Cheers,
I’m in the market for a bench orportable planer in the $350 to $600 range. I’m looking for something smaller than the Dewalt DW 735. Would like 2 feed rates. Any suggestions or advice?
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Replies
Delta 22 580. Best in it's class, hand's down.
Cheers. Walker1
Thanks for your input, Walker 1.I'll check out the Delta.daiku 900
daiku900,
Just in case you expand your choices, the DeWalt DW735 is a great machine. I have been using mine for a while and it is really smooth and dependable. It is about $100 more than the Delta, but still $100 less than your upper range.
I've also heard good things about the Delta, but I haven't owned one.
MatthewShrenker,
you're not being vary honest.. Myself and several others have complained of our Delta planners.
Damn Frenchy, you cant run those big beams through one of these bench top planers!!!
Doug
DougU
Actually I didn't, but I had planned on having the bench top walk itself along the suspened beam. I found it was faster simpler and easier to use my Mikita portable planner. sure on the 12 inch wide timbers I left a little ridge in the middle but that was easy to remove. (on the 18 inch wide timbers I left two ridges)
frenchy,
I'm not being very honest? It's amazing how quickly some people revert to rudeness.Here's what I meant when I said I've heard good things about Delta:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000648AS/qid=1129629137/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-2258168-9666449?v=glance&s=hi&n=507846Like I said, I own a DeWalt and really like it (honestly).
Edited 10/18/2005 5:57 am ET by MatthewSchenker
"something smaller" to me means that it will handle shorter pieces of stock or narrower pieces of stock.
I bought a DeWalt 734 via E-Bay from ToolKing and it was in the $200 range. Reconditioned. I could find NO wear whatsoever and the machine appears pristine. Knives very sharp. Shipping no problem.
This is an excellent machine. I'm extremely happy with it. I work in Cherry and couldn't ask for more.
Good hunting.
Bob
Ok this goes under the " If I had to do it again" catagory. I bought a 12 1/2 " Delta portable planer several years ago. I had to buy planer blades for it the other day.....$34/ set. It doesnt take much to nick them and cause a score line in your work. Every time I have to dig down to buy new blades I wonder just how cost effective a "low cost " portable planer is compaerd to a good quality planer with knives you send out to be sharpened.........or better yet, do yourself
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 bought a 12" Delta planer 5 years ago and have yet to buy a new set of knives. I made a simple jig to hold them at a 45 degree angle (90 degrees to each other) and hone them with cheapy (coarse, medium, fine) diamond stones bought at Harbor Freight. Works just fine.
C',
Replacement blades for the 12.5" Delta planer are at Lowes for $24 - regular price.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=55178-000018879-22-562&lpage=noneDan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.
Jackie, I knew I was getting hosed at Woodcraft in Newington. I went there no less then 3 times looking for the blades. They sell that planer there but all three times "sorry, we are out". Now come on, if you sell that many, stock up, dufus! I miss that Trendlines Store! I did see a Powermatic Planer at a mill in Maine recently that was sitting in a warehouse and not being used................hmmmmmmmmmWicked 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,
"I bought a 12 1/2 " Delta portable planer several years ago. I had to buy planer blades for it the other day.....$34/ set. It doesnt take much to nick them and cause a score line in your work. Every time I have to dig down to buy new blades I wonder just how cost effective a "low cost " portable planer is..."
I have to agree. I bought my 22-580 a few months ago, and I need to replace the blades. They're pretty finicky, and unlike you, I don't trust myself to resharpen them. So out come the bucks...
Still, I like the performance of the 22-580, and dust collection has been a non-issue for me.Mitch
"I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."
CJ, someone else may have mentioned this, but are you unaware that you can shift the blades a tad to the right or left to get rid of the ridge? Being able to do that helps blade life even when they get a tiny nick in them.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
daiku900; In my haste to praise my Delta 22 580, I forgot about the Makita 12in. planer Mo#2012 NB In reading tool test reviews, and online user reviews for bench top Planers the Makita consistently comes out on top in terms of performance, reliability, ease of use, and portability. It only weighs 61lbs., so this machine might fit the bill for you.
The makita was going to be my choice, until I found out how much I would have to pay for it in Canada. I ended up getting the Delta for $250.00, and I'm very happy with it.
Good Luck. Walker1
I just got the 22 580 Delta (for $300) and it has been great so far. I have not had to change blades, but supposedly it is a no-brainer, very quick and easy. Perhaps someone here can chime in on that aspect. Two speeds and the finish is really smooth. The dust chute (extra $25) collects virtually all of the shavings with just my shop vac hooked up to it.
There are more bargains to be had for the Delta than the Dewalt 735. I opted against the Dewalt since the price was getting close to what you can get a larger, stationary planer for. It is really more like a $150-200 difference between the two when you price shop. And for my needs I don't think the Dewalt's extra price would have made a difference since I am just getting into this.
My recon DW735 arrived today...looks new, but has a handle chipped in shipping. $359.00 from Tool King...free shipping...weighs 92 lbs...took 10 days. I ran a stick of walnut through it, looks like it was sanded with 400 grit! Chip ejector blew the lid off of the garbage can, only 5-6 tiny pieces stuck on the stick. Maybe I'll run the hose outside.
Joe
bladeburner,
Yes, the chip ejector is powerful! The bag needs to be tied down securely. But it works fairly well. Hooking the machine up to a big dust collector would probably be better.
but has a handle chipped in shipping.. Gheee send it back! LOL
I have the Delta 13" two speed and really like it. There have been some complaints about the dust extraction but mine works great.
