New planer advice

[opalko]

Absolutely not. Regular "lifetime warranty" Craftsman screwdrivers.

[opalko]

Right. What I was getting at was that the finish rarely, if ever had snipe in it. And if it did, it was because I needed to adjust the tables.

[StephenM]

Lew, could you expand on that. The one issue I have with my 733 is that adjusting the height (thickness) is upward in the low range take an unreasonable amount of torque. Is that the symptom you encountered?

Thanks,

Steve

[tom]

Lew's right about Steve being right about the 733's performance. Mine's quite used, and all I've really done to it is knife changes. Steve, apply a little lubricant to the screws where they pass through the planer head assembly. Works for me. Tom

[Lew Hodgett]

Yep. Call DeWalt.

Lew

[Larry Blanchard]

I'll second that. My ancient Ryobi AP10 is still going strong although it is getting a bit noisy. I don't use it heavily, but over the 15-20 years I've had it I've surely run that much through it. Another woodworker I know also has one he still uses.

Of course, one could say tools were built better 20 years ago, but remember the Ryobi was the 1st "portable" planer. I would have expected a lot more problems than they had.

[Pat Barber]

The Delta is heavy duty and chain driven. It will plane all day long and produce a fairly decent finish.

It has a weird dust collection outlet but that can be handled with a reducer.

It ain't pretty but it's strong and reliable.

[e-mail] wrote:

[scritch]

I have one of those, and have never had any mechanical problems with it. I bought the exhaust port addon, which saves lots of cleanup. I also experience snipe, but have had some luck in various magic incantations and movements that reduce it to an acceptable level. I read that the big nut on the blade holder came loose on some units, but mine has been tight every time I've checked.

It it noisy. I SAID IT IS NOISY!

[Leon]

I concur that Tom is right about Lew being right about Steve being right about the 733'2 performance. :~)

[Pat Barber]

Depends on what part of the planer you are talking about.

Less than 5 years ago, everything but the motor was made here.

That has almost certainly changed.

Go here for several excellent views of the machine including cutter shots.

S> Leon,

[Leon]

Well mine is 3 years old. I figured mine was built over there because the paint is not sticking to the iron and most likely because the machine oil was not removed properly.

[Pat Barber]

You know.. I can't remember exactly when I got mine, but I thought it was along about 2002 but I haven't had any problems other than the cheesy plastic DC connection that keeps breaking at the bolt tabs.

It very clearly says "Made in USA" on the cabinet.

The motor is from somewhere else.

Le> Well mine is 3 years old. I figured mine was built over there because the

[Leon]

OK you made me get up and look.

I ordered and purchased this planer in Houston Jan 2, 2006.

The Stand, Delta, Jackson, Tennessee, Made in Taiwan The Planer, Delta, Jackson, Tennessee, Made in China The Motor, Delta, Jackson, Tennessee, Made in China

[Pat Barber]

I think that the one I got was about the time that Delta was closing a number of plants.

The Mississippi plant was where a number of larger machines were built and I think that the last of the Unisaws built in the USA came from there.

A good bit of the stuff is now made in Tennessee at the older Porter Cable plant.

There is a retired Delta guy on this list that surfaces from time to time and he may be able to give us a better place/time line of when things happened.

I have NO idea of current production.

Le> OK you made me get up and look.