Grizzly G0940 Benchtop Thickness Planer Unboxing and Review

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

If you're on the fence about this planer, I thought I'd drop in to let everyone know that it's currently 25% off on the Grizzly site until August 15th! Check out the link in the description! 👊

[@nate-408]

You got me, with the professional sawdust manufacturer! Great stuff sir. Great review, im going with this model for sure. Thanks for the great info.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Haha, glad someone caught that! I'm still usin' this baby and it's shown no signs of slowing down. I think I'm about ready to rotate the knives for the 1st time, but that took over a year with fairly consistent use. It'll make ya happy! Thanks for watchin', broski!

[@GregNatale-dl7zs]

Great review. Been pondering this Grizzly because of the helical head. Added one to my old Delta jointer and made a world of difference. Thanks for taking the time to measure for snipe adjusting and remeasuring. Of the several videos I watched on this planer you were the only one who did that. Your video has pushed me over the edge into making this purchase too.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Really glad you found it helpful. I hesitate to go more “granular” on certain videos. I just know that that’s what I would want to know if I’m looking to buy some new equipment. Hopefully the right audience will find it useful as well. As for the planer, you’ve probably seen in other replies that I still use the thing all the time, and the finish it leaves is still great. There might be one cutter insert that’s ready to be rotated, but otherwise and I haven’t done a thing with it besides keeping chips cleared out, etc. Congrats on the new machine and thank you for the kind words! 🤙

[@richardheilman6280]

Quite a good review, so thank you for that. I have a 15" Jet planer with helical cutterhead, but wanted something smaller for lighter duty work and that I could easily move around in my garage shop. I was ready to get the highly-regarded Dewalt 735x, but saw the Grizzly on sale for just $100 more. Since almost all of work is with exotic hardwoods, the carbide helical head sold me, as it is so much superior than straight HSS blades. Everyone seems to complain about snipe with the Grizzly, but, as you mentioned, it's inherent in almost all small planers, so I can live with it.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Hey, Richard. Thanks for reaching out. And yeah, I have to agree. I've used this unit for a lot of highly figured pieces of walnut with grain running every which way, and the finish is near-flawless. Almost as good as my jointer. So yes, I think for the price, it's worth dealing with and accounting for that little bit of snipe that you get. Glad you're diggin' it. Have a good one!

[@nichosoulsea1]

I have this planer. Love it, lot of the wood I run through it is 2200 to 3100 on the janka scale or two to three times as hard as walnut, not uncommonly heavily figured. Generally a lunch box planer with a straight blade has a hard time running through a wide board of hardwood and will shut down. This one doesn’t, with the helical head the blade is only in contact with 1/3 the width of the board at any given moment. There is one correction I made to the planer, it has a restricter on the in-feed side that if your depth of cut is over 1/16 it restricts the width of board to approximately 4” or so and only allows a feed directly down the middle. I like to alternate sides when feeding lumber through. That restriction is just plastic, raised the head and ground it off. The new carbide heads are phenomenal, I’ll never go back to straight steel. Even when they start to dull they still cut and chips are flying unlike straight steel that burns or compresses wood. Ideally as a guy who mills and processes wood I kind of wish I had a large shop planer for processing and just used the smaller grizzly for final passes.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Absolutely my thoughts as well. I’m still impressed with how the inserts have held up. I use it pretty often, but the cutters are still sharp. I am getting one little consistent line that shows up on the finish, so I probably have one cutter that could be rotated by now, but overall the value is amazing. That’s interesting about the restricter you mentioned. I honestly hadn’t even ran into that issue because I usually take pretty shallow passes most of the time. And I do flip the board often as well when making passes. But if I ever need to hog off a bunch of material, I’ll know what to look for. Thanks for the tip and for sharing your experience! 🤙

[@caylecox3347]

That's very helpful info and I appreciate hearing about your experience with super hard wood

[@davidstuart4489]

Reconstituting my woodshop after a 30 year hiatus. Things sure have changed - this was VERY useful as a planer will be among the first things I buy. I've been looking at this same model - your review (and those of others) are pretty compelling. They're on sale until August - but I might not wait until then. Thank you for doing this! Cheers!

