Jasahan Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Hey all. More questions. We need a commercial grade planer. I have a 3hp 15" grizzly http://www.grizzly.com/products/15-3-HP-220V-Planer-Polar-Bear-Series/G0453Pand it's not a bad planer. But it's a little less than what I need. I don't really need a wider one. But 20" wouldn't kill me. I do not want a spiral cutterhead. We make everything out of recycled pallet wood, and I'm pretty sure that would be a disaster. While we're not made of money, the budget is as little an issue as it will ever be. Suggestions please. Here's why the Grizzly isn't doing it for me. It's overheated a couple times. It occasionally slips into neutral. The bed won't stay at its specified depth. I imagine in a normal woodworker's shop, it would do wonders. And yes, I have been maintaining it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Suppose it depends on what you mean by ‘commercial’... Do you have a handle on hrs/day, linear feet/day, etc? The thing is, you can spend a lot for a true 8hr/day, 200day/year commercial-grade planer. It’s no problem at all spending $15 - $20K for a top-shelf 15”-20” unit – but you simply may not need that sort of kit... So gathering some data would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkrueger Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 I do not want a spiral cutterhead. We make everything out of recycled pallet wood, and I'm pretty sure that would be a disaster. I actually have a project coming up where I'll be using a lot of recycled pallet wood. I'll be purchasing a planer soon as well. Can you tell me why a spiral head would not be good in this case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Spiral head would actually be better than straight knives because if you hit a nail, you only ruin a few inserts instead of the whole blade. Just rotate them and you're back in business. And the inserts stay sharper for much, much longer so if you're doing a ton of planing, less sharpening is needed. Of course you should be using a metal detector before putting anything through any machine...and I still question why pallet wood would be used for furniture anyway...but that's a different thread and a very dead horse. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkrueger Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Of course you should be using a metal detector before putting anything through any machine...and I still question why pallet wood would be used for furniture anyway...but that's a different thread and a very dead horse. Good idea. I won't be using it for furniture, personally. I'll be making an accent wall out of pallet wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew-in-austin Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 If I were in your situation, I would look for a well taken care of or refurbished 15-20" planer from 70's or earlier, like a powermatic 180: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 As long as the seller provides a shop helper to sweep-up... Actually, you can make DC pickups for these bad boys, but some can be rather tricky... There's a shop down the road a bit with a 24" Rockwell of similar vintage --- DC isn't too bad... One problem, the unit weighs 2500 lbs... That's usually the drawback with old iron -- 3phase and/or 2000-3000 lbs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 I'm still slightly confused as to what you plan on doing with pallet wood on a planer that your current 3 horsepower grizzly model will not do. you said you were going to be building a wall, are you planning on just taking the flats off of pallets planing them down and attaching them to the wall? Any type of operation I can think of with that end game in mind with easily be handled by a lunch box planner much less a larger more expensive commercial unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkrueger Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 I was building the wall, not the OP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janello Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 ===>Here's why the Grizzly isn't doing it for me. It's overheated a couple times. It occasionally slips into neutral. The bed won't stay at its specified depth. None of the above are normal characteristics for a 3HP 15" planer, even a Grizzly that gets a daily workout. Sorry to disagree, that's a maintenance issue. It's plausible that it's "not worth fixing" and a new purchase is in your future, but those specs will chew wood and do it well all day long. A wider cut, better tolerance, better dust collection and easily repeated cuts puts you into another machine and another tax bracket. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 So, are you looking for something like this: http://www.olivermachinery.net/index.php?node=machines&type_id=3&model=4455 or this? http://www.northfieldwoodworking.com/singlesurfacers/no7.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 ==>Sorry to disagree, that's a maintenance issue Well.... It could be a maintenance issue.... Or it could be as stated by the OP --- using a hobby planer when a commercial duty cycle is required... You can dress-up Grizzly all you want – its hobby gear and not suitable for comercial duty cycle, much less production use... Let’s wait for the OP to provide a duty cycle requirement... Well -- old Oliver, not sure about the new stuff... Northfield is one -- very old school... I was thinking more along the lines of: http://www.felderusa.com/us-us/products/planers/planer-d-951--504-mm.html It's about $16-$20K for the 18.5" (depending on if you want Tersa)... The big Felder is rather price-prohibitive... