I've had my 22-580 for over 4 years now. Great tool! Easy to operate, easy blade changes, great finish, and little or no snipe. Highly recommended.
Regards,
kmb
Member
I've had my 22-580 for over 4 years now. Great tool! Easy to operate, easy blade changes, great finish, and little or no snipe. Highly recommended.
Regards,
kmb
Contributor
I do not own a portable planer, and I suspect you will get as many opinions as there are planers. I did see high praise , as in the best out there, for a Dewalt portable planer in one of the wood magazines some time back. Perhaps if you know someone close by with one you could try his out Good luck
Contributor
I do not own a portable planer, and I suspect you will get as many opinions as there are planers. I did see high praise , as in the best out there, for a Dewalt portable planer in one of the wood magazines some time back. Perhaps if you know someone close by with one you could try his out Good luck
Member
Another plug for the Makita 2012NB ........ minimal snipe, leaves a nice finish, quieter than the Delta 22-580 or the DeWalt 735 (the noise from the 735 can raise the dead- it's over 100 dB and more portable than either. Been pleased with mine. Downside- less capacity than DW or Delta (the Makita is 12") and you have to pay extra for the dust hood.
Contributor
Yet another thumbs-up for the Delta 22-580. I had a little trouble with snipe when I first started using it, but it was the first time I had ever used a planer. I have since eliminated snipe by making sure the cutting is locked down good and tight and doing the "nickel setup" with the fold-down tables. It rocks!
Member
I'm also in the market for a bench top planer. Two features that some of the more expensive ones have are two speed planing and a chip blower.
Those of you that planers with those two features, would you say that they make a big difference? How much of a premium are they worth? Thanks!
Contributor
I've neverr changed the speed on my planer. I've yet to see a good reason to do so.
What's a chip blower? I had to buy a dust collector port for my planer, which I really think should come with it, but it works great. FYI, I wouldn't recommend using a planer without a DC unless it's used outside exclusively.
Member
I've been very happy with my Dewalt DW734. I tried the Makita and just didn't care for it as much as I like my Dewalt. JMO, I think some of these things may boil down to personal preference.
Member
Some planers (the craftsman 21759 & DeWalt 735 & probably others) have built in blowers that act as a built in dust collector. To be honest, I didn't even know that that feature existed until I read about it in the FWW Tools&Shops planer review that is currently on the stands.
Theoretically, the slower speed on the dual speed planers should produce a finer finish because it makes more cuts per inch (blades rotate at same rate but board moves more slowly). From reading different peoples opinions on the various planers it seems some see a big difference in quality and some see none.
It is all theory to me... I've never actually used a planer. I only started woodworking a couple of months ago and it is pretty hard to really get a grasp on what feature are really important and which are just marketing (or maybe important to some but not to me).
Member
I'm surprised there aren't more suggestions for the Ridgid planer. very satisfied with mine and would buy it again.
Some reviews here...
http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/rgd13plnrvu.html
http://benchmark.20m.com/reviews/Rid...300Review.html
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworki...t.aspx?id=5455
[OP]
Contributor
Thanks to all for the input. I picked up the FW Tools and Shops issue with the planer reviews and they've been helpful too. The issue I have with replaceable blades (that cannot be sharpened) is cost over the long haul. I was looking real hard at the DW735 until I read some reviews on Epinions.com. It was universally praised except for two issues: poor blade quality (dulls quickly, nicks easily) and feeder slippage. At $50 a throw for blades, that could add up quick based on the claims that were made about how quick they get beat up. I'd at least like to be able to sharpen them if I chose.
Member
Delta... You could run a brick thru it. Blades are a no brainer to change, and double edged.
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem.
Member
Brian, I looked and called and drove all over trying to find that one - it was my first choice. NG, could not find one anywhere within a hundred miles. It was replaced several months ago by a newer model that does not appear to be as good and definitely is not as good a value (same or higher price, no stand included). If the OP sees one for sale, it would be a great purchase.
Originally Posted by Brian Penning
Member
You are going to find some bad reviews for anything on the web (you knew that, but it's worth saying again). My conclusion from the complaints about the knives was that there was a batch (maybe a large batch) of bad knives. I also read that a number of people got free replacements from DeWalt, though, when they complained to customer service.
I bought a set of replacement knives from an eBay seller for <1/2 the cost of retail, which helps, but there is definitely a razor/razor blade issue here, potentially.
Member
I know there are some who wouldnt buy anything from sears with a power cord, but one of the magzines recently rated the new Craftsman Proffesional 13" better than the dewalt, a big plus was the digital depth gauge. And if you wait a bit and catch it during a Craftsman club sale, you can probably get it for less than $400.
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