Surface/Thickness Planer Comments

[Sbtypesetter]

Hi Tom, Sorry for the bad information on this n.g.. A lot of people here are very helpful but lack the years of experience to have a fully informed opinion. As for a good small planer, my choice is a Parks 15", or a Powermatic 15". Delta also makes a good 13" planer. Always buy a good quality cast iron unit. The portables are really nothing more than toys and are actually more expensive than a quality tool. Poor quality planing, thin cut with many repeated passes, sniping, and just wearing out too soon make them a poor choice. Instead of spending $350 for a portable, spend $750 on a very nice used cast iron planer. Long life, long duty cycle, and a good cut make them a wise choice. When you're finished with a portable, they are usually thrown away. A cast iron planer can be resold for at least what you paid for it. The uninformed have always, without fail given me grief for this stance, but my experience has proven me correct. I no longer do the volume of work I once produced but in spite of that I would still choose the cast iron planer. Just good common sense.

for any suggestions. Tom

[Leon]

While most of what you say is correct, remember that this is a recreation group. The OP indicated that he had a 12" Jet for years, indicating that his experience with his planer proves your opinion on life expectancy a moot point. For making furniture 3 or 5 times a year as indicated by the OP a stationary planer would most likely be a waste of money. I'd say that the information or advice you are giving is neither worse or better than any one else's. You apology of bad information on this news group on your part seems to reek of arrogance.

[gabriel]

Well, years of experience and a closed mindset make you tend to not accept other points of view, and blind you to technological advances.

Care to substantiate that with hard evidence? If your only explanation is that you've never had to use these "toys" because your "cast iron" machines work so well, then you have made my point.

For example, what's so bad about a DW735 planer?

LOL! Wouldn't the OP be better off buying a new one then, if the used one will cost at least what the old owner paid for it?

I suspect you problem is in the delivery of your message, not in the message itself (who could argue with "buy as much quality as you can afford"?). No one likes an old, closed-minded codger.

[Bay Area Dave]

Hi, Tom,

Sorry for the misinformation that sbt is handing out again. He's a real maverick when it comes to planers. A "portable" planer like a Dewalt is almost 100 lbs and very capable. He is woefully behind the times and should be ignored. He is to cast planers what Rumpty is to RAS's. :)

The Dewalts don't give poor quality planing, or snipe. I've used my 733 for quite a few years and it's going strong.

dave

Sbtypesetter wrote:

[DexAZ]

For those of us scraping to get by, the DW735 is one _fine_ machine! (can not imagine trying to convince SWMBO that we need to spend $750 to get a _good_ planer.) Like most, I'd love to have a shop full of "big Iron" but my shop, like my bank account simply is not big enough. Therefore, the 735 fits my needs perfectly.

No snipe, built in chip blower and a glass smooth finish for $450...what more could I want? Oh yeah, forgot to mention, BOY is it ever yellow!!!

DexAZ

[Upscale]

You realize of course that Dewalt makes their stuff yellow so you can find it in the mess of a workshop?

[DexAZ]

And in my shop that IS a definite plus!

DexAZ

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I have to agree with this. A solid cast iron planer is a must for any woodworker. If you don't have one, you should not be in the hobby. Let's face it a good shop needs good tools, so save up until you get about $15,000 to get started. Anything less is only going to buy useless junk.

To go with the planer, a DJ-30 12" jointer is the norm. Just about everone here has that size, at leas the serious guys. The rest are a bunch of silly guys that think they can get buy with wimpy 6" or 8" jointers. I hate to bring it up to them, but I feel so bad when they waste their money on the small stuff. I never buy lumber less than a food wide anywan. You just never know when you will be called upon to make the wife an extra set of shelves for the closet and if all you have is 8" mahogany, you'd have to glue it up.

Hundreds of thousands or people bought some of the low end planers bcause they only use them maybe once a month or so. Poor excuse to buy poorly made tools. They'd have a lot more fun from the hobby if they had the right eqpment. With the low interest rates on home equity loans today, there is just no excuse to buy low end good.

As for table saws, you can find the 14" ones, but they are just not as abundant as the 10" toys in the supply stores, Keep looking for that 7.5 HP model with the three phase motor.

[Scott]

Well, I do get SOME snipe with mine: about 0.003" Not a big deal, and it's easily sanded. But if you want to cut your 1" board into 1" strips, then rotate the strips 90 degrees and join them back together in breadboard fashion, then you have a problem at the ends. I plan to do this for the tops of my Mission bedroom set, essentially converting flatsawn lumber into quarter-sawn. The result is pleasing, and I look forward to getting started. But because I wanted to essentially use it as a jointer, I was hoping for "no snipe" when I bought my 735.

[DexAZ]

Watch your in&outfeed support real close and I think you will reduce the snipe to zero.

No planer is perfect, I guess, but the 735 is real close!

[Upscale]

That's as about an arrogant statement as I've seen here. And learn how to spell you arrogant ass. It's "everyone" and "least" and "by" and that's in just one paragraph. There's over a dozen other errors in the rest. Your assumed arrogance is highly overrated.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

It is you that is the ass with no sense of humor. Please read the entire post and take it in context and you will, hopefully, see that it is so ludicrous that anyone with common sense can see it.

Get your head out of said ass. If you have followed my posts recently, you'd know that I still do not have a jointer, let alone a 12" DJ-30 (although I did use one once.) When I do get one, it will be a 6", probably a Bridgewood.

'Tis you that is arrogant. So what if my spell checker did not work on that post? I don't feel demeaned by my mediocre typing skills when applied to a USENET group. Ed

[Eric Ryder]

That Mepps Spinner *does* complement your jawline:)

[Jerry Gilreath]

Uhhhh I really think Ed was being cynical/funny. Read into the written words. I personally found it funny as hell!!!

[Upscale]

Nice try. There's too many idiots like you who throw around thinly veiled insults under the guise of jokes and banter. Consider the joke returned to you. And please understand Edwin, take this message as it's intended. It's just a joke, I don't mean it, read between the lines, ok? How does it feel?

[Bridger]

ummmm.... upscale?

I got it the first time around, no problem, and I'm known for being especially dense.

lighten up, dude.

[Leon]

Upscale, ;~) Edwin was just carrying out what Sbtypesetter had started. Something that sounded serious but ended up being ridiculous. He was sorta making fun of sbtypesetter.

[Upscale]

Well, then I missed it. Not the first time and it won't be the last. Arrogant people drive me right up the tree and if Edwin was only joking around, then I owe him an apology. I'll try to contain myself the next time.

[Bay Area Dave]

um, up, he was being facetious! Can't recognize humor? bummer...

dave

Upscale wrote:

[Leon]

Edwin's post was classic... He had me going also for a minute when he agreed with the other poster about big iron for a hobby. As I read farther down I knew he was poking fun.