What size planer do I need?

[scott vroom]

I'm just getting started setting up a shop to build all types of household furniture. What size planer will I need? I've heard good things about the Dewalt 13" tabletop. Is this adequate? How about Grizzly brand?

[Paul Girouard]

I'm just getting started setting up a shop to build all types of household furniture. What size planer will I need? I've heard good things about the Dewalt 13" tabletop. Is this adequate? How about Grizzly brand?



A 12" is a minimum planer , if I had the cash I'd get the 20" Griz.

I'd pass on that DeWalt we have one at work it's maybe had some hard use but it is all but "useless" IMO.

A planer really should be a stationary tool , mass is your friend. The spiral cutter heads are very nice as well.

Good luck with what you decide on.

[Fred Hargis]

I've never heard anyone say "I wish I had bought a smaller planer", so get the biggest one you can afford and have the space for. That said, a lot of guys do really nice work with the 12-13" inch lunchbox planers...I think they are one of the great tool inventions. You might find a time ot two they aren't adequate, but generally they'll do whatever a hobbyist needs.

[Gary Herrmann]

What is your budget?

What is your application - how much are you going to use the planer in a week or a month?

What size boards do you plan on using for your projects?

I had a Dewalt 735 and was very happy with it. Now I have a General 14" planer. Completely different machine. 3hp, Byrd head. It's apples and oranges.

If you can afford a floor model, get one.

[Cary Falk]

I have a 13" lunchbox. I am saving for a Grizzly 15".

[David Freed]

I would only use a lunchbox planer if I had no other choice. I like my tools to have plenty of power,and those planers don't. I have a 5 hp, 20" spiral head and it doesn't have enough power to suit me. I have tripped the breaker many times because I am feeding it too hard. :rolleyes:

[Rick Moyer]

I'd like to have a $2000 planer, a $5000 table saw, a $3000 jointer, etc..., BUT I have the 13" Dewalt and it's fine for what I do. This is a hobbie for me, not a career! Now, if you can afford this stuff then by all means go for it.

You are starting out and have a lot of questions and this is the place to get lots of answers. Unfortunately there are not any definite answers as each person has different requirements, budget, plans, space, etc. Keep asking questions, read the responses, research the archives, and you'll make the decisions you need to make.

[Bill White]

My 12.5" DeWalt has been a workhorse. I keep a spare set of blades sharp and ready to swap. There are those who will spend ALL your money, but just decide how much capacity you will need. How many times will ya need to plane wider than 10-12 inches? I have built some really nice stuff without industrial rated machines.
Bill ;)

[Kent A Bathurst]

Scott - looks like you are gearing up!! Enjoy it!! Unlike my reply re: jointer, I started with a 15" planer. Wouldn't change it.

[Jacob Mac]

Scott:

look into the Grizzly 12" jointer planer combo. It could save you some money, and give you a nice size jointer.

[scott vroom]

Scott:

look into the Grizzly 12" jointer planer combo. It could save you some money, and give you a nice size jointer.

Jacob, I was looking at the combo joiner/planer....Grizz 12" sells for $1,895 but doesn't have parallelogram beds nor spiral cutter. Model w/spiral cutter is $2,395! Not sure if I'm really saving money. Big advantage would be space savings....my shop is small.

[scott vroom]

How important are parallelogram beds? If so important, why aren't all new jointers built this way? I could use some guidance on the value of parallelogram beds. How do they benefit the user? Also, I've read elsewhere that spiral cutters can leave marks or grooves on the surface of the wood. Anyone here noticing this? Is it a real problem?

[Chris Ricker]

Scott;
I've had the Griz. 12" J/P for over a year and after initial set up, I've never moved the table on the Joiner.
In my use, I'm not sure that the parallelogram movement is worth it.
In my experience, the spiral cutter does leave some marks, but they are easily removed with the sander.
If space is a consideration, look at the combo units. As a hobbyist they work well for me.
Good luck.

[Jacob Mac]

Jacob, I was looking at the combo joiner/planer....Grizz 12" sells for $1,895 but doesn't have parallelogram beds nor spiral cutter. Model w/spiral cutter is $2,395! Not sure if I'm really saving money. Big advantage would be space savings....my shop is small.

