Planers Reviews

Works great if you use a 2x dimentional lumber big enough, most 2x s are little to narrow and your saw sits in an angle (not level), we solved the problem by using shims to fill the voit an level the work platform

I love this stand. I highly recommend getting the 35" Work Center height as it is the most comfortable ergonomically. The portability is the key feature of this stand. The instructions note the maximum placement of the legs is five feet, but I found it to be extremely stable beyond that. The use of a 2x6 is de riguer for maximum support. Where this Work Center excels is in installing exterior siding. You can fully support long siding pieces with an equally long 2x cross member. For added utility pick up an extra Trojan sawhorse set to make a sawhorse pair when you aren't using the Work Center.

I bought the 35" model and I'm glad I did. I am six feet tall and far-sighted and I appreciate not having to bend over to get my bifocals to focus. Although the portability feature appealed to me when I ordered it I set mine up when I first got it and haven't taken it down since.

This product is crap! You'd be better off using kerosene and a tooth brush.
I was told that this product worked great on rust, well believe me when I tell you that it did more harm than it did help, it left my machinery with leopard spots.
I'm very unhappy with the results, you would think that for $30 you'd get a better product.

I have a mixed option about this kit.

I purchased it to remove a couple of rust spots from my table saw top. The rust remover works great. I did have to use it twice. It had the bad effect of changing the color of the table saw top to a darker grey (OK who cares). I also sprayed some on the ruler for setting my fence, and it crinkled it up, and now the ruler is hard to use (OK, I should have thought of that and not over sprayed). Over all this part did the job and I should give it 5 stars.

I use the blade and bit cleaner to clean resin from my router bits and table saw blades. That works well. However for table saw blades it is not much better than washing the blade warm water with Dawn dish soap. (and then drying the blade and spraying it with WD 40). I am uncomfortable washing my router bits with bearings. So I like the product for them. I would give it 4 stars.

The Boeshield is OK. It could be used to coat a metal product for long term storage. If all you want to do is protect the cast iron top of a wood working tool, you would be much better off just using a furniture paste wax. For my application, I give Boeshield 1 star.

I've been using T-9 for some years. Of the three items, the T-9 is really worth the cleaner and rust buster put together. It's too bad they're selling the kit and not T-9 by itself.

The rust cleaner is average. Flitz cleans better and is more versatile. The blade cleaner did clean but certainly not nine dollars better than a few ounces of Oil Eater, which cleaned gummy blades and bits lots faster.

T-9 RULEZ when it comes to keeping rusty crusty away from anything metal. It was even a good defense against a male dog's dislike of a metal bench and handtruck kept outside. It does stay sticky a long while so don't spritz and expect it to be instantly usable. Wet T-9 can stain cardboard boxes and fabric. The best anti-rust protection comes after letting it dry in a thick film.

I don't like T-9 on machine table tops except for storage, where it is the best thing EVER. It's sticky though. You have to clean hard before you can use the tool. The goo can get on wood and it takes strong solvent to get it out. If you live near salty water exposure, there's nothing better.

I've been using this planer for over three years now. The machine was an easy set-up. It's a must to have a dust collecter attached to it. After set-up I can plane lumber for about 2 hours, then it's time to ajust it again. I plane heavy oak boards that are close to 100 years old from old barns. The height ajustment will not stay locked, and the bottom rolls don't either. First time using this machine the lock screws for the bottom rollers fell out. I am not pleased with this machine at all.

This is my first/last planer. It does a fine job of planing, but: the shipping box had a fork lift tine punched through resulting in a minor dent in vent cover. Not enough cause me to refuse shipment. The manual is HORRIBLE. Certainly not what I'd expect from Jet/Powermatic and no where near what I received with my Jet tablesaw or Powermatic 60B Jointer. Looked like something you'd get with a Harbor Freight tool. No trouble shooting or detailed setup/adjustment instructions were included. My biggest gripe is the lower table sticks going up and down. The drive chain gets tight and then the table moves freely again. I've tried cleaning/lubing/ loosening bolts and tapping w/ a rubber mallet to get thing back into alignment; all to no avail. I'll be calling Powermatic tech support. And, installing the 3 roller infeed / outfeed rollers is a MAJOR pain/joke. I will either remove two rollers from each side (as is done on 16" Jet, see if I can purchase the CI tables from Powermatic (included w/ the 15" Deluxe Planer, or I'm make infeed/outfeed tables from plywood and melamine. And finally you MUST have a dust collector; Period.

