Bench top Planer Recommendation?

[David Walser]

I find I'm in need of a bench top planer to complete some remodeling work for my wife. Seems like some of the highly rated planers are no longer on the market (does Sears no longer have a 13" Craftsman Pro?). Do any of you have recommendations of which planers represent a good value?

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

David - I can only speak about what I know, and that's my Dewalt 735. I got a good deal on it.....if I hadn't been able to (get a deal), I would have most likely gone for the Dewalt 734.

[Rob Fisher]

I agree with the 735, because I got a good deal on it as well. If you can get the $137 or even the $274 deal, it will be the best benchtop planer for the price.

I believe the Ridgid planer also got good reviews in Finehomebuilding. But I have not tried it.

Rob

[Kyle Iwamoto]

OK, I have to ask. With the threads on HD clearing out the 735, I've been watching our local HD. No sale yet. My question is, If I HAD to pay retail price 550 bucks, is the planer worth the money? No brainer for 250 bucks... 550, I dunno.... SO many negative reviews...

TIA

[Fred Voorhees]

I would say that if one can wait to see if they can get a 735 at a much reduced price, I would sit tight and keep an eye on the situation. However, I have had the 735 for a good number of years now and just love it. I have run my share of wood through it and I have only changed the blades once, and to be honest, I think that was not technically a change because they were still the same blades, just flipped over to the other (sharp) side. So it still has it's original blades on it. So, if you choose to go with the 735 at it's normal pricing, you would still be getting a pretty good deal. Of course, this would all depend upon the amount of work that you will be needing it to do. You can get less expensive planers that will do the job for you.

[glenn bradley]

I have the 734, dad has the 735. We are both happy.

[Myk Rian]

OK, I have to ask. With the threads on HD clearing out the 735, I've been watching our local HD. No sale yet. My question is, If I HAD to pay retail price 550 bucks, is the planer worth the money? No brainer for 250 bucks... 550, I dunno.... SO many negative reviews...

TIA

I paid $500 for my 735 over a year ago, and added the Byrd shelix earlier this month. For the $900 I have in it, I'm very happy. I could have bought a larger planer, but don't have the room and would still have HSS knives.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Some, or actually a lot of the negative reviews were the blades are cheap and dull extremely fast. And that they last 2 maybe 3 boards. Are they full of it? If I do get the planer, the Shelix would be a probable investment, but for me, it would have to be furher down the line and the stock blades will have to do for a period of time. Both of you seem to have no problem with blades. I always try to take those negative responses with a grain of salt, but there were so many that complained about the blades.

Thanks for your replies....

[Rick Fisher]

You should think about the Steel City with the Shelix head already..

IMO, the head is more important than the machine turning it..

[Dan Mitchell]

I have no complaints about my 734. Still on the 1st edge on the blades after a fair amount of wood, no problems. I wish I could say the same for the blades in my PM 8" jointer!

[Scott Hildenbrand]

You should think about the Steel City with the Shelix head already..

IMO, the head is more important than the machine turning it..

Mmmmm... $599 + $25 shipping?
http://www.dynamitetoolco.com/Produc...7cSTL_d_40200H

Anyone know anything of that retailer?

[Zach England]

I have the ridgid and the overall function is good. My main complaint is slight snipe on short boards. Maybe this is inevitable with any planer--I don't have the experience to know.

My other complaint is the noise--it is very loud.

I had dust collection problems, but I removed the 2.5 dust port and cemented a 4 inch blast gate directly to the machine. This corrected it, but took some jerry rigging to get it to fit together.

My other complaint is that the overall build quality does not feel like my jet and delta tools. There are lots of plastic parts, the knobs feel cheap--stuff like that.

All that having been said, would one of the Dewalts or the steel city be a worthwhile upgrade over the machine I have? Space absolutely prohibits a stationary planer, so that upgrade route is not an option. I guess I am looking for an excuse to spend money on a new tool.

[Myk Rian]

Some, or actually a lot of the negative reviews were the blades are cheap and dull extremely fast. And that they last 2 maybe 3 boards. Are they full of it?

That's one reason I got the Shelix head for my 735. I couldn't run 2 boards without a blade getting nicked, and leaving a line down the stock. The head also made it MUCH quieter.

[Doug Shepard]

I've been running a DW733 for roughly 15 years. If I didn't have a Hammer J/P planer coming and had to replace it, I'd probably go with a DW734 mainly for the size. The 735 is rather largish and I'm tight for space.

[Prashun Patel]

I bought a used 735 about 2 years ago.
Haven't changed the blades yet.
Haven't experienced '2-boards-and-blades-are-dull' syndrome.

I love it.