I think the big advantage is not only space savings, but a 12" jointer as well. Since you were looking for a jointer, I just thought it might be a worthwhile option to look into.

[Chuck Isaacson]

You know, as nice as the spiral heads are, they are not necessary. Straight blades were there long before spiral was. People did real good stuff with them for a long time. I have a 6" spiral Grizzly jointer. I love it. I would like to go bigger sometime. I also have a Dewalt 735 that has straight blades. When the knives were new it was real nice, but as time went on and the oak knots went through, they got a little dinged up. But the marks that it leaves are nothing that a little 120 grit cant take care of. Sure it would be nice to go right to the 220, but hey, its a hobby. All in all, I think that you would be fine getting a bench top unit. But if you do go with a benchtop unit, I say go splurge for the DW735. It is well worth it. I am glad that I bought mine. Good luck with your research and let us know what you end up doing.

Chuck

[Rod Sheridan]

You need a planer that's as wide as your jointer, that's the minimum.

I have a 12" jointer and a 12" planer, with quick change straight knives.......Rod.

[John Coloccia]

You need a planer that's as wide as your jointer, that's the minimum.

I have a 12" jointer and a 12" planer, with quick change straight knives.......Rod.

Bingo.

I have the 12" Jet jointer/planer combo. I don't know about you, but I don't find any boards wider than 12" anymore. Once it's jointed and planed down to thickness, I never pass it through that sort of machinery again.

Ideally, we would all have 12" jointers and planers, and then a big honkin' belt sander to finish off big glued up panels. As it is, those are ridiculously expensive, so on the extremely rare occasion I have something massive that I really really really want straight (a bench top, for example) I pay a couple of bucks and have a local mill finish off the piece. If I was doing it everyday, I'd have a belt sander.

I have the jet 22-44 drum sander, and that does a good job on final thicknessing some of my thinner pieces (.1" for example). I can also run a small glue up through it and it will clean up the glue line. Running a glue line through a planer will dull knives quickly in my experience. Titebond is really hard on cutters from what I can tell. Maybe others have had different experiences, but this is what I've found running laminated guitar necks through the jointer. I quickly end up with two little dull spots corresponding to the two glue lines.

This is why I really dig the combo machines, and it makes me wonder why planers and jointers seem to come in completely different sizes that aren't multiples of the other. It's like the 10 hotdogs but 8 hotdog buns thing. :D

[Rod Sheridan]

This is why I really dig the combo machines, and it makes me wonder why planers and jointers seem to come in completely different sizes that aren't multiples of the other. It's like the 10 hotdogs but 8 hotdog buns thing. :D

John, it's a North American oddity having a narrow jointer and a huge planer.

Like you, I joint and plane wood, glue it up, then correct any misalignments with a card scraper. If you don't use mechanical means such as biscuits in your glue up, you can achieve an almost perfectly flat glue up.

Finger tips are very sensitive at detecting misalignment, and a light tap with your hand or rubber mallet will align the glue up perfectly. You can't do that with biscuits, they don't move.

That's why the combination planer/jointer is so popular in Europe, and gaining ground here.

- quality, built to a high level of precision

- strength and power, able to take deep cuts at high feed rates, while producing flawless work

- space savings and cost savings, I would never have a North American 12" jointer in the basement of my townhouse, yet a Euro combo fits perfectly.

- cost, my Euro combo cost less then the 8" jointer and 14" planer it replaced.


Regards, Rod.

[scott vroom]

I agree on the space saving benefit of a combo jointer/planer, but I'm not seeing the cost benefit, at least with Grizzly. The cheapest 12"combo is $1,895 with straight blades or $2,495 for spiral. I can get a Makita or Dewalt benchtop planer and a Griz 8" jointer for about $500 less (lots of woodwork pros prefer floor planers but hundreds of favorable reviews on the benchtops don't lie). I'd love to own a combo, but need a compelling reason other than space savings in order to justify the cost.

[Rich Neighbarger]

[QUOTE=scott vroom;1227360]How important are parallelogram beds? QUOTE]

They aren't important. They are convenient. Once they are set coplanar the depth can be changed to your hearts content.

If you have a particularly bad cup to remove it can take quite a few passes at 1/64" depth of cut and at 1/16" the jointer won't leave the smoothest finish. With parallelogram beds you can start jointing at 1/16" and finish up with 1/64" for your final pass... All while the machine is still running.

