I finally did it... Grizzly G1033X 20" planer....

[Terry Hatfield]

After debating and agonizing over it for years, I finally dove in and bought a Grizz G1033X Byrd spiral head 20" planer. UPS Freight delivered it today. Everything arrived in perfect condition. Super nice driver and my new best friend Levi wrestled it onto his pallet jack as the pallet isn't wide enough to use the jack in the conventional way. Down the driveway he went and right into the shop.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4828/46044414842_8bab801f2d_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2d9MEnq)

Had to bust the crate off of it so I could take it all in before heading back to work. :D

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4845/46044416842_0c92901bfd_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2d9MEXU)

Once I got home I began the shop rearrangement dance to get it in place. I devised a plan to move my G0512 edge sander and put the planer in that spot. I already had a 6" duct drop there and plenty of room in that area for the ginormous planer.

Before...

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4910/45121944395_7fdf9c22e3_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2bKgL3x)

I strapped the sander to my 2 wheel dolly and away it went to it's new spot.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4847/46097315581_0ab0317ba9_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2desMV8)

And after a good bit of praying and grunting with the planer hanging from my engine hoist it landed in it's permanent home. I took time to fit the HF floor mats back around both machines.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4838/46097314701_b8616e454a_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2desMDX)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4910/45373082314_879e03394f_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2c8sUAE)

I'm not in love with the new spot for the sander but it is the best place for it without rearranging the world which I do not vote for.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4911/45373081424_554ec9501d_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2c8sUkj)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4895/45373081144_7b449f9da1_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2c8sUfu)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4817/44280970020_a0a8371c92_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2asXxEm)

I need to grab a couple fittings to get the ductwork connected to both machines and finish aligning the planer and we should be in business. I'm anxious to fire it up!!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4825/46047109592_89f9a6a9b0_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2da2tqC)

[John Goodin]

Congrats. It is always a good day when your delivery requires a pallet jack.

[Jacob Mac]

Your shop looks great. And congratulations on your new planer. That thing is a beast

[Carl Beckett]

A beast! Will be a pleasure to run.

I have to say, your shop is beautiful. Fantastic space and my first thought was maybe someday I would have my shop looking like that. But then though, no, its a personality difference no matter how big my shop is I would pack it full of various items I 'collected'. And nope, I am never going to be as organized and nicely laid out. But I can admire those who have the talent for it. :)

I happen to have a stack of foam flooring like yours and was wondering if it was worth putting down. Else its going into a kids rec room (but I have other options there). You took the time to put it around the new addition so I assume you like the foam flooring?

[Kevin Beitz]

Take a lot of pictures. After using that new tool your shop will never look the same...

[glenn bradley]

That layout looks like it worked out great. Congrats on the new toyl.

[William A Johnston]

I've had the same planner for a few years. It really quite. I haven't had any issues out of mine. A little infeed and out feed table adjustment to reduce snipe. I've been extremely happy with ally tools I've purchased from Grizzly.

I don't know how you can keep your shop so clean and organized. Looks great.

[Mikail Khan]

Congrats. Nice machine.

MK

[Matt Day]

And maybe one day some woodworking will happen in that shop, because it’s too clean and organized for any to have happened yet! In jest of course.

Nice planer, just don’t be too extreme!

[Terry Hatfield]

Thanks guys! I really do work in there. :D

Night #2 got us up and going. I dug up the proper fittings and such and got the ductwork connected to the planer and the sander. Finished cleaning the goop off the bed which was surprisingly easy. It was not the usual brown sticky cosmoline but rather a clear grease like substance that cleaned off quite eaasily with Simple Green and a few rags. Once that was done I got the tables properly adjusted and the plug wired. Ran some white oak that has some curly grain and all I can say is wow! My old Ridgid tore this grain out terribly but not this one. Glass smooth finish. Impressed with the dust collection. Literally not a crumb escapes. Amazing how much quieter the spiral head is. The Ridgid was crazy loud especially when the cyclone was running. Not so with the G1033X. Night and day difference.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4915/31171831807_4826271293_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PuxMzZ)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4911/32239763608_4527006707_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/R7Vdvf)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4903/46110961701_07695b1b52_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2dfEJr4)

Really nice finish on this white oak. This was a 20fpm pass taking 1/16".

