# Grizzly Jointer/Planer Combo w/ Spiral Cutterhead



## ScottKaye

Good score.. Do you find the table length be a hinderance at all? I know on my 6" jt-360 I can only reliably joint boards that are maybe 4" long and even that is a bit of a stretch. I really like the idea of a combo machine, but Im not sure if Im willing to sacrifice the bed length a larger 8" jointer will give you.


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## mwest06

Scott,

I have not found any issue with the table size. I believe it has 60" table length for th jointer. I've jointed a piece of walnut that was 9 feet long. Now, my workbench build has a 6' long top, and is a wide, heavy slab. The machine does a good job with those heavy slabs, but I think it could be tricky to joint long (8-10') heavy slabs with this table size.

But for regular work, I don't see it having any problems jointing or planing longer boards.

For edge jointing, the fence is also very tall, so the boards stay stable when running them through.


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## ScottKaye

I stand corrected.. I just looked at Grizzly's site and I see the g0634xp had 59 1/2" tables. Not bad for a combo machine. You could get longer on a dedicated jointer, but 60" would be plenty for most applications


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## ScottKaye

thats what I get for not refreshing the screen before I speak! you had already replied!


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## mwest06

No problem Scott, I did look into that a lot when deciding on the purchase, but I found that even the table on jointers that are advertised as "long bed jointers" only had table lengths of 72-80", so I felt that that was not a huge difference


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## Tomas

Hi Matthew - since you did your homework can you speak to the noise factor. The Felder trademarks their spiral cutterhead as silent power or something like that - the grizzly also has a spiral but not sure if is in same configuration as felder - how is the noise level when operating?

Also - did you order from Amazon? Is is Amazon that shipped through UPS?

Why did you choose Grizzly over the Jet 12 inch combo?


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## darthford

Tomas I have an 8" jointer and 15" planer both with Byrd Shelix cutter heads they are very quiet, here's a link to a video with decibel readings you can hear both idling along then cutting, I don't think they are any louder cutting or not cutting volume wise.


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## mwest06

Sorry repeated post


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## mwest06

Tomas,

I found that the is a HUGE difference in noise between straight knives and the spiral cutters. Also, having seriously considered all of the available combo machines I found that there was not a huge difference in noise if they had spiral cutters, but yes, they are much quieter than straight knives, but no the difference in noise between brands of spiral cutters is negligible.

I ordered direct from grizzly, who ships via UPS freight

I chose this over the jet mainly because of the table tops. I do not like the Jet's ribbed cast iron table, as I think that it just serves to collect dust and makes waxing the tables a pain. Also, as jet markets this design as being able to reduce friction, I found that you can't tell any difference between their table and a flat cast iron table. The jet also has slightly shorter tables, which isn't a huge deal, but with combo machines where table size is already smaller, you need any extra length you can get. I am also not a fan of the euro style guard, don't know why, I'm just not. It seems to me the only advantage of the jet over other machines was the changeover time, but it was not so fast that I would choose it over other machines.

I should also mention that I looked at a baleigh combo machine, and considered that, as well. For anyone in the market, I thought it was a well built machine.


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## vikingcape

This is a dream machine for me when I can build my own shop later in life. I think combining these two machines is very smart. Thanks for the review


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## Tomas

Thanks Mathew for pointing out the ribbed table features on the jet - I am glad you told me because I am not interested in that feature as well and I just may go to with the Grizzly when ready.


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## retfr8flyr

I have almost a sister to the Grizzly in the Baileigh JP 1250 and it's also a great machine. I looked at the Grizzly and the Jet, I also didn't like the pattern on the tables of the Jet, so it was between the Grizzly and the Baileigh. Baileigh had a great price on their 1250, when I got mine, so I saved a lot of $$$. The main difference between them is the European guard, which I like, and the fence mounts a little differently. Baileigh has gone way up in price on their machine now, so the Grizzly is cheaper and is a better deal.


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## mwest06

Earl,

Thanks for the comment. I also looked at the Baleigh, but, like you said, the price was a little steep. I also looked at Baleigh's 16" combo machine. It was very impressive, but cost quite a bit.


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## retfr8flyr

The 16 looks like a killer machine but I don't have the room for something like that. I only paid $1780 for my JP 1250, which at the time I thought was a steal. I guess they decided it was under priced because it's $2875 now.


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## runswithscissors

There's an outfit south of Seattle that is either a warehouse or distributor (or ?) for Powermatic and Jet. They run ads from time to time on machines that are new but may be "scratch and dent." 2 or 3 years ago, I saw the Jet 12 inch combo machine with spiral cutterhead for $1800-around $300 less than the Grizzly, which I had been eyeing. But I hesitated, and when I finally called, it was gone. And then, to my astonishment, a few weeks later, another one showed up. This time I jumped on it. The guys who helped me load it hadn't found any blemishes on it, but guessed it might have been a demo at a trade show.

I love the spiral cutterhead. As others have noted, it's much quieter than straight knives. And I do appreciate the quick turnaround when switching functions. I don't mind the grooved or striated cast iron, but I do admit I would prefer the porkchop style of guard over the Euro guard.

A few months later, another one came up on their CL ad, but for $100 more. Then I realized that one included a rolling stand. I wish I could tell everyone the name of the outfit, but they don't include their name in their ads, just an email return and a phone no.


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## DwightC

Is it possible to use a cheater board to run thin stock through this thing when it's configured as a planer?


