I own a Grizzly 15" planer, and I've been happy with it. If there was one, I probably wouldn't be able to afford it, but just out of curiosity I was looking to see if there are any European or USA made 15" planers. After looking around, I only found three other brands that make a consumer sized planer, General International, Jet, and Powermatic. I saw some other planer brands like MiniMax, but those are large commerical grade planers.
I think it's a well known fact, but I attached pictures anyway of Grizzly, General International, Powermatic, and Jet planers to show they're identical. The only difference I see is the color, access panels, electric panels, and type of head (byrd vs other). It actually makes me confused on why someone would buy a $3,000 Powermatic planer when the Grizzly one is $1,800. The Powermatic has a Shelix head that's made in the USA, but the Grizzly has a very similar helical head that's made in Europe.
Anyway, are there any brands of consumer size planers (not bench top) that aren't identical?
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