Thickness planers

[OCtoolguy]

I  was just wondering how many of you have portable thickness planers. I used to have one. It was the first model that Delta came out with but it got sold when we went out on the road full time. Now, I'm thinking about another one and I thought I'd pose the question of who has what and what do you feel is the good and bad about what you have. I see that Harbor Freight now has one but I'm not sure I would trust it to be very accurate or long lasting. I'll now sit back and wait for your answers.

 

Ray

 

[DWSUDEKUM]

I have both the harbor freight and an older Dewalt 733 Type 1.  While the Harbor Freight planer will generally do the job if you push it it will break.  For light use it will do the job.  The blades are  so - so for replacing however for light use it will do for those on a budget.

The Dewalt 733 is an older version of the current Dewalt 734 and is a workhorse.  Be aware that it will cost to keep the blades sharp and up to spec.  Both planers will be accurate and will take some getting used to.  Both can cause snipe and it can be controlled.  My main issue is the chip collection.  I work with my planer in my garage so I need to keep it relatively chip free.

 

DW

[OCtoolguy]

Thanks DW. I used to have that Delta and it worked great. They do produce a lot of chips and sawdust but I thought that maybe it would be nice to have one again to plane down wood for scrolling but maybe it's overkill for what little I might really use it. I guess I'm just looking for an excuse to have one again. So, you feel that the HF is ok for light use?

 

Ray

[merlin]

Ray I have just brought one here in NZ it's a Toolline brand, and before that I had a Cobra I got back in 2006.

The Cobra is made in the Ryobi factory.

Have just got the Toolline and not even run it yet, but going on the spec's not a lot of different from the Cobra.

So 9 years from the bottom of the line thicknesser is pretty good in my book.

And she had a lot of work it that time.

So what am I saying "you treat them right and they treat you right"

 

***Merlin***

[Scrappile]

I have the old Delta and have had it for years.  it has always worked for me, but I have never pushed it hard.  I do have to keep the rollers clean and hook it up to the dust collector to keep the chips out of it as much as possible or it will quit feeding the boards.  If i were to replace it I would look hard at the DeWalt.  I have read good things about it.  I wish I had the room and money for a bigger one than the 13".

[Scrolling Steve]

I have read good things about the Dewalt!........It is on my wish list!

[Lvmedic3214]

I too have heard nothing but good things about the DeWalt. I have a 13†Ryobi for now until I can afford the DeWalt. It’s decent, nothing special. 

[sullyscroller]

I had the Dewalt for 7 years and it is a hoss. Over the years I probably ran 10,000 bf thru it with minimum maint. It has a very good chip deflector but I added a dust collector for extra power. It finally gave up the ghost a few months back . I didn't have the $$$ to repair or get a new dewalt so I got the Porter Cable that Lowes sells. It does the job well but i had to build a chip collector to hook up to the dust collector. Without that the chips are everywhere. I'm able to vent the chips out the back of my shop and down the hillside with 2" pvc pipe. To date i have planed close to 3000 bf mostly pine but it takes care of oak and cherry without much trouble. At around $250 it was a good deal.

 

sully

[OCtoolguy]

Hey Merlin, I'd sure love to come down your way sometime just to see your country. New Zealand is definitely on my bucket list. Thanks for your reply.

 

Ray

[OCtoolguy]

I just got back from Home Depot and I was looking at what they call "hobby wood" and it's prices. I can see it wouldn't take too long buying those that a planer would pay for itself. It's amazing at what has happened to the price of wood. I built that heavy duty stand for my scroll saw last week but I still needed a piece of wood that would fit the top of the stand for the saw to sit on. It had to be 18" x about 30" so my choice was either plywood or a 24" x 48" pine board that had been glued up. So, I bought one of the latter and out the door it was $26.68. Absolutely ridiculous but what choice do we have? I know the I could have gone with the plywood but I just didn't want to. It would have taken away from the looks of the stand. I'm going to sand it all down and put a stain of some kind on it. Maybe just a clear finish but it has to look good. I'm OCD. I can't stand anything that doesn't look good. My wife is a fine example.

 

Ray

Edited April 15, 2015 by octoolguy

[jamminjack]

Hey Ray its like anything else.   You get what you pay for.  HF is ok for some things but the bottom line most of their stuff is garbage.  If you want screw drivers, tapes, files that sort of thing HF is ok.

As far as power tools go save your money.   Dewalt is the way to go.  They are a work horse and they do the job.  As other villagers stated, keep the rollers clean and chain in good order

and you won't be sorry.   I use my planner daily.   Bought it several years ago and haven't looked back.

