Hi I have a Dewalt 735 13″ benchtop planer wich is fine for a hobyist but now Im oppening a comercial shop and I will be planning a lot of wood, so Im planning to upgrade to a bigger planner.
Im considering a 20″ but since Im going to focus in making kitchens I guess a 15″ planer is more than enougth.
Is there a reason to buy the 20″ planer? it costs 1000.00 more
The 15 ” is the delta X
The 20″ is a Silverline( I havent seen this brand in the US)
Both planers are 3HP and have similar feed rate.
Thanks.
Replies
My shop also makes mostly kitchens, and we've had a 20" planer (SCMI) for a long time. I couldn't say whether it's worth the extra for you. But I often use the whole 20" width. It's not that unusual for us to make a door panel that's over 15" wide. Not every kitchen, but it does happen. Also we do accompanying tables and islands with wood countertops, and we're often running wide 8/4 oak or exotic species through the planer to make those countertops. If you ever want to work with slabs, natural edged planks from interesting woods, every inch of planer width is a blessing. You figure out if it's worthwhile or not.
DR
Astrain..
Look at Grizzly Their 20 inch planer is affordable and Mine has planed well over 50,000 board feet of hardwood thus far and the only thing that failed is one of the three belts driving it..
The local auto parts store had it in stock and it took me less than 5 minutes to replace..
The whole planner is that way.. Butt simple, reliable as an anvil, and affordable.
Frankly I wish I had a 24 inch planer. I get 22 inch boards from the sawmill on a regular basis and I hate to waste the wood
I also wish I had spent the extra money for the spiral head.. I've got a friend who has one and his is so much quieter than mine plus he's nearing 5000 bd.ft. and never paid to sharpen a single blade. He's still on the original cutters and has another face to go before needing to replace them.. I'd actuallyl bought replacement blades at that point since I'd hit so much junk and stuff. One little piece of sand and you get a nick that means the blades go in to be sharpened.. If he hits that same piece he rotates the damaged cutter head 90 degrees and he's back running inside of five minutes..
No hassle setting up blades, no sending them out for sharpening, and sooooo much more quiet!
Thanks. well I leaning toward the 20" just need o renegotiate the price cause of what I say below.Frenchy,I live in MExico, but anyway I looked at the grizzly 20" and to my surprise its exactly the same model to the one they are selling to me here just with another paint job and brand(silverline). I atached the pictures.They are selling it for 2,300.00 US dollars, the Grizzly is $1,175.00 + shipping 169 = 1344.00. !A thousand dollar diference!Im definetily going to talk with the dealer in here and Ill show him the pictures and the price.Thanks!
I've the 20" Grizzly. Very happy with it; one of the few Grizzly machines I would buy (from hands-on looking at their Springfield dist. center).I know Silverline is Tawainese, maybe it does come out of the Grizzly factory. I was looking at their 8" jointer at a woodshow in Mexico City (where I've a shop) and didn't think it compared to Grizzly's 8".BTW, I've written Grizzly and told them I think there's a market for them in Mexico.Are you saying they'd ship the 20" to you in Hermosillo for $169?
