Is the WEN PL1326 spiral planer comparable to the Dewalt 735 w/ spiral head upgrade? Looking at buying my first planer and I understand the advantage of going with a helix head, but is the DeWalt in this case worth paying more than twice the price, $427 vs over $1K? I’ve read good reviews about this WEN planer as well as their customer support.
WEN PL1326 thickness planer…
https://wenproducts.com/products/wen-pl1326-15-amp-13-inch-spiral-benchtop-thickness-planer
Replies
While I don't have personal experience with either of those planers, the deal breaker for me would be the WEN doesn't use carbide inserts.
It uses high speed steel inserts (the same material as straight knives) and each insert only has two cutting edges. Rotate them once and throw them away. And at $4 per insert (X 26 inserts) that's $104 per blade change.
Mike
Sounds like the same business model as ink jet printers.
I've had a Dewalt 733 for about 20 years. I had to change a belt once, and it's been a real workhorse.
I'm happy with regular high speed knives. I've heard too many complaints about the small planers being underpowered for spiral cutterheads.
I always look for ways to save money. But I don't consider buying a lesser machine to be saving money in the long run. You really do get what you pay for.
If it were me, I'd buy the straight knife Dewalt for the same price as the spiral Wen.
1st - a lot of woodworkers look down their noses at Wen. Those brand-name snobs would have you believe that because they don't like a product you shouldn't either.
I've been using the same 3-knife Wen planer for 6 years and if I could afford the spiral cutterhead model I'd buy one, carbide be d---ed.
Mikaol
For what it's worth, I've had the DeWalt 735 with 3 HSS knives for about a year and couldn't be happier. I've flipped the blades once and it was absolutely trivial and required no finesse. And a new set of double edged knives is only ~50$. Big contrast to rotating the 40 carbide inserts on the helical cutter on my Grizzly jointer. That was time-consuming and I'm still not happy with the results.
FWIW, I have a Dewalt 733 that I think is about 15-20 years old?
This sucker has planed more board feet than I can imagine.
I now share this with my neighbor who does end grain cutting boards.
2 blades, resharpen-able but I cant recall that I ever did that.
It is a bit loud, but a basic workhorse! Looks like a set of blades is about $75 USD. Maybe I'l order an additional set...
Thanks for all the info. I wonder if Byrd or anyone else makes a carbide cutter head upgrade for the WEN since the one I linked to uses only HSS.
Also, someone suggested this Oliver planer. Any opinions on it?
https://olivermachinery.net/12-5in-planer
Perfect timing... Laguna announced this today:
https://lagunatools.com/classic/planers/px12/
Video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x50mlBP0jn4
I know that the model name is PX12, but the label really looks like PIXIE, not a great name for a 2HP woodworking machine. :-) And it looks like they did it intentionally, even worse. If they had asked any woodworkers, any, I doubt if they’d get one “what a great name!” reply.
Is this Laguna planer a whole new product or a reduction in price of an existing product? I'm guessing the latter.
How does the Laguna compare to the Oliver?
Look at the pictures of both machines carefully and you will notice that they share the same components, are likely built in the same factory in China and basically, you chose the color.
"PX12"? Would that name indicate the width of material the machine(s) is/are designed to cut? [Neither link provided the specifications on that.] If so I'll stick to rehoning the blades for my Delta 540 12" Planer. (Yes, they're "Disposable", but then again, even though Woodcraft carries them for about $20.00 a pr., why would I throw perfectly serviceable blades away? Besides, I learned a trick from my father in the '40's when he'd hone his double edged Gillette razor blades with a small, straight sided juice glass and water. He was a very talented machinist and, "They call me a tool maker, ... but not by East Coast Standards", he told me in the early '60's in California. Gently using a jig and a suitable sheet of "Float Glass" periodically, it's possible to keep the blades in tip-top shape far longer. Knicks are, as always, a problem. That's what a spare pair of new blades are for until I get to stone them.)
Gulfstar is right, the Oliver and the Laguna appear to be identical. The only differences I see is the OLIVER says it has an: "Authentic BYRD Shelix cutter head" and it has a Wixey DRO.
Mike
No experience of either, but to answer Mikaol's excellent point, there is a difference in the products.
I am totally a brand-name snob. I WANT really nice expensive tools. I BUY cheaper ones where I can get away with it though - there is no point in spending more for the same output, and where quality is close enough to make no difference then why pay more?
The key differences here are that the WEN uses plastic where the deWalt uses Steel. The WEN uses steel where the deWalt uses carbide.
Thing is, will that make much difference?
With care, those HSS inserts will last a long time and may be amenable to home sharpening; and whilst plastic is not as robust as steel, it does not rust either.
What you do often find is that the fit and finish is not the only place where corners have been cut. Cheaper tools often save on important areas such as properly sealed bearings (which can cost USD10 each more than the cheapest alternative) and machining may not be as fine, leading to other issues such as increased backlash and less smooth adjustments.