whoa! this tool is without description in performance. I don't think you could throw anything at it short of a steel bar that it couldn't plane. It eats right through woods from tiny resawn pieces to wide slabs of hard maple and huge recycled timbers from an ancient trestle bridge, all with no detectable snipe. that said, it can be a bit finickey to get everything locked in right. I had a little bit of trouble getting all of the rollers aligned just so, but my woes were remedied once I went out and purchased an apropriate dial indicator, an investment you should probably make if you're going to spend this much on a planer. I ended up positioning my bed rollers just 0.001" above the bed and friction has been no problem at all. The fit and finish of this machine is excellent! pair this with a jointer like the delta DJ-20 (another tool I love) or similar and you can probably flatten anything! The only thing I think Powermatic could have done better would be the outfeed roller, I know it needs to be smoth and solid to prevent snipe but some kind of hard rubber tire or something might help it keep friction better. I accidently got some lubricant on it when prepareing the bed and my wood started stalling inches from exiting with the outfeed roller just spinning on it. after I cleaned it up it was not a problem again but just seems like it dosn't take much to start it slipping. Overall however this is the best planer I have ever seen! and if you can swallow the pricetag you won't be disapointed!

Grizzly states before purchase a vastly lower sum than when you attempt to check out. Do not be misled.

I see that all of the reviews for this planer are glowing. I bet their machines haven't had a break down, YET. I don't own this model Grizzly planer but I do have a 15" one that I am selling just as fast as I can. I have had a horrible experience with this company trying to get service on a drum sander Model #1066Z (six weeks just to get it running the first time around and then the motor quit again, see my review on that page). This company does not come close to living up to the wonderful things they have to say about their service department in their catalog. If you choose to buy any Grizzly machine PRAY that it doesn't break down on you. Because if it does you are likely in for a very long and frustrating ordeal. Good Luck, you'll need it.

I have had the planer for over a year now and have used it extensively. It has always provided excellent results with no exception. The only thing that can be done to improve it would be to have some kind of dust collection attachment. I usually have a box setup at the outfeed end and it catches about 90% of the chips coming out but it would be nice not to have to worry about it.
I have many grizzly machines around my shop and I have been extremely happy with every one of them. I used their customer service twice (for other machines) and they have gone beyond my expectations both times.

I do small remodeling and custom cabinet work. When I looked into purchasing a 12" planer the Jet unit seemed to be the right choice. It arrived o.k. and worked out of the box. Now, here comes the kicker...what I really required was a much heavier unit to accomplish my type of work.

The unit spits out quite a bit of wood chips and there is no dust collection included. After calling Jet, and paying a whopping [money], plus handling, the simple metal accessory arrived (4" connection) and accomplished the necessary dust connection for my big collector.

The next problem showed up in the height adjustment setting. You test the demensioning of a piece of stock, set the depth adjustment a bit tighter, and begin your first run. The vibration shakes the machine and the depth adjustment handle begins a slow return to a less pressure position. Simply put, it opens the gap. The "fix" was positioniong a clamp each time a new adjustment is required to hold the handle in place. This is a bother!

The next problem came with the two rollers on top. They fell off! I gathered the fallen pins and after applying "lock tight", reinstalled them. This fixed this problem!

The primary problem is in my application. I have attempted to run "old" reclaimed cypress and pine through the planer and I get a lot of noise and little planing! The TWO planer blades and the SMALL MOTOR don't have the power to handle this work.

So...if you are a hobby type of person looking for a cheap way to plane your stock; well, there is no cheap way to accomplish it. You will have to settle for small width boards (less power required), soft woods with few knots (less power requjired) and get your clamp out to hold the adjustment.

On the plus side for the Jet, the planer blades can be removed and replaced with the jig (included with your planer)in short order. You must attach the two jig fittings to the bar and position them properly; there is a front and back to the contact points. Anyone with commom skills can make quick work of all this.

For me, I'm purchasing the next Jet in the HP chain, the [money] unit which I hope will solve all these problems.

If you only have [money], and can fit into the mold above, go for it. But, remember what I've told you.

All this from a fellow woody kind of a guy.

I have had this planer for over two years!
Have run 100's of board feet of white oak through it with NO problems at all.

I always thought that this planer would not make it with my use but it keeps working great. The depth adjustment is always right on for me. For some time I have been thinking that a bigger planer should be in my shop. Many times the depth of cut was pretty deep just to see if I could burn this one up and have an excuse to get a bigger planer....well it just won't burn up!

You need the additional dust collection chute for this unit. It's a must to have it connected to a dust collector, will NOT run without it!

After several months of review reading and research I picked the Jet. Several woodworking mags rated it higher than the Delta and a better value than the Ryobi. Here's the clincher - JET CUSTOMER SERVICE IS AMAZING. I may just buy all Jet tools from her on out because the Customer Service Dept is so incredibly helpful and accomodating (ask for Dan - he's the man!). Happy sawdust making.

