Hello everyone,
I am new to this site so please bear with me. I am looking at purchasing a thickness planer. After doing research on line for band saws and lathes, it seems as though Delta is having some major issues with the quality of their product. I am looking for a 12 or 13 inch planer. What would you all recommend?
Offienaknie
Replies
I bought a Delta 13" two speed planer and have had know problems with it so far. I know that this is not the case with other Delta users. A friend has a Ridgid 13'' and has had good luck with it. The new Dewalt unit seems to get good reviews although it hardly seems portable.
and have had know problems with it so far..
Gee Ya spells like me! LOL...
Hi, Check out the reviews of the Makita 12" on Amazon. (mine is there under "sawdust maker".
I love this planer and as you read the reviews, you'll see that just about anyone who owns one loves it too. (there are 30+ reviews and an average score of nearly 5 out of 5 - some reviewers have had the planer for more than a year)
Good luck.
Mark
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
Hello Mark,
I have two planer/molders that I run commercially, and maybe that's overkill for what you are doing. But if one of these beasts is of interest to you, then I would recommend one that has a variable feed available (Woodmaster, RBI, and Williams & Hussey).
If a planer/molder is of interest than please feel free to pick my brain.
Connor
What "brand" of combo planer molders do you run? sounds like you are very satisfied.
Thanks,
Paul
I currently run a Woodmaster and I like it. I have also run an older model Foley-Belsaw - that was a great machine too.
A more economical model that a friend of mine has is a Jet. He likes it and has put out some good product on it.
Hope this helps.
For what it is worth, I too purchased the Delta 2 speed 13", about 6 months ago now, and no problems to date. Very pleased with quality of cuts and fit and finish.
FWW rated the Makita pocket planer as the best some issues back (maybe last summer) Its a tidge heavier and a little louder but performed better as I remember. Aloha, mike
Check out the cost of replacement blades (per edge - some are reversible) and reviewer comments about ease of replacement. Also check out dust collection features and if the hood costs extra. Also the height adjustment should be lockable once set, to help reduce snipe.
I have a Delta 12 1/2" unit and it has been good. The dust hood was extra and is really needed.
You will see a lot of comments about snipe in reviews. It is a good idea to have an outfeed table for longer boards. I used a folding office table, the kind you buy at Office Depot for $30 and use blocks to get the height needed. There are also anti-snipe tricks in a couple of articles I've seen such as auxiliary beds that pass through the planer opening. All in all I think one of these $400 machines does an amazing job, considering the cost of regular stationary planers.
Hello everyone,
I want to thank everyone for posting, all the information has helped. One question i do have though, what is sniping when it pertains to planing?
Offienaknie
Snipe = a slightly deeper cut at the infeed and outfeed of a board. For more detail:
http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/planer_setup.pdf
Snipe simply happens when a long board tips at the end of the pass-through of a planer, so that the trailing end is pressed up harder into the blades. If you can keep the board perfectly in the same plane all the way through (with infeed and outfeed tables for instance) then the snipe should not happen or be not noticeable.The reviews of planers rate snipe and all that says is that one has less snipe than another when operated without any extra support on the outfeed. I think what's more important is blade changes, cost of blades, number of rotations of the head (and number of blades in the head) per inch of feed, etc. Most important is spare parts and service and a bargain is no good if you cannot get the thing fixed later.I have not found the FWW reviews biased. They are not afraid to say something is inadequate. Most reviewers have personal preferences that are clear and therefore you need to judge for yourself. I find that the forums are the best way to get all the positives and negatives. I also consult the comments at http://www.amazon.com, although it seems that the manufacturers there have people who stack the deck too (there was a recent article about that practice in the Wall St. Journal or NY Times, as I recall).
I have the Makita 12" Thickness planer and it is a very nice machine. Relatively quiet, easy to use. I get some snipe- maybe 0.002" - 0.004" on most boards even short ones. Maybe my infeed and outfeed tables are out of adjustment but I've checked and don't think so. My solution is to cut my rough boards about 6" longer then needed prior to planing. After planing is complete, I trim off the sniped ends with a miter saw. If I had to buy all over again, I'd seriously consider the new Dewalt thickness planer with three blades and virtually no snipe- or so I've heard. Any one tried it yet?
- Peter
Peter-
I have the new DeWalt three blade thickness planer. It is possible to get snipe. Careful set-up will almost eliminate it. I wouldn't guarantee you won't get any. I do like the machine. You will need dust collection. The manual states that a shop vacuum isn't strong enough and I use a 4" portable dust collector. I didn't buy the accessory in-feed and out-feed tables and I wonder if they would be worth the extra cost? I made my own stand on castors and it ended up costing about as much as the accessory stand offered by DeWalt.
