Well I fine myself looking for a planer. I've never used one before so I have no experience on one. I would like to know what I should start looking at? I have a small shop and right now woodworking is just a hobby. I would like one that is portable so I can use it out side but I do have a dust system. I would like to get a ideal of the good and bad. I quest like everyone else cheaper is better but I don't want to get a POS. :help:
What planer to buy
- Thread starter Max1013
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I had a dw734 before upgrading to a 15" grizzly planer with a spiral cutterhead. I thought the dw734 was a darn good planer for the money.
I bought the Steel City 40300ch from Highland Woodworking. It has a helical cutter head with carbide inserts. It has worked well for me so far. It costs more than some but with the carbide inserts it should stay sharp for a long time. I have never been able to sharpen anything so the helical head and carbide inserts was worth the extra money to me.
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/steelcityportableplaner13helicalheadcarbide40300CH.aspx
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/steelcityportableplaner13helicalheadcarbide40300CH.aspx
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The blades were reversible, and indexed (which made installation really easy, but you couldn't really sharpen them), so you could flip each of them over one time before replacing. For rough planing, as long as you didn't try and hog off a bunch of material at once, they were pretty good. I went quite a while before replacing them. If you aren't working with rough lumber, they should last even longer. I guess it is hard to give a real specific answer. It depends on how much material you run through the planer, how much you take off at a time and the type of wood you are planing. I owned my planer for 2 years and changed the blades once. I did use a bunch of rough cut walnut, some cherry, cedar and white oak.
You should check craigslist for a used benchtop planer if you are looking to save money on an inexpensive unit.
I have the porter cable pc305tp model that is sold at lowes. It is just a rebadged version of the delta 305 portable planer. For the $250 price tag I do not think it can be beat. It does only have 2 knives and is missing a few of the features the Dewalt has but the knives are pretty cheap and double sided. I purchased it three years ago and have planned hundreds of board feet. I have turned the blades but have yet to change them.
As you would read in the reviews, out of the box there is about 3 inches of snipe but with some care when leveling the out-feed tables I have reduced the snipe dramatically. It also is not the planer to buy if you often are using highly figured woods (as would be the case with any straight knifed planer I would assume)
It definitely is not the Cadillac of portables, but may be perfect for a first planer.
As you would read in the reviews, out of the box there is about 3 inches of snipe but with some care when leveling the out-feed tables I have reduced the snipe dramatically. It also is not the planer to buy if you often are using highly figured woods (as would be the case with any straight knifed planer I would assume)
It definitely is not the Cadillac of portables, but may be perfect for a first planer.
the "lunchbox" planers in the 12-13" range such as the dewalts are well-liked, as are the deltas porter cable, ridgids and even craftsman pro series. CL is a good place for deals on all. Indexed blades are nice b/c they're easy to change and for a weekend woodworker, it's not often, maybe once a year? 3 knives are generally better than 2 knife design, but I'd never know the difference. Of course I didn't mention the sprial cutterheads which are of course a serious step up. Some models vary in their dust/chip ejection being better than others but w/ a decent DC and separator I doubt there's much difference. Oh, and most of these are all screamers >80dB if not more like 85+dB. Snipe can be a common problem on these planers and is a common complaint, but generally this can by remedied by setting up the tables properly as noted above. On any and all, I'd highly recommend adding a wixey digital readout for adjusting the cutterhead height. These definitely fit the deltas and dewalts and probably the others as well.
Get a Dewalt 735 and you won't need a dust collector to go along with it. I LOVE my 735. It has a chip ejection fan which is pretty much like a built in dust collection motor, you just need a section of pipe and a cheap separator from grizzly. It will keep from shooting chips everywhere, but it's not as good as a dust collector. Like I said, I LOVE MY 735!
About sharpening: You can always make one of these. Not one of mine...Yet
Here is the link http://lumberjocks.com/projects/70562
Hope you find a great deal~!
Here is the link http://lumberjocks.com/projects/70562
Hope you find a great deal~!
My preference was for the DeWalt DW735 which is truly a great benchtop thickness planer with minimal snipe (ranging from 0.000" to ~0.001" in my experience). However, it is without a doubt the priciest of the bunch. Even better still is to combine it with a Wixey Digital Readout (DRO) for more precise thickness and the ability to reliably reproduce a previous thickness with a repeatability of 0.005" or greater (this really goes for any thickness planer).
If you are on a tighter budget, there are a number of benchtop planers that sell for around 1/2 to 2/3rds the price (particularly other DeWalt and Rigid models).
The knives for the DW735 are indexed and double-sided and typically retail at around $50 for set of 3 (or about $25/side) and are usually available locally (such as Lowes). As indexed knives they are pretty much no-fuss to change and the unit breaks down easily using the Allen T-wrench stowed in the top cover. A typical hobbyist will get a good deal of use from each set of knives, besides if you payed to have re-usable knives sharpened then you'll likely find you are paying about the same as for the single use knives so single-use knives aren't a terrible limitation for most hobbyists. Usually the biggest issue you'll run into are occassional minor nicks when a knife strikes something hard and which can leave very fine narrow ridges in the output that are easily removed with a few swipes of 120grit sandpaper or you can offset one of the knives a fraction of an inch so that the nicks no longer align on all 3 knives.
