Jointer and Planer Advice

[Kent A Bathurst]

Another point to consider for planer (and jointer) width, is the ability to surface entire panel glue-ups. I can glue most of my panels, then plane the glue-up without having to smooth individual glue-lines. It's a time saver when doing large projects with lots of panels.

Or, focus on being able to produce panels that are flat, and require no nuttin' at the glue joints...... Treat the disease, not the symptom......

Just good-natured ribbing, Paul - don't get mad..............do what works best for you

[Paul Murphy]

Or, focus on being able to produce panels that are flat, and require no nuttin' at the glue joints...... Treat the disease, not the symptom......

Just good-natured ribbing, Paul - don't get mad..............do what works best for you

I claim an inadequate supply of clamps; my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Truthfully, planing after gluing is lots quicker for me.

[Paul Murphy]

Go online and look at diagrams of planers to understand how they are designed. There should be a chipbreaker located right in front of the head. It should be adjustable. They are less important with an insert head but a planer with one is better than one without. The pressure bar should be fairly stout and easy to adjust. The PB is an area that manufacturers have cheapened up in recent years. Flimsy and hard to adjust. They are important so know what you are getting. Feed rollers should be as close to the head as possible and two in the rear beat one although that isn't a deal breaker. Rollers in the table are not that important IMO unless powered and few are anymore. Planers that also double as molders can not have anything close to the head to accomodate the knives so they can not perform as well as a good planer.

Look at the design rather than who manufactures the planer and you will be better informed than most. Dave

David is really spot on here. The better the components, the easier a planer is to adjust for proper feeding, and the less you will be troubled with things like end snipe.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I claim an inadequate supply of clamps; my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Truthfully, planing after gluing is lots quicker for me.

Then go for it.

Can't work for me - too much reversing grain stuff in my table tops, etc - -

[Frank Drew]

I can't comment on recent Grizzly or Powermatic machines, but in general I'd recommend getting as much machine (size, quality, etc.) as your budget and floor space will accommodate. Within reason.

Certainly check out the used market if possible.

[Allan Speers]

Then go for it.

Can't work for me - too much reversing grain stuff in my table tops, etc - -

Have you tried a high-angle jack, or a scraper plane? The latter (with a sharp blade of course) should deal with just about anything and not give tear-out. For cleaning glue-ups, I recommend the LV scraper plane with the A2 blade. You can then also get a toothed blade for it, which is great for veneer prep and also for pre-planing really tough grain. I just wish they'd offer a scraping blade in their new PM-V11 metal, as glue-ups really dull an edge. Maybe the V11 is too prone to chipping, I dunno.

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LV also makes an insert you can use to convert any Stanley-type plane. not nearly as good, but for occasional use it's probably fine:
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...=1,310&p=32635

- If you can find a dirt cheap #6 on Ebay, with no blade or chipbreaker, then add one of these for an low-cost and very workable solution. - But buy an extra blade, and get very good at sharpening & burnishing.

[glenn bradley]

I have an older Grizzly G0490X jointer made prior to the improvements on the current model (closed chute, serpentine belts). I later purchased a Grizzly G0453Z planer. Both have been trouble-free workhorses so my opinion is tainted.

Back in the day Powermatic was the "gold standard"; Delta used to be synonymous with high quality as well. For current equipment I can find as many rants or praises for any of the various paint colors including the European names.

I have Delta, Jet, Saw Stop, Grizzly and others in my shop so I am quite color blind. I go for the best bang for the buck and in the jointer, planer (and arguably bandsaw) arena Grizzly is the top dog right now IMHO.

This paradigm will probably shift again as time and change march inexorably forward. Look to owners comments and reviews. I particularly weight owner reviews from owners who have multiple brands in current use.

[Rick Fisher]

When the sales rep tells you the Powermatic is better than the Grizzly ask why .. If you go helical, the PM uses a Byrd head. The Grizzly may use a Taiwanese helical head. The cutters however are probably both made by Tigra in Germany .. I had a General 20" Helical head planer, I actually changed to 30 degree angled indexible cutters .. If your really curious, take a look at the schematics for both machines and compare. See for your self the difference in design.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Have you tried a high-angle jack, or a scraper plane? The latter (with a sharp blade of course) should deal with just about anything and not give tear-out. For cleaning glue-ups, I recommend the LV scraper plane with the A2 blade. You can then also get a toothed blade for it, which is great for veneer prep and also for pre-planing really tough grain. I just wish they'd offer a scraping blade in their new PM-V11 metal, as glue-ups really dull an edge. Maybe the V11 is too prone to chipping, I dunno.

------------

LV also makes an insert you can use to convert any Stanley-type plane. not nearly as good, but for occasional use it's probably fine:
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...=1,310&p=32635

- If you can find a dirt cheap #6 on Ebay, with no blade or chipbreaker, then add one of these for an low-cost and very workable solution. - But buy an extra blade, and get very good at sharpening & burnishing.

Alan - I was just saying I could not have multi-board glue ups and shove them through a wide planer, because the the materials I typically use. 90+% of my glue joints require only a card scraper to get right with the Lord of Glue Joints.

I got the LV scraper plane; I got other toys that can handle the reversing grain also

[Kent A Bathurst]

I have an older Grizzly G0490X jointer made prior to the improvements...........serpentine belts.

OK - I'll bite - educate me - what does the serpentine belt add to the game? New one on me - a learning opportunity here.......

[Allan Speers]

Well there you go !

[James M Ireland]

I have a Sawstop PCS, a Delta DJ-20 jointer (with Byrd head), a King 15" thickness planer (with Byrd head), a Craftex dust collector and a King single drum sander in my shop.

Aside from the Sawstop which is a beautiful saw and bought for the safety feature, the other tools were bought used. I did not pay attention to the brand as the machines are, in my mind at least, the same as their more expensive or cheaper cousins of another brand.

Case in point, my KC-385FX is part for part the same machine as my friend's General 30-125CE and also the Craftex (Basically Grizzly for Canada) CX15 which is on display at the local Busy Bee store (OK, the switches and hand wheels are different).

If I lived in the US and was buying new tools all over again I would either buy all Grizzly or really increase my budget and look at the Euro machines (SCM, Mini Max, Felder, Hammer). The Grizzly value proposition is hard to resist.

[glenn bradley]

OK - I'll bite - educate me - what does the serpentine belt add to the game? New one on me - a learning opportunity here.......

I hope I used the right term for that type of multi-ribbed belt. The older machines with standard v-belts made a loud bang via belt-slap during startup and sometimes a rattle during wind-down. This made the machine sound like a rattle-trap and generated quite a bit of (seemingly endless) discussion on the boards. The fix was to change to a link belt and elevate the belt cover to allow more clearance. Very simple but, why should the consumer have to do this, right? The design fix was a change of belt/pulleys which is stated to remove the 'problem'.