[OCtoolguy]

JamminJack, I have to agree with you but what comes into play here is my age. I just turned 72 and I have to be realistic about what use I will get out of it. What I think I will do is start shopping Craigslist and ebay and see what I can find. I have bought all my shop equipment either used or new at HF. The only thing that I have bought at HF that wasn't ok out of the box what the 4 x 36 belt sander and I fixed the problems with it myself. So far, I have bought a Delta 14" bandsaw, a Dewalt portable table saw, a Delta bench top drill press, my Dewalt scroll saw all used and in good shape. I didn't pay over half of new for any of them. I did but a new portastand for the Dewalt portable table saw and it works neat. Oh and I bought a Dewalt 12" compound miter saw used too. I'm not in any hurry to buy a planer so I'll just start looking for a good used one. I am leaning in the direction of a Dewalt at this point but if a good clean Delta comes up, that's fine too.

 

Ray

[browders]

I have the Dewalt DW 735. I like the fact that it has 3 blades. It also has a selector for either finish quality planing or a speedier feed. I have actually not seen much difference between the two in terms of finish quality. Let me reiterate what others have said about keeping the  rollers clean. I learned that the hard way. The blades are easy to change and the unit is very heavy duty. Chip collection is a must. The planer will blow chips 20 feet and all over everything if not collected. It will plane to a 1/8" thickness. No complaints here.

 

Jim

[OCtoolguy]

Jim, that looks like way more planer than I need at this time. I just want to be able to make my own craft wood.

 

Ray]

[amazingkevin]

I have the ryobe i thing 13.5 and it is loud! I used it twice for  aromatic cedar and loved it.My friend turns the handle on his a half turn for the next bite but on mine a quarter turn is all that's needed half a turn really dogs it.I wish i could use it more but i have neighbors .it sounds just like a big tree chipper! I wish i could find the instruction book that i have  here.

[daddy_tindell]

I have a grizzly 12" portable planer and it has been a beast. No complaints.

[dgman]

Hey Ray, I have a DeWalt 733 like DW. I've had it for about ten years without a problem. The blades can be sharpend three or four times. After all these years I just replaced the blades. Lowes carries them.

If you find one on Craig's list, I would snap it up!

[Kepy]

I have a Delta that I bought new in 94 and it is still doing the job.  I don't plane as much as I used to but have never had a problem.  Last year, thought it had given up the ghost so I took my HF coupon to get the one they had on sale.  Didn't even get it out of the box when a friend came by and demonstrated that the problem was operator malfunction so took the HF back for a refund.

[tomsteve]

Check pawnshops in your area,too, for one.

[oldhudson]

I have a Delta 'lunch box' planer. I purchased it maybe 10-12 years ago. Never having used a different brand/model it's hard to judge. But this has never broken down. I'm mostly a hobby woodworker so it doesn't get heavy use. I used it extensively when I built my kitchen cabinets from rough cut cherry. It was great.

 

I like the blade changing feature as opposed to sharpening a set of blades a couple times a year. Unfortunately it often leaves a slight scratch in planning and while I've taken it apart a couple times and replaced blades I've been unable to sort it out?

 

Finally it's way to heavy for me to move any more so I mounted it on this cart which rolls into a corner of the shop when not in use. On the other side is my chop saw. The work surface flips 180°. See pics.

 

I think a serious hobbyist who works with rough cut stock or is re-sawing for scroll work would benefit from a planer. 

 

I avoid HF.

[WayneMahler]

I have the 13" rigid. It has plenty of power, knives are easy to change and it gets a lot of use in my shop. For the price it is definately worth looking at. Not sure if they still have the lifetime service agreement on them. One of the reasons I got mine. ANd th service department I called was a joy to work with too. All I needed was the replacement sticker for the depth guage and they sent it promptly to me. This one is about 6 years old, and I have had no other issues with it.

[OCtoolguy]

Hey  OldHudson, I like your design on that cabinet. That would solve a lot of space problems for me. Did you design it yourself or did it come from someone else's plans? Would you consider making a copy of your plans and PM'ing them to me? I really do like that design.

 

Ray

[Jim Finn]

I do a LOT planning with my DeWalt 735 to make 3/8" stock. (cedar and maple).  I buy rough lumber and re-saw about 700 board feet a year, and plane to the  3/8" thickness required.  I had a Royobi planer that worked very well but the chip collection was an issue so I bought the DeWalt.

[stu]

I have a delta works good next one will be a rigid because the blades are half the price of the Dewalt. What do you use to clean the rollers

Stu

[Fishman]

Hey  OldHudson, I like your design on that cabinet. That would solve a lot of space problems for me. Did you design it yourself or did it come from someone else's plans? Would you consider making a copy of your plans and PM'ing them to me? I really do like that design.

 

Ray

You might want to check this out!

 

Edited April 21, 2015 by Fishman