I am thinking of buying a Grizzly G0634Z 12" Planer/Jointer with Spiral Cutterhead

[Nben]

Sorry for the repost, I could not figure out how to delete my previous post. Just getting used to this forum software and thought a better title might help and additional questions at the end.

http://www.grizzly.c...s-G0634-/G0634Z

I am thinking of buying this 12" jointer/planer. I have half of a two car garage as my shop and I really do not have space for both a jointer and a planer. I have a Grizzly table saw and I have been happy with it. I want a spiral cutting head as the carbide inserts seem to be a more Eric proof means of leveling (as opposed to knives) and from what I have read the spiral shearing action gives smoother results.

I would be interested to hear what you all think of this as I am almost ready to pull the trigger.

What do you all think?

Is a spiral cutter head worth the expense?

Will the combined nature of this machine be more painful than any human should endure?

[dwacker]

I would not buy a all in one unless it had a Tersa head.

Don

[wilburpan]

I have a 10" Rikon jointer/planer combo, and I love it. Here's why I got it.

1. Small shop.

2. Cheap way to get a wide jointer.

The only way I would replace my 10" jointer/planer combo is to get a 12" model. And the only reason I don't have a 12" model is because I don't have the space.

[Nben]

Thanks for the answers! If anyone else would care to answer it would be very helpful!

[thewoodwhisperer]

Hey Eric. For folks who are short on space, the combo machines are a really good option. And this certainly looks like a decent unit just judging from what I see and the price range.

The combo units I worry about (and recommend against) are the ones that are under $1000.

Personally I do think a spiral/helical heads are worth paying more for. As you mentioned, cut quality, setup, and maintenance are all great reasons.

Now if you had the room, I would encourage you to go with separates. But if the space dictates a smaller foot print, you'll probably be well-served with a machine like this.

[Nben]

Thanks I feel like I can rest a little easier now :-) I have a number of upcoming projects that are in need of accurately dimensioned and jointed wood. Too many commissions :-)

[thewoodwhisperer]

A great problem to have!

(null)

[Nben]

Pulled the trigger, will let you all know how it works out. Now to buy that harbor freight shop crane.

[Nben]

Well thank goodness for the harbor freight shop crane! It greatly facilitated getting that monster off the pallet :-) Working on getting the cosmoline off of the cutter head now. I think I am going to buy an inch/pound torque wrench and remove all the carbide inserts (tired of finding out how sharp those boogers are).

I am going to try to get the tables leveled and parallel this weekend, Straight edge and Una-Gauge (http://www.betterleytools.com/unagauge/unagauge.html) to the rescue. The test firing went well

[stahlee]

Nben, I have owned the 634z with the spiral cutter head for about two years and it has been an excellent tool. The spiral cutter head is worth every penny. No tear out and it runs much quieter. It's like butter over figured lumber. I have plenty of room in my shop and buying combo machine wasn't a necessity due to space, I just wanted to buy the combo machine because, to me, it just makes sense for them to be together. Jointing as wide as I can plane makes sense. I was concerned over the shorter length beds over my 8" with extended beds, but it really hasn't been a problem. Just use rollers if you need the support.

I still use my 8" Grizzly G0500 and the Dewalt DW734 on occasions, but not often. It's actually nice having the lunchbox planer when I'm batching tasks and I can have both running.

Grizzly's 12" combo machines are definitely some of their better hardware.

Good luck and let me know how you like it.

Chris

[Nben]

Stahlee, so far so good, I feel that I have got things lined up pretty well and the tests I have done with jointing and planing have produced square and flat surfaces. Can not see sunlight between any of the surfaces when held together etc... Looks like it is time to buy a pile of wood and get working on some projects!

[bglenden]

What shop crane did you get, and how hard was it to use single handed (I assume?).

Cheers,

Brian

[Nben]

I bought the 1 ton shop crane from harbor freight (The legs of the crane were not wide enough to go around the pallet so I engaged in the slightly nerve wracking exercise of lift/scooting the jointer off the pallet). I punched out the lifting holes on the jointer and hooked in some 2 ton strap clamps (with ratcheting heads) tightened them good and tight, jacked up the jointer a bit and moved it until it would not move on the pallet any further (repeated 3 or 4x) until I managed to get a set of the legs off of the pallet and onto the floor. I then took some iron pipes and oh so gently lifted up the back legs enough that I was able to kick the pallet out from under the jointer. Finally I lowered the jointer and scooted the crane up close to it. Finally I lifted the jointer about a quarter inch off of the floor and slowly moved the crane to where I wanted to place the jointer (Warning the manual for the crane says not to do this sort of thing but I have been pulling engines and swinging them around like this for years).

The worst part was getting it off the pallet and once that was done everything was easy.

[Noyak20]

Nben,

 

Any follow up comments after using it for a year? I am in the process of purchasing jointer / planer or combo.  I'm interested in how this turned out

[Tom King]

I was wondering what a "shop crane" was, so I Googled it.  That's what I've always heard called an "engine hoist", so I Googled "engine hoist", and sure enough it's the same thing.  I have an old one that my Dad had, and it is indeed a handy thing to have.

[Nben]

Nben, Any follow up comments after using it for a year? I am in the process of purchasing jointer / planer or combo. I'm interested in how this turned out.

 

It works good, the spiral cutter head is good, and switching modes is not too bad as long as you batch your operations