I Need, Benchtop Planer Recommendation.

[Trigger-Time]

Will be for hobby stuff, would say 75% of use will be White Oak.
I'm looking at De Walt 13" planer. After searching on line, have
read some bad things about their knifes.....don't know how the
people, that are talking bad about knifes have been using them
though.......I'm all ears.

Thanks,
Gary

 

[Rodney Sinclair]

Will be for hobby stuff, would say 75% of use will be White Oak.
I'm looking at De Walt 13" planer. After searching on line, have
read some bad things about their knifes.....don't know how the
people, that are talking bad about knifes have been using them
though.......I'm all ears.

Thanks,
Gary

DeWalt 13" is what I've got and so for it has done what I've asked of it. Maybe I just don't read enough. I've also got the M7 mill and have heard all kinds of bad things about it. For the money, I think the DeWalt would be hard to beat.

Rodney

 

[germy01]

My dewalt works good but it does go thru the knives fast. I run a lot of white pine and after 5-10 boards I start getting nicks in the knives. They are two sided and about 50 bucks for a set.

 

[Gumnuts]

+ 1 Dewalt - but there are cheaper options that would do just as well
BUT .....
Had the Dewalt bench thicknesser .Not sure if thats what you mean ??!
That was great for doing small stuff Dressed up a swag of posts.
But if yr referring to an edge planer on a stand or bench mounted i would not go below 8" .
See them called by various names !!!!!
- Graeme
.02

 

[buicken]

I have a delta 12" and something. The two speed option is very good. no problems at all with it.

 

[redprospector]

I have an older Delta 12" thickness planer, and have had a 12 1/2" Delta.
Knives are reasonably priced, 2 sided.
The DeWalt, & Delta are both decent little planers If you remember what they are, little planers. Don't expect them to do what an industrial planer will and you'll like either one. For the money I like the Delta, With DeWalt you're paying a lot for the name (which isn't worth as much as it used to be).

Andy

 

[Trigger-Time]

I was looking at this one.

http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=5935

Thanks,
Gary

 

[oldsaw]

I was looking at the DeWalt and ended up getting the Delta 22-580. Amazon has them right now for $425. I got mine for $400 w/free shipping, but that was a couple of years ago.

Don't use it a ton, but it does a good job. Knives seem to last pretty well, and are usually cheaper than the DeWalts too.

Mark

 

[MikeInParadise]

I have the older version of the the Dewalt and it has been a real workhorse.

I have put thousands of board feet through it. Struggles a bit on 8 ft 6/4 10 inches wide but I would buy another without hesitation.

It will not Hog off large chunks and on occasion I wipe down the rollers with a rag damp with lacquer thinners to keep them stick and grabbing the wood. I have had mine 7 years and I bought it second hand.

 

[Woodie]

My dewalt works good but it does go thru the knives fast. I run a lot of white pine and after 5-10 boards I start getting nicks in the knives. They are two sided and about 50 bucks for a set.

I've got the Dewalt 734 and like it fine. It gets fed almost exclusively hardwoods, and that almost exclusively cherry. I've not worked with white pine before...is it full of knots with dried sap? There's no other explanation for what you describe...other than dirty wood. Any chance the wood has embedded grit...either from the mill or in the growth of the wood itself?

Too, I wouldn't be concerned with nicks so much, so long as the blades are still otherwise sharp. A thickness planer just gets you in the ballpark...a handplane or abrasives get you home.

 

[Backwoods]

I have the same Dewalt planer as you are looking at. It is a light duty planner finish planer, as long as that is what you use it for it is a good machine. I have had problems with the shavings plugging up at the motor, which melted the plastic shroud. I have replaced it twice and have wrapped the new one with electrical tape to close the gap. This has helped.

The knives seem to last just fine, however I only run new wood thru it. The two speeds are a great feature to have as it cuts down on the sanding in the end.
I find I have to make more passes with this planner compared to my old Delta that had a much bigger motor.

I use my big planer when I have a lot of wood to remove then finish it with the Dewalt.

Look at the Deltas they are a good machine to, and they have a better price tag. Compare the two to what your needs are, and go from there. Do not buy for the name alone.

 

[haoleboy99]

I ended up buying the Rigid 13" at Home Depot. Not my dream planer but for the price it gets the job done. Rated out well in several of the web reviews. Does a good job for what I use it for. I'm also hobby woodworker as part of house restoration and the Rigid was priced right when combined with sale prices. It also includes the stand which is normally an extra for most portable planers.

 

[Trigger-Time]

Thanks, for your response




OK......I'm like a goose, I wake up in a new world every day
started looking a used, heaver planer's.

Kind of eying an, 15" Makita Planer Model 2040

Gary

 

[Brmorgan]

I've been eyeing those DeWalt 2-speed units too, and they always rate at or near the top in side-by-side comparisons like in Fine Woodworking magazine, for instance.

Gary, what were the complaints about the DeWalt knives? Brittle, or couldn't be re-sharpened enough or something? All these small 12-15" planers have rather skinny knives that can only be resharpened a couple times, but most brands are reversible anyway. I have a little Delta 12-1/2" that I don't know the model number of. It's not quite the machine I'd like it to be, but I ended up getting it brand new from the store for about $100 so i couldn't argue that. It actually does a pretty good job but the end snipe is just totally unacceptable. I keep two sets of knives for my planer and jointer on hand, so that when a set gets dull I take them to get sharpened and still have a good fresh set in the machine.

 

[tomtrees58]

i have one works great we sharpen the blades on are chipper knife sharpener tom trees

 

[Backwood]

I had a delta that never gave me a problem in several years use. When I upgraded to a 20" I sold the 12 delta. Planer ran great with no noises at all. The guy that bought it had about 4000' of pine he wanted to plane. I told him to only plane 10-15 pieces at a time and let it cool and it would do it with no problem, but this planer wont made to run all day. He didnt believe me and he didnt get that far into the stack and it locked up. Then tried to say I sold him junk :monkey: That planer would have lasted a long time doing what its supposed to.

 

[curdy]

Trigger, my father asked me to sell his 12 1/2" Dewalt DW734. he just upgraded to a 15" 3hp JET. Thing still looks brand new. Where are you located?

 

[Woodie]

I told him to only plane 10-15 pieces at a time and let it cool and it would do it with no problem, but this planer wont made to run all day. He didnt believe me and he didnt get that far into the stack and it locked up. Then tried to say I sold him junk :monkey: That planer would have lasted a long time doing what its supposed to.

Roger that. Lunchbox planers have universal motors, and a universal just ain't meant to run balls out all day long. They're not production machines. Stay within their limits and they do a real fine job.

One of the nice things about a lunchbox is that you can plane a board all the way down to 1/8" of total thickness. Most stationaries stop at a quarter. Plenty of times I've needed splines, and that's where a lunchbox excels.

 

[A. Stanton]

I always had good luck with Makita. If I was planning to use that planner a lot, I would go with them.

 

[jdboy9]

My dad has a newer dewalt benchtop and loves it but as others have said the blades go pretty quick depending on what wood you use. The finish it gives is amazing with the blade angle and I believe it uses 3 that are razor sharp when they are in order and adjusted it can be like glass after running it through.

We usually go first with the powermatic then the dewalt to finish stuff up as to help with blade life.