Which one gets the seal of approval?
[OP]
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Which one gets the seal of approval?
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That will buy a brand new Jet 6" which is nice and maybe a used 8" if you are patient. Have not seen too many name brands that have problems really. Jet, Grizzly, PM, Delta, and the older models of many types have been very good. I would look for a used 8" for a respectable WW home.
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Ken; are you talking thickness planer or jointer? Thickness planer the DeWalt 735 gets my vote, jointers....no opinion.
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Mack C. in Brooklin ON Canada
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The Ridgid TP1300LS available at Home Depot is the one I own. It has been an excellent piece of equipment for my purposes. It has a lot of extras that cost more on some models. Those include a stand, a dust collector chute, infeed and outfeed tables and an extra set of double edged knives. The finish it leaves is about as smooth as you will find. The accuracy of thickness was within 0.002" over the whole board and the indexed stops for common thicknesses are spot on. I installed the Wixey digital read-out for other thickness settings. It can be adjusted to produce no snipe. The controls are in the right spot for easy adjustment. I have used it a lot and it has shown no signs of getting sloppy mechanically.
Warning! Like most "lunchbox" planers, it is LOUD.
Other models which have generally received good reports include the premium Dewalt, Delta and Makita planers. You won't go wrong with any of these.
If you are in the right location, you might be able to find a cast iron industrial strength planer used for that price.
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Ken,
I currently own a dw735, but that will be a littlwe out of your price range. So I would settle for a Ridgid, the thing that I really like about the Ridgid's are that you get a lifetime warranty on the product.
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My vote is for the Makita 2012NB. Just watch Amazon for the sales as its price jumps around a good bit. You do not have to buy the extension tables like you do with the DeWalt and it supports the Wixey digital height gauge. It also has a cutterhead lock.
Just my .02
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With a $300-400 budget the Dewalt is $150+ over budget, depending on options you get, then your close enough in cost to go with one of the heavier models.
Might find one used or reconditioned though.
I agree with the Rigid unit, had a chance to look at one, and they seemed pretty nice for a lunch box unit, nice features too.
Al
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Delta 20-580, I have one, but I also have a MM FS30. I am having a hard time parting with that little Delta. It has been a very good planer
Joe
Member
How about a factory reconditioned Dewalt DW735? They run about $370 or so from Tool King. I've had great luck with Dewalt reconditioned tools. They all appeared new to me, and have performed flawlessly.
Member
Same here. That is where I got mine a year or two ago.Originally Posted by Sean Kinn
[OP]
Member
DW735 has 3 cutterheads. Seems like it'd give a smoother plane...Price range is a bit high though. There are several DW735s on E-Bay (reconditioned) for a BIN price of $344 and $50 shipping. I'm tempted...
I'm hearing a lot about Ridgid and Makita. I had at one time been eyeballing the Delta 22-580.
For some reason I'm hesitant to buy Ridgid. Not sure why...
The only Ridgid tool I have is a 12v Cordless drill and I am UNIMPRESSED. I got it a few years ago when they had the $59 ($69?) deal on it at HD.
Last edited by Ken Gartin; 08-22-2007 at 9:31 AM.
Always remember that you are unique...just like everybody else.
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Ken, I guess that it is just me but I am a little leary about ebay depending on who the seller is. I just checked ToolKing and they have the reconditioned DW735s and also new ones that have an add to cart to see the price. I tried it and it kept adding a Jet for $1300 plus. Would have to call them to get the correct price or it might work for you. Their shipping cost is $7.99 but it takes about a week or more to get it down here in Florida. http://www.toolking.com/category/pow...rs.aspx?page=2
I included the link because it is sometimes difficult to find some of their products.
Last edited by Allen Bookout; 08-22-2007 at 10:04 AM.
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The Dewalt has three knives and it also has a slow speed for the final finish pass. In theory, these features sound impressive but my experience has been they don't mean much. In practice, the sharpness of the knives has much, much more to do with the final finish than the number of knives or the slow feed rate. The guy whose DW735 I borrowed some years ago said he never runs his on the slow speed because he can't tell enough difference to put up with the slow feed rate. One swipe across the material with a ROS and fresh 220 grit and you for sure can't tell the difference.
I am not criticising the DW735 in general. Those reconditioned prices sound pretty appealing. I am just saying that the difference in quality of finish of the different planers is not a very significant factor. They all do very well - better than many industrial cast iron planers.
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Where's the DW734???
Yes, the 735 is a respectable planer. Yes, it's $150 more WITHOUT feed tables (which are another $60). It doesn't come with a dust-shroud, either (i don't think, someone may correct that)
Awhile back, the DW733 was given RAVE reviews by almost every magazine out there. They all noted a couple of nice-to-have upgrades and the DW734 has them. Three-knife cutter head. Comes with the dust shroud.
The 735 is 1/2" wider at 13". The 734 is single-speed, but with 3 blades, still leaves a dandy DANDY surface.
I chose the 734 because it was a MUCH better value to me. To me, the slower feed rate had no value since I sand or scrape or otherwise smooth out a surface fresh from the planer, anyway. The extra half inch didn't really appeal to me, either. If i ever wanted wider, I knew it was 15" monster time, 1/2" wasn't going to make or break too many projects. And the really big deal for me was the lack of feed tables. Another $60 bucks for tables? No, no thank you.
Yes, the 735's a great planer. Yep, it's gonna run you over $200 past the HIGH end of your budget once you get feed tables, unless you make your own. They're really needed, IMHO.
The 734 is every bit as good as the original 733, with an extra knife.
Jason Beam
Sacramento, CA
beamerweb.com
Member
My 735 came with the dust-shroud if that is the thing that the dust collector connets to. I do not know if they normally do or not. I do not have the feed tables because I have it on a Ridgid MSUV and use the rollers. Before that I just walked around to the outfeed side and supported the wood piece with my hand because I had to move it out of the way anyway. I noticed that ToolKing also had the 734 on the same link that I posted above.
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