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Thread: Best planer for less than $400?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2014
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    Bel Air, Maryland
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    Best planer for less than $400?

    I'm making a custom table and what I'm charging will pay for a basic shop planer. I've always wanted/needed a planer but always run away when it's buy-time.

    Home depot has a Dewalt for $399.00 which has good reviews but you can't always trust reviews. I've got a rough cut pine board which is 12.5" wide.

    What budget planers do you all have experience with?

  2. #2
    hi:

    I was all set to buy a DW734R - but then discovered that the blades tend to be both expensive and not terribly long lasting. The 735X may be better, but if you plan on planning hardwood (I have hickory and jatoba to duel with) you have to consider the cost of replacement blades before making a buying decision.

  3. #3
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    hmmmm. Suggestions?

  4. #4
    DW734 ... no question.

    Nothing better, imho, for that money.
    Jason Beam
    Sacramento, CA

    beamerweb.com

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
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    Nashville, TN
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    I have had a DW733 for over a decade. It works great, and blades have not been an issue.

    If you can up your $$ then I would suggest the DW735 or Makita 2012NB. Both around $550 presently.

  6. #6
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    I agree with Jason. It's more substantial than my old Delta lunch box planer which lasted over 10 years. It resembles it a bit, but is slicker.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    Toledo, OH
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    Steel City offers a lunch box planer with a helical head that can be had for about $500.00. No personal experience.
    Andy Kertesz

    " Impaled on nails of ice, raked by emerald fire"...... King Crimson '71

  8. #8
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    I ran a DW734 for years. The blades are pretty long lasting in my experience. When I sold it to a pro shop it was in addition to the DW734 they already had. The first one was always busy despite a giant floor machine they also ran. Two sets of blades went with it that I never got around to using.

    All that being said, how are you going to prepare the reference side of that 12.5" board? A planer sled will do the job and I prefer this to the half and half jointer trick although that will get you there too.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  9. #9
    The DW734 is a little workhorse, tried and true. You can't go wrong with it.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    Scottsdale, Arizona
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    I bought the Ryobi 13" from Home Depot and used it for five years for both jointing (with a sled) and planing. Now it is being used by Habitat. It was very inexpensive, and very reliable.

  11. #11
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    The new Ridgid R4331 is a decent choice IME. I bought a refurb unit for $310 shipped from Tyler Tool. It has a cutterhead lock and a built in chip blower, and has worked well for the few months I've had it.
    Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by scott spencer View Post
    The new Ridgid R4331 is a decent choice IME. I bought a refurb unit for $310 shipped from Tyler Tool. It has a cutterhead lock and a built in chip blower, and has worked well for the few months I've had it.

    I also have the R4331. it's a good planer, but I worry that since the only place to get it is Home Depot, and the only place to get replacement blades (they are disposable inserts) is Home Depot, how long will Home Depot continue stock the replacement blades? You can get DeWalt blades just about anywhere, and DeWalt planers are popular enough that 3rd party vendors also make blades for them. Most Home Depots don't even stock shop tools anymore.

  13. #13
    I'd look on Craigslist. You could probably buy 2 or 3 planers used for that. Or maybe a 15" planer if you find a used one with a3 or 4 knife cutterhead.

  14. #14
    I'm very happy with my DW734. I considered the Ridgid but had the same concern about the replacement knives as Richard Shaefer (above).

    I'm still on my first edge of the knives. I've had the planer over a year now, and I use it quite a bit. I don't take big bites with it, though.

  15. #15
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    I have a Steel City with a spiral head that I got for around 400$. I haven't turned the inserts yet. I don't use it a lot as I resaw most boards.
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

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