I have looked closely at the Dewalt machine at a store and it is indeed nicely made. Too bad it wasn't around when I bought the Delta.
Offienaknie,
Welcome to the site.
Let me caution you few who buy anything will speak poorly of it. It's hard to admit you made a mistake and perhaps you really aren't aware of the mistake..
Several articles in Fine wood working and othe magazines comment about how well a particular machine works but what isn't often explained is how the ad budgets of the manufactures involved affect the write up on the equipment..
For example I doubt a magazine that depends on Delta's ad revenue would say that their 12 1/2 inch planner is a Piece of ship (POS) It worked so nice at the store, the blades changed easily and cost about what it costs to sharpen blades. Delta is a well known name and a lot of people don't use their equipment enough to have any real experiance in the first few years..
Mine arrived without the handles.. it was well over a month before replacement handles arrived and then only when threats were made.. The service deptament had more obsticals than you can imagine including a lecture from a deeply religous woman who objected when I used cuss words. (note cuss words not profanity or taking the lords name in vain)
I used those words when after a ten minute conversation she still wasn't willing to turn me over to a supervisor in spite of not seeming to know what she was talking about.. (and admitting it)
My experiance with other Delta equipment has convinced me that the company of old has nothing to do with the present company.. (don't ask me about my table saw!)
Frenchy, I generally agree with you that folks don't want to admit that they bought a lemon. But, there was a recent thread about tools that folks wished that they had never bought and there are hundreds of posts.The clear winner? Hands down, the Porter Cable detail sander. If you're looking for an almost new PC detail sander, I'll make you a heck of a deal!
frenchy ,
Do you really believe FWW would protect Delta or any others based on the advertising budget spent with the magazine ? I brought that very point up a year or so ago and was assured by one of the editors of this fine publication that FWW would never stoop to that low of a perch . We were talking about the fact that Grizzly seemed to not place ads any longer in FWW mag . who knows ? was it the ratings ? You decide for yourself .
dusty
Dusty,
If your aunt who was worth millions of dollars came over would you insult her to her face? Of course not, you'd "edit" a few tactful comments like, Auntie, I haven't seen you in a long time!
Various magazines do the same thing in their articles. "Well, it came in a nice carton" or the power cord reached the outlet (once I moved it closer)" put enough comments like that together and at first blush it doesn't sound so bad.
As for Grizzly's marketing stratagy I don't know what that would be.. they offer good equipment at modest prices but I don't for one minute believe they are doing it as a profitless venture.. They cut out the middle man and that saves around 30 to 40 % of the cost of equipment and if they are selective about advertizeing they can further reduce their costs..
Will a modest priced import compete on equal footing with high end machines? Maybe not.. If we are talking about featyres and bells and whistles. I'll be the first to admit that some of the things on my Grizzly tools is cheap and flimsey looking. But I will say the quality with regard to working correctly right out of the box and holding up without a lot of maintinance for the 30,000 plus bd.ft. of hardwood that mine has has simply been great.. I just wish the Delta stuff was anywhere near as good..
I've had a Makita for about 15 years and have used it heavily, primarily on hardwoods. The only maintenance it has required is blade replacements (which are very easy). Art
I have a Delta 22-580 that I bought a couple of years ago. I've run about 400 board feet through it, and it has done a fine job. The only complaint I have is the belt broke and getting parts takes a couple of days. I couldn't find one locally in Kansas City. But this is the only planer I've owned, so I don't have anything to compare it to.
kcgolfer
I purchased the Delta 13 inch planer about 3 years ago and have since ran a couple thousand bd feet of mostly white oak and walnut through it. The belt broke in mine as well and a new one took a couple days to get. My biggest complaint is getting new blades, both HD and Canadian tire sell the planer but neither carry the blades for it. I generally wait for the wood shows in the area and get a couple sets from the Delta dealer at that time.
Well, I recently bought the Jet 3hp, 16" machine. Once I got the thing up and running I was very impressed with the smoothness of cut and the fact that it is so much quieter than the Delta 22-580 that I sold to a friend.
The problem I have with it (regardless of what frenchy says) is this: When mounting the infeed and outfeed rollers, you need to bolt them to the cutterhead base, which is cast iron. The face of the casting has not been milled or flattened in any way, so it is rough as a cob and not square to the world. The roller frames have 3 mounting bolts near the top of the frame and 3 set screws below the bolts near the bottom of the frame. The idea is to adjust the tension on the bolts and screws until the rollers (3 each side) are on plane with the table. Sound easy? The outfeed side took me an hour to get right and I have never gotten the infeed tits-on yet. I started messing with it again yesterday as a matter of fact, and got disgusted and gave it up for the night.
