Planer Advice

[Brent Romero]

About to pull the trigger and order a Delta 22-590 planer. Any comments...good, bad or otherwise. I realize that I can get a 2-speed Dewalt for a few bucks more and I can also save a few bucks and not get the Infinite Micro Adjustment.

This will be my first planer...

Thanks

[Jason BrownMT]

I had the 22-580 and thought it was a great machine. It was a two speed planer, but I always kept the speed on the "fine" setting. I never saw a need to change the speed and I would be happy with a single speed planer.

Jason

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I own a Dewalt 735, which I like very much. It has two speeds and I never use the fast speed.

[Brent Romero]

Thanks guys. So I am wondering if it is worth springing for the additional $$ for the 22-590 vs the TP305. At this point the 22-590 would end up running me an additional $200.

[Van Huskey]

The rule of thumb for lunchbox planers is get the Dewalt 735 if you want the best, or if you are on a budget the Dewalt 734 or Rigid. If you ask the simple question of what lunchbox to buy you won't get a ton of Delta answers, not that it isn't a decent planer but for the money there are better alternatives.

[Bruce Wrenn]

The TP-305 is just the old 22-540, with a few changes. (I own a couple of the 22-540's) While a good design, the TP 305 will SNIPE! This means you need to add FOUR inches to what ever length board you want. Watch CL for a used DeWalt 735. Most of the times, the owner has upgraded too a stationary planer.

[howard s hanger]

You better get some good ear protection if you get the 735. It is loud beyond belief. I own one. It also has a great deal of difficulty on 10" or wider boards. I can barely take 1/32nd off at a time for a wide board. Otherwise, it will trip the breaker. No problem with 6-8" or narrower. I will be upgrading pretty soon to a Hammer A3-31. 4hp and pretty quiet!

[Joe Angrisani]

......It also has a great deal of difficulty on 10" or wider boards. I can barely take 1/32nd off at a time for a wide board. Otherwise, it will trip the breaker......

Planer issue or circuit issue?? What's a 735 drawing?

[Van Huskey]

You better get some good ear protection if you get the 735. It is loud beyond belief. I own one. It also has a great deal of difficulty on 10" or wider boards. I can barely take 1/32nd off at a time for a wide board. Otherwise, it will trip the breaker. No problem with 6-8" or narrower. I will be upgrading pretty soon to a Hammer A3-31. 4hp and pretty quiet!

All the universal motored planers are screamers, unfortunately the nature of the beast. Get a Byrd head installed by Felder on the A3 31 and it will be enven more quiet!

[Ellen Lewis]

I was at the Woodworking Show in Springfield MA this weekend. Talked with the Delta guys about the lunchbox planer. It is a straight blade right now but Delta is coming out with a helical head lunchbox in April. Has anyone heard about this?
Also... does anyone know about the General International lunchbox with the helical head? Any opinions?

[Joe Angrisani]

All the universal motored planers are screamers, unfortunately the nature of the beast.......

And if I remember correctly, the Dewalt 735 also has the "shop-vac-loud" screaming chip ejection fan, no?

[Van Huskey]

And if I remember correctly, the Dewalt 735 also has the "shop-vac-loud" screaming chip ejection fan, no?

You are correct! The 735 may well be the loudest of the bunch, there was one person that was thinking about disabling it, since they were using a DC, but I never saw if they reposted.

[Van Huskey]

I was at the Woodworking Show in Springfield MA this weekend. Talked with the Delta guys about the lunchbox planer. It is a straight blade right now but Delta is coming out with a helical head lunchbox in April. Has anyone heard about this?
Also... does anyone know about the General International lunchbox with the helical head? Any opinions?

The General's head is the Accu-Head also used in the Steel City lunchbox. They only have 26 two sided HSS (not carbide) inserts in their heads. FWW tested them and they didn't test as well as straight knives and significantly behind the carbide cutter heads. Based on the cost to replace the cutters, the fact they are only 2 sided and HSS instead of carbide and don't offer a better finish or deal with knarly grain better than straight knives I don't see them as being a positive over straight knives in any way, other than possibly being easier to set, though it would take most people longer to spin or replace 26 cutters. If the Delta is going to have a carbide bit segmented cutter it might be something to look at but if they are planning to use the Accu-Head or a similar approach I would prefer to get the staright knives.