Planer dilemma, which one should I keep?

[Bob Rankin]

I have a small weird shaped shop so I have to be careful on the machines I choose but lets talk about the planer.
I have an L shaped shop and the jointer and planer go into that hall area for milling long boards but it's quite narrow. It's 20 feet long by 4 feet wide. 4 feet wide is not a lot of room to stick a planer in there and be able to walk around it to the outfeed. There's a jointer in there too.
Right now I have a 13" Dewalt 735 on the dewalt stand. I wheel it to the center of the hall, use it and put it away. It's manageable but really loud in my basement. Really loud. I'm fighting with snipe too, the table angles aren't really solving the issue. I do like the planer and since I've never had to sharpen or set any knives I like the idea of just popping in a fresh disposable set at a fixed dummy proof location and go. I'm a hobbyist so I don't change often.
I just won a 15" planer at an auction for $180. It's a CT-381 and this Chiu Ting factory produced many clones under different names. It looks just like the image below. Very good shape, stamped that it was made in the mid 80's. Everything works smoothly and great. I haven't used a belt driven planer before but it is so much more quiet than the Dewalt. The idea was to sell the auction find to fund for other purchases (green fever) but I hate to let it go.
I can sell the 15", keep the dewalt and make a few bucks or sell the Dewalt and make less profit but have a nicer planer.

My thought, let me know yours.


Pros:
Quieter planer, more powerful, cheaper to sharpen and replace knives, it came with platform with castors to move it around, more of a professional machine, the Dewalt seems like a nice toy in comparison. Will probably last another 20 years, very good shape and heavy duty. Belt driven so if the moror dies I can just replace that. Only 2 inches wider in footprint. If I sell it I'll regret it because when am I ever going to get a 15" planer for $180 again?


Cons:
Smaller portable Dewalt is probably better for my shape, not to mention basement shop.
I can sell the 15" and make more money.
Don't have to worry about sharpening or setting knives
Old machine, might go at any time, good luck getting it serviced.
The 15" machine have the serrated infeed roller which leaves more machines marks, the Dewalt doesn't have that.
The 15" takes gearbox oil ?!? really?

[Loren Woirhaye]

I use one of those Taiwan 4 post planers. It's a great machine for the money. Minimal backlash, effective chip collection, not too annoying noise wise...

It depends on the work you do and the tolerances you want. Have you taken calipers to the parts that come out of the DeWalt? In my experience, limited to 5 or 6 planers, the heavier iron machines produce more consistent part thickness while the portables deliver a finer surface.

[Rod Sheridan]

Bob, sounds like you and I have the same shape shop with the same issue.

Sell both planers and your jointer and buy a Hammer A3-31.

Best decision I ever made, cleared out the mess and gave me a 12" jointer and planer in the same footprint as a planer...........Rod.

P.S. With either the cartridge knife system, or the Felder spiral carbide head, no adjustment is needed when replacing cutters.

[Peter Quinn]

Budget allowing Rods got the best idea, sell both planers, jointer, maybe a kidney.... And buy a nice combo. Problem solved. Second best option, sell dewalt and enjoy the larger planer. I replaced dewalt with used dc-380, of which your machine is a clone. Fantastic upgrade, made milling stock consistent and a pleasure instead of an arduous noisy necessity. So price hammer with spiral head, if that doesn't work for you dust off the dewalt and dump it! My dc- 380 will be running long after the dewalt I sold is landfilled. Probably long after I am too!

[glenn bradley]

You may also want to factor in that these tools are not necessarily interchangeable. The floor planer probably has serrated metal feed rollers whereas the DeWalt is a "finish" planer with rubber rollers. A finish planer will allow you to take a very small additional amount of material off of a given dimension. A serrated feed roller planer (I have mine adjusted with as little tension as I dare) will leave marks on the surface if the amount taken off is less than the indent that the roller puts into the material during the feed.

