First impressions of my Grizzly GO453xp

[keith micinski]

I received my planer today and just wanted to offer up some thoughts on it. The shipping was fast and the crate it came in was really good and would protect the planer really well even if something minor were to happen. Then I opened it up and my first impressions were there were a lot of little imperfections in the paint. I only took this one photo of the paint but there are maybe 7 or 8 little scuffs and scratches or cracks in the paint. More then I would have expected considering when I ordered my 1023 table saw it came with what I would consider flawless paint.
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The next thing I notice was that the hand wheel is a very poor casting and still has enough excess ridges that I am going to have to file it down so it doesn't cut me. Overall it just feels cheap and looks cheap.
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Without question my biggest complain though is that the table has a casting imperfection right in the corner of the roller. I don't really see how this would affect the performance but it sure does irritate me to pay so much for a planer and have the table have such glaring imperfection.
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I also don't like the open 4 post columns. In the pictures in the manual it has the rubber boots around them and this seems like a good idea to keep the dust out of the threads. Also the manual shows a photo with a dust chute that comes out at a 45 which would have been really nice to include. When it goes straight out the back it gets in the way unless you have overhead dust collection, which I don't. The measuring scale is about as chincy as it gets and I am sort of happy about that because I kind of wanted to get a digital readout for it and replacing the scale which almost seems necessary. Overall I must say my first impressions of the Planer are a bit of a let down on the fit and finish and also the quality control. If they would spend less time covering this thing in Cosmolene and more time on the fit and finish I think they would be better served.

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Now the good things. I do like the noise the spiral head makes. I asked if it came with any extra cutters and they said no but it actually came with 5 cutter heads so that was nice. I will have to finish the setup on it before I can make a decision on the quality of cut but I did run a piece of some figured walnut through it and got some tearout on it which was kind of disappointing. I like the way they ran the switch and the lights in the buttons. The Tables and the top had a really nice finish on them other then the one blemish and it didn't take me long at all to set the tables up and everything was dead flat and fit well. I really love my 1023 saw and think when you compare it to comparable Powermatics and Unisaw's it stacks up pretty well considering the price difference. This planer feels and looks like less of a value when compared to a Powermatic 15hh but as long as I get a good quality cut out of it I will be happy. I will admit though I having been dying to get a G0490 jointer and I feel a little less sure about this purchase so far but hey its only day one of the planer so maybe I am getting ahead of myself.

[Sam Joyce]

I got the same planer this summer and my first impressions mirrored yours. A year earlier I had purchased a 17" bandsaw from them and its fit and finish was pretty much flawless. In contrast the planer left much to be desired. The bandsaw and similarly your table saw are mostly steel except for the tables so the problem seems to lie with the paint job on their cast iron (not sure why). That said once I got the thing set up and dialed in it performs well beyond its looks. If any paint chips are bad enough consider requesting touch up paint (they shipped it free to me).

[Cary Falk]

I have many Grizzly tools and my G0453z is the worst fit and finish wise. The rest of the tools are great. I am guessing it is country of mfg. The planer is made in China. My other stuff is made in Taiwan. As said in the previous post, once set up it runs great and I don't notice the minor chips as I covered them up with dust.

[Van Huskey]

When you compare the PM HH15 to the G0453X one has to keep in mind that unless you get the PM on sale the Grizzly is 40% less expensive, that is a LOT percentage wise. One of the areas PM seems to spend a little extra money on is the user interface areas where the eyes and hands touch the machine. Other than that and a couple of other tiny differences the only thing the PM gives you is a warranty 5 times as long and a US made Byrd head that FWW likes better than the straight cutter bits on the Grizzly. These things are worth more to me but a 40% price increase is steep for these IMO.

Cary may be on to something at least in regards to the Grizzly line, if you go to one of the Grizzly showrooms and pay close attention to fit and finish you can very often tell the country of origin.

Often we let fit and finish jade our opinion of the overall quality of an item, woodworking machines are one of the last items I worry about fit an finish on. Outside an argument about which head produces a better finish functionally the 15 and 20 inch 4 post planers from Grizzly and PM seem to be nearly identical.

I will give you a different example, if you look at the PM1800 it is absolutely gorgeous, every where you eyes and hands (and feet for that matter) looks like a hotrod someone has chormed and painted to impress, makes my MM20 look very plain and poorly finished, but lift up the hood so to speak and even though the PM is a serious saw built very well it would take a lot of cash in the deal to get me to trade it for a PM1800.

I do want to say I don't want to come across like I am hammering the OP but I did want to say if you buy the Jet dust hood, really nice hand controls (plenty of options out there) and a digital height scale (I think they are mandatory on all planers) you will be well ahead of the game. As long as it functions properly once you get a couple of hundred board feet through the planer I bet you forget about all the niggling issues, when you remember that pile of wood was "free".

