Planer 15'' vs 20''

[Shawn Stennett]

How many people who got a 15'' planer regret not getting a 20'' planer?

[Tony Bilello]

The other half should be......"and what do you mostly make?"
Anyone that makes small boxes will never need a larger planer. Furniture makers never have one large enough.

I recently restarted a woodworking business and was looking for a planer...either new or used. I would not be tempted by anything under 20" and fortunately I found a reasonably good Grizz 20" for an incredibly low price and nailed it. Now I am looking for a drum sander. If I buy new it will not be anything other than a 50" drum sander. If I find an incredible buy on a used one it will not be under 24" and that will be with the intent to just get by for 6 months.
I usually buy my hardwoods at an average of 8 to 10" wide. If I am gluing up a small table top, the 15" planer would be too small for two 8" boards.
Most furniture tops ( dressers, chests, hall tables, console tables, etc.) and home size desks are under 20". Usually ranging from 16" to 19" wide.
I build furniture.

I hope that helps in your decision making.

[Bruce Page]

I went from a 12” Delta snipemaker lunchbox that I often maxed out to a 15” Powermatic that I rarely max out, so for me, the 15” has served me well.

[Rod Sheridan]

I make furniture as a hobby and recently downsized from a General 14" to a Hammer 12".

I don't regret it at all, as I only plane wood that fits on the jointer and now they're both 12"

Regards, Rod.

[Chip Lindley]

As Rod stated, boards are rarely planed any wider than the shop jointer will handle. So, for 20-odd-years my old Rockwell RC33 13-1/8" planer has served me very well with an 8" jointer in the shop.

There was a time when a big 24" planer seemed very attractive to me. But, with a wide drum sander that expensive idea mostly evaporated! A 20" or larger planer would only serve me well now IF it had sectional feed rolls which would allow planing up to three boards at once up to the planer's capacity. One board could be started through, then the second, then the third. Sectional feed rolls of the big professional planers make this possible, but nearly impossible with the generic Chinese 20" machines, which are basically much wider versions of what I already own.

I'll just stick with my old Rockwell RC33 until a big RC51 or RC63 falls into my lap!

[Frank Drew]

I'm going with Tony: If you want to run a glued-up panel through your planer it will very likely be wider than your jointer's capacity (unless you're one of those showoffs with a 24" jointer :D.)

More capacity often translates to more capability and quicker work; additionally, even if you're not planing to the width of your machine all the time, you've got more blade length to play with in a wider machine, increasing the time between sharpenings.

I made do with a 15" machine for years because of limited floor space; you can make anything work, but that's not to say more wouldn't occasionally have been better.

[Shawn Stennett]

Thank you all, you all make great points. Sizing the planer to match the jointer makes sense.

[Mike Cruz]

So, which jointer are you going to get...the 15" or the 20"?

In theory, you should match your jointer and planer. In application, it is usually cost or space prohibitive.

To answer your question, I have a 15". It suffices. I would LOVE a 20". 5 years ago, when planning out my shop, the $ was there for ALL new equipment. 20" planer included. But with all that is going on, I've resorted to being a thrifty CL shopper (probably a lot more fun this way :D) and have gotten what I could find and could afford. I WANTED bigger than a 14" band saw, 15" planer, 6" jointer, and 2 HP dust collector...but an 18" band saw, 20" planer, 8" jointer, and cyclone dust collector weren't available in my new budget.

IF you can afford the 20" (both in the wallet and in space) go for it. You won't be disappointed. If you are concerned about funds, well....

[Frank Drew]

With respect, and not intending to be argumentative, but where did this idea come from that the planer should be the same width as the jointer, since it bears no relation to any tangible connection that I can see? I've never been in a professional/commercial shop that didn't have a planer that was wider than their jointer. If you had the space/money, why wouldn't you get a wide planer (within reason), unless, as Tony notes above, you know for certain that you'll be limiting your work to small boxes and such. Most of us, though, have to anticipate a variety of projects/commissions, so shouldn't unnecessarily limit ourselves.

Is anyone going to argue that if you have a six-inch jointer, you should get at most a seven-inch planer?

[Shawn Stennett]

Thanks Mike, thats a good point about then jointer, I currently onlyhave a 6 in Grizzly. I am trying to not repeat earlier mistakes by buying what will et me started and get by. I have already bought another tablesaw to replace my smallone, two different routers, and a bunch of other stuff that I thought should last me for a while. I just hope that I am not going to big ortofar the other direction with this planer.

