Planer cut quality

[Mike Reinholtz]

I came upon a great deal on a used 20" Jet planer and if I get it would be upgrading from a Dewalt 735. I know I want to upgrade for a larger capacity/ more substantial unit, my question is in regards to the actual quality of the planing. From what I have read here all planers leave a surface that still needs to be sanded, but is there a difference in what comes out of the machine? I am pretty excited to get this machine this weekend, but before I pull the trigger I would love to get some opinions. Also, would this Jet machine be any quieter than the dewalt?

Thanks for your time,


Mike

[Alan Schaffter]

I came upon a great deal on a used 20" Jet planer and if I get it would be upgrading from a Dewalt 735. I know I want to upgrade for a larger capacity/ more substantial unit, my question is in regards to the actual quality of the planing. From what I have read here all planers leave a surface that still needs to be sanded, but is there a difference in what comes out of the machine? I am pretty excited to get this machine this weekend, but before I pull the trigger I would love to get some opinions. Also, would this Jet machine be any quieter than the dewalt?

Thanks for your time,


Mike

Depends on the blades and feed speed. New blades not much difference. EXCEPT the Dewalt turns at a higher RPM and may have higher cut speed (tip speed) though not necessarily since it depends on diameter of the journal. Does the Jet have two feed speeds? The Dewalt has a slow, finishing speed doesn't it, so you get more cuts per inch? The Dewalt blades are indexed so easy to change and require no alignment. Be prepared to spend some time with a dial indicator to align the blades on the Jet when you change them.

A cabinetmaker friend has a 15" but kept his little two speed Dewalt for finish cuts.

I had a Delta 12 1/2" it did ok, good cut, not too strong, could only take very light cut per pass. I upgraded to a 3 hp 15" w/Shelix- better, faster cut, stronger. Got a great deal on an old closed stand 20" 5 hp Delta RC-51 beast. With new, precisely set blades, it cuts as well as the 15" with Shelix, but is much stronger and can hog off more per pass. After a lot of thought, I sold the 15." The biggest difference- I have to consider grain direction vs feed direction again which I didn't need to do with the Shelix. My old Delta has a bigger journal than most modern 20" planers so a Shelix is $$$$$$$- probably never gonna happen.

[Cary Falk]

IAlso, would this Jet machine be any quieter than the dewalt?

Thanks for your time,


Mike
Anything would be quieter than the Dewalt.:eek::D

[Jay Jolliffe]

I've got the Jet 16" and it works fine. I don't know of any planers that give you a finished surface with out a little sanding. The only thing that bothers be about the 16" is you can't do a real light pass with mine. It will leave small lines in the wood from the steel feed rollers.I did read here I think the the pressure on the feed rollers are adjustable but I haven't looked in the book about that. A nice sharp set of knives do give a smooth finish.

[Rod Sheridan]

I have only owned stationary planers so I cannot compare them to portable planers.

When I use a planer, I'm looking for a fixed dimension output, so if my rough wood is about 23 mm and I want 20mm, I take a pass with the planer set at 21mm, then a final pass set at 20mm.

That way I don't have any roller marks, and I only need two passes.

The surface finish is a function of numer of cuts per inch, so cutterhead design and feed speed come into play. My planer has a relatively high feed speed of 24 feet per minute.

Regards, Rod.

[Myk Rian]

Anything would be quieter than the Dewalt.:eek::D
Yep. The 735 with a Shelix.

[Mike Reinholtz]

The planer in question is a Jet JWP-208-1. It has 4 blades and the feed rates are 24 and 31 fpm, 20K cuts/min. I looked into the shelix, ouch! For this machine it's over $1,000. Most likely not in my future, I think my wife would beat me with it if I ordered one. Is there any less snipe on these machines? I know some of it comes from feed tables not being set up right, but I spent quite a bit of time with a machinist square and various straight edges on the dewalt tables and never got rid of the last 3" of snipe. The indexing of the blades is a huge benefit on the dewalt though, I didn't think about that. Anyone heard an update on the dewalt coming with a shelix?

[Alan Schaffter]

The planer in question is a Jet JWP-208-1. It has 4 blades and the feed rates are 24 and 31 fpm, 20K cuts/min. I looked into the shelix, ouch! For this machine it's over $1,000. Most likely not in my future, I think my wife would beat me with it if I ordered one. Is there any less snipe on these machines? I know some of it comes from feed tables not being set up right, but I spent quite a bit of time with a machinist square and various straight edges on the dewalt tables and never got rid of the last 3" of snipe. The indexing of the blades is a huge benefit on the dewalt though, I didn't think about that. Anyone heard an update on the dewalt coming with a shelix?

You think $1000 is bad, look in the tables for the price of a Shelix for the old style 20" Delta (look under Invicta), now that is an ouch!!!

A Shelix doesn't cure snipe, it does leave a nice finish though. I rarely get snipe on my 20" Delta, but it has nice rollers -one infeed and two outfeed which I have carefully adjusted so holds the stock to the table. There are a number of things that can cause snipe if that is what you are mainly trying to get rid of, some technique, some machine.

[John Harden]

Mike, any planer with an induction motor will be quieter than the Dewalt and its whiney universal motor.

Whether or not it planes well is entirely a function of the engineering that went into the machine and how it is calibrated.

On large, stationary machines, snipe is generally a function of the settings on the in and outfeel rollers and not so much the length of the bed.

Planing quality is mostly determined by how well engineered the unit is and the quality/sharpness of the knives.

To illustrate, the planer bed on my 16" J/P combo is very short, yet planes even heavy boards without snipe. It also planes highly figured boards with no tearout. It does not have a helical cutterhead. If the machine is well engineered and tuned, a helical is not needed.

Regards,

John

[Kirk Poore]

Mike, any planer with an induction motor will be quieter than the Dewalt and its whiney universal motor.

Whether or not it planes well is entirely a function of the engineering that went into the machine and how it is calibrated.

On large, stationary machines, snipe is generally a function of the settings on the in and outfeel rollers and not so much the length of the bed.

Planing quality is mostly determined by how well engineered the unit is and the quality/sharpness of the knives.

To illustrate, the planer bed on my 16" J/P combo is very short, yet planes even heavy boards without snipe. It also planes highly figured boards with no tearout. It does not have a helical cutterhead. If the machine is well engineered and tuned, a helical is not needed.

Regards,

John

John's experience matches my own. I had a Delta 22-560 and then a Dewalt 734 (both 12-1/2"). I now have an Oliver 399 (18"). Both the lunchbox planers did more "cuts per inch" but were more subject to snipe. The Oliver surface cuts per inch is pretty close to the others, and in all cases you'll want to sand or hand-plane for a good final surface. Assuming the Jet can do about the same surface as the Oliver, you'll never look back.

Kirk

[dan sherman]

Based on these numbers the Jet's cuts/in range is 54-69. The Dewalt's is 96 or 179, Thus you will never get as smooth a finish from the Jet as you will the Dewalt.


The planer in question is a Jet JWP-208-1. It has 4 blades and the feed rates are 24 and 31 fpm, 20K cuts/min.