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

You got it, David! I’m glad it’s helping make some more informed purchasing decisions. Because it’s a big investment. Congrats on the new shop and let me know how the Grizzly is working out for you! 🤘

[@MrJPatr]

Thoroughly done, after viewing this I'm reassured I've made a good choice. Considered the Dewalt, but really wanted the Helix and not dink around doin it on that one. Thanks Danny

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Hey, John. You betcha. Definitely worth keeping the expectations low with any benchtop planer, but I think this one passes the test under normal conditions without much hassle. Glad it helped!

[@MrBillm14]

Great video. I have a setup/usage question… if you have for example, a 1” thick board, and want to remove 1/16” from it, what are the exact steps to set the 1/16” depth of cut.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Thanks, MrBill. I checked the manual, and it says that one full crank revolution is 1/16". So, what I would do in that case would be to drop the cutter head down until it just touches the work piece (with the machine off). Once the head touches the piece, remember that spot, then back the crank off so you can remove the piece. Then, from the spot you just noted, you would just need 1 full revolution down from there to give it a 1/16" cut. I'd recommend using lighter passes, though. You get better results if you use 1/4 turn at a time. I hope that all made sense.

[@MrBillm14]

@@SeasquatchWoodshop Yeah, that sounds good. I tried it, and it works. I’m getting a good feel for it now. Thanks!

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

You got it! Glad it worked out! 👍

[@stringguy2825]

I like your review and have made the decision to purchase this model because of the helical cutter head, although an automatic carriage lock would be nice and better infeed/outfeed tables. However for the price I think it's a great deal. Much better than the Dewalt 735 which has the straight knives and does not even include the infeed and outfeed tables with the machine. Looks like the bean counters over at Dewalt loose another customer.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

I’m tellin’ ya! It’s a great machine and I’ve had zero problems with it since I got it. I still use it often. I hear that if you go the DeWalt route, you also need to invest in the aftermarket Byrd helical cutter head to get it dialed in. But that’s two investments I’d rather not make personally. Let me know how you like it and thank you for the kind words, homie!

[@npsurf1]

After almost a year what's your take on it? I just ordered one, probably should have asked sooner... but the granite base and spiral cutter for that price was too good to pass up. Have you considered building in and out feed tables for it? I don't see people doing that with planers but it seems like it would help with longer stock or when using a sled

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

I love it (still)! Although, the 940 should be a helical head, which is the main reason that I got it. But I will say that I saw some postings for it saying it was a spiral head, so it's a bit confusing. I haven't considered building in/out feed tables for it. My space is pretty small, as you could see by my videos. I've never had a whole lot of trouble with snipe beyond the normal amount you could see measured. I will eventually build some kind of modular cart situation so I can keep it tucked away but have it on a sturdy base and ready to go when I need it. As of right now, it's still pretty much the same amount of setup every time I need to use it, lol. Anyways, I hope you like it! And thanks for the support, my friend!

[@BenM81]

Thank you so much for including a the noise level in this review. Almost nobody does. Do you still have it? Still like it? Cheers from Chicago.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Hey, you betcha! I know it's something that I personally care about because I have neighbors in close proximity, so I figured others might have the same concern. I'm actually using it today, believe it or not. Still performs awesomely. I haven't even needed to rotate any of the helical cutter inserts yet. They stay sharp for a long, long time. Glad it helped, homie! Thanks for reachin' out!

