Help me choose a thickness planer.

[Andrew Gibson]

I have a commision coming up that will be yealding a nice amount of profit. My thoughts are that I need to add a thickness planer to my shop... I have a 6" jointer.

My dream machine would be a 12" combo machine like a griz G0634xp. However I would like to come out of this job with some cash in the bank. I have been considering a lunch box or even a floor model but really dont know where to look and what to look at...

I saw the steel city with the helical cutterheador whatever they call it. give me some ideas of things to look at. i may also spend a couple weeks scouring CL so what should I look for in an older machine?

[Erik Christensen]

I have a 3 HP floor model 15" with a helical head - works great and does all I need. I choose not to go to 20" as a) I don't see any boards over 15" here in southern california, b) I have a drum sander for larger stuff like glue-ups and c) I had better use for the space and $$.

YMMV - a lot here really like their lunchbox planers but I had the space and dust collection for something larger so that is what I went with.

[Cary Falk]

I had a 13" Delta 22-580 lunchbox. It did everything I needed. It left a great finish. It was extemely noisy and slow. I now have a Grizzly 15" with a spiral head and love it. I no longer feel guilty about the noise it makes. If you are looking used a lunchbox should have a cutterhead lock and indexed blades are nice. Pretty much all of the stationary ones are the same now days. I hear the motor on the bottom makes the blade changes easier. I woud run a board through it and if it looks good buy it.

[Bill White]

My old DeWalt 733 has been a workhorse. It is well cared for, so I've had no complaints. I find that the HSS blades are a bit better than the throw-away reversable, and they can be touched up with a water stone when needed. A used one that has been treated well should not be too expensive.
Bill

[glenn bradley]

Another Griz 15" spiral here and I too am really happy with it for the money. A 20" was just too big for my space but if I coulda, I woulda. That being said I still have my 12-1/2", 3 knife DeWalt 734 which has served me well for years. I upgraded as my interests morphed into the use of more figured woods. The straight knifed machine would tearout too much on reversing grains and I would often have to use "something else" after fouling a carefully chosen piece of stock. Your satisfaction with a tool will vary with your use of it.

[Gene Tereba]

have the Makita 2012NB (lunchbox)....love it and works like a champ...rock solid, smooth finish, minimal snipe (only once or twice a slight dig), and relatively whisper quiet.
HIGHLY recommended.

[Brian Kincaid]

Do you have / can you get a real dust collector?
If not you are limited to lunchbox planers with their blowers to exhaust chips (all over the place).
If you have a dust collector and process lots of rough wood definitely get a floor unit with a spiral/byrd cutterhead.

-Brian

[Jefferey Scott]

I just traded up from a Dewalt 734 to a Grizzly 0453P with knives and am completely satisfied. Go bigger than you think you will need and you shouldn't be sorry.

[Don Jarvie]

Watch Craiglist and get a floor model at least 12 inch. The heavy floor machines will make it easy to plane large board because of their weight so you don't have to worry about the board tipping the machine.

I got a Belsaw 9103 with a 3hp R/I motor for 125.00, new knives and some cleanup and it works great. Will plane any wood no problem with no snipe. The motor weighs at least 80 lbs and the machine another 100. Have put 9ft long 1 inch birch through with no issues.

[David Thompson 27577]

I have a commision coming up that will be yealding a nice amount of profit. My thoughts are that I need to add a thickness planer to my shop... I have a 6" jointer.

My dream machine would be a 12" combo machine like a griz G0634xp. However I would like to come out of this job with some cash in the bank. I have been considering a lunch box or even a floor model but really dont know where to look and what to look at...

I saw the steel city with the helical cutterheador whatever they call it. give me some ideas of things to look at. i may also spend a couple weeks scouring CL so what should I look for in an older machine?


I have the Delta 13" planer that is supposedly portable.

Horsefeathers!. That thing probably weighs in at 80 or 85 pounds! Although it does a great job, don't make the mistake of thinking that a portable ("lunchbox") planer is actually anything close to portable.

[scott vroom]

I also have the Grizzly 15" with the spiral cutter head. It's much quieter than a lunchbox planer which was important to me since my shop is in a small-lot residential area. My dust collection makes more noise than the planer.

[ken gibbs]

Brrian,

Every time I thickness a workpiece with my old DeWalt 12.5 " planer, I collect a lot of sawdust all over the floor, my work benches, my tool boxes, and even fill up mu coffee cup if I forget to cover it up. Buy a good push broom and a large coal scoop shovel. Enjoy sawdust. I have been waiting 40 years for the priviledge of walking around in 6" of sawdust. Damn, I love it.