[gary Zimmel]

My last planer was a 15" Delta X5.
All in all I was happy how it performed for me.
But hated changing the knives.
So much so I bought a new Powermatic planer about nine months ago.
Stayed with the 15" but with the Byrd head.
I am just a weekend warrior so production is not an issue and found no need to get a 20"

If price is a factor I would opt for a 15" that has a Byrd head in it rather than a 20" with knives. And get ready to upgrade the 6" jointer to an 8". But thats just me.

[george wilson]

It didn't mean that he planer was the same width as the jointer. A 15" goes better with an 8" jointer is what was meant.

I'd get a 20" planer,except I am worried about the weight I'm putting on the original 16'X22' single car garage,with a 6" cinder block foundation on a sloping hill,that I built my 30'X40' building on to. there isn't space in the main building for the big planer.

[Cary Falk]

I have a 15" spiral head planeer on my short list. I am in the camp that you can never have a big enough planer. I have a 13" planer now and could always use something bigger. I know when I get a 15" there will always be a time where I could use something bigger. Money, weight, and size figure into my decision for a 15". I have a 18/36 sander so I will live with a 15". I won't regret my decision but if you can work in a 20", I say go for it.

[Ron Bontz]

I have had my DC380 for about 13 years or more. It has never failed me. 15" is a good size, I think, for a small shop. I considered a 20", but it is not to easily moved around. For the wider glue ups I either do (2) 15", join them, then use the 25" drum sander. Or just line up the glue joints carefully, then sand. The extra 5" is not worth the extra cost and hassle to me.

[Rick Fisher]

I ran 2 x 19" wide Glue-up's through my 20" planer this week ..

I actually size panels under 20" for that purpose..

I think its one of those things, if you dont have it, you dont need it.. If you do have it, you dont want to go back..

The Drum sander flattens the glue-ups nicely afterwards.

[Bryan Cowing]

Kitchen RP doors rarely larger than 24" so the RP is under 20". A 20" planer is minimum for me.

[Chris Barnett]

George, only you know your slab conditions :D, but a 20 inch Powmermatic is equal to four stout guys standing together drinking beer. Don't imagine that should harm your floor; I had the same concern for loading with my 20 inch planer in the next room and never thought it would be a problem. Had thoughts of the floor cracking and

[Mike Cruz]

What I meant by matching your jointer and planer is that your jointer should be matched TO you planer. So if you have a 15" planer, you should get a 15" jointer (so that you can get up to a 15" board truely flat before planinging it truely uniformly...and flat). IN THEORY. Generally, except for exreme situations, getting a 15 to 20" jointer is WAY too cost prohibitive. If I am correct, a 15 or 20 inch jointer costs more than its planer counterpart. Most of us can glue up just fine and don't NEED the face jointing capabilities of a superjointer.

Not that it wouldn't be nice...just not feasable. BTW, I'd hate to see what the cost of a Byrd or Shelix would be for one of those monsters.

[Mike Cruz]

and...............................?

[Frank Drew]

It didn't mean that he planer was the same width as the jointer. A 15" goes better with an 8" jointer is what was meant.



Why is that?


So if you have a 15" planer, you should get a 15" jointer (so that you can get up to a 15" board truely flat before planing it truely uniformly...and flat

You can safely and accurately face joint stock up to just under twice the width of your jointer, so that would argue for getting a planer at least twice as wide as your jointer; my feeling is that even that is an artificial stopping point since you'd want to plane glue-ups from time to time.

[Shawn Stennett]

I will post pictures tommorow, I went to pick it up the 20 inch Grizzly and found myself visitingwith a very nice fellow woodworker. Icould havestayed for hours but the wife and kids were waiting. My oldest son did enjoy running all over the mans beautiful backyard with his wife. I ended up doing a liitle hand planning and soaking up any knowlede that I could. I did end up getting it, but unfortunatly it is stillin the truck. The guy that was to help me (has a crane for welders on the back of his truck) had a little to much to drink so we will do it in the morning. Before we left he let me run a few hard maple boardsthrough, it ran very smooth.

[Mike Cruz]

Are you kidding me?!?! You let a few drinks stop you from unloading the planer? OMG, you missed an awsome opportunity. All you had to do is set up a video camera, and when the planer banged into the side of your truck and went end over crashing to the ground, you just start bawling while everyone else laughs like crazy! You could have won $10,000 just by sending in the video.

Of course, if you didn't win the $10,000, you'd have a banged up truck, a banged up planer, and a knot in your stomach. Good choice waiting...