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15 inch planer

Started by Nebraska, July 02, 2022, 12:35:02 AM

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Nebraska

My wife and  I were planing up some some spalted Red Elm for some wall paneling the other day.   As board came out of my little porter cable lunch box it twisted in my wife's hands and it knocked the dust cover off the hold down screws. The cover  bounced off the cutter head and took a little trip.   Some carnage was the result. That ended the wood working  session for the day.  Now I can probably fix it (shssssh don't tell) but  I got permission to  look for a new one.  :)
15 inch helical head is what I am hoping for. I've been sorta watching for the right used one and nothing  much has shown.   So im asking what kind and where should I buy it. I'm in the middle of nowhere maybe have some sort of dealer in Omaha but nothing close. Just wondered what the thoughts were. 🤔 

Walnut Beast

Why not a Woodmaster? For $ 5,155 your set 21" wide. You want to play you got to pay 😂. If you really want to go all out and have your wife knock you out! Go the Woodmaster 4000 and plane 18" and full blown moulder for 25k and 7k in dust extraction 😂. Now you have to set everything up. But you will have to get on the waiting list for the 4000

Don P

I've been nursing my old Delta 15" along on Grizzly parts for some time. They've shown me who has parts support.

doc henderson

Grizzly used to be a great value, and the tried-and-true machines did not change in price for years.  My 20-inch planer was $1690 bucks and remained that way for 20+ years or so.  then the tariffs, now covid, so more expensive if available.  but no skimping on the castings, and simple available parts for the most part.  used may be the answer if the seller has not heard about the "bubble".
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firefighter ontheside

You could also buy a used 15" delta or one of the many clones out there and then put a helical head in it.
I see these planers about once per month in the Stl area.  
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Nebraska

Used ones don't pop up very often at least on CL, I watch Lincoln, Omaha, Sioux Falls/Sioux City. I don't FB so I don't know how often they come up on marketplace.. The other problem is finding the time to go and look at used stuff 100 miles away.

I have the sawdust addiction but a 25000.00 set up for my piddle projects isn't in the cards.  I have a couple client friends with cattle that do this for a living.  One builds neat live edge tables 
and stuff, one builds custom cabinetry, counters, and bars.  If  i need bigger one of them  have it. Cabinet maker  friend is bugging me to do some kiln work,   just can't get caught up to start that project. I cut some Ponderosa Pine Timbers for him he's flattening some Red Elm slabs  and doing the glue up for my daughter's desk top.

Grizzly was kind of the one I was leaning towards. I know you've got "pay to play".
Just wanting to play smart. I have a 6 inch Grizzly Jointer that was my uncles.
Honestly haven't used it yet, it's in storage, until I get a nice place for it to live.
 

Larry

The four post 15" is sorta a generic animal.  20 years ago the Geetech factory in Tawain made almost all of them.  Powermatic, Jet, Grizzly, and a bunch of other colors.  All off the same line.  The Powermatic was the high end and would have really nice infeed and outfeed tables.  The Geetech machine would have a roller for infeed and outfeed.

In the years since most production has shifted to mainland China for lower cost.

They all seem to do about the same job although they can be retro-fitted with a spiral head.

Almost all come with a 3 horsepower motor which is adequate for shop use.  If you plan on planing much sawmill lumber 3 horsepower is not near enough.  Even 5 horsepower is marginal.
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.

firefighter ontheside

If I were to buy a new 15" planer it would be grizzly, not only because I can drive a couple hours to pick it up, but I have had good luck with the grizzly tools I have and have had.  I've had 2 grizzly table saws and they were both good, but I kept upgrading.  I had an early 80s six inch grizzly jointer that served me well until I found this powermatic that I have for a great deal.  My 17" bandsaw is awesome.  
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Don P

My new gib screws arrived from Grizzly yesterday. They had been back ordered for a good 6 months, I had forgotten about them till I changed knives the other night (after planing not a screw tip, I got the whole screw head). I had stripped one of the tapped holes in a gib and ordered 3 new ones and screws months ago, the gibs were in but the screws were backordered. I tend to overtighten gib screws so figured everything was stretched. Then I got an email saying they had adjusted the shipping to my order date so that there would be no difference from the price when ordered. I wonder how much backordered stuff around the world just went under water.

