Planer

[charlie jones]

After months of agonizing about what to replace my aging Delta 22-540 lunchbox planer and (still running) and 6" jointer with. I have ordered a Grizzly 1037Z Planer/molder.
I really wanted a Hammer A3 or Grizzly Jointer/ planer but I went in this direction for the following reasons.

The planer function on the JP's are to low and requires bending over to run the lumber through. My back feels better already.

I love to walk over to each machine and use it without changing anything over.

I don't want to worry about the jointer tables returning perfectly or messing with changing dust collection hoses around or cranking the planer tables up and down.

I looked at the size of my shop and the room I have left and thought what I really need is a big lunchbox without the screaming universal motor. The 1037Z fills this niche perfectly and gives me the option of a molder to. I plan to buy an 8 or 12" jointer soon.

A plus is the price. I got out with extra blades and a mobile base for 1200.00 including shipping. the way my wife would look at it I saved over 3000. Another plus is its made in Taiwan, not communist China.

I will post my evaluation of this machine when it comes in and I have it set up.

 

[toolferone]

Sounds like you did your homework. Looks like you understand the difference between wants and needs. Look forward to the evaluation.

 

[charlie jones]

Thanks Tom. I received the Shop Fox mobile base yesterday and got it assembled last night. The planer should be here today.

 

[charlie jones]

The truck arrived yesterday afternoon with the planer. The driver helped me slide it into the bed of my pickup. After church I got a friend to come by and help me get it into the shop. I was concerned because there was two damaged places in the box where it was hit with a forklift. I thought it is ironic that the fork hit it on the label that warns to check for damage. We got it into the shop without incident. I had started to think of it as a big lunchbox but it is a lot heavier than that. We got it out of the box and on the floor. There does not appear to be any damage so far. The machine was surrounded by thick Styrofoam and plastic sheet. The machine looks to be very high quality and all the parts seem to be with it. I will start assembling the stand, install the motor and other parts tonight.

 

[charlie jones]

Got the stand assembled and the motor mounted to it. There were 48 bolts and nuts and 12 pieces. The parts were all there and in good shape.

 

[toolferone]

Coming along nice.

Not sure if you did this, but i find it a good practice when putting stands like yours together, to not tighten the hardware until it is upright and has the tool or some weight on it. I find it sits straighter and the weight is preloaded on the hardware so it won't shift later on as it settles. My.02 cents worth anyway.

 

[charlie jones]

Coming along nice.

Not sure if you did this, but i find it a good practice when putting stands like yours together, to not tighten the hardware until it is upright and has the tool or some weight on it. I find it sits straighter and the weight is preloaded on the hardware so it won't shift later on as it settles. My.02 cents worth anyway.

That is good advise. The manual said that also but I thought it would be easier to tighten the bolts before I mounted the machine. I could not get the four bolts that hold the planer to the stand to line up so I loosed them again. The holes were off by .5 or more so I had to redrill two of them. I got the machine bolted down. I hope to get it all finished Monday.

Tom I enjoyed seeing your website. I need a shop that big!

 

[USMCSergeant]

I had an issue with table saw legs. I tightened them before I put the saw itself on, and they werent level, and wouldn't level out. I fixed it by loosening all the stand bolts, raising the saw onto the built in caster wheels and then dropping it back down two or three times. Problem solved.

AND very jealous of that planer!! Very nice

 

[charlie jones]

Last night I got all the bolts tightened, belts, guards and dust chute installed. I checked adjustment and cleaned the oil off the bed and cutter head and waxed the bed, lubed everything and did a few test cuts. The machine seems to be everything I had hoped. Very good surfacing. It does make enough noise for ear protection when the dust collector is on but the high pitched scream of a universal motor is missing. It has plenty of power. I will need to change it over to 220 V because on 110 it nearly puts the lights out on starting. It came wired for 110 with instructions on rewiring to 220. The only issue I had were the two misaligned bolts on the stand. Overall I give Grizzly kudos on a job well done at least so far. I have a Clear Vue cyclone and there were no shavings coming out with it running. it fits in nearly the same space as my lunchbox did. I did a little research. This machine has been around for a while and is a proven design. Jet and general also sell a version but the grizzly is a little less costly. I would be willing to bet they are made in the same factory.

 

[charlie jones]