So, again, not important but convenient.

[Rod Sheridan]

[QUOTE=scott vroom;1227360]How important are parallelogram beds? QUOTE]

They aren't important. They are convenient. Once they are set coplanar the depth can be changed to your hearts content.

If you have a particularly bad cup to remove it can take quite a few passes at 1/64" depth of cut and at 1/16" the jointer won't leave the smoothest finish. With parallelogram beds you can start jointing at 1/16" and finish up with 1/64" for your final pass... All while the machine is still running.

So, again, not important but convenient.

Rich, how is that different from a non parallelogram bed jointer?

My 8 inch General worked exactly that way, as does my new Hammer A3-31.....Rod.

[Rod Sheridan]

I agree on the space saving benefit of a combo jointer/planer, but I'm not seeing the cost benefit, at least with Grizzly. The cheapest 12"combo is $1,895 with straight blades or $2,495 for spiral. I can get a Makita or Dewalt benchtop planer and a Griz 8" jointer for about $500 less (lots of woodwork pros prefer floor planers but hundreds of favorable reviews on the benchtops don't lie). I'd love to own a combo, but need a compelling reason other than space savings in order to justify the cost.

My 14" planer was abour $4,500, the 8" jointer about $3,500, the Hammer combo about $4,000.

Try buying a stand alone 12" jointer, and matching stationary planer, and you'll find that the Euro combo machines are less expensive.

The Hammer easilly takes 3mm cuts on the jointer and planer, with a perfect no snipe finish.

Regards, Rod.

[scott vroom]

Rod, I'm curious about how much woodworking you do. You are purchasing, as far as I can tell from your many posts, high capacity production equipment. Do you run a large production shop? While I'd love to spend $4,000 on a combo, I'm trying to equip an entire shop for under $10K. I could end up wrong, but I believe I can turn out high quality work using moderately priced tools. Grizzly seems to have hit the performance/value sweet spot. I'm a one-man shop and am not into this as a business (at least initially). My motivation is to build my own custom kitchen cabinets, bedroom/office/living room furniture, and various built-ins around the house. I'm recently retired and figure I can make a moderate investment in tooling and save many thousands of dollars vs buying retail furnishings (my wife and I have deferred buying new furniture for many years in anticipation of this).

Thanks for your many comments. I must say that you exemplify the old saying "Go big or go home"! There's some wisdom in that.

[Chris Fairbanks]

Scott, What ever you do, don't waste your time and money on a benchtop planer. They are just love to snipe wood, are under powered and just don't last a long time. I wasted money on a nice one a few years back and thats all it lasted me. Since I already had an older Delta DJ-20 Jointer I bought a new Grizzly 15" planer and have never looked back. Its just such a night and day difference on working with a planer with some real weight behind it vs a little benchtop one that sometimes seems to weigh less than the piece of wood I am running through it. Good luck.

[Rod Sheridan]

Rod, I'm curious about how much woodworking you do. You are purchasing, as far as I can tell from your many posts, high capacity production equipment. Do you run a large production shop? While I'd love to spend $4,000 on a combo, I'm trying to equip an entire shop for under $10K. I could end up wrong, but I believe I can turn out high quality work using moderately priced tools. Grizzly seems to have hit the performance/value sweet spot. I'm a one-man shop and am not into this as a business (at least initially). My motivation is to build my own custom kitchen cabinets, bedroom/office/living room furniture, and various built-ins around the house. I'm recently retired and figure I can make a moderate investment in tooling and save many thousands of dollars vs buying retail furnishings (my wife and I have deferred buying new furniture for many years in anticipation of this).

Thanks for your many comments. I must say that you exemplify the old saying "Go big or go home"! There's some wisdom in that.

Actually Scott, it had nothing to do with "go big or go home", for example I had a BMW bike that I rode for 300,000 miles, and would have ridden it until I died, if it hadn't been killed in a rear ender.

I only buy good equipment, usually once.

My use is strictly hobby, no payment of any sort for the work I do, with the exception of a few pieces for close friends, which I have either given them, or given them for less than my material costs.

I don't buy imported machinery unless it comes from a country with similar or better wages, environmental standards, and social programs.

That leaves me with European equipment, if I don't buy Canadian. It's strictly an ethical decision, I want no part of our current race to the bottom.

