Grizzly or Sunhill or Neither?

[Steven Valentine]

I'm getting ready to start my second house full of cabinets. This time, it is my parents dream house. So I have decided that the budget justifies a planer. Not the best planer, but a decent one. In my quest for a good 13" planer, I was pretty set on going to Lowes and getting the DeWalt 13" 2 speed, 3 knife guy. It seems to have good all around reviews, and the price has risen from $449 a couple years ago to $649 currently, though I can get it a little cheaper. Anyway, I was looking at my Grizzly catalog the other night and ran across the G1037Z planer/moulder. A little more money at $875 with shipping, but more capability too, right? Then, as I was attempting to research the Grizzly, which I can find very little information as far as reviews and that sort of thing go, I ran across basically the same type of machine, manufactured by Sunhill, on sale from $745 to about $450 plus shipping. Here are my questions:

Is this the type of machine that I can use? (i.e. is the moulding capability worth it? or should I just stick to a good benchtop or stationary planer?)

Will these machines be reliable? I am confident of the Grizzly, but I am unsure of Sunhill.

Is there a different machine that I should be looking at?

Any other thoughts that you have are appreciated. I have to get started with this in a week or two. Thanks again for your thoughts.

[Todd Solomon]

The Grizzly you're looking at is so close to the price of a 4-post 15" planer, I'd step up to the Grizzly G0453 for $950. These 4-post planers are a time-proven design. They weigh in at 675 lb, Vs. 240 lb for the 1037Z. That will tell you a lot about the quality and durability of the two machines. The Sunhill is a lot less $, but there is no free lunch. A lot of times, you get what you pay for. wouldn't risk it on an unknown lower end unit. The benchtop models are pretty light duty in comparison, my DeWalt 735 broke after 3 weeks. They've reportedly addressed the issue, but benchtops are not in the same class as the G0453.

[John Bailey]

Todd's correct. The Grizzly GO453 is a great deal with free shipping. If you've got the room, that's the way to go.

John

[Steven Valentine]

I looked at this planer also. I just figured if I could have moulding capability at vitually the same price, why not? I do however understand what you mean about quality. These stationary machines are definitely built tougher. Thanks for your input.

[William M Johnson]

I might chime in on the DeWalt 735. I have run thousands of board feet of lumber through mine, including 2 x 10 rough cedar and I cannot even guess how much mahogony. I get a finish that does not have to be sanded, unless I get a nick in the blade. I recently bought the Shelix head for it but have not installed it because I am waiting for the blades to get dull. If I support the boards I get no snipe.

And I can pick it up and move it. Maybe I am just lucky. I am a hobbyist and I take very small cuts and am not in a hurry. At this point I would not trade my 735 even for a stationary planer.

Let the flames begin

Bill

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Steven. I can't speak to the Sunhill planer, but I do have their 8" jointer. It is a real 'brick outhouse". Sunhill is a label for the machine that is made by Gee Teck in Taiwan. I was told that Gee Teck was a major supplier of woodworking machines, well respected.
Last year I installed the Shelix head, and boards come off the jointer so smooth that you need to sand them so the glue will stick.:cool::D

[John Thompson]

[quote=Ken Garlock;1080459]Hi Steven. I can't speak to the Sunhill planer, but I do have their 8" jointer. It is a real 'brick outhouse". Sunhill is a label for the machine that is made by Gee Teck in Taiwan. I was told that Gee Teck was a major supplier of woodworking machines, well respected.

GeeTech makes the Saw-stop. Ken. I had there 6" jointer for several years and it was excellent. It's still running well down the street to the gentleman I sold it too. Can't speak for their planers.

Sarge..

[Andrew Joiner]

Yes, Sunhill makes good machines and lower cost means better value than Grizzly.

Hope your listening Papa Grizz you have competition!

[John Thompson]

Yes, Sunhill makes good machines and lower cost means better value than Grizzly.

Hope your listening Papa Grizz you have competition!

It has been my experience that manufacturers have "hits".. and they have "misses". The Sunhill jointer is a great value and the company gives good customer service. But.. with that said I am not at all interested in their TS if I were in the market. So.. because one item is good doesn't mean every item in a manufacturers line is necessarily good.

You simply have to make a side by side comparison to see where the real value is.... :)

Regards...

Sarge..

[Ron Bott]

Will these machines be reliable? I am confident of the Grizzly, but I am unsure of Sunhill.

Both are entry level equipment. Usable? Sure. But you can certainly do better. If $$ is the overriding issue, try finding something used.

[scott spencer]

Microsoft Cashback is currently at 9% and can be applied to the Grizzly G0453 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Grizzly-15-Planer-3-HP-G0453-New-with-Warranty_W0QQitemZ270354057003QQcmdZViewItemQQptZL H_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item270354057003&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1199|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A13 18|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50) that they have listed on Ebay....with free shipping, so it should come to ~ $865 shipped.

http://images.grizzly.com/grizzlycom/pics/jpeg500/g/g0453.jpg

[Steven Valentine]

??? What do you mean by this Microsoft Cashback thing??? I do see the planer currently listed on eBay at $950 with free shipping.

Please explain further...

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Go over to the Deals & Discounts part of the forums for a complete "How to" on using the MS cashback program.

[scott spencer]

??? What do you mean by this Microsoft Cashback thing??? I do see the planer currently listed on eBay at $950 with free shipping.

Please explain further...

- You need to have a PayPal and an Ebay account.
- Go to "Live.com (http://www.live.com/)", and use the search words "wii" or "record plane" to get hits with the MS Cashback symbol and an Ebay link (current discount was showing 9%)
- Enter Ebay through the link from your Live search
- Once in Ebay, you should still see the MS Cashback banner at the top. That discount is valid for 60 minutes. From there, you can search Ebay for the Grizzly G0453 (http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=grizzly+g0453). It must be a "Buy It Now" listing to be eligible, and must be paid for using PayPal. You'll see the MS Cashback banner throughout the checkout process and will even confirm that it's eligible and how much you're saving before you need to commit to buy it. 112981
- You'll receive an email within a day or two confirming that you got the Cashback deal. It takes 60 days before it's available. You'll get another email after 60 days telling you the cash is in your PayPal. You can then request that PayPal send you the cashback or transfer it to your bank account.
- You'll need a Microsoft "Live" account (https://cashbackaccount.search.live.com/cashback/welcome.aspx) (an MS email account works). I believe you can sign up for the MS account after the purchase if you followed the above steps on an eligible purchase...it's a simple registration.

It's not as complicated as it sounds. It's legit ... I saved the max allowed amount of $2500 last year, and have claimed every penny. The 60 day wait is a nuisance, but to save $85+ is worth it IMO. Good luck.

[Steven Valentine]

Many thanks to those of you taking the time to respond to my post...Went ahead and made the decision to go with the Grizzly G0453. For only about $200 more than the DeWalt benchtop model, this was a no-brainer for me. I'm 28 now, so I should get may years out of this machine. After speaking with a custom moulding knife guy, I have opted to not go with the previously mentioned machines, as they would require 3 knives. At around a hundred bucks or so for a custom knife, times three, it's really going to add up each time I want to change a profile. I'll just hold out a while and maybe run across a good deal on a Woodmaster one day. But, no hurry anyways on that.

Also thanks for explaining this Microsoft Live thing for me. It appears that I will see about $85 back in a couple of months...or possibly more depending on what I can get away with before my wife finds out. Hopefully I will not have reached my $2500 limit by then, but who knows...Seriously, this is a great deal. I had never heard of this until Sawmill Creek. Thanks again!