[@BenM81]

@@SeasquatchWoodshop cool thank you for the response. Looks like I’ll be buying the same one. Cheers. 👊🏻

[@jake8074]

Big help, thanks for posting! Cheers

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Hey, Jake. You betcha! Glad you got something out of it! 👍

[@HeliRy]

Found this exact same planer under another brand here in Canada, company is ForestWest. And for the rest of this month (10/23) it is $500 off! Pulled the trigger and it’ll be here in a few days. $1050 CDN shipped and with taxes. If that’s not the deal of a lifetime, I dunno what is 👌

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

I think I found the one you're talking about, and they do look identical! Do you know for sure if that's just a white-labeled version of the G0940? If so, that's definitely a steal! Although, I'm not sure if I'm bearing some bad news or not, but the actual Grizzly model is on sale until the 23rd as well! It's $675 US vs $819 US for the ForestWest. Is it too late to cancel? Lol. Would the shipping be astronomical for a Grizzly up where you are? It says it's 60 bucks US where I am in the states. Either way, it still sounds like you got a smokin' deal, my friend! Please report back and let us know how that baby compares! 🤘

[@HeliRy]

@@SeasquatchWoodshop Yup, did some digging and it’s the same chassis and everything. Just slapped a different paint and sticker scheme onto it. Another company, Craftex, does the same thing. These things roll off the line in Taiwan or China naked, get decked out in different branded attire and sent on their way lol. Sadly Grizzly kind of leaves us Canucks out in the wind with shipping. It’s hilariously expensive to start. I priced it out, and it was almost $300 CDN more at the current sale price once shipping was estimated. And that didn’t factor in duty fees and Canadian taxes once it hit the border either. Yikes! And they want no part in the process of shipping to Canada. Getting a Grizzly product here is an absolute dog’s breakfast. You’d think they were smuggling weapons grade plutonium into North Korea lol 🤷‍♂️

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Damn it, sounds like you're tellin' me we need to start smuggling these things, lol. Well, I hope the ForestWest performs for you, homie! For what it's worth, I've used the Grizzly a ton since I got it, and I still haven't had to rotate any of the cutter head inserts yet. Beautiful finish with zero tear out. Let us know how it does! 👊

[@you78mas]

Thank you for sharing! How quiet this thing is? I have a dewalt dw735 planer right and it is really loud! Is this one quieter then the dewalt one? Ty

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Had a similar comment about this recently. I can't speak specifically to how it compares with the DeWalt, but in the video, I did compare it to my corded router which was just a bit quieter than the planer. That being said, other commenters have mentioned that the helical cutters tend to make planers noticeably less noisy, which the Grizzly has. So, if your DeWalt has the straight blade cutters, it's probably safe to say that the Grizzly would be a bit quieter. I hope that helps, m'friend. 🤙

[@you78mas]

Thank you for the video! How loud is the planer? I have Dewalt Dw735 and it is super loud, I am thinking of switching to grizzly!

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Hey, you got it! I don’t know whether you saw the section at around 3:30, but I compared the planer to my corded Bosch router with regard to the overall volume of noise it generates. And according to the free app I was using, it was convinced that the planer was just a bit louder. Just to give you an idea. I’m not really sure how that compares to the DeWalt, but you’ll need hearing protection either way, lol. Hope that helps! 🤙

[@you78mas]

​@@SeasquatchWoodshopI saw it, thank you! From what I've heard, read and seen helical cutterheads are quieter than straight knives when it comes noise and amps pulling!

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Ya know, I’ve heard that too, actually. 🤔Makes sense when you consider how much surface area is striking the material at once with those straight blades. Well I hope it’s an upgrade in that case, lol. Let us know how it does!

[@DOTCOMER4923]

Own this very one.... Gear box was out in 4 months. Maybe used it 3 times

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Well that's a friggin' bummer. I've talked to a handful of people now that have used this model and that's the first I've heard of that happening. Have you spoken with Grizzly yet? It has to be under warranty still. I'm sure they'd give you a replacement.

[@carlpales514]

Appreciate the review! I’m replacing my old Ridgid workhorse and am deciding between the Grizzly and Wahuda planers. Grizzly’s advantage is that it has a true helical cutter. Wahuda’s is that it has much longer feed tables and has two feeder speeds but a spiral cutter. Decisions decisions. Any update to your review?

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Hey, Carl! You betcha. I have noticed a few more things over the time I've used the Grizzly. The shorter the board, the more aggressive snipe I seem to get on it. Although, I don't think that's Grizzly's fault, more just the nature of a benchtop. Second, when I get down to the thickness I want, if I just give it multiple passes, flipping the board, changing directions, I can get most everything nearly flat. It does take more time, but it's better than sanding. Ooo, that is a toughy. I haven't heard of Wahuda, but I like the sound of those features. Sounds like a chess move, haha. Good luck to you and I hope was able to add some insights!

