John Laurence Poole wrote: > > Has anyone purchased carbide blades for the Hitachi Planer/Jointer > > P12RA? If so, what did you pay for them? My searching through the web > > comes up blank. Are there vendors who sell replacement blades (steel or > > carbide) for the P12RA? > >
The blades for the P12RA are what in trade referred to as "specialized" blades because they have custom slots and holes. Consequently, you are tied into the manufacturer for blades.
Despite reports to the contrary and the failure of these blades to appear in the documentation as parts or accessories, Hitachi does offer carbide blades for P12RA planer and the jointer. The Hitachi part numbers are: planer - 200001 and jointer - 401000. I just ordered both sets from an authorized Hitachi parts supplier, be ready for sticker shock, the MFG list price for the blades are $448.71 for the planer and $224.35 for the jointer as of April 7, 2006. The vendor I purchased from discounted my price to 80% of the list price.
The toll free number to Hitachi Power Tools Customer Service is
800-706-7337. The vendor I used was Florida Tools at 800-805-0075.Yes, I'm replying to my own posting only 3 years later, but I continue to see postings where people complained of the lack of carbide blades so this posting should dispel this myth.