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4899/46110959521_7b35565c80_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2dfEHMt)

I need to split this tree apart and rotate the wye a little to line it up with the sander port but that'll have to wait for another day. Still not thrilled with this location but I hate it less today than I did yesterday so perhaps I'll get used to it.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4874/44294703430_99318da2cf_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2auaW8h)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4820/46110956921_c2137b75de_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2dfEH1D)

I have a video up;loading to YouTube that I'll post once it is finished.

[Terry Hatfield]

First impressions video. I wasn't planning on doing this so didn't have my remote mic or anything else I should have had so pardon the quality but you'll get the idea.



https://youtu.be/qHb-2nzwNIQ

[Jim Becker]

'Tis a beast for sure! Congratulations!

[James Cheever]

Congratulations, Terry; it looks GREAT! A question if I may.

I am looking at upgrading my own 20 year old 15", open stand Jet planer to a 20" model with a spiral head. Can I ask what factors drove you to go with the Grizzly versus say, a Powermatic, or a Jet, or a Laguna?

Just wondering about the thought process and your pros and cons that you saw in the various machines.

Thanks.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Terry....I don't know which to be jealous of in your shop...your new planer....your beautiful shop in general...or that you have such great access to hardwoods?

Congratulations on the new planer!

[Terry Hatfield]

Terry....I don't know which to be jealous of in your shop...your new planer....your beautiful shop in general...or that you have such great access to hardwoods?

Congratulations on the new planer!

Thanks Ken!

[Terry Hatfield]

Congratulations, Terry; it looks GREAT! A question if I may.

I am looking at upgrading my own 20 year old 15", open stand Jet planer to a 20" model with a spiral head. Can I ask what factors drove you to go with the Grizzly versus say, a Powermatic, or a Jet, or a Laguna?

Just wondering about the thought process and your pros and cons that you saw in the various machines.

Thanks.

Hi James. I am a long time Grizzly customer, but with that being said, this planer is made in Taiwan in the same factory that makes the Powermatic planer. I suspect the Laguna and Jet are also manufactured in that same factory. I've personally had great service from several other Grizzly machines and look to them first for my machines. I actually spoke with Shiraz Balolia from Grizzly before I made the purchase and he told me that he had dealt with this factory for nearly 40 years and their machines were top notch. Plenty good enough endorsement for me.

[Terry Hatfield]

'Tis a beast for sure! Congratulations!

Thanks Jim! I'm very pleased with it.

[James Cheever]

Thanks for the insight, Terry

[Rod Sheridan]

Terry....I don't know which to be jealous of in your shop...your new planer....your beautiful shop in general...or that you have such great access to hardwoods?

Congratulations on the new planer!

Living in the Carolina forest system, I often forget how lucky I am to have access to free hardwood Ken.......Regards, Rod.

[Jim Andrew]

When I was looking at planers, the person I talked to at Grizzly called the G1033 a "finish" planer, and the G0454 a " rough cut" planer, and wound up with the G0453px. It does leave some roller marks on the lumber, does your G1033 have smooth rollers?

[Terry Hatfield]

When I was looking at planers, the person I talked to at Grizzly called the G1033 a "finish" planer, and the G0454 a " rough cut" planer, and wound up with the G0453px. It does leave some roller marks on the lumber, does your G1033 have smooth rollers?

The infeed roller is serrated and the outfeed roller is smooth. I've not seen any marks left on the wood at all.

[Craig Day]

When I was looking at planers, the person I talked to at Grizzly called the G1033 a "finish" planer, and the G0454 a " rough cut" planer, and wound up with the G0453px. It does leave some roller marks on the lumber, does your G1033 have smooth rollers?

Jim,

I purchased the G0454Z last year (delivered early this year) and the outfeed roller is smooth. So far it's been an excellent planer and leaves a glass smooth surface regardless of the wood I put through it. I routinely put cheap (and soft) Lowes/Home Depot 2x4's through it and it leaves absolutely no marks no matter how light or heavy I take the cut.

