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.