Jointer and Planer

[OzarkSawdust]

Looking at both. I need to be able to make useable boards from the garbage at my local lumber yard. The big box stores are not any better, and 30+ miles away.

Delta, Grizzly, WEN, Craftsman, or ?? What brands are acceptable without high price?

I need several things, so need to keep cost reasonable but not cheep junk. I’ve been watching Craig’s List, Marketplace, etc. but only old, rusted worn out and cheep junk so far.

What do you guys have? If you bought it today what would you get?

[dgman]

Gary, I have the DeWALT 735 bench top planer and absolutely love it. I also have a Delta 6” open stand jointer. It’s about twenty years old. The only problem I have had with it is a broken plastic handle that adjusts the fence. Other than that, it has been a dependable work horse. 

[kmmcrafts]

Back around 2009 ish I got talked into going with all the ladies to the outlet malls.. and to my surprise they had a tool store.. I happen to be researching planers and had my heart set on a dewalt.. but then I seen the refurbished ryobi 13" planer there for $100 you bet ya.. I snagged it up since it was going to be some time before I would have enough money saved up for the DeWalt.. I figured if I could get a couple months out of it I'd be saving money from buying all those thin boards that I used to use.. Funny thing is... aside from the scroll saw it is the most used tool in my shop.. every single project I've made started with the board going through the planer.. even if it's at the right thickness if nothing else I run it to be sure it's flat and not cupped.. I'd like to have a new nicer one but this one is still running and doing a great job at it too.. That said, I'd like one with the spiral helical head.. Not sure what brand I'd get but I've heard a lot of good with those.. 

I think most folks are going to recommend the DeWalt.. They nice units.. If I couldn't afford one with the spiral cutter head I'd probably go for the bigger dewalt one with the 2 speed settings, and the extended infeed and outfeed tables.. But the ryobi is still kicking butt so I'm going to run it until it runs no more, LOL Don't believe Ryobi even offers a planer anymore.. 

When shopping be sure to check out the cost of replacement blades.. some of them get pretty pricey   

As for the Jointer.. I have a small 6" benchtop by Delta.. Been another one I use a lot.. I bought it at a garage sale for $25 basically new ( open box).. but it was a variable speed model and the VS circut board went out.. Obsolete part through Delta but Porter Cable is basically the same machine.. though I wasn't paying over $120 for the part with a new porter cable wasn't much more.. LOL.. That said I ended up wiring the motor direct and bypassed the VS.. I never used that VS anyway, LOL.. so I'm still using that one too.. 

Edited November 29, 2020 by kmmcrafts

[OzarkSawdust]

21 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

Back around 2009 ish I got talked into going with all the ladies to the outlet malls.. and to my surprise they had a tool store.. I happen to be researching planers and had my heart set on a dewalt.. but then I seen the refurbished ryobi 13" planer there for $100 you bet ya.. I snagged it up since it was going to be some time before I would have enough money saved up for the DeWalt.. I figured if I could get a couple months out of it I'd be saving money from buying all those thin boards that I used to use.. Funny thing is... aside from the scroll saw it is the most used tool in my shop.. every single project I've made started with the board going through the planer.. even if it's at the right thickness if nothing else I run it to be sure it's flat and not cupped.. I'd like to have a new nicer one but this one is still running and doing a great job at it too.. That said, I'd like one with the spiral helical head.. Not sure what brand I'd get but I've heard a lot of good with those.. 

I think most folks are going to recommend the DeWalt.. They nice units.. If I couldn't afford one with the spiral cutter head I'd probably go for the bigger dewalt one with the 2 speed settings, and the extended infeed and outfeed tables.. But the ryobi is still kicking butt so I'm going to run it until it runs no more, LOL Don't believe Ryobi even offers a planer anymore.. 

When shopping be sure to check out the cost of replacement blades.. some of them get pretty pricey   

That’s wild when a cheep tool you think might last a few months still works good several years later!

I saw a jointer that had a bunch of small square knives instead of long ones. If one gets a nick in it or gets dull you just loosen the screw, turn it 90 deg. And tighten the screw.Cool setup. 

Sounds like even a budget planer might work well. 

[don in brooklin on]

The little square carbide cutters are called Helical cutters.

I have an old Delta planner that serves me well.  

I do not have jointer and used the one at our club but with club closed due to covid I have been looking closely at a bench top jointer.  I don't do real long boards so this would be fine.

