Replies

1. 
   KeithNewton | May 20, 2007 03:01am | #1

   Steve, For that kind of money, you ought to look at the makita 6 3/4".

   Here is a link, http://www.tools-plus.com/makita-1806b.html

   I have had one for over 20 years, and have used it a lot, and it still works great. The length of the infeed bed on those little ones just can't compare with doing the same job that this will do. The cut is excellent, and changing blades is easy and fast.

   I don't know if FWW has ever done a review on these planers, but if not, they should. Most of the fellows working in their garages, and small shops would be better off with one of these than with a stationary one, taking up floor space. THis can live under the bench on a shelf, and mount in a vice when needed.

1. 
   stevelf | May 20, 2007 01:06pm | #3

   --looks like a workhorse, indeed....but does it have an adjustable fence?? I spend a lot of time putting a 3 degree bevel on expensive doors....

1. 
   KeithNewton | May 20, 2007 03:52pm | #5

   Yes it has an adjustable fence, and works fine for door bevels. I have not ever used the festool, so I can't give you any good comparison for the two. However I know that the 7 1/4" infeed sole on this tool is a feature that you will like if you have been using one with the typical short ones on the smaller tools.

2. 
   Scrit | May 20, 2007 02:39pm | #4

   Isn't a 6in planer just a bit heavy for doing 2in door edges? Personally I'd plump for the Festool to replace my aging Elu MFF80 for the rteason NikiWood gave - it can rebate doors which is really useful if you find yourself having to replace a door frame or door casing on site

   Scrit

1. 
   KeithNewton | May 20, 2007 05:23pm | #6

   Hi Scrit, The Makita weighs 20 #, which is about twice what my smaller planer weighs. However I have never thought of that as much to lift. When I want to use a PP, I always reach for this tool. I only bought the small one for those times when the risk of trashing the blades in this one are a risk that I don't want to take.If you have a problem lifting a 20 # tool, then you probably won't be able to hang a large solid door to begin with, so I doubt Steve will worry about the weight if he is a professional door hanger.If Steve only hangs door, he might like the festool, with that rabbiting feature. However if he is like me, and occasionally builds someone custom doors that need to be pre-hung, then there are many ways that this tool will be a lot better. As for having to replace a door jamb, I would rather make them on the table-saw, even though I have a 12" jointer sitting right beside it with rebating capacity, and that is only when it has to be of a special wood species. Otherwise, I think it is cheaper to just buy the parts already milled, than spending the time to make them. Scrit, If you ever get a chance to test-drive one of these, I'll bet you will love it. Anytime the material weight starts getting heavier than the tool, it make more sense to switch tools. Sometimes I bring really large lumber into the shop. Rather than trying to run it through my big tools, I would rather take a tool like this to it.

1. 
   Scrit | May 20, 2007 09:24pm | #7

   "If you have a problem lifting a 20 # tool, then you probably won't be able to hang a large solid door to begin with, so I doubt Steve will worry about the weight if he is a professional door hanger....."

   Me, I'm just a wimpy cabinetmaker and joiner! I have an issue with tool weight because the stuff frequently has to be picked up and sometimes hauled a long way to and from a job - maybe I just can't yomp as well as I used to. The other thing I was concerned about was the safety aspect of having so much cutter either side of the door.

   "If Steve only hangs door, he might like the festool, with that rabbiting feature. However if he is like me, and occasionally builds someone custom doors that need to be pre-hung, then there are many ways that this tool will be a lot better."

   I tend to build everything in the shop whenever possible. The door jamb question comes into play for me when installing fire check doors which our regs say cannot be modified or altered on site without the certification being invalidated - so you have to start messing about with frames/casings and then the ability to rebate would be a boon. Similarly if you go out to do an (unseen) repair after a break-in there may be a need to replace a frame in situ because the site needs to be secured ASAP.