[Andrew Gibson]

Thanks all for the responces. I have a HF 1750 cfm dust collector, so not to huge of a deal their. I do quite like the idea if a sprial cutterhead to make figured wood more easily worked.

[george wilson]

I have the usual 15" planer with motor beneath. A Bridgewood,made in Taiwan that I got nearly new in about 1986. It is not noisy at all. I prefer the Dispoz-a Blade blades,as I can change blades in 15 minutes. I haven't felt wood run through a spiral head,but I don't think I'd care for the slight grooves,though I'm certain the head does better on figured wood due to the more scraping action of the cutters.

I am a very particular person,and I can hardly see the minute chop marks the planer makes.

[Myk Rian]

Where to look? Craigslist.
I have a DW735 with Byrd head and love it, but it's a pricey combination.

[Curt Putnam]

Seems to me that with a 6" jointer, you don't need more than a 12" or 13" planer. Get an 8" jointer and you'll want to move to a 15" planer. YMMV

[Joe Angrisani]

Andrew.... I have the Steel City "helical" that you mentioned in your OP. And I am extremely happy with it. I would suggest an earlier unit (used), with the four-sided cutters instead of the current two-sided ones. Let me know if you have any specific questions about the Steel City planer.

I much prefer using a lunchbox-style planer to a freestanding unit. In a nutshell, it comes down to the fact that the cutterhead moves up-down on a lunchbox, and the table moves up-down on a floor/pedestal type. Any type of infeed/outfeed support must be adjusted after each pass on a floor unit. With a lunchbox, infeed/outfeed height stays constant so you can design a cart (or fixed table placement) that matches your other bench heights, or use roller stands without constant re-adjusting.

[Ray DuBose]

Have a Hammer A3 31 myself and love it (12" Combo Joiner Planer), it may be out of your price range but I was going to give a +1 to whatever you have having a Byrd/Helica head it in it as it just makes life a lot easier.

[Mark Carlson]

I just got a Hammer A3-31 with a byrd head. It replaced (well I still have both) a powermatic 6in jointer and a Delta 13in planer. The Delta planer worked well but was very very loud. Which meant I could only use it during certain times of the day. The Hammer is very quiet with the byrd head, planing and jointing. I also love the extra width in jointer mode. I never saw the need for a 15 or 20 in planer. I've never found boards that wide and I don't plane after gluing up panels.

~mark

[Homer Faucett]

Watch CL closely, and check auctionzip for auctions in your area. There are some great buys out there if you wait. Maybe check the pawnshops for a decent lunchbox, and then bide your time to jump on a good floor model or combo.

[Paul McGaha]

Hi Andrew,

I have a 15" Powermatic w a Byrd Head. It is really nice and I'm very happy with it.

I would highly recommend a floor model from Powermatic, Grizzly or others in lieu of a benchtop planer. Less noise by far.

There is a lot of value to the Grizzly planers I think but I'm happy with my Powermatic.

For those that have a jointer or a jointer/planer that can do 12" it must be nice. I was trained that the jointer is the first step to make stock flat, and I find myself on occasion ripping stock down to 8" or less so I can run them on my jointer. I know I could probably make a sled of some type and use my planer more and the jointer less but to date I havent done that.

Good luck with your purchase.

PHM

[scott vroom]

Seems to me that with a 6" jointer, you don't need more than a 12" or 13" planer. Get an 8" jointer and you'll want to move to a 15" planer. YMMV

Or, get a 15" planer and you'll want an 8" jointer:D

[glenn bradley]

Seems to me that with a 6" jointer, you don't need more than a 12" or 13" planer. Get an 8" jointer and you'll want to move to a 15" planer. YMMV

When folks say this, I'm never quite sure how the two tool's capacity is supposed to relate. I'm not trying to be a smart-guy but, if you have a 6" jointer, do you never do a glue up over 12"? I just don't see the relationship ;-)

[Cary Falk]

When folks say this, I'm never quite sure how the two tool's capacity is supposed to relate. I'm not trying to be a smart-guy but, if you have a 6" jointer, do you never do a glue up over 12"? I just don't see the relationship ;-)

The theory is that since you can joint a bord 2x the width of the jointer by taking the guard and flipping the board you need 2x the width in a jointer. I agree with you that I don't think there is a relationship between the 2. I plane glue-ups so I want a planer as wide as I can afford.

[Andrew Gibson]

thanks for all the ideas. currently I do all of my surfacing neander style, and I do not have a huge desire to stop. My thought is that it would be a time saver for sure to use a plainer.

