Grizzly Planer

Started by Upper, February 28, 2017, 10:56:56 AM

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Upper

Thinking of getting a Grizzly 20 inch planer,sprial head.
  There are two models which have similar features one is 500 dollars less.
Grizzly says only real difference is component makers and has me leaning towards the less expensive model.
    Any Thoughts ?
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ButchC

I looked at those and never did get a straight answer from Grizz. There is a 50 Lb difference in weight and some subtle differences in the specs.  I ended up buying a Powermatic, lots more money,, but lots more planer in my opinion.
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21incher

I just bought the 15 inch spiral head model with the free shipping. I am not happy with how the out feed roller is knurled steel and  leaves grooves  embossed in the wood. The head leaves a great cut, but the roller ruins it even after setting the spring pressure as low as it can be set to get the wood to feed.  Grizzly told me they are not finish planers and to expect results like mine. I would not buy another one of this model or recommend this model to anyone. Other manufacturers make models like this with a smooth or rubber roller and that is what I should have gone with. The rubber roller model from grizzly only has a 12 amp motor so that is why I went with the one that I did. I just wish I had done more research before buying it because it seems to be a common issue. The marking is real bad if you plane narrow walnut or popular.  :)
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

Den Socling

I bought a 15" Grizzly several years ago. I've never had a problem with grooves or other roller marks on the wood. I did, though, burn up the Chinese motor in no time. I put an American motor on and it's been good since.

Glenn1

I've had a grizzly 15" planer for 4 years.  It has a 3 hp and I have run many many thousands of feet thru it.  I never had a problem with the outfeed roller.  The only problem that I had was the fact that the cutters sometimes dug into the wood when the boards were not cut evenly.  Maybe that's why my new (old Planer) is a 18HP 30" whitney that has a segmented infeed roller and should never bog down. 
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YellowHammer

The grooving on an out feed roller can be quite sharp when it is new, but it should? dull up pretty quick with use.  Maybe yours is cut sharper at the factory?
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WDH

I have a Grizzly 15" and a Grizzly 20" spiral head planer and neither leaves any roller marks on the wood.  21incher, I suspect something is wrong. 
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SlowJoeCrow

Wow that sounds wrong...outfeed rollers should be smooth for planing operations.  I would order a smooth roller for it and change it out if possible

21incher

Quote from: WDH on March 01, 2017, 07:34:49 AM
I have a Grizzly 15" and a Grizzly 20" spiral head planer and neither leaves any roller marks on the wood.  21incher, I suspect something is wrong. 

I have been on the phone with tech support twice and all the settings have been checked. The springs are backed off as much as you can and still have it pull the wood out. The bed rolls are set at .002 to lower the snipe and it still marks softer wood especially if it is narrower then 6 inches. The ridges on the roller are very sharp.  The tech support guy told me they have looked into manufacturing a rubber roller for this machine to fix it, but never followed up and made one. I wonder if something changed when they started manufacturing their own machines 2 years ago. :)
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

Den Socling

I wonder if Grizzly even knows what for rollers are in there. I have an awful lot of Grizzly equipment because they used to have a huge store nearby. However, much or all is Chinese. Let me tell you a little story about an experience we recently had with Chinese motors. We have been using cooling towers with our vacuum kilns from a company in Hong Kong for about 20 or so years. Never had a problem then we started having overloads kick in new installations from coast to coast. The motors were supposed to be 1/2 hp and they were labeled 1/2 hp. I don't know why we were the ones who had to do it but we finally found out that they were installing 1/2 hp Chinese motors that were actually 1 hp. Some people at Grizzly may think they have a smooth roller.

low_48

Doesn't Grizzly have a satisfaction guarantee? I'd send it back!

21incher

Quote from: low_48 on March 01, 2017, 11:37:18 PM
Doesn't Grizzly have a satisfaction guarantee? I'd send it back!
I asked about that and was told once you assemble it and run a peice of wood through it the only option you have is to ship it back to them for repair. If they can not repair it they will replace it. Seeing how they don't consider this a problem it would be a waste of money. There is no satisfaction guarantee from Grizzly once you start it up. Wish I had saved up mre and bought a woodmaster:)
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

Larry

Just went out and checked my 15" planer which I believe is the same design as your machine.  I have a sharp serrated feed roller on the infeed side.  The outfeed is a smooth roller.  No marks left in a board at all. 

I do know what the marks look like as I get them if I run a board through with out cutting anything off the thickness. :-[ :-[

If you have one serrated roller and one smooth roller it may be assembled backwards.

Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

21incher

Quote from: Larry on March 07, 2017, 10:19:08 PM
Just went out and checked my 15" planer which I believe is the same design as your machine.  I have a sharp serrated feed roller on the infeed side.  The outfeed is a smooth roller.  No marks left in a board at all. 

I do know what the marks look like as I get them if I run a board through with out cutting anything off the thickness. :-[ :-[

If you have one serrated roller and one smooth roller it may be assembled backwards.



Grizzly has a straight knurled outfeed roller with fairly sharp points. All other manufacturers use a smooth roller. Sorry I bought the Grizzly  I did not expect this.  :)
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

jcbrotz

Quote from: 21incher on March 07, 2017, 10:47:20 PM
Quote from: Larry on March 07, 2017, 10:19:08 PM
Just went out and checked my 15" planer which I believe is the same design as your machine.  I have a sharp serrated feed roller on the infeed side.  The outfeed is a smooth roller.  No marks left in a board at all. 

I do know what the marks look like as I get them if I run a board through with out cutting anything off the thickness. :-[ :-[

If you have one serrated roller and one smooth roller it may be assembled backwards.