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasahan Posted June 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Sorry for the delayed response. Crazy couple of days. Here's why I think a spiral cutterhead is bad: metal. I agree, I should be using a metal detector. We don't have one, but it's probably time to put one on the list. Despite our best efforts to get out all nails and staples, we always fail. From what I understand, those carbide cutters would shatter. If that's wrong, then maybe a spiral cutter head could work. Here's what we do with the planer: plane all day. At least, we're to the point where we could plane all day every day. Mixed american hardwoods, from poplar to hickory, with an occasional piece of pine. Taking stuff down to mostly 3/4". Which means occasionally, I'm taking off as much as 1/2". Here's why I don't think it's maintenance: I've maintained it. Except more keeping a fresh set of blades on. But it was a fresh set when it died on me. 1 day old. Also, I've got excellent dust collection on it. I agree about "dressing up" Grizzly. They don't make bad tools. But I don't feel they're great tools. We upgraded from an old Foley-Belsaw to the Grizzly, and my life changed. It actually seemed intelligently designed, had a way simpler gear set-up, and an oil bath. Plus, lots of design features that were unnecessary but nice, like rollers on the top and a nice switch. Like I said, I would recommend it to anyone who even does a good amount of woodwork. But besides the overheating, the slipping into neutral and the bed moving are also not conducive to production, and I don't see how they are maintenance related. If that's the case, then please let me know. We use pallet wood for furniture because it's free and trendy. I generally enjoy it. I have not been able to fine-tune my skills enough to really dig into crafting excellent things out of expensive wood. But I love turning ugly pallets into cool looking furniture. Plus, we get plenty of figured stuff, so we get to play around with different woods. There's my kick to the dead horse. BTW, we do not have three phase, but I'm starting to think that needs to be in the shop upgrade. Electrical is a big fat area of ignorance for me. Just found out what a microfarad was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasahan Posted June 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 I was thinking more along the lines of: http://www.felderusa.com/us-us/products/planers/planer-d-951--504-mm.html It's about $16-$20K for the 18.5" (depending on if you want Tersa)... The big Felder is rather price-prohibitive... It's so pretty! AND, it comes with "perfect technology". And all these years, I've been putting up with the imperfect sort. This seems more along where I think I'm headed. Might be overkill. I need to keep digging. Can't get distracted by fine German engineering. BTW, thanks all for the feedback and suggestions. I generally don't even know where to start with most things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasahan Posted June 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 So, are you looking for something like this:http://www.olivermachinery.net/index.php?node=machines&type_id=3&model=4455 or this?http://www.northfieldwoodworking.com/singlesurfacers/no7.htmMaximum cutting depth 1/2"? WOW! Aren't you pretty much mulching at that point? Those two seemed similar. Maybe I need to double check. They are wider than what I need. The widest thing I would plane is 15". Not that I couldn't plane wider. And maybe that's part of my issue. I read on a review of some planer (don't remember what it was) that it worked great until you got to wider stock. So maybe I need 20" to plane 15". EDIT: k, well, that Northfield seems like a beast and a half. I like that it goes down to 1/16. Don't like that the oliver doesn't even go to 1/4". Not that I need that for any regular item. I just have a guitar floating in my far distant future. They both seem like tanks. My issue with the belsaw is the gear set-up is complicated and just seems poorly thought out. I'm not the most mechanically inclined, but I think simple is better, and that's what I like about the Grizzly. Plus, Belsaw doesn't really exist anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 ==>we're to the point where we could plane all day every day If you’re really planning "all day every day" and that actually translates to an 8hr/day 200day/year duty cycle then you need to look at commercial-duty kit... You could go up the ladder on hobby kit, but you’ll kill it --- It’ll just take a bit longer... But be prepared; commercial-duty milling kit starts in the low five figures... So before you go down that route, you should examine your requirement – if you had a commercial planer, could you really keep it fed? Do you actually have that much stock to mill? How about DC? When I mill for 8hrs (maybe four times a year), I fill two 55g drums... So if this would be your average day, then we’re talking serious chip disposal. As for spiral heads – they have their plusses and minuses... But you need to put the horse before the cart: before investing in an expensive planer, you need to get that metal detector – no matter what type of head you get, hitting metal will cost you... Yes, carbide inserts shatter – that’s not the issue. The issue is they tend to take their closest neighbors with them (I’ve had this happen and it’s rather exciting)... But killing a set of Tersa knives isn’t exactly cheap either – just a lot faster/easier to fix... I spend around $20/HHS and $140/carbide --- and at 4/head --- a nail can get pretty expensive... Get the metal detector and use it... ==>Maximum cutting depth 1/2"? That's a pretty common spec for light comercial kit -- I think my unit is 18mm (that's almost 3/4" in old money) -- but I've never done it, nor would I be crazy enough to try... Maybe I'd try once just to to see if the DC could keep up... When you get closer to a purchase, we can discuss head technologies, pros/cons of US vs Euro iron, etc, etc. Like head technologies, each has strengths and weaknesses... My milling kit is Euro, so I’m biased... We can also discuss the used market... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Maximum depth of cut? Whaddya got 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Getting all hot and bothered over that bad boy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Getting all hot and bothered over that bad boy... we have one where I work that will eat pallets as fast as the excavator can feed it! There's a mountain of pallets about 50' wide and probably 30' tall! I hauled some down there the other day and noticed quite a bit of oak in a few of them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasahan Posted July 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 So if I need a metal detector, any recommendations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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