[Cary Falk]

I put a 90 degree elbow on the dust chute. I also added a igaging DRO. Only the 20" planers come with the boots around the columns. The picture was probably for it since the manual covers both sizes. You will probably get chips falling on the wood. There is a foam strip on the lid that covers the cutterhead.Remove it. It has a tendenancy to impeed the flow of chips to the dust collector. I wouldn't be usure about buying a G0490. It gets very good reviews. I think it is made in Tiawan. I have the Shop Fox version. At the time I thought it was the tool with the worst fit and finish before the planer. I have heard people say that their Shop Fox tools have a better fit and finish then Grizzly. Sometimes I think it is the luck of the draw. I paid $650 for my jointer and I wouldn't pay the extra for a PM. Like I said before, I don't let a few paint chips get me down. I usually put a few on it also. They all get covered with dust. You can definitely go with PM if you think that a 5-10% improvment is worth 40-100% in price change.

[Mike Goetzke]

I too bought one of these almost a year ago. I upgraded from a bench top for our large kitchen remodel. Once you get over the small cosmetic issues and tune in the rollers and cutter head it does what it's supposed to plane wood quickly, quietly, and smoothly (and accurately once you add a DRO: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?162264-Wixey-Remote-Planer-DRO-on-a-Grizzly-G0453PX-15-quot-Planer&highlight=wixey ).



Mike

[keith micinski]

Ya I agree with everything said and I am sure I will be happy with it, I guess I was just a little disappointed after spending almost two grand and not being blown away. I think part of it also was my table saw was so good I guess maybe it left me with a little higher expectations then I should have had.

[keith micinski]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I was also disappointed in the far that two grand doesn't get me a plug end. What is the advantage of sending the planer with spade connectors on it instead of a an actual outlet plug end? And why is the cord about a foot long enough to plug in and thats all? Luyckily I planned on putting a longer cord on anyway so this just sped up that process.

[Van Huskey]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I was also disappointed in the far that two grand doesn't get me a plug end. What is the advantage of sending the planer with spade connectors on it instead of a an actual outlet plug end? And why is the cord about a foot long enough to plug in and thats all? Luyckily I planned on putting a longer cord on anyway so this just sped up that process.

Buy new a $15,000 planer and most you won't get a plug either. Machines are usually sold sans plug due to the myriad ways they may be wired by the end user, not much variation in home shops but as you move through commercial and industrial setting often a plug would be of no use. You even note it just speed up the process for you.

[Mark Engel]

I have to agree with your thoughts on this machine. I recently got the G0453P, which is the 'Polar Bear' version of the same planer. The made in China tools from Grizzly seem to be af a much lower quality of fit and finish vs the made in Taiwan tools.

Over the past year I have purchased a G0623X sliding table saw (Taiwan), a G0514X2B band saw (Taiwan) and a G0435P (China). My expereince has indicated that the Taiwan manufactured Grizzly tools show a much better focus on quality control than the tools manufactured in China.

[Peter Aeschliman]

The made in China tools from Grizzly seem to be af a much lower quality of fit and finish vs the made in Taiwan tools.

I was wondering about that since Grizzly's catalog has "made in Taiwan" in the ads for some of the products in there. I assume they wouldn't call it out like that unless they're higher quality than their other tools.

[keith micinski]

Buy new a $15,000 planer and most you won't get a plug either. Machines are usually sold sans plug due to the myriad ways they may be wired by the end user, not much variation in home shops but as you move through commercial and industrial setting often a plug would be of no use. You even note it just speed up the process for you.

I meant sped up my thought process of putting a new cord on it since the pigtail it came with was almost useless. I can see larger three phase and industrial equipment coming with no plug but a hobbiest tool should come with a standard 220 plug end. This thread has actually made me feel a lot better about purchasing a G0490 jointer in the future and again so far I am not unhappy with the planer overall just some minor things. I am sure once I get it dialed in which might even still happen yet tonight I will be loving it.

[Van Huskey]

I can see larger three phase and industrial equipment coming with no plug but a hobbiest tool should come with a standard 220 plug end. T .

I guess it depends on where you cut off hobby tools. I don't ever remember any of my new machines coming with a plug, it is just part of the "fun" of a new machine just like a washer/dryer/range although their lack of cord/plug is for a different reason.

[Keith Hankins]

Hope it all works out with you and the new toy. I have a few Grizzly's. I have the 1023slx TS, G0513 BS, and the G609 12" jointer. The jointer was made in china and had a chunk missing out of one of the teeth in the table of the infeed side just before the blades. They sent me a new piece. To replace it meant taking the top off and replacing the part and realigning it. I decided since it . did not impact the quality I would not bother. That was about 5 years ago and no issues since. I do find it funny that we now consider tiwan as good and china now is the slop. It's a shame we on't make em here. Anyway a few years back i was turned on to old american iron. You can get it for a song and quality is no question. Last year I found a 5hp northfield 18" planer for 1500.00 bucks. I've since added a 16" walker turner bs for a hundred. I guess my point is in the end if it cuts and does the job don's sweat the small stuff but for future look to the old stuff.

http://youtu.be/ufIlay_PrVI

[Mike Wilkins]

Congrats on the new toy/tool. Don't sweat the various fit/finish issues, as this is a tool, and it will only be a matter of time before you add your own blemishes. I have 2 machines from the big continent, and both had similar issues with rough edges and paint chips; but did not affect the operation at all. As for plugs; one of my China-made machines came with a plug already on the cord, but it did not work with my twist-lock recepticles, so it got chopped off and the correct one was attached.
Enjoy and watch those fingers.