Purchase a new planer

[Gabby]

Looking to purchase a planer. My personal use and the need to do the material for 5-6 kitchens per year for contrators. Looking at a DeWalt 12 and a half , 3 knive. $350. new. Please remember I 'm a transplanted Conn. Yankee. That maens I'm tight! Is this a decent purchase?
Thanks in advance.

[Burlkraft]

I don't have the Dewalt, but I've heard that it's a pretty reliable machine. I saw a tool compairison and the Rigid just beat out the Dewalt...I do believe that the Rigid had less snipe than the Dewalt...... ;)

[footer]

From my experience, If you are giong to plane rough stock, and or wide stock, stay away from the portables. You will be extreamly disappointed. I would go with a Grizzly or a used stationary planer.

[scsmith42]

I second Footer's comment.  I burned the motor out of a new Ridgid after about a hour's total use (split into two sessions) with 2 x 10 oak boards.  Get something larger and you won't regret it.

[Engineer]

5-6 kitchens isn't a lot.  Especially with all the sheet goods, you're only looking at planing materials for face frames, doors and drawers.  I have a Ridgid 13" planer that I have run probably 3000 board feet of material through, mostly pine that was a full 1-1/4" thick and 12" wide and planed down to 1" thick.  Also have run curly maple stair treads through it and it has no problem as long as you go easy and take small cuts.  I have changed the blades twice due to getting dull from grit and nicking a nail, but they are easy to change.   I also have a Powermatic 180 but it's being restored/rebuilt at the moment and I haven't done much with it.   For your volume, something that big would be overkill.

[Ianab]

The Dewalt is probably the best of the portables. I have an earlier model one that has given me good service. I dont have the space for a bigger / heavier unit. They work well as long as you respect their limitations. Light passes on the wide boards etc.
In a commercial operation time is money and a heavier unit will give you more production for more years.

The DeWalt should handle the work you are thinking about OK, but have a look at the heavier units too, they usually dont cost a lot more than the better lunchbox units.

Also the new DW's have disposable blades, cost of those add up if you are doing a lot of work. The bigger units have re-sharpenable blades.

Cheers

Ian

[beenthere]

I noticed a DeWalt in amongst the tools that Qweaver has in his "living room". 

[metalspinner]

I've got  both the Delta 12 1/2" and Dewalt 13" portable planers.  The Delta I've had for about 8 years and is just about on its last legs.  The urathane rollers are worn out, and it sounds like some bearings are shot.  This planer has seen alot of use.  The Dewalt will be set up just as soon as the current knives on the Delta are shot.  The disposable knives are soooo easy to change.   A 20" stationary planer would be nice to have, but that would be a luxary for me.  If I added up all the disposable knives I've thrown out over those 8 years maybe the stationary planer could have been bought. :-\

[tim1234]

I was recently in the market to upgrade my Delta 22-540.  Never followed through yet.  Maybe I'll wait for the tax return.......anyway, what I read on the Dewalt is that the rollers would constanly get covered with sawdust/shavings and slip.  Also I heard the the blades dulled very quickly.  This is based on all the reviews I was able to find on-line.  Even for a serious hobbiest like myself, I decided on a grizzly G0453. (http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0453).  If I ever upgrade I'm going to get one of these.  I comes with a mobile base built in so you can get it out of the way when you aren't using it.

You also have to look at the cost of your time.  My small delta works, but it takes forever to plane a lot of wood.  you can go throuch a lot of material for 5 to 6 kitchens especially if you make wooden drawer boxes too.  Look at how much time you would save with a real planner and how much that time is worth to you.  I'll bet it will be an easy decision.

If you do get the dewalt, let us know how it works for you.

Tim

[Cypress Man]

I would definitly recommend going with a larger stationary planner such as the grizzly 20".  It comes standard with a 5HP motor, built in mobile base and solid cast extension tables.  It may cost a little more up front but in the long run it will definitely be worth it.  Stay away from the small portable planners if at all possible.  The 20" griz will last more than a lifetime and if you should decide to sell it you'll get most of your money back.  Good luck.

