Looking for Feedback on Yorkcraft Equip.
Hello all. This is my first post. I was advised by a sales rep from Wilke Machinery to try this approach regarding their Yorkcraft line of woodworking machines. They have a 20 inch planer with a 5 horsepower motor that is very similar to the Grizzly machine; however, Grizzly’s unit has a 3 horsepower motor, while the Yorkcraft has a 5 while being about $50 less. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anyone undersell Grizzly on anything, but that’s what I found. I’d really like to hear from anyone who has purchased and/or used Yorkcraft machinery, particularly the 20″ planer. I suspect the two machines come off the same assembly line somewhere in Asia. However, I like the 5 horse motor over the 3 that Grizzly offers. And, it’s less money to boot! What gives?
Replies
dpmartin,
Not sure what gives between the Yorkcraft and the Grizzly....however, the first and possibility only thing that cought my attention was the difference in weight...the Griz is almost twice as heavy...perhaps the infeed and outfeed tables are considerably heavier....but there is nothing to verify that guess.
Actually, Wilke lists the Yorkcraft at 771 lbs net/926 gross. Grizzly lists the shipping weight on their machine at 785 lbs. I'd really like to see one (Yorkcraft).
dpmartin,
Something a bit unclear. I was looking a the web site:
http://www.wilkemach.com/Yorkcraft.tpl
and saw the weight of the 20" planner and the price. However, I just noticed the weight of the 15" is the same as the 20".....my guess is your numbers are more correct. Sorry
Most of what I've heard about YC has been pretty good. Some say the castings are a bit rough, but nearly all were quite pleased with the value and performance. Wilke gets thumbs up constantly. The biggest drawback with Wilke is s/h....it can be steep if you live far away, whereas Griz has the same low s/h rates to all 48 contiguous states. Check the delivered price.
I just bought this planer (20") from Wilke. I have powered it up but have not used it yet as I am still hooking up DC. It's HEAVY. Shipping weight was 926 pounds, I think the unit off the skid is almost 800 pounds. The planer is made in China (what isn't Dammit), the motor is Taiwan. Wilke said they buy the unit from China without the motor and assemble the motor before shipment. Fit and finish of the tables and castings was good, assembly of the unit went well. Dust hood has a 5" outlet. The built-in mobility kit works well. The planer is identical to several others sold under different brand names, Shop Fox, Grizzly, Sunhill, Woodtek so the design should be proven. Wilke and ShopFox are the only ones that have used cast iron infeed and outfeed tables, to my knowledge. Shipping was $250 up here to Maine, with delivery including a liftgate truck. We used rolls and a bar to get it into the shop.
As soon as I can, will start running some wood through this thing, I'm interested to see what the 4-knife cutterhead will produce for a finish, especially on curly and birdseye maple. The motor is 5 HP, I have a temp. 30 amp circuit wired right now, just to test it. It has worked fine on that, so far. Hope this helps.
I'm really glad to hear from someone that has one. I'd appreciate some feedback once you have a chance to run it through its paces. I live about 4 hours from Wilke, so the shipping is comparable to grizzly. All things considered, I'm really leaning toward the YC, but I'll wait to hear from you. Thanks!
Hey Maingey - just wondering if you've had a chance to try your new Yorkcraft 20" planer? Their current sale expires in early October, and I'm planning to buy one if I hear from someone that has one. Let me know!
Got the hose and 5" adapters coming to hook this beast into the dust collector (requires 5 " duct). As this will be a temporary hook-up, I shouldn't be long in getting it ready to find out how it runs as I have 400 ft or so of oak to practice on. I finally over ran the shop and had to put the planer out in the main basement. In order to wire a permanent outlet, I now need to change the service entrance from 100 amps to 200. I do have a hook up to allow me to run it as soon as the dust collector gets hooked up. One test will be some curly maple, one of the reasons I bought this was the 4-knife cutterhead. I should have some actual test run information ready before Wilke ends the sale. By the way, they're good folks to deal with.
As soon as I run the tests, I will post the results here.
dpmartin, make sure you check out the shop fox planer.
The Shop Fox is about $400 more than the Yorkcraft and Grizzly. To be honest, all 3 machines look suspiciously similar. I'm convinced that these 3 names, and probably many others, get their castings from the same manufacturer in Asia, do some personalizing with motors and controls, put their domestic name on it, and that's what hits the American market. I have no particular problem with this concept; I just want the best bang for my planer buck, and right now, it looks like Yorkcraft may have it over Grizzly, and everyone else on the 20 inch model.
dpmartin, the shopfox is $1195 at internationaltool.com
I think the machines are pretty much identical, other than paint and decals. I just looked at the Shop Fox in the catalog, it doesn't have the cast iron table extensions. Other difference, the outfeed roller is rubber coated on the Shop Fox, steel on the Yorkcraft. Still, essentially the same machine. As soon as I can, I will run some wood through this and post the results. But, for $1199, you have a 4-knife cutterhead, 5 HP, 20"capacity, and almost 800 pounds of machine. The design is several years old, so it should be proven. I think Jet now has the same machine, if I remember right. I think Western Tool had one in about two weeks ago, around $1500 I think.
I am taking a class in wood finishing at CFC in Rockport this week, driving 50 miles each way so I probably won't get to this until the weekend. Great class, but it's going to tie up the whole week.
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