There seems to be different type of cutters some 4 sided and some 2 sided.  

I also want to get at least an 8 inch.  

I have been looking at the Richon but the 8 inch jointer is not available in Canada yet.  They have a 5 year warranty.

If I had he money I would buy the 10 inch combination helical planner/jointer.

[kmmcrafts]

Two things about the Helical head planer and jointers.. I've read they take less power to run as there is  not one long knife making one large cut across the whole board, but rather several small cuts..

Also since they take several small bites they are not as loud to run.. bet they are still noisy but anyway they are quieter.

I've also heard they get less jams in the dust collection because they are chopping off big bits wood but rather smaller bits..

I've head since they take less energy that you can take off more wood per pass? I don't know about that but could be.. makes sense..

The plus as has already been mentioned.. if you get a nick in the knife you can spin that knife to a different edge.. The down side might be looking for what one it is, 

The other down side is the price for a set of knives and the time to replace all of them, LOL. They have replacements with either two sides with an edge ( cheaper ) or all 4 sides with a cutting edge.. Might be something to look for in a new one.. when pricing out what one is a better deal.. If one has 4 sided knives but only cost $20 more it might be a better value? 

Oops I think there was more than two points I brought up.. 

Oh one more thing Some of the popular name brand planers have aftermarket Helical cutter heads available.. doubt it's cheaper way to go but you can get those heads for DeWalt planers etc.. which is also an option.. I think more pricey option than just buying a planer already made that way..

 

 

[OzarkSawdust]

9 hours ago, don in brooklin on said:

The little square carbide cutters are called Helical cutters.

I have an old Delta planner that serves me well.  

I do not have jointer and used the one at our club but with club closed due to covid I have been looking closely at a bench top jointer.  I don't do real long boards so this would be fine.

There seems to be different type of cutters some 4 sided and some 2 sided.  

I also want to get at least an 8 inch.  

I have been looking at the Richon but the 8 inch jointer is not available in Canada yet.  They have a 5 year warranty.

If I had he money I would buy the 10 inch combination helical planner/jointer.

Thanks Don. I was clicking through so many on line...that I forgot to write it down when I saw that setup...LOL.

Any reason for 8" over 6" with our type of work? Or do you make larger things also?

[OzarkSawdust]

39 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

Two things about the Helical head planer and jointers.. I've read they take less power to run as there is  not one long knife making one large cut across the whole board, but rather several small cuts..

Also since they take several small bites they are not as loud to run.. bet they are still noisy but anyway they are quieter.

I've also heard they get less jams in the dust collection because they are chopping off big bits wood but rather smaller bits..

I've head since they take less energy that you can take off more wood per pass? I don't know about that but could be.. makes sense..

The plus as has already been mentioned.. if you get a nick in the knife you can spin that knife to a different edge.. The down side might be looking for what one it is, 

The other down side is the price for a set of knives and the time to replace all of them, LOL. They have replacements with either two sides with an edge ( cheaper ) or all 4 sides with a cutting edge.. Might be something to look for in a new one.. when pricing out what one is a better deal.. If one has 4 sided knives but only cost $20 more it might be a better value? 

Oops I think there was more than two points I brought up.. 

Oh one more thing Some of the popular name brand planers have aftermarket Helical cutter heads available.. doubt it's cheaper way to go but you can get those heads for DeWalt planers etc.. which is also an option.. I think more pricey option than just buying a planer already made that way..

 

 

Cheaper to run, quieter, less dust pipe jams, easy to change each blade surface. The only thing else you want is if it kept your beer cold and had a snack tray!  

OK...dumb question here. I've never owned one, used one, or watched one being used in person.  So...how often do the blades get dull? On the standard long type blades, can you/do you sharpen them? Is it hard to get single blades lined up to make a perfectly level cut? If you use "new wood" vs reclaimed wood like pallet, barn, etc. how would nick a blade in either style?

Edited November 29, 2020 by OzarkSawdust

[don in brooklin on]

I used to have a 6 inch bench top and it was fine for the short narrow pieces I did for cutting boards etc. Had no room  when I moved so I gifted it forward.

The ideal for a scroller would be a 10 inch but you have to look at the wood you can buy and the projects you want to do and marry them up.

