Hello Creekers,
It has been a while since posting much here, as I have had my woodworking on the back burner the last couple of years due to business and family considerations. Anyway, I am getting ready to jump headlong back into woodworking this winter and I am getting ready to buy a 20" planer to replace my DW735. I have spent the last couple of weeks researching this purchase (actually talked myself up from a 15" to 20" planer in the process) by looking at a lot of old threads on this forum and others. I was pretty convinced that the Grizzly G0454Z was the right machine for me, but then two things gave me pause:
1. There is a lukewarm G0454Z user review on Amazon. Now I know that one user review does not a trend make, but this user had a couple of "complaints" about the Grizzly spiral cutterhead that made me think. The complaint that caught my attention, was that the indexing of the cutterhead blades on this unit were supposedly out of whack. The user claims that once he rotated all of the carbide inserts, "...the little blades left uneven marks on the wood." Have any of you Grizzly spiral cutterhead users out there seen this problem?
2. My G0490 Jointer and my DW735 planer are equipped with Byrd Shelix cutterheads, both of which I installed myself. I have been very pleased with the Shelix cut quality. Now, I have yet to rotate any of the carbide inserts, but I have never heard of any "indexing" issues with the Shelix either. Anyone who has rotated their Shelix carbide inserts had a problem with reduced cut quality afterwards? Anyone out there running both a Shelix and a Grizzly cutterhead?(e.g. jointer and planer) If so, do you notice any difference in the quality of cut?
Both of these issues made me reconsider buying the G0454Z and instead going with the G0454 and then purchasing/installing a Byrd Shelix head in place of the straight blade cutterhead. With Grizzly's current pricing it looks like I could buy the G0454 + Shelix for $40 less than the price of the G0454Z. Of course, I would have to buy bearings for the Shelix and then the time and effort to install, may even have to take the Shelix to a local machine shop to have the bearings pressed on, but given my prior experience installing Shelix heads I think I can handle it. Anyone out there done this conversion that might have some advice or tips to offer?
Thanks,
Clay