lunchbox vs stationary planer

[Chris Hachet]

With regard to using a stationary planer, I will say that those who are seeing significant marks from the serrated feed roller do not have their planer set up properly. The planer blades should be set below the teeth of the feed roller. I have bought and used 4 stationary planers and set them up according to specs from Bob Vaughan. There used to be a great video on this.

I started with a screamer lunchbox planer, and they do a great job for short boards. Universal motors will not last long, the gears will eventually sheer, and you cannot take much thickness off the board. Moreover, I have found that snipe is generally worse on those lunchbox planers than on a well tuned floor planer.

I started with a Ryobi and have had one of the "elite" DeWalt lunchbox planers. If you do not ever want to do setup on a planer...get a lunchbox planer, but live with it's limitations. I have seen the edges on the DeWalt planer blades fold over on oak and walnut. I hope they have fixed that. I also have/do own a Robland 12" J/P that works great, a Sunhill 20" with a Byrd Style head I installed, an old beast Williams & Hussey 12" planer/molder, and a Parks 12" planer. If you aren't willing to go to Harbor freight and buy a dial indicator, you have no business in buying a floor planer.

With regards to a Byrd head, if you wont buy a torque wrench, you shouldn't buy one. So many of our machines require 3+ hours of setup to ensure that you get proper results. They are not set up properly from the factory, regardless of manufacturer for the floor model machines. The setup time is offset by the throughput on the bigger machines. I use almost exclusively roughsawn lumber, including exotics, and I have burned up the lunchtop versions. I am not a mechanic, so I feel everyone's pain in the setup, but I feel like much of the negative comments on floor planers are related to poor setup by the owners.

I personally use my Robland planer with straight carbide blades for most uses, and don't find the minor sanding difference between this and the old lunchtop planers justifies the very slow feed rate of lunchtop planers.

Finding accurate information on set up is often not easy. What would you suggest?

[Chris Hachet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSM7Jrg34a8

Here is the best generic planer setup advice I have ever seen or read. Robert Vaughan is a woodworking machinery guru. If you have a floor planer, I'd invest in watching this and following what he recommends.

I have bought 3hp floor planers for $100 that were simply out of alignment. Yes...it's a pain. Yes, it's a time investment. It all goes back to what are you looking for from woodworking?

I see alot of guys who just like to buy gadgets and really never make anything worthwhile, only to sell it all at a loss 5-10 years later.

I will check this out! Thanks!

[Russell Smallwood]

Okay, I gotta ask;

Do folks really get a finish ready surface off of a planer, or jointer? I mean absolutely no other work. From the machine, to the finish bench?

I have had a 15" jet for quite a few years. It's a nice machine, but the material coming off is not finish ready. No indeed/outfeed roller marks, but definitely not ready for a finish coat. Everything goes through the sander next for me.

I've only been around the lunchbox planers, never owned one, so I can't comment on quality.

I doubt many of the projects on display in the back of fine woodworking come straight off the planer, but I'm sure there are a lot Adirondack chairs that do.

[Randy Heinemann]

I have had a Dewalt 735 for quite a few years and have no complaints. I am a hobby woodworker, but run all sizes of wood through the planer. Generally I rough cut pieces to either the length I need or multiples of the various size pieces and run those through the planer rather than running an 8' board through. I get better results.

I'm not sure why you believe that a larger planer would create less noise (unless I misunderstood), but the only reason that would be true is if it is equipped with a helical cutter head.

I, like others, think it depends on what you want to accomplish. I get a great finish on my planed wood with the Dewalt 735. However, I can't take large bites with each pass and usually keep each pass to 1/16" or less. As long as I don that I don't think any other planer would match the surface finish I get. However, this means that either I get my wood planed to less than 8/4 (maybe 15/16") or allocate more time to get the wood to thickness.

In the end, since I don't use the planer everyday and only plane what I need for each project, the 735 works well regardless of the increased number of passes required. I can't believe any larger heavier duty planer would give a better finish.

[Chris Hachet]

Not here. Better surface off the DW735 than the stationary Delta, but both require further prep.

I always hit thing with hand planes for a final once over before finishing, even if I am painting something.

[Jon Nuckles]

I'm not sure why you believe that a larger planer would create less noise (unless I misunderstood), but the only reason that would be true is if it is equipped with a helical cutter head.

Randy,
i like my 735 a lot, but it is a screamer compared to a big stationary planer. I believe it is motor noise rather than the cutter head, though I might be wrong. I don't know if it is the decibel count or just the higher pitch, but it makes me reach for the earplugs much sooner.
Jon

[Randy Heinemann]

Carbide tipped blades are available from a third party (maybe more than one) but expensive. It's unclear whether the benefit justifies the added cost, so I've never done it, I just try to find the best price price on the Dewalt steel blades.