Grizzly has a straight knurled outfeed roller with fairly sharp points. All other manufacturers use a smooth roller. Sorry I bought the Grizzly  I did not expect this.  :)

Pop the lid of that guy and get a picture it may very well be installed backwards :)
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Den Socling

I was just walking by my 15" Grizzly and stuck my hand in. Serrated or knurled on the infeed side and smooth on the outfeed. It sure sounds like somebody installed yours backwards.

WDH

My outfeed roller is also smooth. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

21incher

The new ones all have a straight knurl that is fairly sharp. Grizzly tells me it is the only option available for it. I am seeing other YouTube subscribers of mine having the same issue with machines that they have recently received. :)
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

Larry

From what I've read, Shiraz Balolia, founder and CEO of Grizzly seems to be a stand up guy.  Besides being a very good businessman he is also a woodworker.  I would compose an email with the facts and beam it off to him.  You have attempted to remedy the problem by going through customer service with no results so its time to go to the head man.  Any woodworker can see the problem with the planer design.

You might also point him politely to this thread.  He is active on some of the other wood working forums where problems with Grizzly equipment have surfaced.
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

jcbrotz

Quote from: 21incher on March 09, 2017, 05:05:43 PM
The new ones all have a straight knurl that is fairly sharp. Grizzly tells me it is the only option available for it. I am seeing other YouTube subscribers of mine having the same issue with machines that they have recently received. :)

Mine has a serrated roller also but it is very fine, the input is very course. I am not sure what you consider bad but if you make a very light cu you can see some marks from the roller and super light cut you can see marks from the in feed roller. so get us a picture and see if it was made on a Friday or Monday after the super bowl. :) :D
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21incher

Quote from: jcbrotz on March 10, 2017, 04:48:26 AM
Quote from: 21incher on March 09, 2017, 05:05:43 PM
The new ones all have a straight knurl that is fairly sharp. Grizzly tells me it is the only option available for it. I am seeing other YouTube subscribers of mine having the same issue with machines that they have recently received. :)

Mine has a serrated roller also but it is very fine, the input is very course. I am not sure what you consider bad but if you make a very light cu you can see some marks from the roller and super light cut you can see marks from the in feed roller. so get us a picture and see if it was made on a Friday or Monday after the super bowl. :) :D

Here is a video about the results. I have gotten it adjusted so wide hard boards are not that bad, but last week I ran a bunch of narrow walnut and poplar for frames that marked up real bad. The springs are backed off as far as they can be to still properly pull a board from under the head. I consider anything that destroys the smooth cut of the head unacceptable.  :)
https://youtu.be/YiT5PRL9kLs
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

SlowJoeCrow

Your video helps a lot to illustrate the problem.  That isn't the case of an infeed roller installed as the outfeed roller.  One thing you could do is run a scrap board through and then apply stain - that would make those marks stand out and be easier to see if you want to show the problem better.  Compared to planer scallops left by a traditional 3 knife cutterhead, are these marks left by the outfeed roller deeper and more pronounced?  What would sand out faster:  planer scallops left by a traditional 3 knife cutterhead or these marks left by the out feed roller.  One advantage of this roller would be that it will last a lot longer and grip better than a smooth roller.  My used DC-380 has a polyurethane faced outfeed roller that is worn out in the center 1/3 of the roller from the center getting used so much more than the edges.  I need to replace it.

Larry

Divots made by chips is usually caused by insufficient air flow from the DC.  When I first got my planer I ran it with a 1 HP DC through a trash can separator.  I occasionally got those divots.  Now that I have a 3 HP DC with no restrictions I never get a divot.

My bed rollers would sometimes slip and I failed to notice.  Sometimes they would also pick up a chip and cause a divot on the bottom of the board.  Ended up lowering them below the table with no ill effects.  I do have to put Johnson Paste wax on the bed to keep boards feeding smoothly maybe every 300 foot or so.

I noticed in the video you were planing some live edge slabs.  I do  the same but got tired of the slab running over the lip on the infeed table.  Sometimes it caused an uneven board.  I drilled and tapped  a hole on each side for a 1/4-20 bolt and that problem ended.  I did that about 10 years ago.  The cast iron table is easy to drill and tap.

Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

21incher

  Larry   I have another video showing how I fixed the divot problem after calling tech support. They have the wrong setup numbers in the manual for the chip deflector, and in the end I also had to remove the poorly located foam baffle that was causing problems with air flow. I tried to lower the bed rollers, but rough cut lumber will not feed unless they are .002 above the bed. The roller cutouts have a sharp edge machined around the opening and catch thr board. I may have to take it apart and chamfer the openings someday as they should have been from the factory.
Slow Joe    the indents are much tougher to remove then the small scallops from my old belsaw. I could take 1 pass with a scraper and the raised areas were gone. With the marks pressed in you have to sand off .010 to .015 off the entire surface. The 2 inch wide walnut and poplar I planed last week had marks close to 1/32 deep.  I don't know what Grizzly was thinking as all the other planers like this seem to have a smooth roller. :)
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

teakwood

Mine has a serrated roller also but it is very fine, the input is very course. I am not sure what you consider bad but if you make a very light cu you can see some marks from the roller and super light cut you can see marks from the in feed roller. so get us a picture and see if it was made on a Friday or Monday after the super bowl. :) :D
[/quote]

That's exactly how my 20" planer is.

to have to sand of 0.010-0.015 on each side just to get rid of the grooves is unacceptable!
Could you take a belt sander to the outfeed roller and smoothen it out a little bit? 
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