This is not a bad thing, it is just different. If you use your planer to sneak up on thicknesses and your larger planer leaves the marks of which I speak, you will want to change your method. I made this move awhile back and it is not a difficult adjustment. I even thought about stacking the machines as I have seen other do to have both functions. In the end, a change in method won out over additional "stuff" in the shop ;-)

[Jim Gunter]

Had a hand me down Delta portable 12" planer and it did the job shaving rough cut 4/4 oak to 3/4"
Picked up a used Grizzly 15" - 3hp on wheels.
After one use I could not give the Delta away any faster!
The in-feed and out-feed rollers helped reduce the snipe pretty well vs the Delta pans.
The Grizzly cut my planing time in half and is relatively quiet (still wear ear muffs)
Rolls out of the way until the next batch.

[Myk Rian]

Put a Byrd head on the DW735. WAY lower noise level, and great finish.

[Bob Rankin]

I thought of a combo machine, it would be nice but I dont have the $1000 or so extra to invest. My only two options is to keep one or the other. I've also looked into Grizzly and other combos. They look really heavy to carry down the basement stairs!
I'm sure the spiral cutter head is a good upgrade but that's too much to pay to put in a $450 portable planer. I'd never get the money back if I ever sold it.

[Matt Day]

Tough call. Space wise, the 735 on a stand vs the 4 poster is probably a dead heat.

I like my 4 poster and it will eat through anything, but it doesn't quite leave the finish of my 734. I've kept the 734 for the odd job I need it for, which is about 1% of my planing needs. If I had to choose I'd keep the 4 poster hands down.

[Peter Quinn]

Not sure what the concern about the serrated indeed roller is, my DC 380 cleans up the wheel marks on anything over .015" pass in most hard woods, maybe .020" in softer woods. If you are taking less than .020" on a pass with any planer you may want to adjust your strategy, thats dicey business. I mention it because it was mentioned here several times as a concern, and it has never even occurred to me as a potential problem. If a piece of stock has some defect that is less than .015" deep in my estimation the sanding schedule will eliminate it anyway, so its a moot point. Straw tiger.

[Lee Reep]

I thought of a combo machine, it would be nice but I dont have the $1000 or so extra to invest. My only two options is to keep one or the other. I've also looked into Grizzly and other combos. They look really heavy to carry down the basement stairs!
I'm sure the spiral cutter head is a good upgrade but that's too much to pay to put in a $450 portable planer. I'd never get the money back if I ever sold it.

Are you into woodworking for the long haul? I'd not worry too much about reselling that DW735. I'd just put the spiral cutterhead in, if your goal is to cut noise. I have a DW735, and I like the HSS knives just fine, and noise is not a concern for me. I am simply amazed at how nicely it planes. Maybe I'll upgrade at some point to a spiral cutterhead, but it is hard to imagine getting a nicer cut than I get now.

[Bob Rankin]

Anyone know if there's a video or website with pictures of how to change the oil in the gearbox or add oil in the top for the indeed roller? I think you need to remove bolts on the top? I have a manual but it's not very clear. I couldn't fin a video on YouTube on planer maintenance.
Are you 15"+ guys strict on your planer oil schedule?

[glenn bradley]

Anyone know if there's a video or website with pictures of how to change the oil in the gearbox or add oil in the top for the indeed roller? I think you need to remove bolts on the top? I have a manual but it's not very clear. I couldn't fin a video on YouTube on planer maintenance.
Are you 15"+ guys strict on your planer oil schedule?

I am strict on the lubrication since I want this machine to last. I changed out the gear oil after the first 20 hours of use and yearly thereafter. Its a messy job even with a long funnel and a piece of hose. Your gearbox looks about like mine; drain on the lower right, filler/level check on the left about mid way up. The feed roller bushings schedule says a few drops of light machine oil every 8 hours. On mine that's about one a week.

[Matt Day]

Bob, check out the Byrd webpage. They have a tutorial on installing a shelix head which includes changing the gear oil.

[Jon Middleton]

I'm thinking of taking the advice given above, ie, buying a Hammer 331. Problem is, I have an Inca 570 that I bought new and is in excellent condition. I figure the Hammer will give me the ability to joint longer stock, give me a cleaner cut with the spiral cutter, and be easier to change functions. Is it a big step up for the Hammer? Is it worth it? I called a friend and offered to sell him my Inca, which is virtually new, on a stand, with an extra pinion gear, belt and blades for $1000. Is this a fair price? It's gotta be better than the table top machines.