grizzly jointer/planer combo

[Blair Moeller]

I would like as much input as possible, in regard to the Grizzly GO 958 8" jointer/planer combo, as I am looking to purchase a jointer, first time buyer, but the reviews are all over the place, and I feel asking true woodworkers, are the best feedback, also if there are jointers that are a better alternative, please feel free to voice your opinion.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Blair - Hi

Do you have a general idea of what type of things you would like to do in the near term?

I phrase it that way because, like every other soul here, you'll start simple and inexpensive, and then learn your way up the ladder, and upgrade as you go. Whatcha got in mind?

Also - you say "jointer" - are you conversant with the difference between a jointer and a planer? I wasn't when I started, so no judgement, just a question. This particular machine is a combination of both.

[Jim Becker]

That's a small benchtop tool. It does have both jointing and thicknessing as a combo with a helical head. But keep in mind that something this small is going to be limited to shorter pieces of lumber in particular for face and edge jointing.

For most folks "bigger is better", of course.

[Kent A Bathurst]

..... a helical head........

I said "huh?' at reading this, and then looked closely at the photos. It seems to me that it does have a helical head. Literally. A solid cutterhead, with a helical blade/edge machined into it.

Far out. I never - never - would have thought of this. Of course, sharpening it will be a riot. But still -

OK - Blair - run. Don't look back. Run away.

[Cameron Wood]

I said "huh?' at reading this, and then looked closely at the photos. It seems to me that it does have a helical head. Literally. A solid cutterhead, with a helical blade/edge machined into it.

Far out. I never - never - would have thought of this. Of course, sharpening it will be a riot. But still -

OK - Blair - run. Don't look back. Run away.

"The G0958 helical cutterhead has 18 inserts diagonally arranged in two rows for smooth shearing cuts, minimized tearout, a smoother finish, and operating at lower noise levels compared to straight knife blades. Each can be rotated up to three times to expose a new sharp edge."


Weighs 57 lbs.- not much for an 8" machine, maybe OK for light hobby use.

[John Kananis]

IMHO (so grain of salt). Are you affluent enough to spend a little extra? If so, then ok, buy it and learn on it. If you don't have money to waste, wait until your budget permits and either buy a good combo machine (floor-standing type) or two individual machines (my personal preference) - also floor standing. Spend once, cry once.

[Blair Moeller]

Thanks to everybody for the info, definably putting this combo in my rear-view mirror.

[Jim Becker]

Nothing wrong with J/P combos...many of us run them. But generally they are 12"/300mm or 16"/410mm wide units and floor standing. (Mine is an outlier being 13.6"/350mm )

[Kent A Bathurst]

"The G0958 helical cutterhead has 18 inserts diagonally arranged in two rows for smooth shearing cuts, minimized tearout, a smoother finish, and operating at lower noise levels compared to straight knife blades. Each can be rotated up to three times to expose a new sharp edge."


Weighs 57 lbs.- not much for an 8" machine, maybe OK for light hobby use.

Gotta be honest here Cameron - you did good with the “facts”, but I’m crushed that it isn’t a helix machined into the cutter head. That would’ve been so cool

Well. I guess it isn’t really on you, is it? I just gotta live with it.

Siiiigh

[Cameron Wood]

Gotta be honest here Cameron - you did good with the “facts”, but I’m crushed that it isn’t a helix machined into the cutter head. That would’ve been so cool

Well. I guess it isn’t really on you, is it? I just gotta live with it.

Siiiigh

I have a Porter Cable door plane with a spiral cutterhead like that- tricky to sharpen.

[Dave VanDewerker]

It has carbide inserts for the cutterhead, watch the video

[Curt Harms]

A machine like the G0958 may have a place but IMO that place is pretty limited. For one thing, a 57 lb. machine seems like it'd vibrate a fair bit. The combo machines most of us have and like weigh 500 - 600 lbs or more. A rule of thumb I've heard is that you can joint pieces 1.5X to 2.0X the length of the jointer beds. I lean toward 1.5X personally without additional infeed and outfeed support. European made Hammer A3-31s seem pretty popular here. Asian made machines like Jet or Rikon sell good machines though perhaps less refined for less $$$$ than the Euro machines.

IMO combo machines have 2 strong points. First is space savings; my Jet JJP12 takes up a space roughly 24" X 60". It's mobile. That's for a 12" planer and 12" jointer. I live in an area with a good supply of rough sawn hardwoods. Being able to face joint 12" stock is handy. The second reason is related. Spend some time looking at 12" jointers on woodworking machinery sites. They ain't ain't cheap though they're more substantial with longer beds.

[Alex Zeller]

You never did say what you want to do with it. If your plans are to build cabinets for a pantry then this isn't the right tool. If you plan on building jewelry boxes then this would be a better fit. The 8" planer is probably the most limiting part. Grizzly makes some good stuff and some not so good stuff. Stuff like this is more for the hobbyist who isn't look for mass production and can live within the tools limitations (like repeatedly checking the fence to make sure it's square). I wouldn't rule it out but if you have the room and funds I would look for a used 6" jointer and maybe a DeWalt 735 planer. Around here you can find a decent 6" jointer in the $300 range. It'll be older and may require some fiddling to get it to work well but it'll most likely be old American iron.

If you can tell us your plans we can help you better. Some people will, of course, want you to buy a $6000 jointer planer combo machine but there's plenty of us who understand that a budget on tenth that is all some people have.

[Tom Hartranft]

Blair ... you asked for input specifically regarding the Grizzly 8 inch GO958. I bought its big brother, GO959, in December at a better price point than what Grizzly now advertises. Both the GO958 and the GO959 have helical carbide cutter insert heads and my experience with cut quality with my GO959 on ash has been very good. I wanted a small footprint 12 inch wide jointer to go with my Grizzly 13 inch wide benchtop helical head thickness planer. These two machines together give me very good cut quality in very compact footprints. My focus is on hardwoods I use for making large signs, charcuterie boards, or half log surface jointing so my lengths are typically no longer than 3 feet. These machines do a good job for these short lengths. I have an Oneida V3000 with 4 inch drop hoses connected to my machines from my main 6 inch ceiling distribution lines. Dust/chip collection is very good for both machines with my central dust/chip collection system. Lastly, I have little feedback for you on the GO959 planer mode or change over to same as I do not use the planer feature on the GO959 ... I already have a Grizzly helical head thickness planer for that purpose. When first received, I did run some ash through the GO959 planer and cut quality was very good.

My bottom line ... good experience with the GO959 when in jointer mode. The Go959 planer mode is a backup for me in event my stand alone benchtop planer craps out temporarily. They use the same carbide cutters which is a plus.

Regards,

Tom

[Kent A Bathurst]

I have a Porter Cable door plane with a spiral cutterhead like that- tricky to sharpen.

Excellent. There is a god. Thanks