Everett Posted July 14, 2011 Report Share Posted July 14, 2011 So, my wife asked me what I want to do for my Birthday in Jan, which will be my 30th. She's big on B-days, so I figure I need to cash in when I can, since the next "big deal" will probably be 40. I've been looking at a lot of reviews of Grizzly stuff online, and for the most part it's positive. Since this is a hobby for me, it's also attractive as it's a lot more affordable as compared to PM, Delta, etc. I've really had my eye on the G0633, since I currently have a very small space (one car garage). http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-Jointer-Planer/G0633 I've found a few reviews where people really like it, and one horror story which had to do with shipping problems. There is a small part of me that doesn't like the idea of a "combo" machine. So, that would mean a planer and a seperate jointer. What are people's thoughts? Or better yet, does anyone have the jointer/planer combo? Thanks Ev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semmons23 Posted July 14, 2011 Report Share Posted July 14, 2011 If you're going to spend close to $2000 I'd look at this model...with Free Shipping it's pretty close and I'd rather have a jet although some may disagree. It is only 3HP but that's probably a 3HP continuous value not a 5HP peek value. It also spins faster so I would assume you'd get a better cut. i don't have one (either) so see if you can find a review or 2 first. I've bought from tools-plus and they are great - extremely responsive. http://www.tools-plus.com/jet-708475.html Steve www.TheDustyDeveloper.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikepdarr Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 Everett, I just recently purchased a 12" Hammer jointer/planer. Very nice and compact. Like you I am working out of a garage. One side is dedicated to my tools and the other is part time with my car. Check it out. I have the A3-31. http://www.hammerusa.com I have had it about two months now. So far I have not had any issues what so ever. Seems to be accurate. Has a smooth cut. Just have to get used to milling everything I can on the jointer before flipping it up to a thicknesser. The only drawback I see, which isn't that big of deal, is when changing from thicknesser to jointer. You have to wind the table all the way down to about 8.5 inches so the dust hood will lay in place. The differences I see between mine and the Jet(not positive about the Jet) or Grizzly is the option of having extension tables on the outfeed sides of the tables. Another feature might be the euro blade guard vs the pork chop. Not sure what else I can say. If you have any other questions I may be able to answer let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everett Posted July 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 Isn't the Hammer in the 5k range? I wee bit out of my budget. I'm leaning towards a Grizzly 8inch Jointer and a separate 15inch grizzly planer. I think i can make it work in my small space. I'm going with the polar bear series probably too since they charge +-$100 less just because the machine is a different color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikepdarr Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 I paid about $3800 for my setup. That is with a bunch of extras. Extension table with mount, extra set of blades, mobile base with lever, and the digital gauge. That was including shipping. I wasn't really trying to sell you on the Hammer. Just giving you my feedback on it and the differences there might be between the Grizzly and the Jet. You might also look at the Laguna. The Hammer was probably way more tool than I needed but I wanted it. I also try to buy the best tool I possibly can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackhammer Jace Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 I would recommend the combo units ONLY if your space is extremely limited. I haven't been terribly impressed by them, but I think it mostly depends on the frequency and intensity of your using them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 I'm a Grizzly fan. Not to say that all the other brands aren't just as good or better, it's just that I filled my shop with Grizzly equipment and haven't been sorry one time. I work in my shop 7 days a week and work my equipment hard. With that said - I've had my hands on the planer/jointer combo that you were initially interested in, and decided it would be a pain to switch from one mode to another. Looked to be too much of a hassle for me. Of course, I do have plenty of room in my shop so I started out with an 8" Grizzly jointer and a 15" planer. Since then, I've upgraded my jointer to a 12" Grizzly jointer. My 8" jointer and planer both have spiral cutterheads and I bought the spiral heads on the 12" upgrade. If you have the room, for what my opinion is worth, I think you'd be alot happier with two separate units. Good luck and let us know what you get! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 I have Rikon's 10" jointer/planer combo. Not the same machine, but I can speak to what it's like to work with a J/P combo. It's true that you have to plan out your milling differently than if you had a separate jointer and planer. But this isn't really too hard to do. The inconvenience of switching is also minimal, and the mechanism by which I switch from jointer to planer mode and back is more difficult than it is for the 12" models. The quality of the finish that I get is more than acceptable. Granted, I hit the surfaces with a hand plane afterwards, but I'm happy with what I get. And no powered jointer or planer is going to give you a finish ready surface. Extension tables are nice, but you can use infeed/outfeed supports to get you the same results. Or ask a friend to help you with really long boards. There's a rule of thumb that you can comfortably joint a board that twice the length of the bed of your jointer. With a 40" long bed in jointer mode, I can flatten a board 80" long. And there