Dewalt or Rigid Planer - which should I buy? (same price)

[Andrew Jordan]

I found a few good deals up here in Canada on some planers, lately. I don't know which is the better deal, so I'm trying to find out what the concensus would be..

Should I buy the Dewalt 734 12.5" planer,
or the Rigid 13" planer..

Both seem to be very good - 3 cutterheads, 96ish cuts per inch...

WHich one is the better deal?
Rigid $300
Dewalt $330

I like the idea of the Rigid lifetime guarantee, but is the Dewalt a better machine? How easy are the blades to change?

Thanks in advance for all the help

[Andy Sowers]

I have the Ridgid R4330 planer. I really like it. The blades are pretty easy to change: remove the blade covers, remove the screws, flip blades over, retighten, lather/rinse/repeat for other two blades, reattach cover, and go... took me like 20min...

However, I have had a bear of a time getting the replacement blades. Some folks don't have this problem as their local orange borgs stock the blades... however, none of the ones around me stock them. They still have plenty of the old TP1300 ones... but none for my Ridgid R4330.

I was finally able to special order them through the contractor's desk... but ideally I'd like to be able to get them without having to go through this hassle, or having to pay shipping if ordering online.

My advice to you is to check the store that you're buying the planer from. If they have the replacement blades, I'd go with the Ridgid... otherwise, maybe go with the Dewalt...

Andy

[Dave Sweeney]

When I was in the market for a planer I choose the DeWalt over the Ridgid because of the replacement blade issue. HD is just not a consistent place that you can count on when you need to find normal wear and tear accessories for the tools they sell.

[Bill Dunn jr]

I had both for a while, although the Rigid was an older model (two knives). I like the Dewalt better. It was a whole lot quieter than the Rigid also.

[Andrew Jordan]

How often do you actually replace the blades though? Couldn't I just buy a set of replacement blades when I get the machine?

I assume you can resharpen them, right?

Andrew

[Scott Zarecor]

Andrew:

The Dewalt (and I assume the Rigid, but don't know for sure) uses disposable two sided blades. You can flip them once to get a fresh edge, but they aren't made to be resharpened.

I'm looking at the Dewalt 734 too...

[glenn bradley]

I have had the DW734 for a couple years or so(?). I have flipped the knives once; not because they were dull . . . I hit . . . something ;-) The knives are positioned on guide pins. They are a no brainier although a couple people have had issues getting the screws loose. I had no problem using the tool they provide. I am more than satisfied with the machine and would buy one again. There are a lot of folks who are happy with their Ridgid too. I can only speak from my experience on the DeWalt.

In answer to your question, yes, you could get a set of knives at the time of purchase and they would probably last you years if you are a hobbyist. There are folks who go through them rather quickly though. I found a $20 metal detector beats the heck out of $50 knives any day ;-)

[Jim Kountz]

I have had the DW734 for a couple years or so(?). I have flipped the knives once; not because they were dull . . . I hit . . . something ;-) The knives are positioned on guide pins. They are a no brainier although a couple people have had issues getting the screws loose. I had no problem using the tool they provide. I am more than satisfied with the machine and would buy one again. There are a lot of folks who are happy with their Ridgid too. I can only speak from my experience on the DeWalt.

In answer to your question, yes, you could get a set of knives at the time of purchase and they would probably last you years if you are a hobbyist. There are folks who go through them rather quickly though. I found a $20 metal detector beats the heck out of $50 knives any day ;-)

I be one of those guys who had issues getting the screws loose. I had to use a cold chisel on them and tap them around to break them loose. The allen wrench they give you with it is a total piece of crap and rounded out the first time I used it. Plan on replacing the screws with quality ones and you should be ok.
All that being said I really like the Dewalt planer, I got it for use on my job sites and its been good so far. With the new blades in place it seems to have plenty of power for what Im doing, which was planing some 2x12's down to 1" thick. Its not too heavy to move around and the headlock feature seems to really help in reducing snipe.

[Dewayne Reding]

I like my DW734 a lot. Sturdy and boards come out very consistent thickness. Got two full seasons out of the blades. Whatever that means. I WW pretty steady about 5 months a year. I ran a lot of oak through them for sure. I sometimes fight a little snipe, even with the head lock feature. Quiet isn't the word that comes to mind though. It's the loudest tool in my shop. If the Ridgid is louder, it must really scream.

[Bob Slater]

Is it at HD that these are on sale?

[Andrew Jordan]

The rigid's on sale at HD...I have a flyer for the Dewalt deal, so I can see where it is from when I get home..
Andrew

[jeff begin]

I'm finally looking at planers too. The DW734 is on clearance at Lowes for $300. Almost pulled the trigger, but a lot of people on Amazon complain about how quickly the blades dull (someone mentioned them dulling after only 30 linear feet!). If true, I don't don't know how well of a deal it would be actually be.

[Richard A. Rivera, M.D.]

Richard A. Rivera, M.D.;1049521]I have the Ridgid R4330, it is the one with three blades. I love it and am able to plane down to a little less than 3/32 inch thickness to make inlays for my pens. This is the kerf thickness of my redial armsaw blade. I have not yet had the need to change blades, but bought an extra set at my local HD here in the Dallas area. Not having to "lock" the head after each short change in depth, for me is a real plus.
I think both are good machines. I also found the shop for warranty work for ridgid before i bought it.

[Brent Leonard]

I have a Ridgid and have had no problems. It is a very good machine for the price. I like it quite a bit and have absolutely no reason to look at another brand until I decide to get a much larger machine with a spiral cutterhead. The noise level is quite loud, but I wear my worktunes, so the decibels don't matter to me.

That being said, if you read people's posts on the Ridgid forum, there are a lot of complaints over availability of parts/accessories from ridgid. My HD has the blades........ for now.......

[Paul Ryan]

I have the ridgid and have never had to replace the blades but my local HD always has them in stock. I check almost every time I go in there and plan on buying a set to have. But it is hard to spend the money when it isn't needed. To be honest i haven't even turned my blades over yet. They seem to last. I honestly cannot say whice one to go with because I haven't used the Dewalt. But the ridgid is a nice unit. 2 things I dont like. It is very nosiy, the dust collection even with a 1 1/2 horse collector attached is iffy (lots of chips out the front), and you have to remove the dust shroud to close the outfeed table. Since mine lives on a shelf and only comes out when needed it is a hassle to have to remove the shroud to store the unit. And it cannot be used with out the shround on (with out manipulating the switch). But it has done eveything I have asked. Planed 12 in wide hard maple, light passes, and have planned material down to 1/8 think.

[Andrew Jordan]

I'm still stymied over this one...the Rigid doesn't need shipping if I can hold off until I go into Winnipeg next (I'm in the boonies); but the Dewalt is likely the better machine....

I'll keep thinking this one over...

[Andy Sowers]

Not to hijack the thread, but have you removed the 2 1/2 hose insert on the R4330 dust shroud? If not, it comes out easily by hand... once removed, the dust collection gets much better if you can connect your 4" hose to it... FWIW...

[Paul Ryan]

Andy,


That never occured to me to try and take that reducer off. Thanks for the advice I bet that would help.

[Richard Dooling]

Just a side note that if you get a fairly minor nick in the blades you can loosen one or more blade and slip it to the side a bit so the nicks don’t line up any more.

Just be sure to HAND rotate the cutter head slowly to be sure you are well clear of all other parts.