getting new 20" planer. what grizzly would you recomend?

[Matt Mackinnon]

I see from the web site that there are two Grizzly 20" planers with spiral heads. I take it that the G1033X is a heaver duty unit compared to the GO454Z unit. The price between the two is enough to question if it's really worth getting the heftier unit.

Does anyone have any experience with the two, and could shed some light onto the choice?? I am planning on pulling the trigger to buy one in the next few days. I was planning on getting a Grizzly as i am ordering the GO623X at the same time and would benefit from reduced cost of shipping and brokerage to Canada.

Thanks

Matt.

[Patrick Galpin]

Matt, I have the G0454Z unit and am just taking a break from de-greasing the sucker as I unpacked the unit this morning. It is an an ugly job. Initial impression is very good, the cutting head is massive, over-all very solid. Can't imagine needing the heavier duty model unless you are running a production shop and even then I would be surprised if you did. I plan on running scrap through it later on today and then some "real" wood tonight or tomorrow. If it is at all like my new G0609X jointer I will be very happy.

[Mike Metz]

Matt,
I have had the G0454z for over 1 1/2 years now. I love it!! Outstanding cut quality and a great machine!
Lately i have been having a couple of small issues though. I had noticed that it was leaking gear oil from the gear box, so i had to drain it all, dismantle the gearing and adjust the gasket (did not need to be replaced) reassembled and has been working good since. I also have noticed a vibration noise from the motor, think it just needs to be adjusted on the motor mounts but i have not really had time to fully check it out.
I would recommend you take a few steps when you get the machine.
My machine did require a bit of adjusting when i first got it to make a perfect cut, but with the rotractor it went easy.
Make sure you grease the table with "Slip it" or another lubricant to help with the infeed/outfeed

Last thing i would add is that the carbide inserts are great, my unit has seen well over 2000bf and is still on the original edges with great cuts still!

If you would like any other info, feel free to ask

[Mike Heidrick]

If I was looking at the G1033X I would drop the extra $600 for the G5850Z and get the segmented infeed rollers. I have them on my DC580 and they are super handy to use when feeding more than one wood in at the same time. It is a straight knife planer though (I have had ZERO issue using straight knives). The G0454Z would be perfect though I bet.

[Matt Mackinnon]

the reason for looking at spiral carbide is that i do quite a bit of work with exotic woods. my current 15" unit has straight blades and i get frequent tare-out as the grain tends to reverse more often than not. That's what gives the wood it's luxurious colour and character, but makes it a btch to plane. I am looking to get 1 planer and not need to replace it for the next 30 or so years. (regular maintenance expected).

[David Nelson1]

Go for the 1033X I have the 1033 with a byrd head. With 3 hp I have yet to find anything that slowed it down. 5 hp and cast iron in and out feeds ....well what more do ya need!

[Andrew Joiner]

The cheaper one weighs a few lbs more so it's the heftier unit. Did you ask Grizzly? It might be the lower cost model is an older design. The specs look very close.

[Roger Benton]

I have the 1033X and couldn't be happier. It's quiet, precise, cuts oh-so clean, is extremely sturdy and has huge infeed/outfeed support.
The aside from the specs, the difference between the 1033 and the 454 are just beefy-ness. The 1033 is a larger, stronger machine in every way.
The posts the bed rides on are larger diameter, the beds are huge cast iron units, the adjustment and locking levers are large and positive.
Even the board return rollers are huge!
You will not need to replace this machine, ever.
I recently planned some big leaf maple burl and had zero tear out.
Obviously you want to take extremely light passes with material like this but the machine is up to the challenge.

[Will Blick]

I bought the same planer as the 1033X but in PM... they look identical, as most of these are made in the same plant. While I like both companies, and own lots of green and yellow machines, I preferred the Byrd head, and when contacting Grizz to find out if they can install the Byrd head, I got caught up in the "We will call ya back once we find out".... I called back a few times, never got answer, then after a few weeks, just ordered the PM to be safe... then, after I ordered it, Grizz calls back.... never got the answer as it was vm.

IMO, the planer is by far the machine that benefits the most from helical cutter heads.... hoggin lots of hardwoods is a breeze with these machines, and noise levels are so low, no hearing protection required. Currently there is big price spread between the 1033x and the PM, so the Grizz seems like the better value.... I am still curious what the difference in the heads are on the Grizz vs. the Byrd... or if Grizz will install Byrd head for a premium?

[Matt Mackinnon]

I have the 1033X and couldn't be happier. It's quiet, precise, cuts oh-so clean, is extremely sturdy and has huge infeed/outfeed support.
The aside from the specs, the difference between the 1033 and the 454 are just beefy-ness. The 1033 is a larger, stronger machine in every way.
The posts the bed rides on are larger diameter, the beds are huge cast iron units, the adjustment and locking levers are large and positive.


From what I have gathered talking to Grizzly, the 454Z is a newer version to the 1033X. The 1033 was and old model that came with knives that was later upgraded to be offered with the byrd head, and then their own offset segmented. The head is slightly larger and uses 15mm cutter heads.
The 454Z was designed for the offset segmented head from the beginning. it has more cutters that are slightly smaller (14mm) but cost 1/3 less. It also has an improved magnetic switch and a built in caster system. The motor is listed at 25 amps, so that works out to around 4.7hp. (the manual for the 1033x says the motor is 23amp where the web site says it's 30. One works out to 4.4hp where as the other is 5.7hp. I'd believe the smaller number)

Both a cast iron, and are pretty much identical. One is not beefier than the other. They are about the same, or so I was told by Grizzly. The screws and internal guts are the same between the two. The difference in weight comes from more cast iron in the base and top, but neither of those effect the strength of the unit or performance in cutting. the 1033 also ships with oil, where the 454 doesn't.

I'll be ordering the less expensive model as I can't see any real advantage to getting the 1033X especially considering it's an older model and less likely to be continued into the future.