Best planer to purchase for under $500
jhounshell
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I’m in the market for a new planer since my Ryobi AP1301 fagged out a couple days ago. I know everyone loves the DeWalt 735, but I only have about $600 in play money right now, and I’d rather not shoot the whole wad in one purchase.
So, what is the next best thing? I’m looking with interest at the Delta TP400LS. Anyone have any experience with this model?
Anything else out there I should be looking at?
Thanks!
Jeff
Replies
That's essentially the same planer I have, just a newer version. While it works fine, if I was in your budget range, I'd pass it by to get the Ridgid from Home Depot. I don't know enough about the Makita or other brands to know what else falls under $500. I would not get a Grizzly portable (though I like the bigger Grizzly tools). I just know the Ridgid is a workhorse with some features the Delta doesn't have (depth measurement, depth stop), at a very reasonable price.
[Got a phone call in the middle of my post, hurried: The depth stuff on the Rigid provides more options and is better than what's on the Delta.]
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 6/20/2007 1:04 am by forestgirl
What scares you about the Grizzly portable?I like Delta tools a ton. I have a Delta jointer, drill press, and a couple of others. Never had an issue with them.The only thing that worries me about the Rigid planer is it looks a lot like the Ryobi I had that just melted down. They use the same blades, and I wonder if they are the same machine, just one dressed up a little prettier than the other. Jeff
The main thing is the lack of a head lock. Unless they've changed the design? It has, for years, performed extremely poorly in the various reviews, and I've seen first-hand reports on the net also. The degree of snipe is just awful.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Refurb DW735. They are hard to find in stock. These are $389.88 plus $7.99 Shipping.
http://toolking.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=25461
Greg
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Edited 6/20/2007 3:40 am by Cincinnati
That's a great deal Greg. I have bought a lot of refurbished Dewalt tools and have had very good luck with them. Had one small problem with a biscuit jointer fence and had a replacement part shipped to me no questions asked.
I have the 12.5" locking delta (TP400LS) and it works fine. Would love the chip fan feature that the Dewalt DW735 has.
Go for the referbished DW735.
The advantage of refurb over new, is that some manufacturers test run every single unit. I am sure some do a rebuild and just test one out of every so many (which is typicval QC for new equipment). But you certainly have a better chance of getting a tested machine.Greg
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ALL,
Got my DW735 a little less than a year ago and it ROCKS! I've run about 200 bf through it, yeah not very much, but have had no issues at all.
When I run it I take it to a window in the chicken coop and the chip ejector spreads a fresh layer of shavings/sawdust for the chicks! Just kidding but I gotta tell ya, that ejector system WORKS!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Jeff - There are a handful that seem to take turns taking top honors and best buy awards in reviews, and that get good reports from owners. DeWalt makes two - DW735 and DW734, Delta has two - 22-580 and TP400LS (fomerly the 22-560/565)...(skip the TP300/TP305), Makita 2012, and the Ridgid. I'm sure there are others that are fine, but most don't have any advantages I'm aware of over these popular and well proven models. Sale prices can tip the scales in favor of one or the other.
My former 22-560, and now my 22-580 have both served me well.
http://www.epinions.com/content_156115177092
Edited 6/20/2007 2:16 pm ET by Knotscott
Dear J,
I used to burn out one Delta a year prior to switching to the Makita. The Makita is bulletproof and usually under $450.00. I use mine, commercially and in the past six or seven years I have put Ipe, Brazilian Cherry, Maple, Oak and a variety of softer woods with just outstanding results. Very reliable and a relative bargain.
Best,
John
Edited 6/20/2007 6:52 am ET by Jmartinsky
Edited 6/20/2007 6:55 am ET by Jmartinsky
I can't say too many good things about my Makita. Works great, reliable, and the blades are pretty easy to change, too. Make sure you get the optional dust chute; it hooks up to 3" DC hose. I got both at northwestpowertools.com, and they have free shipping now.
I got my DW 735 for $550 and got a free $60 RO sander...
It's a great machine... but as you may have heard already, the blades are the weak link. They develop nicks and dull quickly.
Infinity Cutting tools makes presumable better quality replacements with German HSS steel. That is another $60 however.
The Makita would be my second choice. I came really close to buying one.
Smaller footprint, better blades.
Also, steel city toolworks just came up with a benchtop planer.
They have been making good tools so far, so you might give it a closer look. It's selling for $419 right now. Looks solid, and has a 3 blade cutter.
best of luck.
vincent
"That is another $60 however." Vincent, the price difference between the Infinity blades and the DeWalt blades is only about $9 (Amazon DeWalt, $55; Infinity, $63.90). If we can ever find someone to make a comparison between the two, we could get closer to knowing if the difference is worth it! forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I've had the Ridgid for about two months, and like any new tool, I've tried all kinds of stuff with it just to see what it will do. From Padauk to Pine to Pecan, it produces very fine flat surfaces with virtually no snipe. The dust collector system could work better, but I don't know if it is any better or worse than others on the market. It is certainly better than not having one as I learned when I forgot to turn on the vac one time. Lord those things produce more wood chips than I could imagine.