If you are going to be doing recycle wood it wise to invest in a metal detector.  I have the wand type that can detect my ring thru a 6/4 board even then I missed a couple of nail heads and there went a planer blade.

 

 

[kmmcrafts]

4 minutes ago, OzarkSawdust said:

Cheaper to run, quieter, less dust pipe jams, easy to change each blade surface. The only thing else you want is if it kept your beer cold and had a snack tray!  

OK...dumb question here. I've never owned one, used one, or watched one being used in person.  So...how often do the blades get dull? On the standard long type blades, can you/do you sharpen them? Is it hard to get single blades lined up to make a perfectly level cut? If you use "new wood" vs reclaimed wood like pallet, barn, etc. what would nick a blade in either style?

The biggest issue I had with nicked blades was "Staples" stores put tags etc on the boards with the price or type of wood so workers that have no clue what type of wood is from another type.. after several blade I now have learned to search the whole board for staples.. They usually are on the ends... BUT... one time there was one on the side of the board so I just inspect the edges real well before running a board through. 

When I first got my planer I was thinking about how much money I could save on pallet wood and other reclaimed wood.. but quickly learned how much more money they cost.. Dust, dirt, grit, etc.. will dull blades real fast.. how you use the thing and types of wood you run through will vary from one person to another.. 

My planer has little notches where the knife goes and there is not really much to adjust.. and I have no experience in adjusting them.. or maybe I just been lucky and get them in right every time, LOL

[kmmcrafts]

13 minutes ago, don in brooklin on said:

I used to have a 6 inch bench top and it was fine for the short narrow pieces I did for cutting boards etc. Had no room  when I moved so I gifted it forward.

The ideal for a scroller would be a 10 inch but you have to look at the wood you can buy and the projects you want to do and marry them up.

If you are going to be doing recycle wood it wise to invest in a metal detector.  I have the wand type that can detect my ring thru a 6/4 board even then I missed a couple of nail heads and there went a planer blade.

 

 

I assume you are talking a 10 inch for planing rather than jointing? I tried running a 4" board through my small benchtop jointer / plainer and it made the board worst than it originally was, LOL I found it tough to maintain a slow steady feed rate etc.. I never run another board through it.. I use it more for smoothing and squaring up the edges of a board.. I have a regular thickness planer for the top / bottom ( surface ) of the boards and changing the thickness etc.. I personally wouldn't use a bechtop model for trying to plain.. I know they say they are a planer.. but to me for that type work.. a thickness planer is the better tool. 

Edited November 29, 2020 by kmmcrafts

[OzarkSawdust]

I don't plan on using reclaimed wood... but you never know what lame brain idea you might get... LOL. But I do have a couple of metal detectors, A large high dollar one, and a wand type you also use in treasure hunting. Both will pick up most any metal.

I have a habit of looking my wood over when I get it home and removing any staples/tags.

 I plan to get two separate machines and follow this type of sequence: (9) Preparing Project Lumber with a Jointer and Planer -- WOOD Magazine - YouTube

 It seems logical and simple to follow. I know I have several pieces of nice wood that are cupped or bowed a little and this should make things right. I've tried wetting it and spacing it with dowel rods to get air on all sides drying... didn't work well. Neither did putting weight on the top. 

Edited November 29, 2020 by OzarkSawdust

[Dave Monk]

I have a Dewalt 735 planer and an older Delta 6" open stand jointer.  The jointer is the least used piece of equipment in my shop. Now and then I use it to take a cup out of a board. The blade on my table saw is good enough for edge gluing boards. 

Edited November 30, 2020 by Dave Monk

[Bill WIlson]

I don't own a jointer and don't have room for one.  After all these years without one, I've developed alternate methods for flattening and straightening warped, bowed and cupped boards using the tools I do have.  Woodworking purists may disagree, but I contend that a jointer isn't absolutely necessary.

[kmmcrafts]

2 hours ago, Bill WIlson said:

I don't own a jointer and don't have room for one.  After all these years without one, I've developed alternate methods for flattening and straightening warped, bowed and cupped boards using the tools I do have.  Woodworking purists may disagree, but I contend that a jointer isn't absolutely necessary.

Very true.. a quality table saw and blade can make very good joints.. I bought a nice $100 ish blade for my cheap table saw and the run out is so bad and the saw was so under powered made for a pretty dangerous and Smokey situation.. Probably cooked that new blade.. LOL so in my case a cheap $25 jointer is cheaper than a better table saw.. 

