who makes the best portable planer?

[markkelly]

Who makes the best planer? 8) 8) :-\

[barbender]

If I were buying a "lunchbox" planer tomorrow, it would probably be the smaller Dewalt model, mostly because I can get replacement blades locally. I have a Craftsman 13" that I have to order replacement blades through Sears, if they even carry them anymore :-\ The Dewalt uses a heavier blade, too, unlike the little disposable ones in my planer.

[WDH]

I had a DeWalt and it was a little champ.

[ancjr]

I have the DeWalt 735 and like it.  Every issue I've had with it is the result of not keeping the rollers clean, or letting the chip bin fill up, which clogs the dust hose with a tight jam in about .0023 seconds.   :D

I'm wanting to make an infeed/outfeed table rig for it ASAP.

[sawmillhand]

Every issue I've had with it is the result of not keeping the rollers clean, or letting the chip bin fill up, which clogs the dust hose with a tight jam in about .0023 seconds.

I have to agree there i have the same model and the rollers get caked and the blades don't stay as sharp. But it does do the job. :D

[Sheepkeeper]

I also have the Dewalt DW735. Liked the features it offered and it works well for me. Need to put some wax on the bed to keep the wood feeding through smoothly but that goes for any planer.  When I worked in the furniture factory every planer had a block of parafin wax sitting on it.

[MattJ]

I've had the Ridgid 13" model and loved it.  I now have a big powermatic from the 60's that is a dream due to the mass but the portable from Ridgid was awesome.  I've run about 3000 bf through it and its only used a couple sets of blades.  The big plus side is the blades are cheap, 2 sided and you can change them in a few minutes.  I want to say around $20 per double sided set, or approx 1/4 the dewalt.  It's also got the really big plus of being able to work with or without dust collection.  It has a built in fan-like head and blows the chips well clear of the feed rollers.  When I would plan a few hundred bf at a time I would just blow it into the driveway and get it with the front end loader. It also has a feature that lets you know exactly how much you'll be chewing off each pass.  Very useful when starting with really rough lumber.  Overall a great planer and mid-way in price between the low end models and the dewalt.

[sawmillhand]

A neighbor of mine had a grizzly planer and the sharpener. i really liked using it and it spit out some nice shavings. I also noticed that the blades where thicker. I am assuming it makes it better for sharpening them? anyone else have a grizzly that they use. That is probably going to be my next planer. 

[WDH]

Yes, a Grizzly, but not portable.  Has the spiral head and works beautifully. 

[millwright]

I have a Grizzly, it seems to do a good job and blades are reasonable to buy.

[Seaman]

I've got to say it......can't help myself........LUCAS !!!!

[sawmillhand]

Yeah i guess i got off the subject  with the grizzly   (sorry)   but it would be nice if they did make a portable one with thicker blades.

[wdncno]

Had a makita, replaced it with a dewalt and wish I had gotten another Makita. Had far fewer problems with the Makita which was abused far more severely.