I’ve had a Dewalt DW733 for over 20 years, and it’s been great. It’s a couple of iterations old now, and has the 2 blade cutterhead. And it’s showing its age after planing miles of lumber.
I’d be interested in hearing your experiences with thickness planers. If I were going to get another lunchbox planer I would almost certainly go with the Dewalt DW735. But I’m considering a cast iron machine with induction motor, and at least 15 inches.
Any first hand recommendations are welcome.
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I replaced my +30 yr old 12” Makita with a King 15”. The Makita has been great and with sharp knives did an awesome job. Limitations were its light weight, nylon friction grub to lock in on a depth and tear out on difficult / reversing grain.
Decided on the King ( Canada) with spiral head, almost identical to the Grizzly G0453z, and after a few hours of adjustments I’m quite pleased. I’ve ran cherry, maple, canary wood and roasted flame birch with no tear out regardless of feed direction. Bonus for quiet operation and very good dust control (once a foam piece was removed from under the roller / cutter head cover - thank you FWW forum for that tip)
Close to firsthand as I have the 12" version... Canadian Woodworking's 16" J/P machine is something I wish I had the space for:
https://www.canadianwoodworker.com/webstore/wecs.php?store=wood&action=display&target=CWI-JP1604HC
At $1K (and 1") less is a 15" planer that comes with the added bonus of not having to admit that you posess a jointer:
https://www.canadianwoodworker.com/webstore/wecs.php?store=wood&action=display&target=CWI-P0315HC
Both machines have the "Stinger" helical cutterhead that my 12" has.
I suppose I could weld the jointer tables in an upright position.
I like the look of the machines, but definitely don't want to drop down, even a little, to a 12 inch planer.
John, What ever you decide get a helical cutterhead on your next planer. Below is the logic that I went through to make my decision on the planer upgrade.
I own the DeWalt DW735 planer and it is a great portable planer. The only real downsides are the high pitched noise and the blades that need to be replaced rather than sharpened. I looked at purchasing a Shelix cutterhead for the DeWalt but decided to purchase a Powermatic 209HH 20" 5 HP 1 Ph Helical Head instead.
The Powermatic is an amazing planer. Tear out is almost eliminated. Although I still am cognizant of feed direction I no longer worry about switches in grain direction. The planed surface just needs a few passes to remove "faint cutterhead ghost impressions" with a No. 4 smoothing plane or sander to be ready for finishing. I opted for the 20" rather than the 15" because I felt it would handle many of my typical glued up panels.
If there is a weakness the Powermatic does not seem to handle sneaking up on the exact thickness (1/1000ths of an inch) of the board as well as the DeWalt. I think this has more to do with the cutter technology (Shelix vs. straight cutter blades). Perhaps it is operator error.
The Jet 20" planer is similar but weighs about 200 pounds less than the Powermatic. I asked a Jet / Powermatic sales rep about the differences and he just stated specifications. I guess the gold paint is much heavier than white ;-)
Regarding comparison to Laguna 20" planer the ShearTec II cutterheads are not compatible with Byrd Shelix like the Powermatic 20" and I felt more comfortable there will not be a problem getting replacement Shelix cutter knives in the future for the Powermatic.
Best of luck on your decision!
FYI, you can buy directly from Shelix/Byrd a new DW735 with the shelix cutterhead installed for a $1,600. I will likely go this route myself OR get a Hammer A3 41 combo planer jointer.
https://byrdtoolexperts.com/product/dewalt-dw735-planer-shelix-oem-preinstalled
I thought about that, briefly, but if I'm going to spend that much, I would probably make the leap and go to a 16 inch cast iron planer.
I am waiting for my A41 - ordered 9 months ago. If you go that way, don't hold your breath...
I'm a fan of the combo machine for the smaller shop as it allows a jointer and planer in the same space and for a fraction of the cost of separates.
The Hammer quality in the showroom is excellent, and I love my K3 Winner, but I can't personally say if the A41 is brilliant or not because I'm still ****ing well waiting for it. I saw a youtuber who loved his and another who hated it because the tables were "4/1000 out of flat. (apparently up to 6/1000 is allowable, according to Hammer)
I don't even know what 4/1000s looks like. It's just a tool.
