Why a 2 speed Thickness Planer

[Bill Huber]

I have been looking at planers and I just don't understand why I would want a 2 speed planer?

The Ridgid 13 in looks really good for the price and I am not sure that I need any more then that and I really don't understand 2 speeds.

Any thoughts???

[Mike Heidrick]

Fast speed to get the thicknesses close, slow speed for finish passes of the highest quality cuts.

[Reed Kempton]

I have the Ridgid 13 inch and love it. Blades are simple to set and are not to costly.

[Brad Naylor]

Presumably you have a jointer.

Run a piece of stock over your jointer quickly, and then run a piece very slowly.

See the difference in the quality of the finish?

That's why you should get a two-speed planer.

Cheers
Brad

[scott spencer]

The Ridgid should be fine if that's the planer you want, but the DW735 and Delta 22-580 have just as many fans. Usually a single speed is fine, but sometimes you'll get into difficult woods where the slower speed helps reduce tearout...birdseye maple, curly maple, lacewood, QSWO, zebrawood, etc.

Go with the one you like, or the one offering the best deal at the time.

I've been happy with my 22-580.

[David Tiell]

I don't use the slow speed on my Delta 22-580 often, but when I need it, it's a great feature to have. And it has the easy-change replaceable blades like the Rigid. Amazon is showing one 22-580 left right now at $247, which is a great price for it. I've heard a lot of good about the Rigid, but that price would make the decision for me.

[Pat Germain]

Good to know! I also have the Delta 22-580 and really didn't understand why I had two speeds.

I was also looking at Ridgid tools. They seem like a good option for a home woodworker. It always ends up that I buy Delta because it's on sale. I should hang an autographed picture of Norm in my shop just to complete the effect. (I'm hoping a Shop Fox 8" jointer will soon destroy this "sponsored by Delta" effect.)

[Bill Huber]

Some times I can't see the forest for the trees.

Is the blades running at a faster speed or is the feed feeding at a different speed.

If you are cutting at 66 per inch and then slow the feed speed down you will then up your cuts per inch..... Now its clear... Hell to get old.


Thanks again everyone.

[Byron Trantham]

Billl I have 13" DeWalt with two speeds. From experience I know where the handle postion is when the board is 3/4" thick (my most often desired thickness). When I get to the last full rotation to finish the thickness, I change the speed to high, turn only 1/2 the rotation on one side the last 1/2 of the rotation on the second side and the surfaces are butt smooth!

[Dan Drager]

I have no experience with a 2 speed planer but after owning the Ridgid 13 for 4 years I cannot see a need for 2 speeds. As mentioned, the blades on the ridgid are cheap, reversable and super easy to set. If you follow simple guidelines for planing wood that tears easily, you can have great success with even the most figured wood. Angling the boards as they are fed through and taking light passes works great on even tiger maple.

Good luck and post a tool gloat when you buy.

[Curt Harms]

but it gets favorable reviews. I do have the Delta 22-580 and have seldom used the lower feed speed. It's a bit of a pain to change, hard to move the lever. There's a hex nut underneath the blue handle, it's tempting to take the blue handle off and just use a socket. Having said that, I set mine on 60 cpi (cuts per inch) and leave it. On normal stock, I can't see any difference between the 2 speeds. If I were planing heavily figured wood I might have a different opinion. It's a good planer, no discernible snipe. I don't have any feed problems, I have had stock stop but the problem was that there was a thick area in the board. Raise the head until the piece goes through then lower the head and send it through again. As is probably true of all planers with universal motors, don't try to take too much at one time. If You want to hog 1/4" all day get a cast iron critter with an induction motor. The depth stop works well but certain machines needed a little adjusting in order for the depth stop to work properly.



HTH

Curt

[Todd Jensen]

there was another thread posted today about the dewalt 734 on sale at Amazon; if you're looking at the ridgid, for the price you might want to check out the Dewalt on sale.

[Vic Damone]

I've had three planers in this class. I returned two within hours because of their inability to plane some cherry without chipping. I settled on the DeWalt 735 because it chipped the least, shifting to the lower speed is simple. Everything is extra with the DeWalt so factor in the accessories you'll need against the cost of a larger planer.

It's difficult to expect quality planing from machines with these thin little blades and without the ability to upgrade their cutter assemblies. An upgraded cutter head would probably cost more than the planer but it would be nice to have the option. Still, they are small, run on 110 VAC, and are relatively inexpensive.

Vic