I'm sure I'll get it. I think it's more a matter of luck than skill, since each side of the casting is slightly different. You can bet that Jet will be getting a letter from me, though. If they would just go though the added step of machining the faces of the casting where the rollers mounted, all would be well with the world and this would be a great tool.
You can get them on Amazon for about $40, or on ebay for about $20. The ones on ebay are usually still in the package. I haven't bought a second set yet, but I'll probably go the ebay route.kcgolfer
I've got the DeWalt 12" lunchbox planer and I am very satisfied with it so far....5 years.
Tom
So shoot me! I have a Big Box.. ProTech 13" planner ..
About two years now.. Works for me!
I have a Delta 12 inch benchtop model and I dont have trouble with it. The only thing that I wish were different would be the steel knives. I wish they lasted longer or were carbide. At least their double edged so you can flip them.
Just me.. SO.. I'm sorry in advance...
For my planner.. A 'L-cheepo' 13".. That works great for what I use it for...
Someplace I got this little wooden thing with 'honing stones'.. Woodcraft/Rockler?
I forget... After ever use I just run the stones down the blades and seems to help keeping them sharp..
As I remember it was not that expensive.. $10.00???
I have a delta 12 1/2 " and ill tell you that my next planer will be one with blades you can resharpen, not the replaceable ones. $30 a set ( granted 2 sides per set0 and I can and did swallow that cost for over 3 years now. The local store that used to carry the replacement blades went belly up so now I have to drive about 1/2 hr one way to find out if they have the blades. The last two times I went they didnt have them ( Woodcraft in Portsmouth NH) Long drive to find out that they have every other blade but that one......and the have the planer in stock! One thing I dont have and I should get is a metal detector............dont know how many times I have hit old nails buried deep in a board. If you have to room and the money..id buy one with baldes you can send out.
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!"
John,
Don't have a planer, but have been studying. My local sharpener went one further - if you have blades that don't require slots or holes, he can make them out of bar stock for a very cheap price.
"My local sharpener went one further - if you have blades that don't require slots or holes, he can make them out of bar stock for a very cheap price."
I doubt if he does this out of high speed steel and heat treats it properly. Definitely check out the grade of steel he is offering on this one. If you want the edge to last when milling hardwood, you will definitely want this. If you are only using softwood, you may be able to get away with it. Your sharpener may know this and see a lot of $$$ in sharpening service so beware.
Steve
Cherry John,
I have had both resharpenable knives and replaceable knives for my jointer (Grizzly sells both to fit my machine) I sometimes sharpen and sometimes replace.. It costs the same to have blades sharpened as it does to buy replacement blades and the replacement blades go in in seconds compared to the setup time of 10 + minutes for the resharpened ones..
Against that I probably can joint several (20-30) more boards nicely with the resharpened ones.
I bought a Tormex to resharpen my own blades but found that the best I could do wasn't 1/2 as good as the pros did (I actaully counted the numbers of boards)
My point is that both have their place. I'm lucky I have a great service that is handy for me so it's not a big deal to haul the blades in.. If your best sharpening service is a long ways away or you intend to do it yourself please rethink!
Thankyou Frenchy,that was very valuable info to me. perhaps I will rethink my position on ths matter.. thank you for your insightWicked 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 have the delta 22-580 and when I bought it, I bought a replacement set of blades.
Now after using both sides and putting in the new set, I ordered another replacement set to have on hand when needed - no waiting, no driving, no hassle.1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
I have the Makita 2012. I have had it for 9+ years. It is a 12.5" planer and does well. The only thing I have ever done is replace the blades. They are easy to set. They come with magnets that hold it in perfect position. Change takes 15 minutes. You don't sharpen the blades. They are double sided. You can rotate and when the second side is dull you throw them away. A set will run $30.00. I have run lots of wood through it. I even did some old barn wood that hit a nail and chipped a blade. Luckily no other damage. The only gripe I have is that the bed is elevated to the cutterhead instead of the head being lowered to the bed. I wanted to build it into a station with infeed and outfeed tables, but that's just not practical. It fits nicely on a shelf when not in use. I definitely have got my money's worth that for sure. That's my two cents worth. Good luck on the decision.
Do not get caught in the trap of believing everything you read is the absolute
truth. I've gone to the factory in Muncy,Pa. of Grizzly for a day, then to the Woodcraft Store to check out Delta. I came home with a Delta 14 in bandsaw and a 14 in lathe also with a large bed 6 in planer. My only regret is that I eventually have to turn them off at the end of the day.
Tis a gift to be simple, Tis a gift to be free
Tis a gift to come down, Where we ought to be
Shaker Hymm
Tis a gift to be free
Tis a gift to come down
Where we ought to be
Ditto on the 13" Dewalt planer, I bought mine last year and I'm really pleased with it. It has several features that other similar unit don't have like the built in blower that can be hooked to a garbage can with no need for dust collection (yes it works quite well), and the 3 knife head. At $500 bucks it's more expensive than other machines in it's catagory but it's worth the extra cash. I built a wooden base for mine with extension wings and support for the dust collection hose and I've been really happy with the results.
