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Thread: [Grizzly] shop setup questions

  1. #1
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    [Grizzly] shop setup questions

    New forum user here looking for shop setup advice. Not new to woodworking, I am tooling up to rebuild shop / garage lost in August 2020 wildfire in Santa Cruz County. Built shop 30 years ago using hand-cut timber frame (green Doug Fir), clear heart redwood siding, true divided lite windows, concrete roof, copper trim, and other quality elements which I plan to replicate on Shop v2.0. Lucked in to a bunch of quality Doug Fir, Redwood and Valley Oak logs killed by the fire, and lo and behold decided I "needed" a Lucas 7-23 swing arm mill, with slabbing, planing and sanding attachments. Acquired that 10 months ago. And a skid steer to handle logs and milled timbers. To date we have probably milled 20k BF of Doug Fir into everything from 6x6 to 8x12, and 10k BF of Redwood, mostly 1x8 and 1x6 heart, with mixed heart/sap boards, 6x6 and 2x going into the fencing pile. We've also 3" slabbed several logs of redwood and valley oak. Gorgeous raw material banded and air drying. Built two solar kilns (5' x 8' x 22' each) and baked all the Doug Fir timber last summer, and baking first load of 1x redwood siding stock now. The question for y'all is what tools best for Shop 2.0, in the domain of planer, jointer, shaper, dust control, etc.? I have a 35yo Delta table saw, various beefy hand tools used for timber frame v1.0 in early 90s, a random drill press and band saw from garage sales / CL, but nothing in the big and beefy planer/jointer/shaper/dust collection department. I'm leaning Grizzly, though I've been waiting 5 months for a Laguna planer that I'm skeptical will ever arrive. My question is not what you think about Grizzly (already researched that extensively), but what is the best allocation of ~$10k-$15k across the power tools mentioned above. I want to S4S all the Doug Fir timbers, then chamfer, then rabbet one edge for light strip, and plane and shape all redwood siding into 1x8 or 1x6 V Rustic pattern, or similar. Thinking also that site-built doors and windows might also be interesting (Doug Fir for interiors, Redwood for exteriors), given prices and lead times I'm seeing out there for production/custom doors and windows, and the fact that Marvin no longer offers true divided lite double hung windows that I used 30 years ago. I looked at the combo jointer/planer that Grizzly and others carry, but I am not sold on the combo machine. Shop 2.0 will be compact, but plenty of outdoor slab area to roll mobile-based equipment out onto. I envision BIG infeed and outfeed tables from milled half-logs, as my biggest sticks are 8x12 x 20ft. Thinking a gantry crane (steel and/or timber) could be a fun next project before major finishing ops. And we have a skid steer with pallet forks for material handling. And yes, I am aware that I can only plane two sides of an 8x12 timber in a 20” wide by 8” tall planer. The other two sides will likely be planed with the sawmill attachment or power hand planers.

    With that long-winded backdrop, what are your thoughts on a 15" or 20" planer, similar size jointer and shaper, dust control, and maybe a new table saw for the above ops? Interested in your thoughts independent of brand, but also interested in Grizzly-specific comments/experiences. Internet-only “experts”, please keep your hands in your popcorn and off the keyboard. Here is a set of equipment I'm pondering:
    Hard to tell what backlog timing looks like. I'd like to have all this in place and operational by early March if not sooner.

    Happy Holidays all and thanks for any guidance.
    Last edited by Kelly Foster; 12-23-2021 at 4:44 PM.

  2. #2
    Equipment choices are pretty subjective, and 10k isnt a huge amount for all that equipment. I would say Grizzly in general is good value. Much of their equipment is produced in the same factories as other brands, in China or Taiwan.

    You should search each of those models in the forum search and read associated threads.

  3. #3
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    I've moved on from my Grizzly G1023 table saw, but it was great. I had it 15 years with absolutely no issues. It was solid, worked and was accurate. Dust collection, if that matters for you, was marginal, but I believe the newer saws may be better.

