need help with a benchtop planer.

[Steve knight]

I don't use a planer a huge enough anymore but I have been getting some jobs where I need it more. I have a delta 12.5" planer that I have had two and they have not been the greatest. one I had the rubber come off the drive roller but both tend to get shavings embedded under the knives and makes them budge. I think it was mostly the tropical woods I have run through it. I would not mind getting one of the grizzly 15" models as I would like to have the helical carbide head but that makes it cost about 2k.
I was thinking of the dewalt and kitting the new head for it but what about the steel city planers that come with the heads?
I don't use it for wide boards for the most part or anything over 4' for several years.

[glenn bradley]

What are you using for dust/chip collection. If you are just letting it fly, you will get chips back in the business area and cause problems so a good DC may help. Lunchbox planers can do a wonderful job but, there are some that look a lot alike that suffer a wide separation when it comes to quality and endurance. The rubber coming off the drive roller sounds like the unit is being used outside its design parameters ;-) If you need a machine that can take that kind of volume without failure, a floor model may be a good bet. If you only have to get through the next few jobs and want to have a unit that will continue to serve you well afterwards, I have had good luck with the DeWalt DW734 that Lowe's seems to be clearing out. I'm sure there are other good models/brands as well. I used my DeWalt for years and then sold it to a pro who processes rough lumber all day long. He already had one and wanted another despite having much larger machines in his shop. In the end you need to fit the tool to the job and a lunchbox is not a production machine; its a jobsite machine.

[Steve knight]

I don't use it hard. most of the time I was lucky to use it for a few pieces a few times a month. Like I would cut parts out of solid wood on my cnc router and not cut all the way through. run it through the planer to remove the last little bit.
Right now I would run 100 prices of 2x2.5x20" hard maple once a month through it. So not a huge use and most of the peices are short.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Try connecting a vacuum (or similar) to suck up the dust if it does not contain a blower. See if that helps.