15" Planer upgrade options - advice please!

[Rob Lee CT]

I have a 1988 vintage Grizzly 1021 15" planer with Schmidt knives that runs pretty well, but I have the usual complaints: too much snipe (sort of temporarily fixable with outfeed roller adjustments) and occasional serrated outfeed roller marks.

My first thought was/is to replace this planer with a new 15" machine from (Grizzly? PM? someone else?) with a spiral cutterhead; I'm guessing that in the past 25 years, manufacturers have learned how to make a better, more accurate machine. But... sticker shock: a new Grizzly planer with a 15" spiral cutterhead runs about $1,800 plus shipping.

Turns out I can retrofit the ancient G1021 with a Byrd head and new bearings for about $700. Or, there's an 8 year old PM15 planer in the neighborhood for about $400 that I could upgrade with a Byrd head for an all-in price of maybe $1,150.

Your thoughts? Have there been enough improvements in machine design/construction during the past 25 years to justify the additional $1,100 a new machine will cost? Is the 8 year old PM15 a significantly better upgrade platform than the 25 year old G1021? What would you do? (yes, I know i should have a 20" spiral cutterhead planer, but that ain't gonna happen!)

Thanks for your thoughts,
Rob

[Matt Day]

For the most part all the 4 post planers are all the same from a mechanical standpoint through the years. Over the years They've upgraded to an enclosed cabinet, solid cast iron wings, etc.

The 15" PM planer for $400 is a great deal though assuming it's in decent shape. 8 years old is quite new. I'd be tempted to go that route an sell the old grizzly - you could probably get close to $400 for your old planer.

I'd have a Byrd head if I had the money and planed a lot of figured wood.

[Rob Lee CT]

I mostly work with locally sawn cherry and maple, and both woods tend to have a lot of figure and reversing grains. I bought some Schmidt blades about 10 years ago and they made quite a positive difference, but not enough: I find myself planing to as much as an 1/8th" oversize and hand planing to get the right size - and now that I'm retired and want to make some larger pieces, that's a LOT of extra work.

I thought the same thing on the PM15: newer motor, if nothing else....probably worth the money.

[David Kumm]

There has been little change to planer design for the past 75 years. A spiral head won't cure snipe so you first want to adjust the machine to eliminate that. Assuming you can, a spiral head whether on an old or new machine will give the same finish. 15" planers have been price point machines for years and don't always have chipbreakers or pressure bars like the bigger ones. If there is an improvement from an old Grizzly to a new one it will be that the machining and surfacing have improved. Downside is that almost every machine made today is lighter than one made in 1988. I would put a spiral on a 1988 PM, General 140, or maybe even a Delta Rockwell RC 33 but probably not many others of that period in the 13-15" range. Taiwan machines were not known for their finesse back then. Dave

[Rob Lee CT]

... Taiwan machines were not known for their finesse back then. Dave

I think that's a fair assessment of my G1021: it's heavy, solid, and the casting surfaces look like someone made them in a sandpit at the beach. Pretty sure the infeed and outfeed roller brackets were hand hammered, too.

But I ran thousands of bf of rough hardwood through it when I built my house and it's built like the proverbial brick #@%house. (#@%="out" ) Except for the snipe...which comes back an hour or less after I reset the rollers to minimize it.

[Matt Day]

Just a suggestion on the snipe issue, but try not using any rollers. The bed rollers or extension ones.

I don't have extensions on my 80's Jet and the bed rollers are adjusted below the bed. I also took time to adjust the pressure bars and all, which dialed out the roller marks almost entirely.

[Cary Falk]

My opinion is that you will have to adjust any planer to remove snipe and roller marks so you might as well take another stab at it on you current Grizzly. I have my Go452Z bed rollers completely below the table and the infeed and outfeed dead flat. I am guessing you have infeed and outfeed rollers. In that case I would guess slightly higher on the ends would be better. To adjust out the feed marks I made adjustments to the feed roller pressure in 1/4 turn increments on both sides at a time. Run a board through, make an adjustment run a board, etc. You will hit a point where you will get no feed and no marks so then you need to reverse directions. Hopfully you will hit the sweet spot. Start out trying to eliminate the outfeed because you will always see them. The infeed you will only see if you take off very small amounts of wood. Once you finish on the outfeed start working on the infeed. I sent my board through without taking off any wood so I could see if I was eliminating the marks. I also used a soft wood. I mostly run hardwoods so I figured if I didn't see it on hardwood I wouldn't see it on softwood. Good luck and ask if you have any questions.

[Rob Lee CT]

...The 15" PM planer for $400 is a great deal though assuming it's in decent shape. 8 years old is quite new. I'd be tempted to go that route an sell the old grizzly

Drove an hour up the road to see the $400 Powermatic Model 15 and it's in great shape - needs a little cleaning but tables are flat, motor sounds good and has not been abused. So I bought it. Excellent advice, Matt - thank you!

Now... have to find a good deal on a Byrd head with new bearings; then I'll run it through the setup drills everyone is recommending. Never thought about dropping the bed rollers below the tables - that may solve a lot of problems. Also will probably make laminate decks to replace the infeed and outfeed rollers.

[Dimitrios Fradelakis]

Holding out and getting a coupon for Grizzly is my opinion on scoring a Byrd head for a decent price. I, personally, don't think they come with the bearings already pressed in. I upgraded to a Byrd head on my Delta DC-380 15" planer and needed to put the bearings on myself. Yes it was a pain to put them on but with some patience they went on fine. I would also change the gear oil in your new planer since you'll have to drain it when you put the new head in. Good luck!

[Matt Day]

Awesome! Nice score.

And now you can take your time and get the PM dialed in while you still have your old Grizzly working (though not well!).

For the grizzly, do 3 quick things and see if it helps - lower the bed rollers, wax the table, and remove the extensions. See what happens but I bet it helps. It will help your resale value to have it working better.

PS - where are the pictures of this gloat?!

[Todd Davidson]

[QUOTE=Rob Lee CT;2530870]Drove an hour up the road to see the $400 Powermatic Model 15 and it's in great shape - needs a little cleaning but tables are flat, motor sounds good and has not been abused. So I bought it. Excellent advice, Matt - thank you!

I emailed about that planer yesterday morning. Bummed to have missed it, but I'm glad it went to a Creeker.

[Matt Day]

Todd, I there will be a Grizzly for sale in your area soon. Hint hint. If you want to upgrade to a 15", why not contact Rob and ask?

[Rob Lee CT]

...PS - where are the pictures of this gloat?!

Was raining too hard today to pick it up, I just went to look. Will go back over the weekend to get it, and post pics.

And yes, there will be a vintage G1021 with a couple pairs of blades available soon in Northwest CT at a good price (with waxed tables and bed roller adjustments already made).

[Jim Andrew]

If you want a Byrd cutterhead, it costs less to buy it from Grizzly than ordering it from Byrd. And Grizzly has 3 different cutterheads that fit the 15" planer. One looks like a Felder silent power cutterhead, has fewer cutters, and is their most expensive. My guess is that it runs with less power than the other 2 heads. Fewer cutters, less power.

[Todd Davidson]

Was raining too hard today to pick it up, I just went to look. Will go back over the weekend to get it, and post pics.

And yes, there will be a vintage G1021 with a couple pairs of blades available soon in Northwest CT at a good price (with waxed tables and bed roller adjustments already made).

I'll be keeping my eye on the Classifieds (or shoot me a PM when you're ready to part with it).