seals for Grizzly/Byrd installation

[Barry wines]

Thanks to the insight provided by helpfull Sawmillers I ordered a Byrd Shelix head for my Grizzly G 1021 planer. When I talked to Grizzly to order, I asked about bearings and seals.
The person I talked to didn't seem to think I needed bearings much less seals but I indicated that I wanted the bearings but didn't insist on the seals because I could'nt ID the seals on the parts layout on their online site. The persons on both the order line and Tech line could'nt either. The first thing I see on the instructions I downloaded from their web site says replace be sure to install new bearings and seals when doing this conversion.
Its frustrating to talk to people to get answers and their only knowledge comes off of a cheat sheet, so I am turning to probably the best source, a fellow sawmiller who has installed a Byrd head on a Grizzly G1021 planer. Is there a seal on both ends of the cutter
head. I'm asking because I don't want to take it apart until I know that I have all the parts. Thanks Barry

[Ronald Blue]

Usually the bearings are shielded or sealed in an application such as this. I was going to view the parts breakdown but for some reason I couldn't view the pdf file. Look at the bearings they sent you and see if you see either a metal or rubberized shield to keep the grease in and dirt out. Good luck with the upgrade.

[Mike Schuch]

Its frustrating to talk to people to get answers and their only knowledge comes off of a cheat sheet

I hear you! When I want this kind of advice I go to Home Depot! I have never seen a place that goes so far out of their way to give me misinformed advice from people that haven't a clue what they are talking about.

It is disheartening to hear that Grizzly doesn't have any knowledgeable people either! Especially since I have been saving up to buy a Shelix for my 15" Sunhill planer. Probably not worth upgrading as the chances of doing a successful upgrade without a lot of hassle getting the right parts sounds slim to none!

[David Kumm]

I would talk to real bearing people rather than replace with grizzly bearings. Bearings are an area where companies tend to save even though the price difference between great and average bearings is 10 or 20 bucks. The OWWM guys buy from Accurate bearing. I just go to my motor guy. Those will be standard and easy to find at a much higher quality for not much money. Dave

[david brum]

Barry, I just replaced the cutter head in a 15" planer nearly identical to yours, although not a Grizzly. I'm pretty sure there were seals on both sides of the cutter head. I didn't replace either seals or bearings (mine were fine) although I can see the logic in replacing them while you've already got everything apart if you're an especially cautious guy. I roughly followed the Popular Woodworking video, where I don't recall mention of bearing or seal replacement.

If you order extra seals, the worst that can happen is that you don't use them.

BTW, it would make sense to order a new gasket for the gear box. Mine was old and came away in chunks. I used gasket sealant but would have preferred to have a new gasket handy.

[Chip Lindley]

#516 and #536 oil seals are the only two seals on a Grizzly 15" planer gear box. Replace them if you want, but on a newer machine it is doubtful they are bad, unless obviously leaking. #506 gasket is more liable to tear upon disassembly, needing replacement.

G0543 15in Planer Gearbox seals.jpg

[Rob Holcomb]

I bought the Grizzly Spiral cutterhead and I needed a new seal for the gearbox. I believe in the above graphic it was part #536. The other seal was fine. Save yourself a lot of frustration and get the seals and new bearings. I wasted 4 plus hours trying to get things apart. For the price of the bearings and seals, it's money well spent to save that much time.

[Jerry Bruette]

Barry

After looking at the parts list for a G1021 on the Grizzly website it looks like you'll need one each of 6204-2RS, 6205-2RS bearings, and a 28x40x8mm seal. The only bearing company I know of that uses the suffix 2RS to designate double rubber seals is SKF and they will be more than adequate for your planer. If for some reason you don't trust Grizzzly replacement parts you should be able to pickup or order the bearings and seal locally.

I'll agree with the above suggestions to also get the gasket for the gear box. Not only does it seal but helps to maintain the proper spacing of the two halves.

Jerry

[Ralph Butts]

Just wanted to chime in on the general subject as I am looking at my new spiral cutter head for my G0453 that arrived last week. When I ordered the cutterhead along with another for my G0500 jointer the Grizzly person helping me worked very hard to get me the correct seals and gearbox gasket along with verifying that my choice of heads came with bearing blocks, bearings and did not require the additional purchase of separate bearings. I download the instructions from the Grizz site and read through them before ordering. I just wanted to share what I would describe as an opposite experience with the Grizz customer service. I was very pleasantly surprised and I will come to expect them same level of service all of the time.