   "Scrit, If you ever get a chance to test-drive one of these, I'll bet you will love it. Anytime the material weight starts getting heavier than the tool, it make more sense to switch tools. Sometimes I bring really large lumber into the shop. Rather than trying to run it through my big tools, I would rather take a tool like this to it."

   I've only seen these wide planers being used by timber framers. A number of years back I had an Elu MFF40 planer (a model still sold as the Virutex CE24E) which was still only an 80mm (3-1/4in) width planer but had the extra length of the big Makita. That extra length certainly made it more controllable, but I still found it a heavy tool to lug about so when it was stolen and I found I couldn't get a replacement I just continued with a standard planer like everyone else. Now I don't think I do enough doors to justify the price

   Scrit

2. 
   nikkiwood | May 20, 2007 05:59am | #2

   The first question is what do you want to use it for.

   The Festool is the only portable planer that can plane flush, and you can buy a bench top holder for it so you can use it as a mini-jointer. Also, it can be set up for dust collection -- which can be a real advange with a planer, depending on where you are working.

   I suspect I have the same Dewalt you do, and it is a real work horse for renovation duties. Just this past week, I used it to plane down some old wood storm windows to fit -- I don't think I would want to use the Festool for that kind of task.

   If the PC model you mentioned is the one I am thinking of, it has been the standard machine used by door hangers for years.

   ********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-

3. 
   mike4244 | May 21, 2007 11:17pm | #8

   I  don't know if you realize it but you can plane faster by hand with a jointer plane than with an electric planer. An electric planer can only take off 1/32" or less at a time,irregardless of the depth setting numbers on most electric planes. Even the best electric planer,porter cable with the spiral cutterhead can't replace a hand plane.

   A properly tuned jointer plane can take a heavy cut  on the first two passes,as much as a 1/16". These passes are not full width yet. Most of the time five or six passes with the iron set for a 1/32" will edge plane the bevel on 1 3/8" to 1 3/4" doors.

   An old timer an I ( now i'm the old guy) where fitting and hanging doors . I had an electric plane, Otto was hand planing. I told him we had electric planes in the office if he wanted one. He said it was too slow and one more thing he had to lug around.

   I actually timed him, then myself with the electric plane. Otto was the clear winner.I quickly learned how to use a handplane.

   mike

1. 
   stevelf | May 22, 2007 06:22am | #9

   --- WOW, that is a realm I don't know ,yet... I mean, I own three good quality hand planes bot could not even imagine tackling doors with anything other than a power plane, as I mentioned, the older yellow Hitachi, which BTW, I have made work quite well for me. But I ALWAYS , when putting on a bevel, have had to put two perfectly parallel close-together finger-scribe- pencil lines at the last part of the old 90 degrees , if you know what I mean. so"s I can accurately monitor the progression of the bevel. That"s why I"ve been salivating over the Porter Cable 9118 for years, because I always heard it was the ####, as they say...My Hitachi tends to not take the same amount in the last 8-9 inches of the door, thus my lines...( I also put a quick finger-pencil-scribe one-eighth inch down the other side of the high point of the bevel, the last that gets hit...)
   But back to your point about the hand jack plane on doors, I would LOVE to be able to do that as well as I know I can with my electric plane, but that's only because I only do what I have learned to do, and have made work for me. Par example, the manager of an old-school Santa Barbara estate where I am a finish carpenter, asked me to hang these very spendy reproduction, new front doors that just arrived, complete with the old-style weatherstripping over-lapping copper appendages...I was flattered because I had heard that the maker of these doors was going to hang them(in the old jams) himself to ensure no problems... Well, I gar-guarantee you I won't be experimenting with any hand-held jack planes ( even though I look forward to being able to...), I'll be using the new PC9118 that I just bought and dialed in this morning !!! I dialed it in this afternoon and took my first sweeps on a scrap piece of 8/4 poplar we had hanging around and it was SWEET!!!
   Thanks for your all help in my "electric power planer dilemna" ! And I'll give you the good news how it all worked out ...!
   Steve

   Edited 5/21/2007 11:26 pm ET by stevelf