Bench top planers

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5
Location
WI
As I am stating up a new wood shop I am looking to buy a bench top planer. I have looked at several and was looking for some opinions others may have on this subject, it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thomas,
First of all welcome to the Family.
I have the Delta 735 and think it is great. I just planned some 4/8 white oak that was 9 feet Long and am very impressed. I know that there are other planers around but IMHO for the money this is a great tool. I am sure others will give other recommendations.
 
I have had the Ridgid lunch box for almost three years. it has done a great job for me.

Don
 
Thomas,
First of all welcome to the Family.
I have the Delta 735 and think it is great...
Uh, Don...did you mean the DeWalt 735? :D I know a lot of guys have that one and really like it.

Thomas, I've got the bottom of the barrel Delta TP305 Snipemaster, but all things considered, it's served my purposes. I wouldn't want to use it for any serious production work, but the occasional few boards have not been a problem. (I buy most of my wood already surfaced.) It doesn't have any dust collection capabilities out of the box, but I'm working on adapting the hood from a different Delta planer to work on mine. If it's in the budget, you'll likely be happier with something like the DeWalt or upper-level Delta. I've also heard good things about the Ridgid that Don Taylor has.
 
I have the Makita 2030S, which is actually a combo machine, has the small jointer attached to the side, but since I got the Large jointer, I don't use the small one.

This planer is great, I get "Zero" snipe, and I think the main reason why is the design, the head does NOT move, the table does.

I think whatever you get, they are all getting fairly good.

Cheers!
 
I have the Grizzly G0505 http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0505
and am very happy with it. Several features that make it stand out from others in it's price/size range. Power, speed, 1/8" thick blades (compared to 1/16" for many others). It's a working hoss and I find very handy in the shop. It turns scrap into usable wood and I can sometimes buy inexpensive wood and plane down to what I need. Comes out almost not needing sanding.
 
Being an old iron fan I naturally have a old planner. Before I got this one restored, I had..... well still have, my FIL's Grizzly lunch box planner and must say I am impressed with it. It will snipe some but I learned how to get around that and I am sure a longer accessory table would fix most of that.

While I prefer my PM, there are a couple of things I liked better about the Grizzly and I would expect these are typical for most of this style of planner.
  • The feed rate is faster. Probably because the cutter head spins faster than mine, so it can feed stock in faster.
  • But that come at the price of a screaming universal motor, much like a router.
  • The newer design cutter heads are much simpler to adjust the knifes on too.

All in all, I think they do a might good job for their size and weight.

Jeff
 
thomas, first welcome to family woodworking!
are you looking for a benchtop to save space or money? if space is the primary issue then listen to the folks who own and use the benchtops, but if you`re looking to save money look to the used market for an older model 12-15" stationary unit....you`ll be leaps-n-bounds ahead as far as quality and noise are conserned.......tod
 
I have the DeWalt 735 and really like it for a lunch box planner. It is very loud but does a good job. If you decide on a 735 one word of caution. Make sure that the serial number is greater than 200440 or you will need to take it in for a "fix". I don't think that should be a problem as those were last years numbers but someone could have a hold over unit.
 
I have the DeWalt 735 and really like it for a lunch box planner. It is very loud but does a good job. If you decide on a 735 one word of caution. Make sure that the serial number is greater than 200440 or you will need to take it in for a "fix". I don't think that should be a problem as those were last years numbers but someone could have a hold over unit.

I didn't know that. Mine 220621 so I guess I'm good to go.
 
I have the grizzly G050 and really like it. Plus their staff is very helpfull if a problem arises. Personaly if you can afford a few more bucks a used stationary one would be much better.
 
those who have the dewalt 735, do you have a problem with the life of the blades. i have heard very negative reviews about the blades not the planer. i am thinking about buying this one for my dad as a gift for helping me so much on my cabinet jobs lately. he has been talking about getting this one for awhile now.

thanks for any input.
chris
 
Hello Thomas;
In my small shop/garage I use the DeWalt 734. Bought new, it's been reliable for several years. I'm pleased with the surface results. As with most planner of this type, the noise level is a killer, but with good hearing protection it's not a problem. When used with a dust collector, I have very little if any wood chips to clean up. I'm on the original knives. Not sure how much life I have. I guess I'll wait until I see significant reduction in surface quality to get a new set, or have these sharpened.

I've recently run some 8/4 and 10/4 stock through it for a table project. I thought I was going to have trouble with it tipping over. I used a board clamped in a old WorkMate as outfeed support. No problems. If I do this much more, I'll get one roller mounted on a board for the Workmate.
Good Luck, Mike
 
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Hello Thomas;
I'm on the original knives. Not sure how much life I have. I guess I'll wait until I see significant reduction in surface quality to get a new set, or have these sharpened.

Hey Mike,
Don't wait to have those knives sharpened! Its not expensive (my guy charges 55 cents an inch, so with 2 12 inch knives its about $13). The DW 734 blades are 1/8 thick so can be sharpened a few times. The planer has a nice holder for the blades so its easy to insert them correctly.

Only caution is to not put too much torque on the screws that hold the knives in, they can break. DAMHIKT:rolleyes:
 
those who have the dewalt 735, do you have a problem with the life of the blades. i have heard very negative reviews about the blades not the planer. i am thinking about buying this one for my dad as a gift for helping me so much on my cabinet jobs lately. he has been talking about getting this one for awhile now.

thanks for any input.
chris

Chris,

I think that it is outstanding that you are going to get your Dad that unit. I guess that I need to go help my son more. That is a bit of a problem though as he lives in Texas.

I am not a good one to comment of the life of the blades as I do not run hundreds of feet through it as some do. I have seen those reports also. My blades are still fine but have seen limited use. I cannot emagine any lunchbox planer having quality knives coming from the manufacturer so I am going to buy a replacement set from Infinity and have them standing by. Not a bad idea to have an extra sharp set standing by anyway.

I hope that someone chimes in that has some figures using different types of wood to judge the blades by. The reports that I have seen just say something like that the blades do not seem to stay sharp very long which really tells us nothing.
 
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allen,

thanks, dad deserves it, he's been helping since the beginning. i have bought him smaller items every once in awhile. a cordless drill and a nail gun. but this time he put in alot of time and i hadn't decided how i was working out his pay, so i knew he wanted this. i bought it yesterday, he was pretty excited.

ps. not to mention he has pretty much forfitted his shop to me so that i can build my biz from scratch.

chris
 
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