portable thickness planer review in FWW
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I recall reading a review of portable thickness planers awhile ago in FWW. Now that my delta 22-560 12 1/2 incher went the way of the Dodo bird this aftenoon I find myself looking for that article and I cant find it. Does anyone know what review I am talking about and what planer they liked and why?
Wicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
” If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy……..yessa!”
Replies
I don't know where the review is but I can endorse the DeWalt 13", three cutter head, 2 speed unit. Went to work out-of-the-box and I've had no problem. My local tool dealer primarily stocks Delta. When he stopped by my shop, he saw the DeWalt and was envious. He now stocks the DeWalt.
Jerry
Thats the one I am looking at. Its a beast weight wise, they have it listed at 90# but I dont move mine that much. Thanks for the inputWicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
cherryjohn,
Are you sure another toy is the answer? It seems to me a big boy machine is in order...
That too has crossed my mind but you see there is this, well, cute lil person living with me. Cute as the day is long in June but she is tight as bark to a tree. I told her that another machine was going to be $500 and she rolled her eyes back until I pointed to the billiard room ceiling ( see the gallery for pics) as proof of the need for a new machine. Now coming back to her with a $1000+ price might make things un-copacetic in the Cherry John household..if ya know what I meanWicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
Cherryjohn,
Yup, I do know what you mean...and if its like my wife, the bite is bigger than the bark.
I was thinking more from the standpoint of longevity and long term lower cost, etc.
I just replaced by 2 speed Delta portable with a stationary 15" planer. If I was on a tight budget I would have gone with the Grizzly 15" (G0453) for $775 plus shipping. Cast iron tables, motor down below, built in mobile base. With portables getting up to $400 for the better ones it's just not that much of a jump to the stationary machines.
CherryJohn/All: Related question: Do portable planers do the same quality work that the larger stationary machines do, just slower with narrower lumber? Duke
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Last I saw, the delta 13 2 speed and the DeWalt were toss ups. on mag favors one, another the other and usually they were rated almost identical on whatever scoring system was used. - buy the one that is on sale for the best price in your area.
Thanks Rick
By the way.......the way we do it heya at Wicked decent woodworks is
measure the board once
cut it
measure the space difference
cut a filler piece
use a lot of wood putty and squint when you look it over for final review
saves on wasted wood
Wicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
Try Issue 160 (Winter 2002). I think it's a Tools and Shops issue.
well it came down to 2 planers.the 13: Dewalt and the 13 " Delta. Both have 15 amp mptors. Both have depth stops. The convincing factors where these....... I found the Delta to have an easier to read scale. The Dewalt didnt come with any outfeed tabled. and with the price at Woodcraft was $420 for the Delta and $499 for the Dewalt. The Dewalt does have a 3 blade head and the blades are much beefier than the Delta. The blades for the Dewalt for 3 blades was $47 and the Delta blades were $40 for 2. The management at Delta went to the Gillete School of Marketing. Both were 2 speed machines
Wicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
I recently purchased the Delta 13" and it is a great tool! It weighs a bit, but like you, I don't move it that often. Assembly was quick and easy, and I got it off Amazon for $319 with a promotion they were having. Free shipping too and no tax. It was a great deal. I think you could have purchased the DeWalt for a similar price off Amazon too.
typical of me, when I want something I want it NOW! It appears that I paid the price for this demand since mine cost me $414. I did check Amazon and some other online outlets just last nite and the best price I found for the tool was $370. Oh well at least it will allow me to return to the job of trimming my billiard room ceiling. Ill be running a lot of oak thru it this coming week. The single biggest thing that kept me from the Dewalt was the fact that it didnt have and infeed/outfeed tables. I have mine set up on a Workmate most of the time. Sometimes I move it onto my workbench. I couldnt see a planer with no feed tables. Thanks for the inputWicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
I just bought the Dewalt planer and it was great right out of the box and with the exstentions I get almost no detectable snipe especially if I lift the end of the board a little just as the other end clears the cutter head. However I have very few board feet thru my planer. You should definetely read all!!! the reviews on Amazon.com Owners slammed the Dewalt hard for how soon the blades got dull and one gear that often broke.
Edited 3/21/2006 11:14 am ET by jackofall
I bought a Makita in 1995. I have used it to plane several thousand board feet. In fact the chrome area which lies underneath a board is completely worn off. The bearings have been completely replaced three times. It keeps running very well. The knives it uses are cheaper to replace then what it would cost me to but the steel and have it ground over the lifetime of a set of knives. The knives itr uses are razor sharp and seem to last a long time. I can have them changed to the other edge or new ones installed in less than 15 minutes.
The problem I see with every small planer is the issue of snipe. I have a larger planer that never snipes which I use to dimension lumber when snips are especially important. I use the Makita a lot when I want a nice surface and the very small snipe can be sanded or planed easily. I do not use it when a snipe may show in a joint.
One thing I do not like about small planers is their hiogh pitched noise. My larger planer is much quieter in that regard.
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