[@michelluccote]

The Wahuda seems to have a spiral cutter but not a helix cutter. The cutters are still perpendicular to the board so the results probably won’t be as smooth as on this Grizzly. I’ve been looking at both but I don’t like the cutter in the Wahuda.

[@TPAs-Adventures]

Have you had any problems with wider boards.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Hey, Todd. The width of boards hasn't seemed to make much of a difference. However, it seems like the longer a board is, the less affected by snipe it seems to be. Maybe because it's more supported across the length while it's running through? Not entirely sure. But the width of boards I've ran through hasn't impacted results at all that I've noticed. I hope that helps.

[@michaelshafley8809]

Anything wider than 6” will not pass thru mine. There’s a nearly 1/8” lip on the apron on either side of the depth gauge. Couldn’t find any remedies (including from Grizzly themselves) so i ended up filing off the lip so the apron is now flush all the way across. Works fine now. Wonder if that’s a production or design defect? I haven’t seen very many comments on this issue.

[@josephmac19]

Good review of this planer. I have the Dewalt 734 and have been looking at the 735 but this might be a great subsitute for the 735. Appreciate you going over this. how was the finish on it? notice any or a lot of lines from the helical inserts? Thanks Joe

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Hey, Joe. And you bet. I'm glad it was helpful. As for the finish, that is something I think I neglected to go over. At first, I did notice I was occasionally getting a real thin line about 1/3 in from one side of the cutter head. It wasn't enough to create any problems because it was pretty slight and sanded out easily. That being said, the line eventually disappeared. It may have been an insert that was only slightly nudged off-kilter and finally seated properly. Beyond that, it's been working beautifully. If you get one, I hope you dig it!

[@josephmac19]

@@SeasquatchWoodshop hey Danny thanks for the quick response!! I saw one of these planers on FB market and did a KZbin search n your video came up. I liked the review and thought I’d reply. If the line sanded out easily that is good enough for me. Been looking for a 13” planer with a helical cutter head for a while. This could fit the bill n cause less tear out on my edge grain boards. Sometime the figure is too much for the straight knives. Thanks again Joe

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

@@josephmac19 Nice! That sounds like a score to me! I don't know what they're asking, but if you're concerned about the condition, you might ask them to run a test piece just to be sure the cutter head isn't damaged. Otherwise, the design is so damn simple, all you have to do is change the inserts and you've got yourself a new planer. I hope it works out for you, homie! 🤙

[@andersonolive4553]

Dude! Thanks for this video, absolutes perfect as far as the questions I had. I just found out about this planer today. Do you happen to know if this has fan assisted chip expulsion on the dust port? I am looking at the Oliver 12.5” that is basically the same but a little more expensive and it has that feature. Curious if that planer was on your radar as well? Believe it ranges from $999 to $1,300. Comes equipped with the birds helix head. Thanks again for the review! Will definitely subscribe.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Anderson! Thanks for the support, my friend! Great question on the fan assist. But honestly, I don't know. The dust collection on the unit is pretty decent, but you will start to get some chip coverage across the table with a big batch of boards, etc. I keep my compressor sprayer handy while I'm making passes and just give it a shot every so often to keep things clear. That being said, I did scour through the manual, and it does mention that it recommends 150 CFM AT THE DUST PORT. Meaning, not the overall CFM rating of your dust collector, but taking into account hose length, wyes and other openings, so on. So given that, if the Oliver's recommended CFM rating "at the dust port" is less than 150, you could probably extrapolate that the Grizzly doesn't have the fan assist. Seems like if you got the cash, the Oliver sounds like a pretty sweet option as well! I hope that helps, homie. Take care!

[@TheJmp1987]

Just bought one yesterday off the grizzly site. Thanks for the info and video!