If you are on a tighter budget, there are a number of benchtop planers that sell for around 1/2 to 2/3rds the price (particularly other DeWalt and Rigid models).
The knives for the DW735 are indexed and double-sided and typically retail at around $50 for set of 3 (or about $25/side) and are usually available locally (such as Lowes). As indexed knives they are pretty much no-fuss to change and the unit breaks down easily using the Allen T-wrench stowed in the top cover. A typical hobbyist will get a good deal of use from each set of knives, besides if you payed to have re-usable knives sharpened then you'll likely find you are paying about the same as for the single use knives so single-use knives aren't a terrible limitation for most hobbyists. Usually the biggest issue you'll run into are occassional minor nicks when a knife strikes something hard and which can leave very fine narrow ridges in the output that are easily removed with a few swipes of 120grit sandpaper or you can offset one of the knives a fraction of an inch so that the nicks no longer align on all 3 knives.
First off, AJ, do you have a budget?. Do you intend on growing your woodworking capacity and skills?. I have owned the lunchbox planers in the past. I have always done alot of cabinetry work, so I have used alot of long lumber. The problem I had with those planers was they were really noisy and underpowered. Not to mention , they want to tip over with anything longer than a 5 foot board. I started out with a 12" Delta, hated it, bought a heavier, more staitionary 13" craftsman, hated it even more than the Delta since the bed didnt stay parallel with the cutterhead. Both of those I ended up returning. I then plunked down about $900 for a 15" Grizzly. I put more lumber through that machine without issue for years. The only problem was, I always seemed to need something wider for glue ups. I now have a 20" Sunhill. I bought it used and it works great. They are industrial quality (this one was used in a commercial setting for years). Now Im not telling you to go buy a 20" planer, but personally , I hate having to mess with tools when I should be woodworking. If that were the case, I would get some exercise then and buy a real nice hand plane and plane by hand.
I've been very pleased with a 12.5" Jet lunchbox I picked up used through a member here for a very reasonable (<150) price
It came with the Jet base to which I've added casters
I work in one side of a garage so everything needs to be mobile.
With the base its very stable and I routinely plane 12' stock for boatbuilding.
It has two blades, which are reversible.
I've switched them once in two years.
My materials are about 50/50 hardwood and soft.
The fold up tables are not as sturdy as a floor model but I have been able to set them to achieve zero snipe.
(hope they stay that way!)
It is noisy- just about the only time I wear ear plugs.
It makes a mess- no provision for dust collection and I haven't improvised one (yet)
It does a real fine job.
I understand this model was discontinued and replaced with an "improved" 13" version.
Not sure what the improvements were, but if its at least as good as this one its a good alternative.
It came with the Jet base to which I've added casters
I work in one side of a garage so everything needs to be mobile.
With the base its very stable and I routinely plane 12' stock for boatbuilding.
It has two blades, which are reversible.
I've switched them once in two years.
My materials are about 50/50 hardwood and soft.
The fold up tables are not as sturdy as a floor model but I have been able to set them to achieve zero snipe.
(hope they stay that way!)
It is noisy- just about the only time I wear ear plugs.
It makes a mess- no provision for dust collection and I haven't improvised one (yet)
It does a real fine job.
I understand this model was discontinued and replaced with an "improved" 13" version.
Not sure what the improvements were, but if its at least as good as this one its a good alternative.
I had the Dewalt 735 but after buying the mobile base and the extensions, it was creeping up toward the price for a grizzly 15". I liked the Dewalt a lot but ultimately wanted something quieter and a little heavier duty. if you need mobility i would certainly go with the 735 (or if i had to do it over again i would have tried the Grizzly mobile for a little over 300). But if you are not going to be moving it to job sites and think you will be doing woodworking for a while I would consider getting a grizzly 15". just my 2 cents with the recognition that the extra 3-400.00 can be a major dealbreaker.
I bought a 2-pack from Amazon for $68 about a year and half ago when Dewalt had a sale going on. They are currently running $80.
http://eastnc.craigslist.org/tls/3534791774.html
Price is way to high for used, but maybe you can talk him down.
Price is way to high for used, but maybe you can talk him down.
Thank eveyone for there input. The steel city peaked my interested. I know that I will be moving in a few years so right now the really nice Grizzly and Jet are out of the question. My table saw already weights a ton. DeWalt looks nice too. I may have to have a talk with the accountant. The Port Cable at Lowes looks like a toy to me but hay I like toys if there allot of fun. I'll have a talk with the accountant to get her thoughts. Wish me luck.
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