# Planer



## gemniii (Oct 13, 2010)

(searched)
The wood is cut and dried, some is into projects, now is decision time for a planer.
A lot of my wood will be less than 24"wide, with pith down the center, so I figure a 13" planar will do since I'll be cutting the board in half. Plus > 13" planars ar generally greater then $1K and need 220.

Right now I'm leaning to focus on a DeWalt 735.

Any other recommendations?

I can set up a router table or sander for wide boards, but I don't have many of those to worry about yet.


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## Sawyer Rob (Oct 13, 2010)

I've had a few planers over the years, and if i was starting over today, i'd without a doubt buy a Woodmaster! I'd beg, borrow or steal the money, but it's what i'd buy!

I have 3 planers right now, and the Woodmaster IS the one to own!

Rob


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## Daninvan (Oct 14, 2010)

I have four planers right now, including a DW735. The other three are older machines, from the 60's or before. Previously I had a DW733.

My suggestion, if you are even a little bit handy, would be to go to CL or OWWM and find an older planer that you can fix up and use. In the end if you invest a bit of time you will end up with a better (and quieter!) machine for cheaper that will last longer. If you stay under 2 HP you can probably run off your 120V household circuits.

Good luck! And don't forget that the planer only makes the second surface parallel to the first. You will need a jointer to get the first side flat. Or a jig for the planer.

Dan


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## stipes (Oct 18, 2010)

*Yes sir Dan...*



Daninvan said:


> I have four planers right now, including a DW735. The other three are older machines, from the 60's or before. Previously I had a DW733.
> 
> My suggestion, if you are even a little bit handy, would be to go to CL or OWWM and find an older planer that you can fix up and use. In the end if you invest a bit of time you will end up with a better (and quieter!) machine for cheaper that will last longer. If you stay under 2 HP you can probably run off your 120V household circuits.
> 
> ...



You have to have one surface flat,,and I learned the hard way I bought a planer first before a jointer and tryed to cheat...There's no way you can get a flat piece from a planer itself....
I bought a used Delta jointer on C/L pretty cheep and been worth ever penny..


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## Sawyer Rob (Oct 18, 2010)

stipes said:


> You have to have one surface flat,,and I learned the hard way I bought a planer first before a jointer and tryed to cheat...There's no way you can get a flat piece from a planer itself....
> I bought a used Delta jointer on C/L pretty cheep and been worth ever penny..



Well, not exactly!

You can saw out a couple strips from a straight board, and hot glue them to the sides of what you want to plane. Then run it all through the planer, and you will get both sides planed very nicely.

It's a PITA to do, but it does let you plane lumber without a jointer.

DM


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## imagineero (Oct 19, 2010)

Daninvan said:


> My suggestion, if you are even a little bit handy, would be to go to CL or OWWM and find an older planer that you can fix up and use. In the end if you invest a bit of time you will end up with a better (and quieter!) machine for cheaper that will last longer.
> Dan



+1

Older better quality machines will usually sell for the same or less than a plastic crappier weaker new version of the same. Plus you will often get extras like jigs, spare parts and extra blades thrown in that may be worth more than the tool itself. 

Absolutely do look into blade availability and cost as this varies extremely widely between models. it doesnt take much to chip a blade. Cheaper models are not only of lesser build and lesser power but often make up their margins with huge markups on consumables like blades and spare parts. Industrial models usually have very reasonably priced and widely available parts.

Shaun


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## stipes (Oct 19, 2010)

*Great idea!!!*



Sawyer Rob said:


> Well, not exactly!
> 
> You can saw out a couple strips from a straight board, and hot glue them to the sides of what you want to plane. Then run it all through the planer, and you will get both sides planed very nicely.
> 
> ...



I never heard of that before,,and gonna have to try that on some wide boards... Thanks!!!


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## devonhubb (Oct 19, 2010)

*Planer Sled*



stipes said:


> I never heard of that before,,and gonna have to try that on some wide boards... Thanks!!!



I think that a better option would be to use a planer sled. I'm sure that if you google it, you will get some pictures that may be easier to comprehend. But basically, you use a known flat board (or plywood), that is a bit longer than what you will be planing. Put a cleat on the rear end of it. Place the board to be planed on it and shim it up so that it won't bow down when it goes through the planer. After the top is flat, you don't need the sled for the other side.


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## BlueRider (Oct 20, 2010)

You didn't mention what your budget is, the size requirement oryour production needs.

