advice

[Jim Cunningham]

I'm wondering whether to invest in a planer molder. I am a hobbyist and don't need production capability. I was wondering if anyone out ther has experiences to share,good or bad, to help me make a decision.

I'd like to know whether the grizzly machine is any good. I have the Grizz 1019 band saw and the 1023 cabinet saw and love them.

I'd like to know about cost and availability of knives, set-up, and the quality of the finished product.
There is another machine out ther whose name escapes me, and if someone has experience with it I'd love to hear it.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks from a long time lurker and occasional poster and Merry Christmas to All !!!

Jim Cunningham

[Chris Padilla]

Well, what is your need for custom moldings? I have plenty of places around me that can custom cut maple, oak, cherry, etc. moldings for me if I need them. In fact, most of them already have a few bins full of stuff.

There is also molding cutters you can get for your TS. "Magic" or something or other is in their name...they usually advertise in most of the major wood mags. Purple is their color of choice...it'll be obvious if/when you run across them. Someone here might recall their name.

Chris

[Mike Evertsen]

jet and delta make a machine like this,,,the molding knives are not cheap,,,I passed on buying this machine for that reason,,,, in my cabinet shop what I can do with the router and the moulding head for the table saw is what I use,,,,

[Dave Arbuckle]

There is also molding cutters you can get for your TS. "Magic" or something or other is in their name...

LRH Magic Molder. Be seated when perusing their price list, molder cutters are cheap in comparison. ;)

I have a Jet planer/moulder. Grizzly fans claim the green machine has the same internals as mine.

Changeover from planer to moulder or back, maybe 10-15 minutes. The moulding produced is beautiful, certainly better finished than any that I've seen in a lumberyard. A little finish sanding (I'm picky and feel that anything out of a planer needs sanding, YMMV).

I think the trick is to very honestly assess how much call you have to make moulding. As a planer, the machine is good but not great, in comparision with a stationary 15" that doesn't cost much more.

Knife sets run maybe $20 to a couple hundred, based on supplier and width. They use a triple knife set, 1/8" thick (IIRC), no slots or grooves or anything tricky. Anyone who can cut out three matching pieces of steel, and sharpen them, can make knives for these machines.

The other machine you couldn't think of may have been a Williams and Hussey. Whole another world, it is much beefier than these entry-level machines. The price reflects that, too.

Dave

[Charles McKinley]

Woodmaster is another multi machine. They can plane, sand, mold and rip. Some one here has one. Thay posted pics of a banister they were making. Hope this helps.