Re: WHAT'S THE BEST PORTABLE PLANER?

[Sbtypesetter]

The Park's 15. It's a good solid planer.

• It's cast iron.

• It's not portable.

• Portable planers are toys.

• Portable planers are very expensive because they have to be frequenty replaced as they are lightly built and do not last.

*Portable planers are expensive because of down time and shallow passes requiring more passes that what is required from a good planer. A good condition, used, small cast iron planer is free. Buy it cheap ($750 is a high end price), use it, sell it for what you originally paid.

As for the portable junk... Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice....

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

For a production shop? A cast iron unit would be necessary. For 99% of the folks on this group a lunchbox planer is plenty adequate.

My opinion is to save the early money and spend it on a bigger, better jointer to mate with it. _IF_ the portable lets you down, buy the heavy iron. I know guys who have been running portables almost daily for 10 years.

For the typical hobbyist or even some pros, the time lost by the portable's extra passes might add up to a smoke break a week. In fact, if we're talking time is money, what about the time spent running down, tuning and maintaining the used heavy iron?

Barry

[Bay Area Dave]

what hobbyist needs anything better than a 735?

dave

Sbtypesetter wrote:

[Charlie Self]

Barry Burke responds:

True. But you must have one helluva lunchbox. My Ryobi 13" weighs 74 pounds, the WoodTek weighs 77 and I think the new DeWalt is right up there. Craftsman's planer-molder weighs in at about 110 pounds.

Charlie Self "A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way." Mark Twain

[BIG JOE]

Hmmm, I detect the acrid smell of troll bait.

My Ridgid is guaranteed for life.

Joe

[Dave Mundt]

A friend of mine just picked up the Delta "lunchbox" at the Woodworking Show in Atlanta, and, we spent some time running stock through it last night to try and progress his workbench project. I have to say that while it is true enough that it is not massive and cast iron, it is a very solidly built unit, and, I suspect would survive even light industrial use for quite a while. It is a LOT better than the older models.... and was QUITE a bit cheaper than the Delta 15" unit I picked up a bit ago at the MSC tent sale...and I paid a rock-bottom price for mine. I would say that unless seriously abused, the Dewalt/Delta/etc

13" lunchboxes will outlive their owners, with only the usual maintenance of sharpening knives, etc. I suspect that if one tried to run a 6" thick by 13" wide by 10' long chunk of Pecan, Cocobolo or Teak (for example), and, take a deep cut on it, the thing would choke a bit. However, all that would take is a lighter cut... Regards Dave Mundt