Scotty
Pearland, TX
P.S. Forgot one P wood I've planed: Purple Heart. Did a great job on it too. Hard and full of silica, but still going great afterward.
Edited 6/20/2007 10:37 pm ET by ScottNewsom
i remember our discussion... I was saying that when one buys the dewalt planer, one signs up for the inevitable cost of premature blade replacement. For someone stretching a $500 budget, this additional $50-65 might be a big consideration. And yes, the truth is we still don't know if that extra money will solve the problem. What if it's actually some flaw in the machine itself... On that subject, I just flipped my factory blades. I ran 20 ft of 4/4 poplar and 20 ft 4/4 of maple. I took 1/32" cuts. The poplar planed nicely. Within the first 2 boards of maple, the knifes started leaving huge streaks... not little ridges but BIG fat stripes.
I don't think the blades cut out for harder woods. The long and short of this is that I should have and answer about those infinity blades pretty soon... sooner than I had hoped. vincent
"...sooner than I had hoped." Oh my, bummer! Looking foward to the report though! ;-)
Good point about the blades adding to the cost in that situation, I hadn't thought about it that way.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Does the fact they provide a ROS indicate their lack of confidence in the finish the blades/planer can give?
My suspicions exactly !
Does the fact they provide a ROS indicate their lack of confidence in the finish the blades/planer can give?
To All:
No powered planer should be relied upon for creating a smooth enough finish to skip the smoothing process before applying finish.
While some are better than others, you should always either sand or hand plane the surface to create a smooth and flat surface for finishing. Both remove the small hills and valleys left by any planer, including helical head versions.
By doing this, your finished projects will greatly improve their appearances.
My advice to the OP would be to pick any inexpensive planer that you feel will last a while (most should suffice), get the best deal you can ($249 for the makita sounds good), and spend a little money on a good smoothing plane. Your woodworking skills and future projects will leap to the next level by doing so.
Jeff
obviously a planer is a milling machine and not a finish sander.....
However, I didn't notice any other planers coming with an ROS. Either they are very forward thinking and want to provide the customer with all the necessary tools to get a nice finish (fat chance) or they recognize a larger than normal problem with their planer and can now say something along the lines of......what else do you want us to do? we provided you with an ROS to take care of those nasty little ridges caused by the nicks in our blades so quit complaining.......
If the Makita went on sale, I missed it, I was out of town. I went ahead and purchased the Rigid model from HD. It has more bells and whistles than my old, dead Ryobi. However, while planing about 20 bf of hard maple, I didn't see any better performance in the Rigid that I did the Ryobi. I still get a lot of snipe at the ends of the boards. Actually, I think I am getting more chip out with the Rigid than the Ryobi.Thanks for everyone's input.Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Since I made a planer sled, I have seen NO snipe at all with my DW 735. The sled makes one hell of a difference for me anyway.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob, would you mind to describe or post some pics of your planer sled? I just picked up a used planer and your sled sounds interesting.Sorry for the thread hijack...Thanks,
Ryan
Hi Ryan,
There are many different types of sleds that have been used/designed. If you google planer sled you'll get a bunch of hits ranging from simple (mine) to very elegant, depending on your needs. Also a search inhere will yield numerous designs as well.
Mine is but a simple 13" x 4' piece of 3/4" melamine with blocking underneath to keep it from sliding into the planer when in use and raised so it's level with the planer bed.
I just raise the head, slip in the sled and lower back down to planing depth for the required piece.
I'm at my lakefront camp right now so I can't get a pic of mine, but again it's really quite simple to make.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
Thanks for the help. I'll see what turns up on a search. So, your planer sled remains stationary while the stock slides over it? It seems like maybe I've seen a video of a sled that slides through the planer with the stock sitting stationary on it. Maybe that one was for jointing stock wider than your jointer or making tapered legs...Obviously I need to do more research on this before I build one.Thanks again,
Ryan
Edited 6/27/2007 8:58 am ET by Ryan1
Ryan1Here's what I found at FWW. Tomhttp://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/FWNPDF/011183072.pdfhttp://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/FWNPDF/011183072.pdfhttp://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ToolGuide/ToolGuidePDF.aspx?id=2416"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
ctsjr,
Thanks for those links. Too many shop projects to actually turn out any REAL projects...
Snipe on that machine is probably a matter of adjusting the tables. If you're not happy with it because of the chip-out, HD would probably take it back.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Deal alert!!!!!! Amazon has the Makita for $249!
link
wow, $517 off?
I'm comparing it to the Ridgid from Home Depot - any thoughts? Ridgid comes with a dust hookup and a stand for $349. Both of those would be extras with the Makita. Anyone used both and have a preference?
Must have been a typo -- I saw it last night -- but today, it's $429!!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
it was $249 this morning, they had 4 left... I scratched my chin, couldn't pull the trigger, went back an hour later and they were gone (they ship from a new supplier now)
Jeff,
Bite the bullet and get the DW735. I have one it great, great finish and blades change easy.
Greg
Thanks but I already bought a Rigid.Jeff
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