aren't that many projects that require boards that long. In planer mode, a J/P combo has an advantage over the typical lunchbox planer in that the bed goes up and down while the planer head is fixed. I think this has something to do with why I never have to deal with snipe. In a lunchbox planer, the cutterhead moves up and down, which is inherently less stable. Overall, it's really great having a wide jointer, because you can mill wider boards. And there's no cheaper way of getting a wide jointer than with a J/P combo. Grizzly sells 12" jointers for the same price as the 12" J/P combo. I'd get a J/P combo again if I had to do it all over. The Grizzly and Jet versions are about $2000, not on sale. Of the two, I'd go with the Jet, mainly because I like the European style guard on the Jet more than the pork chop guard on the Grizzly. My Rikon 10" J/P combo has a European style guard, which I really like. I do agree that if you have the room, separate machines would be nicer. But you'd have to have a lot more room, and a much bigger budget. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 As far an the combo units the thing to consider is the lenght of the jointer tables. Most of them have relatively short tables and the table lenght is what dictates the lenght of stock you can joint. I have a Grizzly planer I bought 1 1/2 yrs ago and I really couldn't be happier. I did have a gasket on the gearbox that leaked but one call and I had a new one at my door and a really nice E-mail sent to me apologizing for the inconvenience . Early happy B-day and good luck Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everett Posted July 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Hrm, i'm really leaning toward the seperate machines. It won't be much more at all for seperate. The thing that i don't like looking at pics online with the combo machine is the fench looks egh. So, i might have convinced my wife to let me build a shed out back instead of using the one car garage. Checked it out, and 200sq ft or less does not require a permit. I'm thinking i can "fudge" it a little bit higher though, and there is a limit of 2 stories on height =-). So, i can have a lot more storage upwards. I was going to maybe do a concrete type patio right outside a double door to the shed, so long as it isn't freezing cold or raining/snowing, i can use that little are outside as well. I think i'm going to get this Planer: http://www.grizzly.com/products/15-3-HP-220V-Planer-Polar-Bear-Series-/G0453P and this Jointer: http://www.grizzly.com/products/8-x-72-Jointer-3-HP-w-Mobile-Base-Polar-Bear-Series-/G0656P They aren't the spiral cutterhead versions, but I read on Lumberjocks of a guy who points out if you got the patience, you can by the spiral head later and install it yourself. My buddy is also a mechanical whizz. Going this route actually saves about $170 bucks. Thanks everyone for the responses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Hrm, i'm really leaning toward the seperate machines. It won't be much more at all for seperate. The thing that i don't like looking at pics online with the combo machine is the fench looks egh. I will say that the fence on the 10" J/P combo that I have is a steaming pile of poo. Luckily, I tend to edge joint with hand planes, so it's not a major issue for me, but if you are used to edge jointing with machines, that will be a problem. On the other hand, the fences on the 12" J/P combo machines that I have seen are really nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 As far an the combo units the thing to consider is the lenght of the jointer tables. Most of them have relatively short tables and the table lenght is what dictates the lenght of stock you can joint. As I mentioned above, the length of a board that can be easily jointed is about twice the length of the table. For the 10" J/P combo that I have, the 40" table "limits" me to jointing boards 6 feet 8 inches long. There aren't many projects that require boards longer than that, and this can be gotten around by using infeed/outfeed rollers, or enlisting a second person. I was able to joint the 8 foot beams that I used for my workbench on my 40" jointer bed with help from my neighbor. Besides, for a 12" J/P combo like the one that Everett was looking at, the bed is about 60" long, which "limits" you to a 10 foot long board. There are very good reasons to go with separate jointer and planer machines instead of a combo, but I don't think that bed length is one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkers Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 I think i'm going to get this Planer: http://www.grizzly.com/products/15-3-HP-220V-Planer-Polar-Bear-Series-/G0453P and this Jointer: http://www.grizzly.com/products/8-x-72-Jointer-3-HP-w-Mobile-Base-Polar-Bear-Series-/G0656P I'm gonna get on my parallelogram jointer soap box here... A parallelogram bed jointer is much, much, much easier to adjust the beds to be co-panar than a traditional dovetailed way jointer.. Have a look at http://thewoodwhisperer.com/jointer-setup/ . Now imagine, instead of adjusting the beds with a wrench, you have to wedge shims where the bed meets the base. It's maddening. You may want to consider spending more on a parallelogram jointer (like the http://www.grizzly.com/products/8-Jointer-with-Parallelogram-Beds/G0490) and getting a cheaper planer (like http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735X-13-Inch-Thickness-Planer/dp/B0000CCXU8/) I have the DW735 and am very happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 I'm gonna get on my parallelogram jointer soap box here... Yup yup yup. See any of the various threads in this forum about adjusting the tables on the Rigid 6 1/8" jointer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everett Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Hrm you may have me leanIng for the parallelogram now. I've heard/read that a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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