I second the smoothness of the Shelix head. I have the Powermatic 15HH. I love the way the wood comes out of the machine. Chews through crazy grain without noticing and leaves it smooth as glass.
Right now, at least, the Powermatic 15HH would be first on my take-the-plunge list. I'd really need to figure out how to get a 550 pound machine in my basement. Do you have any idea if it can be easily broken down into a few assemblies, with the max part at under 200 pounds, maybe?
John, I think that depends upon your access to the basement.
I had my Powermatic 209HH set up and delivered with a liftgate into my garage workshop. If you are purchasing from a local dealer perhaps they can provide this service.
Looking at the 15HH installation and assembly instructions it appears to be mostly assembled except for the infeed and outfeed cast iron tables, crank, dusthood, etc. There are "lifting bars (qty=4)" on the sides intended to be used with straps. You could potentially disassemble parts: base, motor, stock return rollers but the main unit will still be very heavy.
Here is the .PDF for the Powermatic 15HH User's Manual.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/jpw-assets/b/f/3/4/bf347c479b830fdc5a111079d5c789907c27c161_1791213_man.pdf
Thanks. I had looked at it, and figured theinfeed and outfeed tables and other unassembled parts might be 100, maybe 125 pounds. I was wondering if taking the motor off was simple enough, and that might save s9me backache.
I've got a half dozen steps into the cellar from the back patio. I usually load stuff into my pickup and slide it off and down the stairs. 250 pounds is OK, but I'm getting a little old for 550.
Hey, can you tell me how far off the floor the indeed and outfeed tables are? I'd appreciate it.
John, On my 20" planer the Infeed and Outfeed Tables rise up and down approximately 8". The I/O Tables are about 2" thick. The range of the table surface from the floor is approximately 27" to 35". There is a warning not to lift the planer by the I/O Tables.
Here is a Powermatic video of the 15HH Set Up:
Powermatic 1791213 15HH Planer- Assembly and Set Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MY6C_X8M4c&t=2s
The weight in the 15HH manual is 505 lbs. I think your 100 lb estimate for the 2 cast iron beds and other misc. is what I would have guessed. So that still leaves about 400 lbs for the main unit. If you disassembed the enclosed cabinet and motor it probably is another 75 - 100 lbs. So you are still over 300 lbs.
If you want to remove the motor and base cabinet you will need a hoist or some sturdy means to secure lifting staps. As I recall the motor is attached with a few bolts, a belt and electrical wiring. Access might be difficult.
An alternative is renting one of these types of Powered Stair Climbing Hand Trucks. I saw a YouTube video where a different manufacturer's product was used to move a piece of purchased used machinery from a basement through the sellers home without damage.
LiftKar HD Heavy Duty Stair Climbing Truck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rycfK_8o0lk
The lightest you can probably get it is going to be around 400 lbs. That's with the in/outfeed and rollers removed. A heavy appliance dolly and 3 friends are also required. The dolly will have roller tracks specifically for going down steps. One friend on each handle and the third holding a safety rope should do the trick. One step at a time - slow and steady. Be certain your shop isn't moving. Going back up the steps is a lot more work.
I have a Powermatic 15s (an older one) that I bought used on Craigslist back in 2011. I changed out the cutterhead with a helical head by replacing it with a shelix cutterhead from Grizzly. The stock head had 3 blades that spiraled around the cutter head. I suspect they haven't changed the design much with the current model. Obviously BeasleySevin's is probably best way to get it down there if you can. It is possible to separate the planer from the base though, if you need to. On mine they're 4 bolts that attach the planer to the base. On the underside of the planer are four sprockets attached to lead screws and a chain that are used to raise and lower the cutterhead assembly. I've removed the planer from the base in the past. I built a temporary base same height, set it next to the actual base and tipped the planer up on its side onto the temp base so that I didn't damage or mess with the sprockets and chain underneath. It is heavy. It would take at least two people to move it around and you would probably want to build some kind of carrying sled for it. I really like the planer. It's much more powerful than a lunchbox and with the helical head its relatively quite and can plane figured wood almost perfectly smooth.
