Upgrade planer or get a drum sander?

[Ashwini Kaul]

Hey Folks,

Have some $$ burning a hole in my pocket from the IT returns...

I have a ridgid lunchbox planer that works well for the most part for my small basement shop. It probably needs new blades though.
I would love to get a bigger 15 or 20 " planer but a big move 2 years down the line precludes it.

Am I better of upgrading the planer to something like a Dewalt 735 or get a drum sander from Jet like the 16-32 or 22-44. With their current 15% sale - I would get it at a decent price.

Your thoughts/experience would be much appreciated...

[glenn bradley]

Apples and oranges Ashwini. If flat sanding is taking up a lot of your shop time, a sander will allow you to do more in less time. The Ridgid planer has a loyal following as a very nice tool for the money. Unless there are some problems with it, the increase in performance for what the DW735 costs may not be the best money spent. The sander is not a replacement for the planer but rather, an addition to it. If the planer is doing the job, I would get the sander. If you plan on a floor planer in a couple years, I would not spend half the cost of a floor unit for another lunchbox right now. Free opinion and worth just what you paid for it ;-)

[frank shic]

i'd go for the 22-44 performax

[Bill Huber]

I agree with Glenn, the sander is much different then the planer. I have the Ridgid planer and now have a little 10-20 sander, the planer does a great job but it is still not a drum sander.

With the Ridgid I can plan a board and it comes out as smooth as glass and really requires little or no sanding. With the sander when I have a panel that I have glued up and have just that little miss match I run it though the sander to get it good and flat. I also use the sander for things that are just to small for the planer.

I just did some strips, they were a little over 3/8 wide and a little over 1/8 thick. I had 3 of them and used the sander to get them all spot on the same size for an inlay. The sander did a really good job of that were it would have been a real problem with the planer for that small of an item.

[Cary Falk]

Moving from the Ridgid to the DeWalt is a waste of money. Get the sander.

[Jim Finn]

I have a DeWalt planer and a Grizzly Baby drum sander. I do not use the drum sander any more. The planer is much, much faster. The planer does a great job for me.

[Clint Olver]

Moving from the Ridgid to the DeWalt is a waste of money. Get the sander.
Agreed, get the sander.

[Phil Thien]

Same position presently. In fact, I sold my jointer/planer (an Inca) and my sander.

I'm probably going to get a planer with helical cutter. This will reduce tearout (hopefully). And I'll just be more careful about glue-ups (using cauls) so panels hopefully don't need a lot of sanding.

And it will take less room, which was the entire point to my exercise.

[David Helm]

If you work with a lot of figured wood, the drum sander, in my opinion, is the way to go. I have a Grizzly 18/36 that gets used regularly, but my planer sits a lot.

[Paul McGaha]

I'm with the others and suggest you get the sander Ashwini.

Whenever you get around to upgrading the lunchbox planer maybe go to a full size planer.

PHM

[Van Huskey]

IF the Ridgid is working or can be adjusted to work properly it makes little sense to buy the Dewalt only to upgrade it after you move in the future. Get the sander now since you can use it for a long time and upgrade the planer later.

That said you better hurry, I think the national Jet sell ends TODAY...