[bitternut]

I have the Dewalt 735 13" planer and have liked the results so far. I have had a Ryobi 10" since they first came out and it has seen a lot of use. I would go with the biggest that I could afford. Tools tend to be too small or underpowered more often than too large or overpowered. Bigger is better and they will hold up better with faster results. I will probably buy a larger planer some day.

[DonE911]

I have the Rigid... it does a good job and I have no complaints other than you really need to use some form of dust collection.  A friend has the Dewalt and I have seen it being used, but never operated it.   I don't see any real diff in quailty of the finished product...  I know my Rigid cost a little less and came with a steel stand... now the stand is not that great out of the box, but after adding a bunch of weight it's all good. The friends model dewalt doesn't have one, but I think the newer models have a built in dust system.

I also have a Rigid jointer.... same deal as the planer.... it does a fine job and is a little cheaper than some of the bigger name brands... don't have a clue if the other brands are worth the xtra cash or not.

[metalspinner]

I just set up the Dewalt planer - model 733.  The dust collection hood is kind of a bother in that it conseals short stock that gets sent through the planer.  On the Delta, the hood angels up so the exiting wood is not obscured.  I know this seems minor, but for short stock (about 14")  I can't see the wood to reach for it as it exits.  The cutter head lock on the Dewalt is also a bit more cumbersome to use.  Another thing is that the Dewalt will only plane down to about a 1/2".  I needed to make a "carry" board to plane down to a 1/4".  The Delta will go down to 3/16" or so without a carry board.  The knives are also more expensive for the Dewalt, although they are resharpenable.

Maybe I'm just used to the Delta and will come around to the Dewalt after a while. :-\

[Ianab]

Another thing is that the Dewalt will only plane down to about a 1/2".

I've got a DW733, and it will plane down to under 1/4" (about 5mm)  ???

Have you checked that the depth stop wheel is set / working right?

Cheers

Ian

[Larry]

Bench top planers are excellent finish planers.  The quality of cut, even on hard to plane and figured wood is second only to a machine with a Byrd style Shellix head.  They are not meant for any production work...and neither are the 3 HP stationery import planers.  Some of the 5 HP planers can do very low end production work...by that I mean they can surface rough lumber with only two passes.

The used market is where the bargains are.  Think Powermatic and Delta...just be aware that sometimes parts can be a problem.  This 12 inch Craftsman (Belsaw) followed me home this morning to join a stable of 5 other planers in various stages of repair.  And Gabby it will end up in like new condition for half of what your thinking of spending...course I may re-sell it for quite a bit more. ;)




Parts normally not a problem and it will out last you and me.  Don't really have a favorite brand as they all have merit and some pitfalls.

I really like the Byrd Shellix head...in any color of planer.  I'll never get another planer without one for my own use.

[metalspinner]

Thanks for the tip Ianab.
I will take a look at it tonight.

[treecyclers]

IMHO, portable planers have one use, and that's finishing the little stuff for weekend warriors. That's pretty much their intended use in the first place.
What you're talking about doing will kill a portable unit very quickly.
You can get a decent used 15" industrial model for $450-900, and a 20" for $600-1500.
If you go on the lower end lines, say Grizzly or Shopfox, you can get a new one in those ballparks.
Being tight doesn't necessarily have to mean you have to get the cheapest machine on the market, just one that will do what you want it to do when you want to do it.
I personally run a 20" Shop Fox 4 knife, 5HP single phase 220V. I can hog off up to 1/4" of pine on 12" wide boards in a single pass, but it growls at me when I do that.
Get a machine that will do what you want it to do, when you want to do it. Working on machinery stinks, and the frustration of buying an el-cheapo model when you could have had a V8 isnt worth it in my experience.
You'll be much happier in the long run if you get the bet you can get the first time around instead of going cheap and discovering that it doesn't work the way you want it to, then spending even MORE money and time getting what you should have gotten in the first place.
SD

[Fla._Deadheader]

Since Larry touched on it, How many of you can run a piece of wood ACROSS the grain, through your planer ??  The guys building Hectors cabinets run the assembled doors  through the planer with the Byrd-Shelix head.