I just bought this machine last summer. I paid a rigger about $200 to get it through the bulkhead that goes down to my basement; he and I and a neighbor eased it down a series of ramps the rigger brought.
Previously I had a Rikon 13" lunchbox and before that a DeWalt 325 (?) that I had modified with a Shelix. That particular mod limited the planer to about 1/32 depth. The Rikon just never could be adjust to limit snipe to an workable level.
The Powermatic 15" HH is a miles ahead of any 13" lunchbox. The cast iron infeed and outfeed tables can be adjust to get very little snipe (none sometimes); if boards are too long or too short I still get a tad, but nothing that can't be scraped or sanded out. Not only is the work better, but it all feels much safer.
You will need serious dust collection, though, to handle the increased volume of chips coming off the work.
Same for my Craftex with helical cutterhead, incredibly smooth surface and low noise, seems to effortlessly plane 1/16th off a 20 inches wide board. BTW I compared the King, Craftex, Powermatic, Grizzly, Shop fox, Jet and Powermatic specs and, well, they are all the same machine, different color. Only the jet has rollers instead of cast iron extensions and no casters, that probably explains the weight difference.
I always wanted a 20 inch. But if I did, I'd probably need to leave it in my garage, since it's just too much to get in the cellar. And if I left it in the garage, I'd need a dust collector to go with it. Then my girlfriend could park in the garage any more. Then I'd need a new girlfriend.
It's the new tool snowball effect.
Ok, I'm struggling to see the downsides here - run it by me again...
Schrödinger's Workshop. It's either a very good thing, or a very bad thing.
Had to return the Grizzly helix cutterhead model, so I can’t recommend them. Pretty happy so far with the ShopFox model.
Can I ask what was the deficiency with the Grizzly ?
The Grizzly G0889z left significant micro ridges accross the whole width of the board. Also, the infeed table sat below the platen and was non-adjustable. This resulted in a 'bump' everytime a board was fed through.
At one time, most people seemed satisfied with Grizzly. But the last few years there seem to be more unhappy people than happy. Same seems true of Delta, for sure, and maybe Jet.
My last two purchases were a Craftex planer and a Shop fox dust collector, both had issues worth returning them, I fixed them and they are doing just fine now . I figure that the efforts in replacing them far outweighs the time and money spent in fixing them and their replacement probably carried the same design and quality control deficiencies. I also have a 1984 General wood lathe and a Delta Unisaw as well as a big 1958 DeWalt RAS that never required a spare part.
I have a Grizzly 1033 about 20 years old. Interesting it has the same castings as PM and Jet. It has served me very well.
I’m responding only to say I never needed a 20” planer, 15” woukd have been fine. The very few times I’ve ever needed it, was nice tho. I will say setting the knives is a project so I tend to let them get too dull. Would love to convert to helical but $1100 ouch.
If you’re going to spend $3000 I think the best route is buy the cheapest planer you can and invest in a drum sander.
I have a 16-32 drum sander. It's great for thicknessing really thin stock. I'd love to get 1/8 or slightly less right off the planer though. I can get to 3/16+ on my Dewalt, and it just vaporizes the wood when I try to get thinner.
If I had to use the drum sander as a planer, I'd quit and take up stamp collecting.
I ran some thin stock through my 15" Powermatic and 3/16" is about the thinnest I can go and get a consistent thickness. It doesn't gobble the wood up if you go down to an 1/8" but its thinner on the ends than in the middle.
A Flat Sled / Board to carry the wood being planed with leading and trailing cleats (slightly thicker than the wood being planed) to prevent snipe allows planing of thinner material.
Good to know. Thanks.
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No I didn't mean that replaces a planer. I meant in lieu of a wide planer, get a 15" + drum sander. But, you already have one!
I surface everything through my drum sander regardless of thickness. Only b/c I have knives and even though its tuned to perfection, I like the surfacing.
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