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## runswithscissors

I can't speak from experience on this, but I believe the danger is that the planer knives (or cutters) are tending to lift the leading edge of the board as it encounters them. With stock that's too thin, the flexibility of the board might cause it to rise up into the knives or cutters and raise hell. It might be less of a hazard with a spiral or helical cutter head, though, as they don't encounter the wood all at the same instant.

It might work if you carpet taped the leading edge of the board to the cheater board.


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## mwest06

> Is it possible to use a cheater board to run thin stock through this thing when it s configured as a planer?
> 
> - DwightC


The manual says minimum stock thickness is 1/4. I've run stuff through the the planer thinner than 1/4", but I wouldn't push it too much. As runswithscissors said, if you go too thin, the issue is that the wood fibers aren't supported enough and it can start to blow apart.

It is possible to use carpet tape and attach thin stock to an mdf backer to plane thin pieces that way, but typically thin stock calls for a drum sander.


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## DwightC

Thanks for the feedback. I'm fortunate enough to be studying in one of the country's better fine woodworking programs and we use cheater boards in the band sawn veneer and bent lamination classes (and to a lesser extent in furniture design for model making), so I'm generally aware of the trials and tribulations of using a cheater board. We make them with melamine and put a lip on the back end so that they are flat and don't get fed into the knives/cylinder head. When they do, somebody's got a sharpening job/rotating inserts task, and the shop tech gets pretty cranky, but I'm not aware of anyone doing any serious damage to the machinery making that mistake. Never tried the carpet tape trick, but it sounds like a down and dirty fix.

As far as really thin stuff (like commercial veneers) I haven't had any occasion to get to the point where fibrous decomposition would be a problem-though with nice figure some of those issues come up earlier. And a drum sander is nice, but access to one cost me $75/hour, so . . . .

Maybe a better way to ask the question is ask where the head and feed rollers are on the Grizzly combo jointer/planer when it's configured as a planer.


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## Kevdlambert

I'm considering this machine. My biggest concern is that the cutterhead has only 32 inserts. Compared to other machines this seems like very few. Does anyone have experience with the finish quality from this cutterhead. I'm considering the Rikon 25-210H because it has 56 cutters. I really prefer the Grizzly design…just not sure about 32 cutters. Do I have a valid concern or not? Anyone?


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## mwest06

> I m considering this machine. My biggest concern is that the cutterhead has only 32 inserts. Compared to other machines this seems like very few. Does anyone have experience with the finish quality from this cutterhead. I m considering the Rikon 25-210H because it has 56 cutters. I really prefer the Grizzly design…just not sure about 32 cutters. Do I have a valid concern or not? Anyone?
> 
> - Kevdlambert


I've had the machine for a while now and can say I'm more than happy with the surface finish.

Does it come out ready for finish or polished like a hand planed surface? No, but it's not supposed to.

With all spiral cutter machines, you seem to get these very small little pin pricks in the wood surface. They sand out or smooth plane out very easily. I have seen this phenomenon in almost all machines with spiral cutter inserts, not just the grizzly, but I would also say that it seems to me if you have more cutter inserts, you might see more pin holes, not less.

Just my two cents. Hope that gives you some answers


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## FallingGator

> I am also not a fan of the euro style guard, don t know why, I m just not.


Neither Do I! They are annoying as can be. Who wants to have to do that whole hand over hand thing when pushing a board through. I suppose it technically makes it more difficult to lose a finger, but I just don't care. Call me nubby if you like… I'm not buying a machine with a European guard.


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## jsk12

do the tables stay in alignment? co-planar?

i've always wondered if switching back and forth might jar the settings

thanks


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## mwest06

> do the tables stay in alignment? co-planar?
> 
> i ve always wondered if switching back and forth might jar the settings
> 
> thanks
> 
> - phillywoodshop


Actually the alignment has held up pretty well. I usually go through and check every few months, but have only had to make adjustments once since I've owned the machine.


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## jsk12

> Actually the alignment has held up pretty well. I usually go through and check every few months, but have only had to make adjustments once since I ve owned the machine.
> 
> - Matthew


that's pretty impressive, glad it's working well

btw, any snipe issues with the planer?

oh, is the outfeed roller like a serrated steel? does it leave minute impressions that need to be sanded out?

(sorry for all the questions, i've been reading/viewing stuff but so far not any idea about the above, thanks)

thanks


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## mwest06

> Actually the alignment has held up pretty well. I usually go through and check every few months, but have only had to make adjustments once since I ve owned the machine.
> 
> - Matthew
> 
> that s pretty impressive, glad it s working well
> 
> btw, any snipe issues with the planer?
> 
> oh, is the outfeed roller like a serrated steel? does it leave minute impressions that need to be sanded out?
> 
> (sorry for all the questions, i ve been reading/viewing stuff but so far not any idea about the above, thanks)
> 
> thanks
> 
> - phillywoodshop


There is occasionally some snipe, I think it is somewhat dependent on the depth of cut, material, etc. But I think there is less snipe than on a comparable machine with straight blades. The outfield rollers are slightly serrated, and the insert cutter head will leave an unfinished surface, but nothing abnormal about that. Planers generally do not produce finish ready surfaces, you will always need to sand or hand plane the surfaces prior to finishing.


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## RCW

Thanks for the review, as it's hard to find many thorough reviews of this machine. I just pushed the buttom to purchase this from Grizzly, hoping they get them back in stock relatively quickly.


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