Ok, I'm finally in the market for a planer. i know that this has been hashed around before but what should i be looking for and more specifically what should I be avoiding! I'm thinking about a portable (Delta ect) but may go to a floor model. i'm just a rec woodworker but want something that will last for years. what do you guys think? thanks
If you have the space for it and the $$$ for it, you won't go wrong with a floor model. Ed
I've had a DeWalt portable for YEARS. It works as well as when I bought it. I've gone through one set of knives. It cuts smoothly with negligible snipe. (As in not visible) There are a couple of fellas that have posted on the Wreck that portables are not up to the task, but the majority of Wreckers have posted positive comments about their portable planers such as Makita, DeWalt, Rigid, Delta, et al. Some models have more snipe than others, so read some reviews in mags or search the net, if you are serious about getting a good one. Some are 2 speed, but I think that's more of a marketing gimmick than anything.
dave
Dr. Doug Trotter wrote:
Doesn't that describe everyone on this newsgroup, by definition? ;)
FWIW, My local Sears has these on sale for $299, with free dust hood & extra knives. No rebate required.
Barry
I have run a lot of oak as well as some softer stuff thru my Delta
22-850 thirteen inch planer. It's portable if you're a gorilla. I think it weighs 97 pounds. I put it on a roller cabinet with storage under it. and roll it out into the middle of the floor when I need it. Couldn't ask for a better planer for anything I've run through it so far and I get my rough wood straight from tthe mill.Have only used the slow speed a few times - made minimal difference.
/// Smokey
You sound like me. I wanted something that would last...preferrably outlast me, or at least my interest in woodworking.
I was patient and eventually found a 15-year-old 3hp 15" delta-clone in excellent working order. It was a little dirty and needed adjustment. I paid $400 - which was certianly not a gloatable price...but a fair one, I think. While I'm sure the lunchbox planers are good machines, (at least some) I know that this one has 15 years of use and will still take a good chunk off a 15" oak board without missing a beat. If I were in the buying position, knowing what I know, now, I would probably pass on the lunchbox planer. But I buy stuff from HF, too... go figure!
"Dr. Doug Trotter" wrote in news:fah%a.3564$ew2.1880@edtnps84:
I had the chance to borrow a friend's Delta planer, and I recently bought one of the discounted DeWalt planers from Lowes. The end results were about the same, but I find the locking mechanism on the DeWalt easier to use. On the Delta you have to turn a crank, while the DeWalt has a bar that you just push down to lock and pull up to unlock. The bar doesn't take much effort to move, and tended to make it easier to unlock, change the depth, and lock again.
Uh, I meant that, since we're all on rec.woodworking, we're all "rec.woodworkers." Probably not funny enough to bother explaining...
-BAT
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.