    I also had a 15" 4 post Grizzly planer. Model G1021??? Mine had straight blades, and they were reasonably easy to set. It also worked well with no mechanical issues. I usually kept the infeed and outfeed tables off of it, as they take up a lot of space and seemed to be out of adjustment most of the time. It takes some serious dust collector to keep up with it, but collects well.

    I sold both of these at different times to up grade to euro machines (Hammer Jointer/Planer and Minimax Sliding Table Saw), but both Grizzly machines were good to own.

  4. #4
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    So your dust collector link sent me to the shop fox. However, the Grizzly model is the same machine with different pain for $500 less. The issue this model has, which also the JET and some other brands suffer from is the short cyclone.

    https://www.grizzly.com/products/gri...ollector/g0862

    If you take a look at some of the stationary models, like the GO441, you will get better separation, means less emptying of the bag which is a bit more combersumb then the barrel.

    https://www.grizzly.com/products/gri...ollector/g0441

    I didn't have the height for the G0441 and though I was going to need to stay more mobile until I ducted the shop so I went with a Laguna. It has a slightly longer cyclone and felt the quality is better of Laguna tools. I just checked Laguna's web site and it looks like they are redesigning the dust collectors and have 'coming soon'.
    Distraction could lead to dismemberment!

  5. #5
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    Kelly ,I only have two Grizzly machines in my shop. One is a GO442 cyclone dust collector. It works well for me. I am now at a point where I am going to switch out filters to something else. Mine are 6 years old in a small commercial cabinet/millwork shop. Do you have 3 phase power available ? I ask because if you do I would look for a heavier used shaper than the Grizzly you listed. The work you are looking at just building the shop screams larger shaper to me. Also they have the potential to be cheaper as well. Good luck.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Justin Rapp View Post
    If you take a look at some of the stationary models, like the GO441, you will get better separation, means less emptying of the bag which is a bit more cumbersome than the barrel.

    https://www.grizzly.com/products/gri...ollector/g0441
    Thanks Justin. I switched to the taller G0441.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Kees View Post
    Do you have 3 phase power available ? I ask because if you do I would look for a heavier used shaper than the Grizzly you listed. The work you are looking at just building the shop screams larger shaper to me. Also they have the potential to be cheaper as well. Good luck.
    Unfortunately I do not have 3 phase power at my property. Though I have been researching the 3 phase generators, in the event I would trade up from gas Lucas mill to their electric model. But that's not imminent. I understand all other things being equal that 3 phase is better for motor longevity and performance, but currently not in the cards for my budget.

    Kelly

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Kelly Foster View Post
    Thanks Justin. I switched to the taller G0441.
    I know people say the short cones don't work well, but I needed something mobile, so many of the common choices were out for me. I settled on the Shop Fox 3HP, same as the Grizzly your looking at. Honestly, its been great, and I haven't seen the short cone as an issue; I've never emptied the plastic bag. The biggest problem is telling when the bin is full. More than once the bin filled and then that can blow extra material into the filter and filter bag. Still, not enough for me to change the bag. Consider getting a bit sensor.
    Last edited by derek labian; 12-24-2021 at 2:58 PM. Reason: corrected spelling of `bit`

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by derek labian View Post
    Consider getting a bit sensor.
    Thanks Derek. Sorry to be ignorant (and lazy on research). What's a bit sensor?

  9. #9
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    I think a bit sensor is a bin sensor by any other name.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Zachary Hoyt View Post
    I think a bit sensor is a bin sensor by any other name.
    Hah, yes, sorry about that.

  11. #11
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    N CA
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    I have the wheel mounted 1.5 hp Grizzly DC. It works for me as it is a one man show, BUT, I’d class it a mistake on my part, both on hp and mobility. I am forever running power lines around on the floor and dealing with the hose connection to the equipment. All really good trip hazards which I have so far avoided. There have been some posts recently on the Harvey 700 dust collection system, which seems pretty cool. The ability to make it central to a machine pod is pretty appealing, well, as I consider my mistakes.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zachary Hoyt View Post
    I think a bit sensor is a bin sensor by any other name.
    There are some fun DIY projects out there for dust collection full sensors.

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