[Jim Andrew]

I just cleaned my cutterhead a couple days ago, and was wiping off and blowing off the rollers, and my outfeed roller is machined to have sharp grooves. Works fine, but does sometimes leave a little imprint on the boards.

[Jason Ramey]

Beautiful planer and shop!

[Terry Hatfield]

Continuing in my normal mode of not leaving well enough alone, I decided that I "had" to have the Wixey WR550 digital readout for the new planer. $70 to my door off Ebay was the best deal I could find. Arrived in good condition a few days ago and I got it installed today.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1942/32364386718_f91b7f8413_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RiVWBy)

First order of business is to decide how to mount it to the planer. There are supplied universal brackets in the kit but I could not see a clear, secure path to using just those to properly mount it. I finally decided to use a 3 1/2x2x2 piece of aluminum angle to attach the lower bracket. The kit comes with self tapping bolts and the proper drill bits. I drilled into the lower part of the casting and mounted the lower bracket.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4893/45512845574_28b481b8ff_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ckPem3)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4825/45323805505_3f0133b362_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2c47mjv)

Here you can see how using the piece of angle allowed me to get clear of the corner bolt mounting the center casting to the base.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4871/45323804895_22f62f682e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2c47m8Z)

And the unit mounted.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4881/45512845424_56a82980df_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ckPeis)

Next was to mount the upper bracket that holds the reader. There is a handy flat boss on the table that I had determined would be right in line.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4889/45512843244_49387cb04b_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ckPdDS)

i picked this spot on the opposite side of the table to mount the readout itself. I turned the bracket up side down and it worked out perfectly. The readout is below the top of the table so hopefully out of harms way.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4870/45512836424_e54bf289c3_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ckPbCh)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4867/32364386968_2aecec63c0_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RiVWFS)

The kit comes with some self adhesive tabs to secure the data cable so I rolled it up and used some zip ties the tabs to hold the cable to the bottom of the table.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4907/45512840204_a0ea1471e4_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ckPcKs)

Wixey has an interesting method of calibrating the readout to the actual thickness being planed. You plane a board to less than 1" and then place it in a calibration gauge on the unit and zero to that thickness.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4900/44419981220_1361950741_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2aFf1Rb)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4811/31298189417_fb45b71763_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PFHpit)

I made a few passes checking each time with my mic and all were within a couple thousandths. I'd say that's good enough.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4861/45512841634_3dbb27fb7f_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ckPdb7)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4847/45512842134_9bc1b4d058_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ckPdjJ)

All in all I'm quite pleased with the Wixey readout for $70 and a couple hours work.

[Ronald Blue]

Congratulations on the new planer. I'm like Ken though it's tough to know what to be jealous of. I can see why your shop looks so perfect however after looking at your Wixey install photos. You go to great lengths to make everything as neat and tidy as possible. You might be OCD lol. Just kidding. What a great shop and machine. I hope you share many more photos with us. Makes me realize how much I need to do to get better on my end. Thanks for sharing.

[Terry Hatfield]

Congratulations on the new planer. I'm like Ken though it's tough to know what to be jealous of. I can see why your shop looks so perfect however after looking at your Wixey install photos. You go to great lengths to make everything as neat and tidy as possible. You might be OCD lol. Just kidding. What a great shop and machine. I hope you share many more photos with us. Makes me realize how much I need to do to get better on my end. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! There is so much in life that is dictated by others rules, or external circumstances or demands. Inside these 4 walls all of that goes away and I'm free to do what I want the way I want when I want and how I want. In here all is well and I can bask in my OCDness. :)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4843/45420936054_10b9a7eeed_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ccGaR9)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4887/45420937144_d1d81a1094_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ccGbaW)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4859/32273767088_e6ed7015f6_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RaVuy9)

[ChrisA Edwards]

I've been following this thread, love the pictures of your impeccably tidy/clean/organised workshop, but now it's time to see your clutter room...:)

[Terry Hatfield]

I've been following this thread, love the pictures of your impeccably tidy/clean/organised workshop, but now it's time to see your clutter room...:)

Look Chris, there will be none of that. I have a reputation to maintain. lol... :D ;)

[Nick Decker]

I very much want to live in that shop.