I needed a good heavy duty planer to scarff 1:8 slope joints in plywood sheets (I build boats). This planer has met all of my expectations. Plenty of power. Accurate cutter depth control. Extremely easy to change/sharpen blades. I would have given it five stars except for the useless chip collection port. Chips and dust dump out right by the motor fan! Small inconvenience though. All in all a very nice tool!

it has lots of power ,use it to do 2x4 & 4x4 in one pass .will hog well also .but it is big

I used a friend's Porter-Cable Model 367 power plane and quickly began to wonder how I got along without a power plane for so many years. I thought I'd get the same model Porter-Cable, but it appears Porter-Cable replaced it with another model. Further, all the reviews I read about Porter-Cable power planes in Amazon.com left me somewhat confused so I thought I'd try Makita, a brand with which I've had good success. I went for the 4 3/8" model because I could true a built-up beam in one pass. When I got the Makita I first noticed the weight difference between it and the Porter-Cable. The Makita is heavier and at first blush seemed better suited for a shop rather than a jobsite (one must always keep in mind bigger might not be better). The next thing I noticed is the drive belt on the Makita is not fully enclosed like the one on the Porter-Cable (I nicked my finger with it, and for a brief second I thought it was the blade that nicked me). Finally, the exhaust port on the Makita dumps out the chips (often plentiful) right next to the air intake for the motor (the Porter-Cable has a two door system that lets you vent the chips to either the right or left side). Despite these short comings I really like the Makita. It's way powerful which I believe calls for the extra weight and compared to, say, a Mag 77 worm drive saw it's a fly weight. It's very smooth in part because you're limited to 1/16" cut, the cutter head turns @ 16000 RPM, and my blades don't yet have any nicks in them. For me the bottom line is how much I use a tool, and it's a rare day that I don't press the Makita into service. Compared to no plane there is no comparison. Compared to muscle powered planes, I think you will wonder why it took you so long to power up. Compared to other powerplanes, well let's say the Makita's flaws are evident (are you listening, Makita), but it's still a way useful tool.

The machine is absolutely heavy duty. Although, there are a few things that I have found issue with:

1) machine doesn't work well with wide poplar boards. I have a heavy duty dust collection system connected to it but the poplar creates long strands from the wide boards. These strands clog up the exhaust chute causing the shavings to back up onto the outfeed roller and stop the boards from continuing through the planer part way through a feed. Basically have to lower the table and pull the board out to clean the strands out. This binding of the strands has tore up the outfeed urethance rollers to the point of no return. ***update: I was able to take the rollers off the machine and turn the urethane down on an engine lathe to straighten the urethane after much use. (note: high rpm, low feed rate and a touch with sand paper when finished) Works better than new now. I should be able to do this a few times before having to buy new ones. By the way, the new rollers are pretty cheap to replace.***

2) Wish the table length was longer or adaptable to adding an extension. Would be nice.

The machine is very easy to work with and work on. The molding feature is great and works well. I've done all the trim in my new house with this machine. Hope to have a long future with it in my business.

About eight months ago I purchased the powermatic PM-15 from a local tool supply store. I have loved using this fine machine for planing and moulding, and it has preformed flawlessly, that is until I got my first paying customer. A gentleman that lives near me brought me a load of roughsawn birch to plane down and run 50' of crown and 50' of panel moulding for him. While most of it (80 percent) came out nice, most of the pieces had some tearout, and 1 piece of crown was completly trashed. What a nightmare! I was suprised at this because I've run poplar, red oak, and pine through this machine with very little tearout (mainly around knots and hard areas). I can't fault the machine, I suppose, but I wrote this to warn any future millwrights about working birch.

When this planer arrived at my shop I couldn't wait to get it out of the crate and plugged in. I was pleasantly surprised to see how heavy the machine was built, its beefy stature screamed, throw anything at me I can plane it, and after some adjusting it did. I ran pine and white oak threw it, and it produced a wonderful finish on both. The one problem I have had is trying to plane exceptionally wide boards. For some reason if I plane a board 10" wide or better it machine has some trouble feeding the board threw. I found that with some adjustment of the spring tension on the urethane infeed and outfeed rollers this can be reduced but not completely eliminated. Other than this the machine runs great. It is easy and safe to operate, and fun to use. This planer is another fine example of Powermatic's expertise in building heavy-duty home shop machinery.

It's great to have a dust bag for your planer since they spray shavings halfway across the room. This is a must if you want to plane a door inside. It works great and fits inside the case of my DW680K planer. It's big, about6"X6"X3", but it does fit inside the case of my new DW680. It has a zippered bag and wire frame that you have to assemble with 4 screws, but it's easy and quick. Would be nice if it folded flat, but it has a wire box frame. When I was shopping for a planer, this was the only one I found that even offered a dust bag. For 20 bucks, it's worth it. Took Amazon a month to finally ship it though.

