Recommendations for a planer

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Wheelman

Wheelman

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Jan 24, 2014
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Kirtland
I'm looking to buy a planer...something in the low to mid price range. I'm running out of room for tools so nothing too big. What should I look for? Never owned a planer before.

Thanks for any input.
 
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If you are looking for a portable Dewalt has some nice ones. I have an old Delta and it does a good job, I wish the Dewalt's had been available when I got mine. The Dewat has three knives instead of two and also two speeds and about a half inch wider than most.

Mike
 
Thickness planers are wonderful tools. They elevate woodworking to the next level (whatever that is). Most are set up on the same principals. In the hobbyist/medium duty category, 12 1/2" to 13" "portable" planers are the norm. The DeWalt 735 is the one most are compared to.

Other good mfrs are Steel City, Delta, Ridgid, Ryobi and (I think) Jet. There are others, but those are the name brands.
 
I have the Dewalt 735. While I would not trade it for any other portable, there are a couple things to be aware of. It is LOUD!! The fan that propels the chips out does a great job, but the price is the noise. A planer is a noisy tool to start with, add the fan and it is unbearable without hearing protection.

The stock knives are fragile. Very easy to nick. They have gotten better, but an after market set of knives from Infinity tools would not be a bad idea. I am saving up for the carbide ones (after I buy a set of CBN wheels for my grinder).
 
A fellow penmaker gave me a Craftsman 13" because "it doesn't work well", and he bought a Dewalt to replace it. I spent 2 days working it over and ordered a new set of blades and it works fine. I had a 12 1/2" Delta and in comparison, my opinion, the Craftsman is as good or better than the Delta. As for noise, yup, but they are all bad on that point. A good dust collector and eye and hearing protection are a must. I suggest looking for a used one on Craig's or Ebay. I discovered that the guy who gave me the Craftsman didn't like the Dewalt because it chattered a lot. I told him to past wax the bed of the planer. He did as I suggested and no more problems. I have wondered if he regrets giving away the Craftsman, may have just needed some wax.
WB
 
Wood Butcher said:
A fellow penmaker gave me a Craftsman 13" because "it doesn't work well", and he bought a Dewalt to replace it. I spent 2 days working it over and ordered a new set of blades and it works fine. I had a 12 1/2" Delta and in comparison, my opinion, the Craftsman is as good or better than the Delta. As for noise, yup, but they are all bad on that point. A good dust collector and eye and hearing protection are a must. I suggest looking for a used one on Craig's or Ebay. I discovered that the guy who gave me the Craftsman didn't like the Dewalt because it chattered a lot. I told him to past wax the bed of the planer. He did as I suggested and no more problems. I have wondered if he regrets giving away the Craftsman, may have just needed some wax.
WB
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Had the same Delta for years...work horse and noise monster! Either Delta or Dewalt are a good choice
 
Everyone seems to like the dewalt, probably won't buy anything for a couple weeks. Any idea who's got the best price or anyone hear of any sales going on? Thanks for all the input so far.
 
Rockler has the DeWalt on sale with extras at the Indy store, not sure about the other locations but a call or email to the store would provide that. I'm betting the Indy store would sell and ship it to you.
WB
 
Add me into the "happy 735 owners club". I have no complaints about mine, but I second the need for both hearing protection and a dust collector.

Let me add that a pre-sorter setup for the dust collector is a huge plus. Most chips stay in it and it's easier to empty. And the planner fills it up QUICK!
 
I also have the Dewalt 735, it is a great machine. To be honest, though, I rarely need to machine wood down that much. My Jet 16-32 drum sander gets a lot more use than the planer. If I had the sander first, I probably would not have the planer.
 
I have a Makita. Works very well. I made a flip stand for it and a 6" Delta portable jointer. I added casters in case I need to plane a long board. Don't forget a dust hood either.
 
I've owned my Dewalt 735 since they first came on the market.

Pros:
Very smooth cut...even at the higher speed.
Plenty of power for a bench top planer.
13" cut width

Cons:
Noisy...but I have not used any planer where I didn't need hearing protection.
Knives nick too easily. After market brand are a little better.
Expensive - Consider buying a refurbished unit for $100 less money. Same manufactures warrantee.
 
Crashmph said:
MesquiteMan said:
I have a Dewalt 735 with a Byrd spiral carbide head ... I use the Dewalt all the time...
Click to expand...

What he said. I have the same setup as Curtis, and it is an awesome planer to have. A bit expensive at about $1100 total cost, but in the end, you get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

For those of you using a setup like this what advantages/disadvantages with the planer vs. something like this Jet drum sander?

I went to the local wood craft shop on Hickam to use their planer and they don't have one in the shop since sanding is required to remove planer marks.

For them it was a also matter of less operating expense but for a user it's one less step in the process.
 
Since the OP requested low to mid-priced options, it's only fair to mention that the HF 95082 planer is often mentioned as a gem.
 
Might want to check out the Steel City 13" planer. It comes with a helical cutter. Some pros are, way less noise than a straight blade cutter, less tear out on the figured wood, and don't have to have to be a scientist to get the blades set to the right depth.
And amazon has them for less than $500

Just food for thought.
 
I've had an older Delta planer that I was happy to see go to someone else. Maybe the newer ones are nicer.

I then bought a DW735 which I still have. This planer was a gem but not without it's problems. Although knife changes were relatively easy they needed to be changed often. I got into a habit of rotating the new edge (each blade is double-eged) of just one of the set (3 blades on the cutter head) and kept track by marking the date and knife number (1, 2, or 3) for the blade that got rotated. This way my blade set lasted me 3 times as long and I still had acceptable results.

The bad part about the DW735 was that it was incredibly loud. Another problem was the cheap plastic fan housing (chip exhaust) that failed whenever a knot came loose and went through the blower. When this happens you can run the planer but the inside fills with sawdust immediately and the chain drive (for height adjustments) would clog and bind the chain. What a headache... However, it did an excellent job getting the surface smooth. I guess you take the good with the bad.

I still have my DeWalt but have since gotten a PowerMatic beast with a helical head and this baby has served me well for 4 years and is still on it's 1st set of knives. Occasionally an individual 1/2" carbide cutter will shatter but even that's been a long long time. I believe the failure was more due to improper torquing than hitting a knot etc.
 
Helical cutters

IMHO anything with a helical cutter head is gonna be better than a straight blade cutter of the same price range.
 
I have the older delta 13" that I bought 6-7 years ago. It is loud but they all are. It does everything I have asked it to without fail and was only $400 at lowes. The newer model has 3 knives instead of 2 and it gets very high marks when reviewed. If mine ever fails I will get the newer version of it. It does throw lots of chips, I got tired of dumping the bag and just put a piece of PVC where the bag connects and piped it through the wall. Set a big tarp outside and at the end if the day drag it where I want it and dump it. I have run mine at times sun up to sun down and only stopped for a quick bite a couple times a day. I ran 3000 board feet of cedar through it in a couple days a few times.
 
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