Brian
I've used 3 different portable planers so here's my experience. All 3 are easy to change the blades. They are listed in order in which I would purchase:
Delta 13" is an excellent planer, very little snip, if any. Blades are reasonable is cost and seem to hold up. In/Out feed tables included. I agree with the low quality of Delta, I've gotten rid of most of my Delta stuff, but this is a good unit!!
DeWalt 13 is also excellent. Very little snip. Blades are beef'er than the delta but are expensive. This unit is the noisiest! I think it extracts the chips the best of all because it has a blower on the output. In and out feed tables are extra and you need them.
Makita is a 12" planer and I like it the least of the 3. Some small snipe. Blades are reasonably in price but don't hold up quite as well as the other two. I like the unit but it needs to be adjusted because the bed is not parallel to the cutters.
HTH,
-tony
Makita - without a doubt.
When you read articles and see the photos, seems more frequent than not, there is a Makita planer.
Alan - planesaw
I can tell you this about planers. Where I hail from, the only good thing about bringing a Delta planer on a jobsite is that there isn't much concern about anyone working there ripping it off. On the other hand, you 'd better stay tethered to your makita.
A lot of tools will serve you well in a home workshop,if you look after them and treat them carefully. But if you want durable, high quality machines,look to what the pro's use. (The real pro's,not the TV Pro's)
Edited 7/18/2005 2:13 pm ET by Walker1
The real pro's,not the TV Pro's..
Damn.. I thought ol' NORM was a certified MASTER carpenter.. I read that someplace!
Will George; Without a doubt, Norm is a master carpenter, as are others that I enjoy tuning into. I guess if there was a slam it was meant more for these models /actors posing as carpenters on these makeover shows my wife loves watching.
But my real point was tool companies pay good money to have there equipment on these TV shows. And the spots go to the highest bidders, not necessarily the best tool company's. And yes Delta is Norms main sponsor.
In my opinion certain tool companies would rather devote the bulk of there resources to advertising, rather than developing and building better quality machines
Have a great one.
Walker1
I have the 2 speed delta (22-580). It works fine. The dust hood is needed, but costs extra. And the hood drags on the wood if you don't wire it up. I've tried the old single speed dewalt, and it's nice, too.
Most of the planers in this price range are made in China. Probably the same factory, for all I know. Buy whatever's cheapest. Currently, amazon has the delta for about $320 after $50 discount and free shipping.
You aren't going to get anything that can hog 1/8" off of a 12" wide piece of hardwood until you get to over $1300. Low expectations = Happy consumers.
Matt
Offienaknie,
I don't know if you are still looking at planners. I saw your discussion and thought I would add my .02 I bought the Dewalt 735 (?). I also added the extension tables. Things I like about it. I does an excellent job, though I can't say I really see the difference between the two speeds except on really swirlly grain for which it does seem to reduce cut out. It has a power chip ejector which is nice for dust collection. With connected to my dust collector, it does an excellent job at keeping the dust down. Blade changes are a breeze. Blades are disposable, though are expensive. You can turn the blades around to maximize use. Height adjustment is easy, the ruler seems to be pretty accurate for board thickness.
Things I don't like about it. It is REALLY LOUD, and REALLY HEAVY. You must use hearing protection. I am able to lift it by myself off the floor to at table, but I really think hard on why I have to do it, and make sure my health insurance is still active. The extension tables once set up do a pretty good job, though it seems it tends to get out of adjustment rather easily with heavy boards. They supposedly fold up and out of the way, but with the dust collection adapter on, the back side doesn't fold up unless you raise the height of the machine all the way up.
In conclusion, I think it is a good machine. Consider how often you need to lift it and whether you want to it connected to a dust collector or open to air. And unless you need the dust blower, I would probably get the cheaper version (still with 3 blades) with one speed and no blower.
Dave
I used a Delta 12" for quite a few years and was very happy with it, altho I never could get rid of the snipe. It pooped out on me a couple of months ago and I decided to get the DeWalt 13". I'm very happy with it. I can plane down to 1/8" and it has two speeds. I don't do commercial work and I'm sure there are nicer machines out there but for what I need and the price I like the Delta. The snipe is not bad either.
I bought a used DeWalt 13" planer cheap from a friend who had picked up a reconditioned unit for one time use in a special project. Noting the absolute necessity of dust collection, I have had no problems whatsoever and like it very much. Once in a while I get tearout on difficult grain but the great majority of the time wood comes out nearly finish ready. Very little snipe.
Edited 7/21/2005 2:59 pm ET by ram
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