  We have a lot of figured- wavy grain wood down here, and the shelix head is nearly as smooth as a sanded board. I never would have thought about cross grain through a planer.

  Now, I need the 16-32 drum sander and we can do production doors.  8) 8)

  We use a Jet 15" and I have a Belsaw 12" that I want to convert to the Shelix head. 

[Larry]

Tain't no problem when ya got a Byrd, Harold.

I'll go you one better ;D...anybody run end grain through there planer?  I build end grain counter tops and cutting boards.  You guessed it...I've done it.  Couple of tricks and it's probably not the safest thing to do so that's all I'm gonna say.

Byrd Shellix...the only way to plane.

[TexasTimbers]

I have to chime in with those who advise to stay away from portable planers unless you are a hobbyist. If you make a living, even 5 - 6 kitchens a year, spend a little extra and get a shop planer versus a "portable" i.e. "benchtop" planer.

I have the Dewalt 735 - their top of the line portable (heavy for a portable!) and I have given it rave reviews but that was qualified as hobbyist use. I bought the machine in a pinch one Sunday when I burned up my shop planer in the midst of a remodel job and haven't gotten around to replacing it. When I am running ALOT of stock through I am always saying "I have to get another planer!!!!) but I just haven't done it yet.

I prefer a planer to have bottom rollers for one. This may seem like a small detail but it is big. The DeWalt is an excellent planer for occassional use but for any volume at all you will not be happy with it.

The knives can't be resharpened and if you have situatins where you are using wood right out of the planer, which is common, you are left with ugly scratches from the planer bed because although it is stainless steel, it will get scratched and gouged. Spend a few hundred more and get a shop planer that has bottom rollers, resharpenable knives, and one for which you can buy an aftermarket helical head (even though a helical head has drawbacks in some situations there are some advantages in many other scenarios).

My 2 coppers.

[treecyclers]

Helical cutter heads use a series of small, usually carbide cutters to surface lumber, while 3 or 4 knife heads use striaght blades to accomplish the same end result.
In my shop, I have a straight blade unit, while at my friend's shop, there's a helical head in hte same model machine in use.
For figured woods, and wood that likes to tear out when planed, a spiral head/helical head can't be beat. The cuts are fine, much better than a straight knife, and figured wood doesn't get munched no matter how hard I run it.
He also has a 32" Supermax drum sander that I use for finish work, as on his helical cutterhead, one blade is slightly off, and I plane just proud of finished thickness, and sand to final.
A helical/spiral head runs about 20% more than a straight knife unit, but it's well worth the investment if you're using lots of figured wood in what you do.
Shop around, get someone to demonstrate the units you're considering, and take your own lumber with you, so you understand how the unit will perform in real time using the same stock that you're using, so you get the best information necessary to make a sound decision that works best for you.
Superdave

[Larry]

kevjay, you can put UHMW poly or even better Delrin on the your planer bed to eliminate scratches.  As a side benefit both are extremely slippery and you will never have to wax the bed of your planer again.  Both are expensive but you can get scrap on Ebay reasonable. 

[TexasTimbers]

That's a great idea. I liked it so much I just ordered a 12" x 24" piece of it. Ordered the UHMW polyethylene based on the tech's statement that it was specifically designed for "slide resistance" and was cheaper than the del, but I bet it's 6 of 1   1/2doz of the other.

Thanks for the useful tip. This might get me by until I decide on a bigger planer (with feed rollers).

[DonE911]

I've run several end grain cutting boards thru my rigid...  everything went fine for a few passes .....  that last pass  : : :  well lets just say it didn't go "fine" ..... 

I'd love to have a true shop planner... so if anyone has good operational unit they'd like to send to me to try out for a while  :D :D :D  I'll test that moulder out too ;)

[beenthere]

What happened on the last pass?  ???