Of course buying either General or Hammer products, I haven't been disappointed in the quality or performance of either.

My recommendations to you (or anyone else) come from over 30 years in the hobby, as well as some industrial experience. In addition my FIL is a retired cabinetmaker (apprenticed in England), and he has taught me a lot about tools and machinery.

I am the sort of person who will wait until I have enough money, then buy a good tool, that will exceed my expectations, permanently.

Your application is perfect for a good quality combo such as a Hammer planer/jointer and saw/shaper.

I have first hand experience with what a high end cabinet saw can, and cannot do, and believe me, they are sorely lacking when compared to a similar priced Euro machine. Decades of stagnation in the North American wood working machinery field has destroyed the market.

How can a country such as Austria which has better social, environmental and working legislation than the USA, have a flourishing high end machinery market when the USA has lost theirs?

It's simple, performance, capacity, innovation, quality and accuracy. Notice I didn't mention price.

My Grandfather would instantly recognise a Delta Unisaw (or a General saw), it hasn't really changed in 50 years, compare that to the Euro machines.

It wasn't an easy decision getting rid of my other General machines to buy the planer jointer in 2008, it wasn't easy selling the others to make way for the 2009 purchase of the sliding saw/shaper. I'm very loyal to my country, it's just that I'm getting older and want the ease of use and accuracy of a slider. I'm getting too old to wrestle sheet goods on a cabinet saw any more.

I know it's a lot of cash up front, however you'll never regret buying a Euro machine.

Regards, Rod.

[Thad Nickoley]

When it comes to tools always get as much as you can afford or as much as the wife will let you spend:D

[scott vroom]

Scott, What ever you do, don't waste your time and money on a benchtop planer. They are just love to snipe wood, are under powered and just don't last a long time. I wasted money on a nice one a few years back and thats all it lasted me. Since I already had an older Delta DJ-20 Jointer I bought a new Grizzly 15" planer and have never looked back. Its just such a night and day difference on working with a planer with some real weight behind it vs a little benchtop one that sometimes seems to weigh less than the piece of wood I am running through it. Good luck.


Chris, I've read dozens of reviews on the Makita 2012NB benchtop planer and snipe seems to be minimal on the Makita Vs other benchtops. This is one of the reasons I'm considering it (the other reason is that it is the quietest of the benchtops).

[Vic Damone]

Unless the majority of the stock you're using is rough cut and you have a decent dust collector, I suggest a drum sander before getting any planer. I sold my 735 planer for a drum sander and I haven't missed it one bit. On the other hand I have a few good suppliers of exotic surfaced wood and there is a custom molding / wood miil near by that charges very little to surface rough cut planks up to 36" wide.

My sander has gotten much more use than the planer. It does an accurate job of sizing stock and what comes out needs a minimum of finish sanding. It does take up more floor space though.

[Chuck Isaacson]

Scott, What ever you do, don't waste your time and money on a benchtop planer. They are just love to snipe wood, are under powered and just don't last a long time.

I dont know as if I would go that far. My DW735 has minimal if any snipe at all. Yes it is top of the line when it come to the benchtop models and it is loud as hell but it works excellent and does not take up the space like a stationary tool. I could get rid of the snipe completely if I actually took the time to tune it up I am sure. But I am fine with the little bit that I get. When I say little bit, I mean little bit too. And it is only sometimes that I get it. Not all the time. As for being under powered, if you are in that much of a hurry that you need to take off 1/16th or more at a time then go ahead and get the stationary. I don't take more than 1/32nd off at a time anyway. There is plenty of power to do that. It works like a champ, you can put a spiral head on it if you would like to upgrade in the future, and the dust collection is supreme. When I do upgrade I will get a stationary, but for a beginner, it suits me just fine. As for not lasting a long time, I just read a post from someone that said that they have had their portable machine for coming on 20 years. Maybe he is lucky, I don't know. My FIL has had his for close to 10. I know another guy that has has his DW735 for 5 or so. He doesn't plan on upgrading anytime soon either. Good luck with you decision.

Chuck

[Chris Barnett]

Well, I wish I had bought a smaller planer. There, Fred. Bought the Powermatic 209HH maybe a year ago, but have not even used it yet. Did I already say space is a real problem.