DeWalt Planers do an excellent job but they do spit out a mess. If you are building a house or in a workshop it is really not a problem but if you are just planing a door, instead of rehanging it, in a finished house wood chips will go all over and make a huge mess. This dust bag catches all the large planed shavings but small dust particles will still escape but isn't so hard to clean up. Sure beats their chop saw dust bag which is totally worthless.

Downfall is that it doesn't fold down and so it will not fit in the metal storage case the planer comes in without taking it apart.

Did not receive second blade or vacuum attachment as described in the product description, but Amazon is working on getting them, I'm giving 3 stars just on the cosmetics, used but not much. I will upgrade as soon as I get the remaining accessories .. AMAZON AND BOSCH CAME THRU .. GOT ALL ACCESSORIES .. TOTALLY PLEASED .. 5 STARS

I have used this planer primarily on doors in my house. In particular, I've found it long enough to get the start and end of the edge planed without "clipping" the edge. I'm not an expert door-hanger -- but it has easily paid for itself in saved labor costs.

A few words of advice on (interior doors). Plane when your house is MOST humid (usually in the summer) as the doors expand and you want them to close easily when they are most expanded. Be sure to plane an extra 1/64" or so to allow yourself a gap for a primer and at least one if not two finished coats of paint on the side edge of your doors. As for the tops and bottoms, leave them unpainted to allow the wood to dry if they are new doors, otherwise, a matching primer is more than enough and you need not bother with a finish coat of paint. Unless your doors is really badly off, you will not need to re-seat the hardware, but be prepared to if necessary. But before you start, make sure all of your hinge plates are on tight. No use taking a plane to a door if the problem is not the size of the door, but loose hingest. If so, replace the hinge screws with longer ones, and be sure to pre-drill the holes first to prevent cracking the door or jamb wood.

This tool beats hand planing allowing you to complete a door in just a few minutes. It will take you more time to get the door off and remove the hardware than to plane the edges. Adjustments are easy. I found this tool to be almost identical to the Makita planer which I borrowed prior to purchasing this one.

I have owned this planer for a year. It does fine on softwood but gives me a constant fit in feeding any kind of hardwood over 6 inches wide. The feeding is TERRIBLE! The outfeed tables are poorly designed and do NOT stay in place, especially since you have to push & pull on them to move it. The vibration is a constant problem with loosening of bolts and setscrews, and the noise can literally be heard 1/2 a mile away. The maintenance is anything but simple. I wish I had bought a Delta!

I purchased a Jet 15CS wood planer a month ago and am very happy with it so far. It will take an 1/8" of material off a board without laboring and is very quiet compared to my two other finish planers. A Ryobi AP10 (almost 10 years old) and a Delta 22-580 (over two years old). I picked the Jet because it has conventional straight planer blades over the Powermatic 15" which has a set of spiral blades. It allows me to tune up the blades myself without having to send them out to a sharpening shop. The finish quality of the cut is very good.

The depth gauge isn't the greatest since it doesn't relate one revolution on the crank to some denomiation of an inch like my Delta but I can get my material close to the thickness I want in a hurry! When I get close I just finish it off with a final pass on my Delta finish planer or make sure that my final pass on the Jet is about 1/16" deep. If the final pass is too light I have noticed that it will leave slight indentations from the infeed roller which can be sanded out. I don't have this problem with the other finish planers because they have rubber feed rollers.

When I got my planer it was easy to assemble and required no fine tuning adjustments. The two speed switch wasn't working and it would only feed at the higher rate though. The authorized Jet Service Dealer came out within a week and had it working within 2 hours at no charge.

The cord that came with the machine was too short to be of any practical use so I replaced it with a longer cord with a twist lock plug to suit my needs. I also removed the casters that came with the machine and built my own plywood base with four nice locking casters.

I think this planer will serve my needs well for many years to come.

By the way, I put down 5 stars but the review somehow came out with one star and I can't edit it.

Michael

this machine is a beast for it's size. however, that is where my compliments end. i bought the jet 15" planer to mill face frame stock for my moderate sized cabinet shop. it will plane wood all day long without question. the only question is how do you make it work properly. it leaves more marks, indentations, snipe, etc. than i have ever seen from a planer. i have followed all of the "how to" instructions from the manual and nothing makes this thing perform. my shop spends more time sanding the planer marks out of the wood than we do for any and all other reasons. i upgraded from a portable 12" dewalt 2 knife planer to this--and i have to say that the dewalt planer hand's down out performed this machine in regards to finish quality. I would also like to add that the blade setting jig is awful...another area that the dewalt planer is superior. i could see no reason to recommend this unit to someone else unless you just needed to hog out material. it will perform that task effortlessly....just with enumerable mill marks.