[OzarkSawdust]

I'm also thinking more and more about upgrading my table saw. I bought a nice Incra V27 miter gauge...it won't fit right in the table slot. I hate the fence! It has served it's purpose for the last 2 1/2 yrs, being able to fold up and store on side of shop...but I don't have to put the boat in the shop in the winter any more. So I'm thinking of setting up more of a "real" woodworking shop. 

[new2woodwrk]

I have the Dewalt 734. I actually just used it for the 2nd time a few days ago.

I doubt I will ever use it again LOL!

The amount sheers it spit out was incredible, and the noise even with my shooting ears on was deafening!

I'll let the guys at the lumber yard plane the boards for me.   They do it for free anyway.

Not worth losing my hearing even more.

[OzarkSawdust]

I'm looking at the DeWalt 734 or Delta 22-555 for a planer.   Any thoughts on those two?

And a Delta 37-071 or Grizzly G0725 for a jointer.   Any thoughts on those two?

Does anyone have anything from Grizzly?  Or it there another good brand  with a comparable model and price to those mentioned?

Edited December 1, 2020 by OzarkSawdust

[Zoot Fenster]

I will give a thumbs up to the Dewalt 735 planer.  After ten years and thousands of passes, it still runs strong (and loud). With new blades, the surface is glass smooth.  The Dewalt blades dull pretty quickly.  Infinity blades are better, but still dull.  I change the planer blades yearly (whether they need it or not).  Light passes and a good sander are your friend.

While I have a jointer, I would also argue that one is not needed for scroll saw work.  Put the wood on an MDF sled and run it through the planer will create one flat side.  Flip it and thickness the other side.  It is difficult for long boards, but easy for short intarsia work.

[OCtoolguy]

I have watched a few videos on youtube and they are using a combo Jet joiner/planer that looks really interesting for the small shop. I've got a Delta that seems to work fine but I don't use it much but I hope to in the future. As for a joiner, I've got a Makita portable planer that I have been toying with turning it into a joiner. I am also going to try to do some joining on my cheapo table saw with a good blade. There's a couple of good videos on that subject too.

 

[OzarkSawdust]

I have a question. The DeWalt 735 is $136 more that the 734 (at Lowe's with my 10% veteran's discount). Other than a 2 speed gearbox what is the difference? And what would you really need 2 speeds for?

[Bill WIlson]

The 735 has slightly more width capacity - 13" vs 12.5" of the 734.  Also I think the 735 is supposed to have better chip collection.  One advantage of the 734 is that it comes with infeed/outfeed tables, while the basic 735 does not.  I have a 734 and like it a lot.  I don't use it for a lot of heavy planing, so the single speed has never been an issue for me.  It leaves a very nice surface that requires just a little sanding.  I've heard of people putting helical cutting heads on the 735.  Not sure if the 734 is compatible with them or not.

[Zoot Fenster]

I never use the higher speed on the 735.  It is all I can do to push boards in one end and take them out the other end at slow speed.  Is that the only difference between the two?  I don't know.  In the back of my head, I seem to recall that the 734 was more prone to snipe than the 735.  It has been too long ago to remember.

The infeed/outfeed tables are essential to avoid snipe.

Edited December 2, 2020 by Zoot Fenster

[OCtoolguy]

Another thing to keep in mind. I'm not sure about this but it seems that some of the planers replacement blades are only single sided. On my Delta, when I bought it, it had a nick on one of the blades and they were pretty dull. I flipped them over and had a whole new cutting surface. That saved my having to buy a new set.

 

[OzarkSawdust]

3 hours ago, octoolguy said:

Another thing to keep in mind. I'm not sure about this but it seems that some of the planers replacement blades are only single sided. On my Delta, when I bought it, it had a nick on one of the blades and they were pretty dull. I flipped them over and had a whole new cutting surface. That saved my having to buy a new set.

 

I'm thinking of spending a little more and getting the DeWalt 735. It does use 2 sided blades, $32 - $37 best price on Amazon. But I've heard mention in a couple of the videos that they change them once a year or so. Sounds good to me, I thought you had to change them every couple of months!

Don't know if I'll use the 2 speeds, But the 735 has a blower inside that blows out the chips. The 734 has a reversible dust hood on the back. A couple of the videos said it was prone to backing up on the short side away from the nozzle.