Craig, do you live in Mexico?the dealer in here also had a silverline 8" jointer but it didnt look that good I ended ordering a Delta jointer, but the 20"planer its identical, and I just found out that the one they are selling me is the 3HP version and the grizzly is 5HP, so considering that the diference in price its even more.Sorry about the confusion about the shipping, I wanted to do a fair comparison, considering all the costs to have the machine in your shop. The silverline costs 2300 to me, the grizzly for someone in the US costs xx plus shipping xx.Also I m just 3 hours from the border(Nogales, AZ), so I can order it there and pick it up, altought I know its going to be hell loading it and unloading it to the truck .Ive requested shipping quotes in the past for a couple of other machines, and the shipping costs for sending machinery to Mexico doubles or so. I dont know if you have had any experience trying to order machinery to Mexico?.You are completely right Grizzly definetely haves a market here in Mexico, I really hope they lisen to you.(By the way I found that the Jet 20" planer its also very similar but not identical)Thanks
I moved to Mexico City five years ago after having spent ten years in Puerto Vallarta. I'd started a coffee roasting business in the mountains with Mexican partners but threw in the towel after ten years. My wife is from the city and for various reasons we moved there. I didn't know what I was going to do but since I had a lot of wood and metal tools thougt I'd make furniture. That was when I bought the 20" Grizz;y, along with a 60's era 20" Rockwell bandsaw and other stuff to complete my shop. And, over the years I've brought in more stuff.It's not easy to import goods into Mexico. I've tried all the ways and the easiest is to do it yourself, even if you find yourself having to go through a customs broker (paying duty) for the sheer bulk, as you would need to do with that monster 800# planer. If you can't do it yourself, the shipping does get high as you're not shipping FTL (full truckload). Or, perhaps you know business people there who are bringing in stuff and you can throw yours in with them.I've a friend who I use. He runs a semi of artesinias from Guadalajara to Tucson every 4-6 weeks through Nogales, returning empty. He's a gringo and would give you a good rate. You could talk to him. He doesn't have a forklift to load at his warehouse so you'd probably ship into a customs broker in Nogales (I use Freig Carrillo) and he'd pick it up there on his way south.And yeah, definitely get a mobile base.If you want his number, drop me a line at [email protected]Good luck
you was saying....
Im considering a 20" but since Im going to focus in making kitchens I guess a 15" planer is more than enougth.
For what???
I've got a 2040 makita planer and a 60/32 performax, and let me tell ya it's seldom that I even use 1/4 of their width capacity.
Moreso since I discovered that the cost of commercially produced raised panel doors is probably really close to what you would pay to purchase the rough material,
OK, if yer doing flat panel (plywood panel)stuff, commercial stuff typically don't give a hoot about matching grain on adjoining doors, so you might end up doing that yerself. Whatya need for that max 3" capacity in width to do yer styles and rails.
But yer boards don't come in 3' widths, so yer still lookin at 12" capacity. A 15 or 16" planer is more than enuf. If you've got the extra kilobuck to spend, perhaps you might better spend it on sanding or finishing tools.
For the odd job where you get stymied by you tool planing/sanding or other surfacing capabilities, you can always subcontract; to someone who will feed doors through a wider finishing sander.
It's been 25 years now with that Makita 2040, and I ain't been flumoxed once.
Moreover, and this is a moot point for a lot of shop workers, but I can roll that 2040 out to the back of the van, hang the front roller over the bed, lift it by the base (ya just me!) push it into the van and take the sucker to the site if I have to - about once every three or four years!
Just my thoughts
Eric in Cowtown
Here's another point of view... Go for the 20" planer. It will give you that extra width to spread the planing across the cutterhead when you are using only part of it. If you should ever use "Used" lumber, you're bound to hit a nail or harden drywall screw, you'll have enough knife surface area to avoid that section of the blades until you can change them. Also, a wide cutter head will allow you can make tops up to 40" wide with only one glue joint to sand down.
I suggest you check into the 5hp option. 20" is a lot of surface area, so when the knives begin to dull, the chip load can become quite a lot. If you should ever upgrade to a Helical cutterhead like Byrds', the extra Hp. can't hurt.
As for loading and unloading.... You're going to have your hands full getting it down from the height of a truck or pickup. It weighs close to 700-900 lbs; that a lot of dead weight. Please consider using an overhead hoist to lower it to the floor.
Finally, consider getting a mobile base. I used a system of wooden blocks and hydralic jacks to lift mine, and even that short 6" height distance, the deadweight made it a chore. You'll think you'll never move the 20" around, but there will come a time you'll need to move it to allow for those extra long boards. You may even need to plane lumber so long it may need to exit your shop door....I've had the 1200lb. rated Shopfox mobile base for 6 years. It rolls the Woodtek 20" planer somewhat like the mass of an old upright piano, but Oh so much easier and smoother. I added 4X4 framing within the mobile frame, added a plywood layer,so it would add about 5" in height to make feeding lumber easier for my 6'-1" height.... This extra size 4X4 framework allowed the wheelbase to lenghten 8", and even more with the casters under the infeed and outfeed tables.
Bill
Edited 10/2/2006 10:36 pm ET by BilljustBill
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