Planer

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Angex

New User
Connor
Looking for my first planer. Looking for some advice. I have about 400 to 500 bucks to spend on one. Was thinking of the Dewalt 734 or the Rigid R4330 they are both at 399. I would also like some good dust collection on them also. Any suggestions would be great on a good one for around that price. Another thing is i don't have a Jointer yet either. Was also thinking i should get one of those first. If i should get a Jointer first i am looking for one around that price also. I would appriciate any help and guidance on this. Thanks.
 

TracyP

Administrator , Forum Moderator
Tracy
Looking for my first planer. Looking for some advice. I have about 400 to 500 bucks to spend on one. Was thinking of the Dewalt 734 or the Rigid R4330 they are both at 399. I would also like some good dust collection on them also. Any suggestions would be great on a good one for around that price. Another thing is i don't have a Jointer yet either. Was also thinking i should get one of those first. If i should get a Jointer first i am looking for one around that price also. I would appriciate any help and guidance on this. Thanks.

I have the ridgid and love it. The Dewalt is a quality planer as well. I would buy a planer prior to a jointer, however you may likely need both at some time.
 

CDPeters

Master of None
Chris
Conner -

I think either of the two you mentioned would be good starters - I have a Delta 12 1/2" "lunchbox" I bought at Lowes 10 years ago and it has served me well. I would suggest that your main focus in the first unit is to look at some things about the knives:

- how quick can you get to them to change (8 screws in the cover or 2) and how easy are they to reach once the cover is open.
- are the knives double edge (when one edge dulls, turn them around and use the other edge)
- how heavy (thick) are the knives
- how are they held in place (jibs or through-screws)
- how is the knife set - index pins; jack screws; springs w/setter bar etc.
- what is the cost of the replacement knives

Once you have used a planer for a while, you will develop ideas about what features you might want in higher price point machine.

Hope that helps - let us know what you go with...:icon_thum

C.
 

MrAudio815

New User
Matthew
Connor,

That is a hard decision to make at least for me. I went without a jointer for a while, bought a Dewalt 733 on here for $125 used, and loved it. But when I bought a jointer my work got better because my lumber was square and flat whereas the planer will just give you the same crooked board unless you make a jig for it. So I would say a jointer first, but without a planer your work isn't squared wither as the jointer only squares the the sides and one face, but the other face may be thicker on one end than the other if you just use a jointer. That is where the planer comes in to square/dimension the other face.

The Rigid jointer served me well and I bought it used for $250 but I have seen much less. Steel City sells a 13" planer with a Helical cutterhead for $600 on sale now at Highland woodworking for $499 here. I would much rather have a one of those than a Dewalt as it would be GREAT with figured woods. And I'm trying to think of a way to buy it without my wife killing me. That is a good deal.

Again, it all matters on what kind of woodworking you do and how perfect or almost perfect it has to be. PS Craigslist is AWESOME in NC for used tools. Not so much here in Utah. So if you can take your time to find the perfect deal, it's always best I have found. I found a 19" Grizzly Bandsaw for $380 w/ 2hp motor in Wilmington about an hour from where I used to live after months of searching and almost bought a jet 14" for $750, so I am glad I held out.

Good luck,

Matthew
 

Sully

New User
jay
My advice: go used.

With your budget, you can find an older cast iron planer that will outlast you and your kids. An older Delta, Craftsman/Parks, Powermatic, or Belsaw can easily be had for the money you are considering investing and are plentiful if you shop craigslist carefully.

$0.02
J
 

LeftyTom

Tom
Corporate Member
Like others have mentioned, go used, and see if the seller tosses in other items, like spare set(s) of blades.
 

JackLeg

New User
Reggie
Take a hard look at the DW-735. I've owned two and they are little workhorses! Easy to adjust, plenty of power. m2cw:wsmile:
 

merrill77

Master Scrap Maker
Chris
Another thing is i don't have a Jointer yet either. Was also thinking i should get one of those first. If i should get a Jointer first i am looking for one around that price also. I would appriciate any help and guidance on this. Thanks.

Some of us get by without a jointer. I could not get by without my planer, but sold my jointer as I found I didn't really need it. A simple sled make it easy to get a flat face on a board without a jointer (it takes about 5 minutes to build with $15 in materials) - and you can do a board nearly the full width of the planer. Once you have flat face, getting square edges is easy. I get straight edges on short boards with the table saw and long boards with a simple router guide.

I don't miss my jointer at all, so if you are budget or space-constrained, I'd say wait on the jointer for a while - you may find you can get by without it.

Chris
 

TBradley190

New User
Tim
I upgraded to a 15" jet about a year ago, but prior to that I had the Rigid that purchased new in 01. I can tell you it was a good machine that gave a smoothe cut, and the double sided blades were easy to change and I could pick up a set at any Home Depot for about $23.00. Only draw back is it's heavy, at about 75lbs it need to have it's own stand if possible.


Tim
 

MarkE

Mark
Corporate Member

zdorsch

Zach
Corporate Member
I've been borrowing th delta lunchbox planer for the three years and have been pleased with it. The double sided blades are nice. My only complaint is that it is prone to snipe. I ended up getting a laminate board that was about ten feet long and put it on the player bed with supports. That helped to reduce, but not eliminate sniper.

A friend of mine bought the dewalt player that I have also used. The locking head feature was very nice and we were able to virtually eliminate sniper with rollers placed at the indeed and outfeed sides of the player.

I recently picked up an old belsaw player that I have yet to use ( it runs on 220 and I have been busy with the house instead of making a cord for.the belsaw).

Something else to consider is the noise. Both the delta and dewalt are best used with ear plugs. You will also need a 30 amp outlet for the delta; an extension cord solved my problem with that.

Zach
 

Angex

New User
Connor
Wow thanks everyone for the help. I don't one right the second i will continue to watch for a used one, maybe get a deal. But if it comes down to it i will just go new. Thanks again everyone for your help
 

KenOfCary

Ken
Staff member
Corporate Member
That Wixey Digital Readout is a great add-on. Whatever planer you end up with consider adding one to it. I added one on my Delta and love the super accurate readout. When it says my board is 3/4" it is exactly 3/4". I can easily plane several boards to the same thickness regardless of what order I do things in.

It was very easy to install and calibrate as well.

- Ken.
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
I own four, two Delta 22-540's (12"), a Delta 15" (cast iron machine), and a Rockwell 13" which weighs close to a thousand pounds (definitely not portable.) I use then for different purposes. The Delta 15", and Rockwell are hosses, with the Rockwell being the bigger hoss. The motor in it is the size of a five gallon bucket. The 22-540's I use for finish work. But they do snipe. I would keep a sharpe eye out for a used Rockwell DC-33 (13"), or Delta DC-380 (15"). They appear on CL for less than $600 sometimes. Both are "lifetime machines."
 

mgberry

New User
Matt
All good advice on this thread. I have a DeWalt 735, the finish it produces is pretty incredible. It has a rough cut and fine cut mode. It essentially changes the cutter head speed to increase the number of cuts at the same feed rate.

I also have a jointer and really cant imagine not having both.

Craigslist can be a gold mine, but you have to be quick!

Matt
 
when considering the DeWalt 735 remember

- it is two speed
- factor in the cost of the infeed out feed wings in the prices
- Infinity tool has great replacement blades for the unit in HSS and Carbid

although that steel city looks nice for the price
 
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