The dewalt is a nice planer and will produce nice results. That said it is a bit pricy for a "portable" planer and is not particularly portable. it is actually more of a tweener tool. it is between a lunchbox and a small big irn planer like the delta or jet four post ajustable bed planers. 

For the money of a dewalt you could pick up a decent used old planer such as a parks, powermatic, or yates j-line. I found a 12" parks for $200 and it had been restored by the prevois owner. For those not familiar with a 12" parks planer they were made from the middle 30's through the early 80's and weigh just noth of 300lbs not counting the motor. I got a smoking deal but you can find a parks in nead of restoration for between 200-500 and they are worth restoring. you can even buy a byrd spiral head and then you cwould have a top notch tool the likes of wich would cost north of 4K to buy new.

Speaking of new the convertable jointer/planers are another option. I thought with having movable tables that they woyuld not ptoduce good resuults. I used a friends mini max to joint and plane some 8' elm and it did a great job. 

That all said my first planer was a first generation delta lunch box planer. It made a lot of money for me and still had a litle life in it when I sold it. 

the difference between the lunchbox planers and a quality heavy iron planers is that I can take a 1/8 depth of cut in any wood with my parks and it acts the same as if I am taking a 1/64" cut. the dewalt and others in its class are limited in how much of a cut they can take and some of the lower quallity planers produce poor consistancy from board to board in thickness.


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## Timberframed (Oct 20, 2010)

One more thing about older iron. If you knick the knives, you can slide one or two fore or aft in the cutterhead and you're back to good. I don't know if this feature exists on the lunchbox planers. You can also do this on jointers but the rabbeting feature is defeated. That's if anyone even bothers rabbeting on a jointer anymore. 




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Rockwell RC 13. Weighs in close to 550LBS. Triple belt drive. Won't tip with a 12" x 1½" x 14' going through on it's own. Easy to move around in the shop and knife changes can be done in 10 min. The only plastic on here is the grip on the gearshift.


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## Sawyer Rob (Oct 20, 2010)

Timberframed said:


> Rockwell RC 13. Weighs in close to 550LBS. Triple belt drive. Won't tip with a 12" x 1½" x 14' going through on it's own. Easy to move around in the shop and knife changes can be done in 10 min. The only plastic on here is the grip on the gearshift.



One of my planers is that exact same one. It's a decent planer, but no match for my WoodMaster. I'd say the WoodMaster is ten times easier to change blades, as i've never been able to change blades in my Rockwell in 10 mins..

Do you still have the owners manual for your Rockwell? I've lost mine, and need to figure out what's wrong with the pressure rollers in mine.

Rob


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## Timberframed (Oct 20, 2010)

I pull off the cover 4 bolts. loosen gibs and remove knife. Set in new knife with planer/jointer knife gauge. Repeat 2 more times and install cover. Done. Are you missing the knife springs in the cutterhead? Yes I have the manual.


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## Sawyer Rob (Oct 20, 2010)

Timberframed said:


> I pull off the cover 4 bolts. loosen gibs and remove knife. Set in new knife with planer/jointer knife gauge. Repeat 2 more times and install cover. Done. Are you missing the knife springs in the cutterhead? Yes I have the manual.



Well, you have to clean everything up real good too get the springs to work right, and also make SURE the blade doesn't shift when you are tightening those gibs. Then, the motor is in the way too.

When you take the 4 bolts off a WoodMaster planer, nothing is in the way. Also, my WoodMaster will plane lumber right off the mill, unlike my Rockwell, or my brothers 20" Grizzly planer, that likes to slip too much on the wet lumber.

I guess it's all what you get use to.

I like my Rockwell, it's been a decent planer since i bought it new waaaay back when. It's just down for the count right now. 

Rob


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## deeker (Oct 21, 2010)

I am looking at a used WoodMaster. Good quality and worth the price.

Also looking into Logosol's planer that runs on the sawmills tracks. To plane the biggest of slabs...24" stuff. And the beams that go into the timber frame homes.


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## gemniii (Oct 21, 2010)

BlueRider said:


> You didn't mention what your budget is, the size requirement oryour production needs.


Budget - if you mean money for planer it's best bang for buck. I want a small ~13" planer. My overall spending will not allow me to build another shed on my 1/4 acre lot and fitting it w/ 220 when I plan on moving to Mississippi in a year. Right now I can barely swing a small kitten in my workspace and most of my "woodworking" is done outside. My production will be low, for home consumption building small tables, desks, etc.

After I retire the plans are to have plenty of room, but even then I don't plan on milling large wood or quantity which needs planing.