Oh, the reason for writing, yes get an insert head unless you know of a good sharpening shop nearby. All our old full service shops folded with the furniture industry here. The last 2 yahoos burned steel. I put on fresh knives the other night, ran maybe 500' of pine no problem. We pulled and reloaded the kiln today and I brought home a couple of hundred feet of red oak in the truck and planed it to 7/8 with the intention of dropping it at the building supply. By the end the knives had crumbled and were leaving a ton of lines down the boards  >:(> I'll have to switch heads or planers soon, or find the time and desire to grind, not!  :D

Nebraska

I saw a 20 inch powematic with a knife grinder attachment in St Joe listed today. I have no where to put a beast that size.

kantuckid

My KY Vo-tech school shops were always equipped with PM tools as they had the price contracts in KY. Mostly the "green era" PM's, some gold era ones. I've used PM planers and table saws for hours and maintained them. My own Taiwan made 5hp, 20" planer cuts as well as those did and the only maintenance has been triple belt sets and blade changes. I would never buy a new head for mine as owning 4 sets of blades they are cheap to sharpen and will last longer than myself.
It is a very well made machine I bought around 1998-9 from a Fine Woodworking magazine ad. Transpower branded but much like many 4 post, Asian 20" planers. I once had a grizzly that was 15" and not so great, but as said they've improved a lot. Local guy had a contract to get all their freight damage and returns and mine was built from his parts stash. 
There's a man near FT Myers/Estero Beach, FL who has a PM restoration business and been around for years. He mostly avoids the newer Asian PM machines.
Fleabay, CL and more recently FB marketplace are the go-to places for used machines. 
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

Bruno of NH

I just picked up a Delta clone 15" in great shape on Market place for $350.
Did a Utube search and most parts can be sourced from Grizzly. 
If cost wasn't an issue I would have got a Hammer combo 16" jointer/planer
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

rusticretreater

I have a delta lunchbox planer that is adequate for projects, but not for the ever increasing amounts of wood I am processing.  I just picked up a 1950's era 12" green Powermatic planer that I am giving a rehab.  $400 off of craigslist.  It works but can be much better.  Folks say you can't go wrong with one that is dialed in. Found the original paint color and had Sherwin Williams make me a bucket of it. 
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21incher

I wouldn't buy another  Grizzly  15 inch planer from China after  my experience. Their customer  service is second rate and as they now say they are not finish planners with the straight  inserts.  I have been thinking  about trying a Jet with the true helical head to replace  mine.
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Walnut Beast

If I can't help it I'm not going to help support the Communist party and cut throat American companies looking to max profit to build the China military machine to try and take over this country! Buy American 🇺🇸

Nebraska


Don P

There is an ore deposit out my back window, short of that, good luck. I had the same notion when I bought that Delta, which was only a name. It's now only supported by griz parts, a chinese 5 horse motor, capacitors from a junk box and American know how. The American machines I've seen are sheet metal fabrications. My world isn't black and white anymore.

I used to run a Berlin 4 sider. Solid American company, had to change their name after the great war to something more palatable to the masses, the kaiser was the dog to kick at that moment. Yates American was born. They also spun off the first company that had knife grinders on the machine, Stetson-Ross.

kantuckid

Jet is an international company and part of a large corporation. Avoiding China isn't easy these days. Good luck on that one!
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

Jeff

At what point do you guys want me to put the entire forum in the restricted board? As much as I agree, there are times there are a fellow member or two that may not and you simply don't change those types. No need to preaching to the choir eh?
Just call me the midget doctor.
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Southside

Quality isn't cheap.  Several years ago when I was looking for a planer I ordered a 20 something inch Grizzly.  They were out of stock, back ordered, kept not arriving, price went up, etc.  I got disgusted with the whole thing so I called Wood Master instead.  Had a 25" planer sitting on my forks three weeks later, been very happy with the machine and the customer service I receive.  They are a Forum sponsor, and made right here in the US.  Like I said - they aren't the cheapest option, and they are not the "absolute, industrial grade, baddest one built", but for keeping up with my Super 70 it does absolutely fine, was affordable, and will last for decades.  
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teakwood

The grizzly, jet, shopfox 20" planer is very good, i even used it professionally for over 12 years, we put some wood thru this little planer, i upgraded to spiral head and did the installation myself, definitively worth the money. this planer is over sized for hobby use.
But now i had the opportunity to upgrade to a extreme duty 25" grizzly and what a change, this is a different animal, love it



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Walnut Beast

Surprised you didn't use some flexible conduit to the Griz

kantuckid

Plastic chip pipe- I hope it's got a ground wire? I switched to the clear duct with a wire spiral. Bought an Amazon warehouse return bargain of a long piece. 
My Transpower branded/Taiwan mfg. 20" planer is identical design of the 15" showing here above. I paid extra for a 5hp motor on mine. 
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

Tom King

Is that a ball valve for a blast gate?  First one I've seen, but I like it.

teakwood

Quote from: Walnut Beast on July 13, 2022, 08:09:16 AM
Surprised you didn't use some flexible conduit to the Griz
There is about 1meter of 5" flex hose that goes to the grizzly hood
National Stihl Timbersports Champion Costa Rica 2018

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