People argue and complain about the price of (and snob value attached to) festool tools, but that probably represents a fair price for what is really a very high quality item with every part specified to last. They come with a three year comprehensive you break it we fix it warranty too. I don't own any :-(
In the end, I buy expensive tools when I am going to use them often, because expensive tools are far more pleasurable to use than cheaper ones. I don't waste money on top of the line gear where it will spend most of its life in a drawer. My sander is a deWalt - there is a marked difference between that one and a bargain bucket device, but it is sufficiently nice to use that I can't see green and grey in my sanding line up any time soon.
Some people are enamored with new. New products, new designs, new manufacturers.
I am not. I've seen too many "new" things flame out. There have been a bunch of new companies spring up over the years, and most of them are gone. Money is hard to come by, and I'm only going to spend mine on a sure thing.
In the early days of lunchbox planers, a friend bought a Ryobi. What a total piece of crap. He replaced that with some other brand with fancy claims, and it was just as bad. He stopped woodworking.
I've got 20 years with the same Dewalt. One belt replacement. Knives are cheap, and I change them every several years. I'm not looking for finished surfaces. Not one of my projects has a surface that you can see, right off the planer.
I know a few people who take most of a day to rotate Carbide inserts, and none of them cut great after. They all fiddle with that cutter that didn't seat quite right, and left marks down their "finished" boards.
I just can't imagine chasing "better" when there are very lengthy track records on what is very good.
I put a Bird cutter head in my 14 inch General planer,the old one that takes three people to lift. This is the same planer use by all the students at the Center For Furniture Craftsmanship .The
point here,worth repeating,is you get what you pay for.I came across the plainer from a defunct woodshop; very lightly used.Years later I swapped in the Bird cutter.Both me and the school never had a problem rotating the cutters.As to taking all day,how about one hour .You get what you pay for!!!!!
Keep your ear to the ground and great equipment will appear
I have several Wen power tools and none of them have given me any problems. The only exception was the track saw. It was sloppy but they replaced it no questions and the new one works fine.
Has anyone tried the Wahuda planer? It's in the same price range as the Laguna, Oliver, and Dewalt.
I don't think their spiral planer is available yet. I believe it will be released in October.
You are correct. It's available to preorder now with delivery starting the first week in October. The price advantage isn't as strong as it was. But the features are enticing, especially given it's a little cheaper than what seems like its market competitors.
But I'm leery being the first...
Looking at the photos on the Wahuda site they call it a "spiral cutterhead", but it has straight teeth on straight lines arranged in an offset pattern. You won't get the advantages of a shearing cut as with a true spiral / helical head.
I took their bait and bought their 8" jointer and their planer about a year ago but I'm a novice so take it as you will. So far both have done what they are advertised to do but I go on the side of caution and limit my passes to about 1/16". The only real issue I've seen is that the "helical style" head is very, very, dependent on quality machining and close tolerances and on my particular planer there is a noticeable but easily remedied line at one spot because the machining on the spindle wasn't spot on. For my purposes this one and only, minor, flaw is meaningless.
MJ,
I see what you mean. Can they even call this a spiral?
I guess the "unique" modifier covers the legal side.
Isn't this what Jet calls helical style?
Of the ones I've been looking at, the Jet, Baleigh, and Laguna planers on one speed and the Dewalt and Wahuda are two speed. All but the Dewalt are "helical" cutters. Some use 4 sided cutters; some, 2 sided. The Byrd Shelix upgrade is ~500, which moves the dewalt from first to last on price. The dewalt gets good marks from what I've read.
All are roughly in the same price ballpark - 700 - 1200. The Baleigh is the most expensive, the dewalt, wahuda, and laguna are similar, and the Jet is more toward the Baleigh than the others.
Does the two speed really matter? I've never used a two speed planer. Anything that reduces sanding time is a plus to me. It seems most have table extenders, which is a nice feature.
I'm wondering if they are all using the same motor.
Do you have any thoughts that might factor into this decision?
The price of upgrade is what drove me from the DeWalt over to the Wahuda. I'm not old enough into wood working to have spent time on a multitude of machines so I can't give anything better than...being a novice, the Wahuda jointer (8") and planer have sufficed for my needs. See above for the minor nuisance fault in my particular planer.
A helical / spiral cutter presents each blade to the stock on a bias, the equivalent of skewing a handplane to produce a shearing cut. The nicer inserts have a slight camber to the leading edge to avoid the corners leaving tracks. More rows of cutters gives you a smoother finished product because the overlap eachother more. This translates to more expensive of course.
I would characterize the Wahuda as a "segmented cutterhead"
Does anyone know of a diff between "helical" and "spiral"?
Not true. To answer your question and correct your 1st sentence, a helical head's cutters are skewed, cutting/slicing into the wood at an angle, a spiral cutter's cutters are at 90 degrees, just like a straight cutter.
Thanks!
I upgraded my Dewalt to a Byrd head. Huge upgrade over the old knives. Well worth the money spent. I liked the planer before, I love it now. I ran a bunch of lumber last week that would have been enough to make me turn the knives, but the new Byrd head is still cutting like new. The other major plus is the noise. Before I had earmuffs on to run it, now it is tolerable without them. Even if you dont choose a Dewalt, I recommend a carbide, spiral head.
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