15" Used Grizzly 1021 OR Dewalt dw735 planer

[Chris Gurko]

So, I found that I could get the dewalt dw735 locally for about $340 with price matching and deals - yada yada..

I also found an old "lighty used" grizzly 1021 15" planer that I could probalbly get for that same price.

I have a 2 car garage that I share with my family ;) for my workshop. I am really getting into salvaging wood, so i was thinking I could put a helical into the 1021, which would save me alot of time in blades and setup...

The question is, is it worth it to buy the used 15"? Or shoudl I buy the dw735 for $340 and save my money to buy a new 15" planer in the future with the helical already in it?

[Cary Falk]

I'd be all over the 1021 and put a spiral in it.

[Philip Rodriquez]

A 15" will greatly outperform the DeWalt. No question.

[GERALD HARGROVE]

If you can afford the 15" now, no question get it.

[John Thompson]

The 15" which has more capacity and talbe surface probably. And... you can make the call on spirals as I have run HSS for many years and would not up-grade personally unless I was going to use maple as my primary wood in lieu of oak. But for me.. that won't happen.

Good luck...

[scott spencer]

That's an easy call...go with the capacity, cast iron, and hp. It's similar to comparing a nice portable jobsite saw to a cabinet saw, or a benchtop jointer to a stationary model.

[Josiah Bartlett]

You do have to be aware of something, though... the good lunchbox planers typically make a smoother surface than the big cast iron jobs. The cast iron ones are more accurate, powerful, wider, and faster, but the high speed of the lunchbox cutterheads makes for more cuts per inch, and the cartridge knives typically make for a repeatable setup that makes a smoother cut. That being said, as long as you are scraping or sanding your final product it doesn't matter, and I would go with the 15" for the capacity.

[Travis Porter]

I am a former G1021 owner, and it was a good machine. If you get it, you are going to want a stand and a mobile base for it if it doesn't have one as it is a very heavy machine.

If you go look at it, check to see how stable the extension rollers are to the frame as I had to bore out and retap mine to larger bolts. The only other issue I had with it was that the first time I changed the blades I rounded off almost half of what I guess you would call the gib bolts and ordered all new ones from Grizzly. They were not cheap.

It is a very nice machine, but it is not as portable or easy to move as the DeWalt.

[Chris Gurko]

I bought it. :)

Thanks for the quick responses.... I think I may go pickup the dewalt also.. :)

[Chris Gurko]

So, "in great condition.." really meant, the drive feed was jammed, the posts that the bed slides on were rusted, the motor wasnt 3hp as he stated... it was a rebuilt 2...

So I bought the dw735 for now.