[Keith Outten]

Very nice Terry.

I can't believe how quiet your new planner is, my old 15" planner will wake up the dead. It's not to bad when I turn on the planner but as soon as the DC is turned on the siren effect increases the noise to a painful level and I make sure I have my hearing protection on before I hit the switch.

Congratulations!

[Terry Hatfield]

I very much want to live in that shop.

Come on over.

[Terry Hatfield]

Very nice Terry.

I can't believe how quiet your new planner is, my old 15" planner will wake up the dead. It's not to bad when I turn on the planner but as soon as the DC is turned on the siren effect increases the noise to a painful level and I make sure I have my hearing protection on before I hit the switch.

Congratulations!

Hi Keith! I was very pleasantly surprised with the lack of noise. My old setup likely irritated people that lived a mile away.

[Bryan Hall]

Long ways down the road since the OP but I just pulled the trigger on one of these machines as well. Any updates from long term users? Holding up great?

[Terry Hatfield]

Long ways down the road since the OP but I just pulled the trigger on one of these machines as well. Any updates from long term users? Holding up great?

The planer is an absolute beast. Performs perfectly. Zero issues.

[Bryan Hall]

The planer is an absolute beast. Performs perfectly. Zero issues.

I couldn't possibly ask for a better review! Thanks for the update Terry, the transition from dewalt lunchbox to this monster is going to be exciting!

[Nick Crivello]

Long ways down the road since the OP but I just pulled the trigger on one of these machines as well. Any updates from long term users? Holding up great?

Picked one up a few months back. No real complaints, nice upgrade from the little dewalt 735 'tank' it replaced. I didn't get it yet but the Rotocator that Grizzly sells would make life a bit easier dialing things in. The price was nearly $200 when I got the machine but looks to be about $100 now.

If you need it to be mobile, I'd suggest grabbing some 4" total lock casters off amazon and putting it on two pieces of 3/4" plywood laminated together. Works awesome. I initially had it on a Bora mobile base, but the casters felt a bit small and one wheel failed due to quality issues.

[Bryan Hall]

Picked one up a few months back. No real complaints, nice upgrade from the little dewalt 735 'tank' it replaced. I didn't get it yet but the Rotocator that Grizzly sells would make life a bit easier dialing things in. The price was nearly $200 when I got the machine but looks to be about $100 now.

If you need it to be mobile, I'd suggest grabbing some 4" total lock casters off amazon and putting it on two pieces of 3/4" plywood laminated together. Works awesome. I initially had it on a Bora mobile base, but the casters felt a bit small and one wheel failed due to quality issues.

I ordered the rotocator as well, $108 I believe. I also ordered the bora mobile base but I'll keep in mind your comment about switching to the ply setup!

[Alex Zeller]

I've had mine for several years now and there was a few things I needed to finish. First was the pressure bar. It's a powder coated orange color. The part that actually touches the wood had what I could best call drips that were dried in place. The drips would leave marks on the wood. So I had to remove the powder coat from the bottom of the bar. Secondly there's two cut outs in the table for the bottom rollers. I run the rollers almost flush with the table and the edge of the machined opening was so sharp 9cut you sharp) it acted like a plane shaving the bottom of the wood. A dremel with a grinding stone tool the edge off. I just lowered the table as far as it went, then lowered the rollers, and finally put some cardboard between the roller and the table before chamfering the edge.

Over all I'm very happy with it. It's done everything I have wanted. It does take a little time to set up. The rotocator would work well but I used a dial gauge on a magnetic stand. Make notes on each set up as you will probably fine tune it down the road. As for power it's a beast. I often will feed boards in staggered side by side as fast as I can (while catching them as they come out) and it doesn't miss a beat.

[John Goodin]

Great addition to a great shop.