta lunch box planer

do it! you won't regret it. you're in the exact situation i was in a few years ago, i found an older 15" grizzly go480? or something like that. anyways, it's been nothing but reliable and it's night/day vs the old lunch box. i wouldn't take a lunchbox planer if someone gave it to me, they're just too light duty. i bet you'll feel the same once you upgrade.

YellowHammer · August 15, 2014, 11:15:51 PM

I had a Grizzly 453PX 3 hp and planed many tons of wood with it until I finally bought a semi commercial planer to replace it. I had the spiral head, and was on my fourth rotation of the cutters and never had any mechanical problems except the motor drive belt pulley would occasionally loosen up. The 3 hp motor was a little underpowered but I was pushing it hard it in my growing business, maybe running a thousand bdft per week. It also held it resale very well. All in all, a fine planer.
I'm sure the 454 is equally good, and has more hp

YH

WDH · August 16, 2014, 07:38:21 AM

I also have the GO453Z. It is a fine little planer. I have planed many thousand of BF thru it over the last 3 or 4 years, and I have yet to turn the carbide inserts. I recently purchased a much heavier duty model, the GO544 20" pro spiral head planer. It leaves a perfect finish.

I believe that the Grizzly and Jet are essentially the same machine, just painted different colors. I do not see the extra $ for the Jet as buying any improvement or advantage over the Grizzly.

Bill Gaiche · August 16, 2014, 02:32:40 PM

I have had a 15" jet and replaced the head with the Byrd spiral. It really did a good job for me. I ran across a Grizzly 20 with 5hp 220v. It was built around 2008. Paid $350. for it. Knives were worn out. Having used the Byrd cutter head and liked it, I purchased one for this machine also. All I can say is that it cuts very good, smooth and pretty quite. They seem to pull the spiral head cutter easier than the knife set up. I like it. bg

xlogger · August 17, 2014, 06:44:18 AM

Bill, is it hard to replace the cutter head to a spiral head when you get an older used machine?

drobertson · August 17, 2014, 01:23:28 PM

I've seen two in action, the 15" plain blade, and 20" spiral head, both are worth the money if you do that kind of work, good warranty if the need arises, and available parts on the ready.

Larry · August 17, 2014, 05:18:00 PM

Byrd Tool has a online tutorial on how to put a new head in the four post planers and a few others. Its not hard, just takes some time and you will be ahead of the game if you go ahead and replace bearings.

Bill got a deal on his 20" Grizzly. Most of the time they bring around $500 at auction. I saw one near new with extra blades sell for $500 two weeks ago.

xlogger · August 17, 2014, 08:31:13 PM

I've been looking and only can find one a few hours away or more. Not at those prices either. Not in a big hurry but would like to get one at least by this winter. I want to get 20" or bigger if I could to plane those slabs I was asking about. I watch a video on the way Larry told me planning slabs like he does his and that what I have in mind. If nothing goes wrong between now and the end of the year I'm planning on retiring. Ricky

Bill Gaiche · August 17, 2014, 08:54:59 PM

xlogger, The head is easy to change. I reused the bearing, but I did repack them. Just take the seal out, clean and repack with grease. bg

Farmer Jim · August 19, 2014, 08:21:33 AM

Quote from: Larry on August 17, 2014, 05:18:00 PM

Bill got a deal on his 20" Grizzly. Most of the time they bring around $500 at auction. I saw one near new with extra blades sell for $500 two weeks ago.

I have been wanting a planer for a long time. Finally decided this would be the year. Went to an auction in the Spring that had a 20" Grizzly, older model with a 3 hp motor. It sold for $1100 plus 10% buyer premium. The new 20" with knives and 5 hp is $1600 and change. I ended up buying a new 20" with 5 hp and spiral head a couple weeks ago. Can't say anything other than it looks good. The electrical in the building I intended to set it up in wasn't right. Decided to put up a shop just for woodworking.

Sawyer697 · August 19, 2014, 08:43:37 AM

Wood Master 12" Planner. Love this planner, and have run lots of lumber thru it, Have had to replace a one feed motors and speed control, then learned how to repair the controls. But it gets heavy use. Use it for making molding and flooring to! Would love the second one in about 24", but this is fine!

John S · August 19, 2014, 05:20:37 PM

I just received the current edition of "Wood" magazine with a 10% off coupon for Grizzly that is good until October 15. Thanks for the responses, I feel more confident about purchasing from them. What about their dust collectors?

Foxtrapper · August 19, 2014, 06:47:13 PM

I also have a grizzly 15" planer. Never had a bit of problem with it..can't go wrong with one I guess..

21incher · August 19, 2014, 07:21:01 PM

Quote from: John S on August 19, 2014, 05:20:37 PM
I just received the current edition of "Wood" magazine with a 10% off coupon for Grizzly that is good until October 15. Thanks for the responses, I feel more confident about purchasing from them. What about their dust collectors?

I have their 2 hp canister style dust collector and it has worked great for about 7 years now. My 12 inch planer can fill it and a trashcan with a separator in front of it up real quick so you will most likely need something bigger for a 20 inch planer. I got that coupon today also and may use it on one of their 8" jointers.

xlogger · August 19, 2014, 07:28:20 PM

I've been thinking about the 24" woodmaster also. They are built here with the same people as my TK, if they are as good with that. I know I would like to do business with them. For the most part a 12" would be fine with me except I want one that will work with my slabs.

WDH · August 19, 2014, 08:35:00 PM

I would definitely go with one of the models that has the cannister filter. My GO548 does a very nice job.

sallvord · August 19, 2014, 08:49:13 PM

I have the GO 454 with regular knives. I have used this machine for the past 4 years hard and have done nothing to it except change the knives. The 5 hp motor and 20" capacity is more than adequate. Another notable feature is the adjustable feed speed. I have a "cheaper" canister style dust collector of the same brand. The dust collector works well for what it is but as with any large capacity planer it will fill the bins fast if you are running high production, so I mostly use the collector when I am doing small projects. I highly recommend it.

mikeb1079 · August 20, 2014, 10:30:11 PM

canister filter is a must for sure, the bag style only filter down to 5 micron i think. anyways, i have the same one as wdh i believe and it's been working great for the last couple years.

jueston · August 21, 2014, 11:28:40 AM

Quote from: mikeb1079 on August 20, 2014, 10:30:11 PM
canister filter is a must for sure, the bag style only filter down to 5 micron i think. anyways, i have the same one as wdh i believe and it's been working great for the last couple years.

some of the bags do claim to filter down to 1 micron, but i am skeptical, the canister gives more surface area for filtering, and i think it does a better job.

Daver · August 21, 2014, 11:32:37 AM

I have a Grizzly shaper I like it, good quality.. It was fairly inexpensive except the ride to get it was a long one.. Like the warehouse/store though..

barbender · August 27, 2014, 11:04:16 PM

I have an older 15" Grizzly planer I bought used several years ago. I don't really treat it very well, as it sits out in an open air shed and does all my rough planing. I live on sandy soil, and end up with a lot of wind blown grit on my lumber. It all gets run through the poor Grizzly, and then cleaned up on a lunchbox planer. It's been pretty trouble free, other than some problems with the switch that was likely caused by my own negligence.

opticsguy · September 16, 2014, 12:37:29 AM

I have the 20" Grizzley planer with probably about 4 hours total on the machine, the motor stopped working and now looks like i need to replace some parts. The machine is out of warranty so I am on my own for fixing this. It is an excellent machine when it works.

Also own an 8" Grizzley jointer and it is a wonderful machine!!!!