Well, w/ the advent of some of the nicer ‘portable’ planers that start to stretch the term ‘portable’ that are running in the $400-500 range, here’s a question for you: What are the benefits of the various 15″-20″ ‘stationary’ planers over the portables? Induction motors, so no brushes and run on 220VAC? What else? I realize the 20″‘ers can take a significantly wider board, but the difference btwn say, a 12.5-13″ portable and a 15″ stationary is less clear to me.
What all do you get for the extra $$$ for a stationary planer? I seem to recall hearing somewhere that the upper end portables actually put a nicer finish on the board than some of stationary planers. Yeah, Nay?
Thanks,
Monte
Replies
Milanuk,
I've never used the large planers but my delta 12.5 works great. Recently, I put through some 11.5" wide white oak..it did a nice job...however, I could really hear the strain on the motor and if I continue to do that kinda load my planer will have a short life. I think they are fine but, again, I probably got what you payed for...
"if I continue to do that kinda load my planer will have a short life." Less short if you decrease your depth of cut on these full-width tasks.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
FG,
You almost can't take a light enough cut when it's white oak 11.5" wide...I think I was moving the handle about an inch each time and that seemed to do the trick. However, the machine is not really designed for full load work like that on a steady basis. Normally I don't exceed 7.5 to 8" in width because that iswhat I usually buy...in this case this is recycled wood saved from the land fill.
I've been trying to kill my old Ryobi AP-12 for about 10 years now. I keep wanting something better, but I've run thousands of BF through the thing and it won't die. I threw the heat overload on some 8-12" white Ash once, but other than that the little guy just keeps working. I buy all my lumber rough so I've worked it pretty hard. I've never used a big floor model so I can't compare the two. When this one dies I'll get one of the newer "portable" models...'course I've been saying that for years.
Mike
I knew a Toyota truck like that once....forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
At that rate, you could grow old just milling for one piece of furniture, eh?? Yeah, I know those little benchtop dudes aren't meant for heavy full-time work.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Unless you only use a planer occasionally, I would buy a model with an induction motor. I had a Dewalt, worked fine ,but I burned it out after a year or so. Bought a Jet 13" planer molder with 1 1/2hp induction motor. Much quieter than the dewalt, both give you almost snipe free results. Mine is the older blue color Jet with open stand, two speeds ,can mold smaller profiles too.I beleive a new one with cabinet stand runs about $800.00
Mike
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