I also like the idea of using the jointer to surface 3 sides, then use the plainer to surface the 4th and bring the piece to thickness. My true dream machine would be a 16" combo... but unless I win the lotto (which I would have to start buying tickets) I don't expect to have that kind of disposable income. My bandsaw can resaw up to 12" so having a 12" combo makes sense in my head. I am just having a hard time dropping the coin on the machine when there are so many other tings I could put it toward... I will have to ponder for a while... maybe something will come across the used market that will make my mind up for me.

[scott vroom]

I, too, don't understand the fixation on the relationship between jointer and planer size. I just planed two 13" glue ups on my 15" planer, and then glued those into a single 26" slab and now wish I had a 30" planer :). Think about it.

[jonathan eagle]

I think the main issue is that a planer is cheap, while the same size jointer is expensive. That is what drives some people's thinking as they accustom themselves on what they can afford. It's obvious that we'd all get "full capacity" machines if we can afford to. The 12" jointer allows one to avoid any glue ups, up to that size. In the other case, one is limited by the jointer. When they match, one is not limited by either. Of course many will consider it's fine to have narrow boards being glued up, and they are not limited by the planer. I am in the process of upgrading myself, and looking forward to having to avoid ripping a nice wide board just so I can joint it. But have done so for many years.

[scott vroom]

I think the main issue is that a planer is cheap, while the same size jointer is expensive. That is what drives some people's thinking as they accustom themselves on what they can afford. It's obvious that we'd all get "full capacity" machines if we can afford to. The 12" jointer allows one to avoid any glue ups, up to that size. In the other case, one is limited by the jointer. When they match, one is not limited by either. Of course many will consider it's fine to have narrow boards being glued up, and they are not limited by the planer. I am in the process of upgrading myself, and looking forward to having to avoid ripping a nice wide board just so I can joint it. But have done so for many years.


Jonathan, what you're really saying is the jointer is self limiting with respect to the size boards it can face joint. I agree. That in itself doesn't establish a connection between jointer and planer size. The way I look at it is I desire as wide a jointer as I can afford for reasons you mention; however only being able to afford an 8" jointer doesn't affect my desire or need for as wide a planer as I can afford.

Someone mentioned flipping a board around to double jointer capacity. Has anyone here done this successfully? In theory it sounds good, but I can see where it might leave the two sides at slightly different depths. Interesting idea though.

[David Nelson1]

Jonathan, what you're really saying is the jointer is self limiting with respect to the size boards it can face joint. I agree. That in itself doesn't establish a connection between jointer and planer size. The way I look at it is I desire as wide a jointer as I can afford for reasons you mention; however only being able to afford an 8" jointer doesn't affect my desire or need for as wide a planer as I can afford.

Someone mentioned flipping a board around to double jointer capacity. Has anyone here done this successfully? In theory it sounds good, but I can see where it might leave the two sides at slightly different depths. Interesting idea though.

I tried this after seeing a video demonstration. I was not overly impressed. I tried an 8 inch board and a 12 inch, which maxed out my jointer. With the 8 inch the over lapping seam was marginal but still noticeably.With the 12 inch a lot more flipping and fiddling around with cut depth was required. In both cases when the grain changed due to flipping and the natural course that grain takes, created more chip out than desired. I was working with fairly straight grained oak. I would have to speculate that if a Byrd head was installed on the jointer, grain direction might not be a factor.

I concluded that if your where not facing the good side you could hide the chip out, and with only had a few boards to mill up this might not be a bad method for a work around on select pieces.

[jonathan eagle]

Jonathan, what you're really saying is the jointer is self limiting with respect to the size boards it can face joint. I agree. That in itself doesn't establish a connection between jointer and planer size. The way I look at it is I desire as wide a jointer as I can afford for reasons you mention; however only being able to afford an 8" jointer doesn't affect my desire or need for as wide a planer as I can afford.

Someone mentioned flipping a board around to double jointer capacity. Has anyone here done this successfully? In theory it sounds good, but I can see where it might leave the two sides at slightly different depths. Interesting idea though.
Scott,
I don't think I'm saying that at all. Actually, I think most tools ARE related (table saw, bandsaw) , in the sense of making a final product. I am looking at the big picture, not just the jointer and planer. I think what is overlooked is that a 12" planer, cost peanuts.
By the way I tried the "remove the guard to double the capacity, process". I was able to joint a 10" board on my 6" jointer. It was a long process. I folllowed an article in fine woodworking I believe.
I didn't like the idea of having no guard as well.
I am getting a g0634xp. I plan to use it as a jointer, only. I still have my lunchbox 12" planer.
Jonathan