Am I better off with a 15" or 20" planer?

[BARRY RESNICK]

Hi,

I have a Delta 13" lunchbox planer. It is loud, it stalls and blades dull FAST.

I was looking to upgrade. I have decided on Grizzly. Now to decide if I really need a 20" planer.

If I get a 15" planer I could swing a Shelix at the same time.

If I get a 20" planer, I would have to wait to save some cash.

If I get a 15" will I regret when I want to level a glue up? Is this the right tool for leveling glueup?

If I get a 20" will I regret it because it is too BIG? How big is it? Will it take up much room compared to a 15"? The grizzly site says the 20" is 23"x29" foot print but the diagram says it is 36" wide.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Eddie Darby]

I would buy the capacity that I needed and upgrade later since there is no way to upgrade the capacity. I see the shelix head as a luxury item. People got along fine without them for years. Then if a shelix is wanted later, you can wait for a sale to come your way.

I'm guessing that the tables are 36" long while the footprint is the actual base size.

[scott spencer]

I'd buy the capacity if you're gonna make the change. You'll kick yourself the next time you need to plane an 18" panel if you don't. Sanders can give you a smoother surface if needed.

[Mike Cutler]

If you've got the space in your shop, and the $$$. Go with the 20". It will do everything a 15" can do, and more. I have found my 15" Jet to be limiting at times, but not to many times.

I'm not sure what you mean by "leveling a glueup"? If it means can you plane the face after glueup, yes it can do that. Of course one of the sides will have to already be dead flat, or a sled made with a flat reference face.

[Randy Denby]

Definitely get the 20"....I regret not doing it . I also wish I had upgraded to a 12 vs the 8" jointer I have now. Reason is alot of the rough cut boards I buy are 8-9 inches. And this usually means that it will be a little over 15" when surfaced /jointed then glued together.

[Steve Clardy]

Go for capacity. I got the 20" several years ago.

I know the shelix heads are all the rage now, but I doubt I will ever change mine over. I see no need to.

[Rob Will]

I would wait and get a 20" with the insert head factory installed. Why buy two heads only to put one of them in a box never to be used again?

Today, a visitor to my shop was amazed as to how quiet my Byrd equipped PM 225 is compared to his straight blade machine.

Good luck with your decision.

Rob

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Leveling a glue up with a planer seems like a convenient way to go but I'd rather use a stroke or drum sander.

If you use dowels, biscuits, splines or dominoes you'll have very little (if any) leveling to do after glue up.

Of course if you get in the habit of using a planer that way you'll have to learn new tricks whenever you do a glue up that exceeds the planer's capacity.

Generally speaking I'd say that large planers are not so much used for glue ups as they are for production planing of lots and lots of lumber. But then I've only worked ion one "real" cabinet shop and we did production custom handmade work. The monster machines downstairs were - - -well - - - old iron monsters. The glue ups all went through the drum sander that was so wide that My recall has it at 5 or 6 feet. Big rubber pads on the metal link feeder carried the work through.

[Derek Arita]

Question...I seem to always joint a board flat before I feed it to the planer. If the capacity of my jointer is 12", then all I need is a 12 or 13" planer...right? How else would I use the extra capacity of a 20" planer besides being able to angle feed a workpiece?
Also, I've always heard that using a planer to level up glue lines is not a good idea. I always assumed it was because the glue might either gum up the knives or be too tough on the knives...I don't really know. Thoughts?

[Steve Clardy]

I always size my door panels after glueup with a 20" planer.
Never noticed glue being hard on knives.

I start with 15/16" material

[BARRY RESNICK]

Steve,

Do you use straight knives on your planer? Is a Shelix needed?

[Steve Clardy]

Steve,

Do you use straight knives on your planer? Is a Shelix needed?

Just straight knives

[BARRY RESNICK]

Steve,

I,m looking at the Grizzly G0454 20" planer. Do you have any experience with it?

[Steve Clardy]

I have the older version. G1033 3hp
Purchased in 1998.
No issues, never had any breakdowns.
Kinda like the Eveready Bunny. :D

I think the only difference is the paint, panels, decals and such.
Base is a little different.

[Ed Lang]

Just finished using my 20" Grizzly right after glue up of many cutting board blanks. Next stop for the blanks are the CNC machine. Then a dunk in the oil tank. I could not go back to a smaller planer now. Bigger, sure, smaller no way. I put my 12" Delta on top of the 20" Grizzly so I could have both ready for a while. I would rather use the rollers on top to transport long boards back to the infeed end rather than make a shelf for the 12" planer. Wonder what I did with the 12" planer? I am sure I didn't throw it out.... but then who knows.

I like spending others money even more than mine but I use regular knives, none of the fancy ones yet.

Good luck.

[BARRY RESNICK]

It sounds as though the 20" is the way to go and upgrade the head only if needed.