As for the helical head, it is also available for close to $500. I guess it is installable, but I've seen a YouTube video detailing the installation process and I wouldn't attempt it. I've also looked into contracting out installation and that make the helical head unjustifiable for sure.

[Chris Hachet]

Carbide tipped blades are available from a third party (maybe more than one) but expensive. It's unclear whether the benefit justifies the added cost, so I've never done it, I just try to find the best price price on the Dewalt steel blades.

As for the helical head, it is also available for close to $500. I guess it is installable, but I've seen a YouTube video detailing the installation process and I wouldn't attempt it. I've also looked into contracting out installation and that make the helical head unjustifiable for sure.

I have thought of that route but the price then goes to what you can buy a floor mount planner for.

[Darcy Warner]

Lots of info flying around. I set up most planers with a 4" wood block, no real need for a bunch of fancy gauges. I have had machines with large diameter 4 knife heads running at 3600 rpm (direct drive) and planers that were belt drive that ran at 6k rpm at the cutter head.

There are planers out there that leave a finish that requires very little sanding, it all depends on the design of the machine.

[Steve Demuth]

Randy,
i like my 735 a lot, but it is a screamer compared to a big stationary planer. I believe it is motor noise rather than the cutter head, though I might be wrong. I don't know if it is the decibel count or just the higher pitch, but it makes me reach for the earplugs much sooner.
Jon

The 735, like all lunchbox planers I know of, has a universal motor. Floor model planets use induction motors. Universal motors are loud due to their use of brushes, high rpms, and often poor manufacturing tolerances. They are used in small tools because they are comparatively compact and cheap, hp for hp, compared to induction motors.

[Curt Harms]

There are high speed knives available for DW 735 for not much more than DeWalt and are supposed to be longer lived. Here are a couple examples.

Holbren: https://www.holbren.com/Titan_Knife_PKH-12800 They may have a SMC discount, worth asking.

Infinity: https://www.infinitytools.com/jointi...-planer-knives

[Mel Fulks]

Curt, I just looked at those, they have descriptions of the steel not found found in catalogs of steel sold to sources that buy steel for custom purposes. Most likely they are more "same hardness as M2" offerings without the heat resistance of real high speed steel. Since the knives for some small planers use standard stock ,rather than snap in stuff, real high speed steel can be bought. I would get quotes by grade designation and size and not even mention planer brand. Most ,if not all , beefy commercial planers are sold new with the cheapest steel available and stamped with planer brand and accompanied by greedy notes to "always buy GENUINE " knives from us. The big deal with high speed steel is the heat resistance ,not the hardness.

[Allan Speers]

I upgraded about 2 years ago, from a Makita 2012NB lunchbox, to a used PM100. I had around 5,000 BD of rough lumber that needed to be skip-planed, & touched up, with about 1,000 bf of that figured hard maple. The Makita is a GREAT little machine, and it may have held up with very careful handling, but it is very weak at pulling large stock through the rollers. I get worn out pushing & pulling 6 - 8' boards through for multiple passes. It also requires very light passes, so it's time consuming. However, the finish it gives is astounding, and with zero snipe.

At first I was going to get a DW735 plus a Byrd head, (oddly, there is / was no shelix head available for the Makita) but virtually everyone here recommended I get something beefier for my specific needs.

The Makita gives a surface that is just about finish-ready, and I knew I'd probably not get that from a stationary machine, but research told me that my best chance of something close (in a 15" or under machine) would be the PM, or the old General 130 planer.

I found a good-condition PM100, and put a 3 HP Baldor on it. I found the full calibration procedure online, and followed it carefully. To my happy amazement, I'm getting virtually the same finish now as I did with the Makita, except MUCH less noise, and much, MUCH more power. FWIW, the PM100 has a serrated feed roller, but a smooth output roller.

I may add a shelix head (or the new V heads, if they become available) but mainly to lower the noise even further.


The main point I wanted to make is, buy a VERY good machine, as they have better adjustments, and more solid critical components, like the chip breaker, pressure system, etc.

[Brian Gumpper]

Holbren has their own DW735 knives that were made from T1 steel with assumption of a longer wearing knife. They are not for sale yet but next week should be on the website.

[Mel Fulks]

Holbren has their own DW735 knives that were made from T1 steel with assumption of a longer wearing knife. They are not for sale yet but next week should be on the website.

Good news! If they say T1 I'm sure they are and it will be a great upgrade. Be wary of "high speed" claims.