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## TraditionalTool (Oct 21, 2010)

gemniii said:


> Right now I'm leaning to focus on a DeWalt 735.


There is no louder piece of equipment in my shop (do not use one without hearing protection), and they chew through blades quickly, but do a decent job. I'd look around for one of the older 733s or the Makitas, if you can find either used, blades are less expensive and you can sharpen them yourself as I recall...


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## teatersroad (Oct 21, 2010)

I agree with the heavy iron approach. do a thorough inspection for broken castings and other non-replaceable parts on older units. I've seen newer Jet planers for for 6-7 hundred, and something like that would be my first choice.


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## jimdad07 (Oct 23, 2010)

I have a Delta 12.5" portable planer that I like. My only complaint, and it is a big one, is that the part holding the cutter head is only supported in the middle on each side. This makes the first and last three inches of the board worthless. That is an awful lot of waste. The next planer I own will be a four poster for sure. On the other hand, it is light and very portable. I have built two kitchens with it and there is no question about it being decently built for the price. It is what I use to plane all of my milled would under 12".


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## chuckwood (Nov 1, 2010)

*Harbor Freight 13" planer?*



gemniii said:


> Budget - if you mean money for planer it's best bang for buck. I want a small ~13" planer. .



Anybody ever try the 13" heavy duty 220V planer sold by Harbor Freight? Painted green, priced around $500. I have a few big ticket harbor freight machines, a big drill press and their latest plasma cutter, and they work great. Yeah, I know, some of their stuff is junk, ya gotta do your research first. I'm looking 
around for a planer myself, got a lotta oak I've milled with a CSM. Believe it or not, HF is pretty good when it comes to getting replacement parts.


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## coltree (Sep 20, 2016)

What do I need to get in order to plane natural edge slabs? I'll top out at 36" for now. I have 16" dry and on hand, and 22" being milled.


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## ChoppyChoppy (Sep 20, 2016)

How do you figure they chew through blades? We have thousands of board feet on the knives in our 18" planer. It's a Grizzly brand, 7hp I think (pulls close to 30 amps)


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## Sawyer Rob (Sep 20, 2016)

jimdad07 said:


> I have a Delta 12.5" portable planer that I like. My only complaint, and it is a big one, is that the part holding the cutter head is only supported in the middle on each side. This makes the first and last three inches of the board worthless. That is an awful lot of waste. The next planer I own will be a four poster for sure. On the other hand, it is light and very portable. I have built two kitchens with it and there is no question about it being decently built for the price. It is what I use to plane all of my milled would under 12".


 Have you actually tried to adjust the snipe out of it??

If all else fails, hot glue some scrap to the sides of the piece you are planning that are 3" longer on each end of your good board. They will keep the cut flat through your good board...

SR


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## rarefish383 (Sep 22, 2016)

For live edge slabs I don't need to be perfect flat, so I use a Jet 16-32 drum sander. A friend is a custom cabinet maker and I think I'd have to sell my truck to buy his 18" planer. For big slabs there are a lot of pics and video on planer tables with routers on sleds, Joe.


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## IyaMan (Sep 22, 2016)

Umm, you all here in 2016 realize that the posts you're responding to are six years old?


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## coltree (Sep 22, 2016)

rarefish383 said:


> For live edge slabs I don't need to be perfect flat, so I use a Jet 16-32 drum sander. A friend is a custom cabinet maker and I think I'd have to sell my truck to buy his 18" planer. For big slabs there are a lot of pics and video on planer tables with routers on sleds, Joe.


Thanks Joe. I'm looking into that.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## coltree (Sep 22, 2016)

IyaMan said:


> Umm, you all here in 2016 realize that the posts you're responding to are six years old?


Yes, I was looking for a general discussion on planers for a general newb question. Posting here meant that I didn't have to start a new thread, and we could take a special trip down memory lane... [emoji7] [emoji89] 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## blades (Sep 22, 2016)

Reports on the spiral head planers are pretty good lot less noise- I have heard good and bad about the carbide vs high speed steel inserts for those heads. Likely a lot depends on the machine and type of wood. Same as a metal lathe and HSS vs carbide tools there, each has its place. Mass is always your friend when comes to machine tools metal or wood. ( I am more of a metal than wood guy. Nothing like a horizontal milling machine to flatten out boards or my giant over arm routers - vertical knee or turret mills). I do have a PM66 cabinet saw , a heavy Grizzly wood shaper and a chi com 6" jointer ( for flattening boards on a jointer may I recommend something larger than 6" )


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