Help me buy a planer

[Tom Sweeney]

Ok in about a weeks time, God willing, I'll have some cash to buy a lunchbox planer. Right now I'm going back & forth with the Dewalt & the 2 speed Delta. It looks like the Delta's about $60 more. I have not used much yet but I really like figured maple & I understand the 2 speeds would be helpfull with figured wood. Is this a big enough difference to justify the extra $$? Are they both equal in build & design quality? Someone in a chat said they had a lot of problems with the Dewalts. I'm leaning towards the Delta unless the quality of the Dewalt is better.

Also I hear Dewalt is coming out with a new model - any idea how soon? Will it be 2 speeds to compete - or would I be better waiting for the announcement & then buying the current model when the price drops? I don't need it right away - but I want it right away:D . Didn't see anything on a quick check of their web site.
Am I missing anything? is the Rigid or another model a better deal? Did a magazine do a comparison recently?

Thanks for any opinions & suggestions.

[Dr. Zack Jennings]

I have the Dewalt and have used it a lot. Just having a planer makes all sorts of projects possible.

I'm pleased with mine and haven't used any other. I have seen Bobby Hatfield use his big heavy commercial model. Now that's a planer.

[Bob Reilly]

Tom,from all the post's i've read the 22-580 is the machine to have and more so if you intend to run figured wood through it,maybe some owners will chime in here.

[Paul Dwight]

I have the new two-speed Delta and am very happy with it. The slow speed does seem to reduce tearout on the final pass, especially with figured woods. The machine also has some nice convenience features, like the ability to quickly "zero" the depth indicator for the thickness of the wood you're using. I think the convenience features are a genuine advantage over the DeWalt or my old 12-1/2" Delta. To be fair, though, most of the new generation of lunchbox planers share the same or similar features. In any event, the main reason to buy this planer is the ability to slow down the feed rate for a final pass -- the rest is gravy.

It's a big and heavy machine -- quite a bit bigger and heavier than the DeWalt or my old 12-1/2" Delta. I'm going to build a rolling stand for mine. If shop space is a big problem and you need to move the planer onto and off of a bench to use it, you might want to go into the store and heft one before you buy. I personally would not want to be lifting this thing up and down very often.

I bought my 12-1/2" Delta planer a few months after it came out. If I had waited a little while longer, the price would have been substantially lower. I suspect the same thing will prove to be true this time around. I know nothing about what the new DeWalt will be like, but it's safe to say that DeWalt wouldn't be introducing a new planer if it wasn't competitive with the new Delta. I suspect the price on the Delta will drop soon after the new DeWalt comes out.

Hope this helps. -- Paul

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I don't think it matters what kind of planer you buy. I've seen the wood out of a jet, delta, dewalt and grizzly lunchbox planer and they all look pretty much the same. Certainly not enough difference to measure. Some snipe more than others, but you can reduce/eliminate the snipe by using an auxillary table. If you're going to plane something longer than 4' you should probably use one anyway. I do notice a difference between the industrial planers and the lunchbox models. The smaller planers seem to leave a nicer finish.

[Tom Sweeney]

Good info for me to go over.

The fact that the Delta is bigger & heavier like Paul said makes me think it is maybe a better quality machine. I think I'm still leaning towards the Delta - I'll hopefully post an official Gloat in a week or so.

Thanks to everyone for the help - much appreciated.