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

You bet, Jeff. And congrats! I hope yours serves you as well as mine has for me!

[@caylecox3347]

I just bought this last night and the noise factor convinced me to make this purchase. I was bouncing between the dw735 and this model not the DeWalt was very loud and I thought it would bother the neighbors. Thanks for making this video

[@mcv183]

Seems like you should caliper the left and right sides of the board.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Totally possible that that could have affected the numbers, sure. Just eyeballing the board, the snipe appeared to have cut in far enough down that I thought I'd be okay putting the calipers on the ends. Regardless, there was a reduction, so even if the sides of the boards were measured instead, I think the end results would have been the same. But I appreciate the feedback.

[@chriss8206]

Wish you didn't used music over the sound of the tools and would have used the router and planer on wood and compared the sound level while at work. Good informative video.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Hey, Chris. That's actually some pretty solid feedback. I appreciate it, and sorry if it was disappointing. I will definitely keep that in mind for next time.

[@tstanley01]

3 thousands on wood...if you have an issue with that, you can't see the forest for the trees...You are building furniture, not a space shuttle...

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Just depends on how good of a join you want to get with the furniture you're building.

[@ryananthony4840]

@@SeasquatchWoodshop right.... I want it tight, no excuses

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

@@ryananthony4840 This guy joins. 👆

[@Ramdodge582]

mine came with about .1875" snipe out of the box

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Nice! Not entirely surprised by that, honestly. I'm sure there's some level of variance between each model and also the ambient temperature in the area where it ends up probably matters some so degree too, I'd bet. Did you just leave it there, or did to feel the need to attempt to reduce it further?

[@Ramdodge582]

@@SeasquatchWoodshop I gave it 10 mins and mounted it to a better base instead of moving it around. I need to get a better straight edge to fine tune it better but for now I just cut off the 2-3" of snipe as waste.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Yeah, that's frustrating. Sorry you're dealing with that. If you can't get it dialed in with your next straight edge, it almost might be worth rolling the dice on returning it and seeing how the next one performs. Otherwise as you said, you'll either be wasting the ends of your work pieces or constantly using the longer sacrificial piece method. I wish you luck, homie.

[@xisotopex]

read some really bad things about this planer, like the cutting head not being parallel... its such a crap shoot choosing a machine.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

It really is. There's also bad reviews on almost everything you look at, and it can be hard discerning what are consistent issues and what's just a manufacturing fluke. I usually look for patterns. If there are more than a handful of commenters mentioning a specific problem, I'm pretty much convinced. I personally haven't notice the cutter head planing out of square at all. You'd notice even in the caliper measurements I took in the video. I don't know if that's any consolation, but I'm pretty happy with it!

[@LiloUkulele]

Makita has the best table adjustment on the market. Makita uses a set screw, all the others have a lock nut.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

That's interesting. Just uses a hex key? This system does the job, but yeah, I could see that being a little quicker and a little easier for finer adjustments.

[@flyalaska1973]

You will get better results if you screwed the planer to the workbench.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Hey, Eddie. I have actually heard that before, but haven't tried it yet. Still planning on bolting it to a rolling cart situation. If I do get some noticeable changes in performance after that, I may report back. Thanks for the tip!

[@johndavidson744]

G0815 THUMBS UP FOR NOT MUCH MORE MONEY

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

I mean, it’s still a jump. Almost twice the price depending on sales and shipping, etc. That being said, I’ve definitely been considering it as the next upgrade, lol.

[@xisotopex]

professional sawdust manufacturer? I tell people I handcraft fine artisan toothpicks and hamster cage shavings.

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Haha, I've been waiting for someone to notice the ridiculous titles. My ideas dried up faster than I expected, but you've given me some inspiration! 🤔

[@markhicks8377]

that is the werst wrench you could possibly use

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

Thanks for noticing! 😃

[@lukemeyer4427]

Why is he wearing pant legs on his head?

[@SeasquatchWoodshop]

I tried shorts first, but they just slid down and turned into a neck warmer. 🤷‍♂️

[@lukemeyer4427]

@@SeasquatchWoodshop 🤣