The finish is great and even though the two speeds are nice I almost always run mine at the higher cuts per minute rate. There have been a few times where I was doing something a bit more crude and went for the speed but not often.
Also had a great customer service experience. The first board I planed showed that one of the knifes had a nick. No big deal really, I knew that I could just slide the knives over but I decided to call. There is no way for the folks at Delta to know if I tried to plane a board with a nail but they sent me out a fresh pair of knives - no charge. Awfully nice of them in my book. Later when I went to slide the knives over I discovered that some gorilla had seriously torqued the bolts and a couple of them came close to stripping out and I was concerned that in time they would strip out and that would be a real drag. I figured I should order a replacement set but lo and behold they sent me a new set and wrench - no charge. This company has earned some real respect from me.
My only complaint, and this really isn't a complaint so much as an observation of all "benchtop" planers is that they are heavy. If you actually store this under your bench and lift it out every time you need to plane a board it won't be long and you will be looking for a permanent stand and then you might as well have looked at one of the slightly larger planers in the 15" category. I sort of got around this by making a swivel table where the planer is attached to the bottom of the bench and pivots up when needed.
Then there is always the disposable knives issue. They are kind of spendy but I don't know what it cost to send a set out for sharpening. You also get two sides with the disposables. My guess is that disposables are slightly more expensive in the long run but they are awfully slick and very easy to change and slide over if you do get a nick. Probably takes about 5-10 minutes to change.
hope this was helpful - kent
I have the Delta 13" two-speed model. Works great. Made an awful lot of mulch with it. I'm partial to white oak and have been happy with how well they've held up. Changing knives -- or shifting in the event of a nick -- is a breeze. Knives can often be found in the big boxes. The blade zero feature works well and is, IMHO, really useful.
My father purchased the DeWalt 735 back in January. Did the tool gloat thing (three knives instead of two, more CPI, chip ejector...). I said, "Gee, heard there had been some problems with those. Supposedly they've been worked out though." Then he suffered *all* of the mechanical problems that have been reported. Guess the channel hadn't been flushed yet. In any event, I wound up hauling my Delta to his house... The good news is that DeWalt sent him all of the parts without any hassle other than the 3 week wait.
My reply.. Sorry I'm looking for a planer that will do Purbleheart and Jatoba! Without tear out!
I would stay away from the 12"/12 1/2" Dewalt planers - the latest model is the DW 734. I purchased one in 1999 and it is the worst piece of power equipment I have ever owned. The first one broke within hours of bringing it home from HD. I had planed about 1/32" from about 50bf of maple, then it died. The replacement lasted a bit longer. It gave decent service for about 200-300bf of maple and some softer wood - again with taking off relatively small amounts of stock. It then conked out catastrophically. Turns out the gears in the motor head disintegrated. It appears that they are constructed of powered metal. Basically the metal equivalent of chipboard. While this can be a good material if properly spec'ed and used, it was a terrible application for Dewalt to use this in the drive gears of a planer.
Good Luck,
John
PS. While I haven't used their planers, I found products made by Delta and Porter Cable to be of excellent quality.
I just purchased the dw735 and I got varying opinions from many people. I had seen results from different planers also but hands down unless you can go to a big planer that dw735 is hands down THE BEST. After the wood comes out at the finishing speed a lite 180 sanding is all you need if that. You won't go wrong with this one. I considered the Delta hih end model but the Dewalt has a beefier system all around. If Delta still made their planers like they used to, I would have considered it.
Crpntr5
Hello, I just bought the Dw735 and my second choice would have the Delta but I chose the Dewalt even though it cost more. I will say the $100.00 more was it x2. That machine outperforms Delta, it's in a class of it's own.
Gil
Sounds like you're wanting a 2-speed planer that, by "smaller", you mean doesn't weigh as much as the DeWalt? I'm not positive, but I think your only other choice is the Delta. Don't remember seeing any other benchtop planers with 2 feed speeds.
In our shop we had a single speed delta 12.5 inch planer for four years. It was excellent. It had a cutterhead lock so there was never any snipe and the surface finish was good. Just some sanding to remove the machine marks. Last year we bought the dewalt dual speed chip ejecter heavy duty machine. Lots of problems. It went out of parellel. It clogs up on the inside with wood chips so badly that I am unable to change the depth without taking the top off and blowing the thing out. It does leave a very nice finish even on the fast(dimensioning) speed, which is the only speed that I use as the slow speed is too slow and takes way too long to run big jobs through. For the money I would go for a delta with a cutterhead lock.
Aloha Planer owners,Because I live on an outer hawaiian island, I got into a time bind on my choice of planers. I bought the Dewalt mainly because Home Depot had one in stock. The Woodcraft people on Oahu told me the Delta has problems with bolts/screws breaking off in the blade mounting area so I passed on that one. Also it seems that Delta planers are not quite what they use to be in reliability. My first choice was the 60lb Makita which is expensive but according to owners is pretty bulletproof. I would have had to pay over $120 to ship that in so I chose the DeWalt. Itis bloody heavy to load in my truck but planed some cedar beautifully. We'll see if it stands up. Thanks to everyone for their input. I enjoy this forum a lot.Mahalo,daiku900
Neighbor who is a finish carpenter has one.. Two speeds.. He likes it...
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