Thickness planer rental?

[John Pariseau]

I need a portable thickness planer for a project - but only need it for this project. I've been checking around the various rental places in my area, but can't find one. Is it likely that they would rent this type of machine? I don't know anyone that has a portable unit. Any ideas?

Because of the nature of this tool, I kind of doubt it will be rentable, but I can't really buy one at this moment. I've checked Craigslist, and there are some deals but I don't have a lot of time to mess with getting an older unit working.

Thanks!

John

[Bill Bukovec]

I saw one at A to Z rental in Eden Prairie MN. I was a little surprised that they had one.

[Charles Palmer]

Home Depot rents tools. They might have one of these in their rental stable? Check them out.

[John Pariseau]

Home Depot rents tools. They might have one of these in their rental stable? Check them out.
I checked their website out, but will try calling.

[Mike Schuch]

There is no chance I would rent out my planer but I would consider running a planing job for someone. Renting out a planer is sure to mean atleast a new set of knives if not worse damage. If I do the job myself I can inspect the wood that is going through it and limit the cuts to an appropriate thickness.

I reccomend you look for a woodworking shop that will run your project for you. I have paid for wide belt sanding work and I received a perfectly flat table top and they made a quick $40 for a few minutes work.

[George Werner]

Yeah, highly doubt you'll find one for rent simply because of the blades. I had to rent a concrete saw from Lowes a couple years ago but it didn't include the blade, the renter had to provide that on their own.

[peter Joseph]

+1 on finding a production shop to run your pieces. I had a coffee table slab that was way to large for my lunchbox planer and found a local lumber yard with a 20" powermatic who was willing to help me out. I had to agree to pay for new blades if they hit any metal but was ultimately charged 4$ for about 10 minutes of work.

[John Pariseau]

Hmm, I'll call around. I figured the blade could be an issue. Problem is, I have quite a bit of linear feet to plane down, and I don't think I could transport it all to a shop. I'll try to see if someone has a portable setup that they travel with. Otherwise, I guess I'll look into purchasing an "inexpensive" unit, but I hate to buy something for one-time use.

[Jim German]

Buy a used DW734 or 735 off ebay/craigslist and then just resell it when you're done. Will be a bit of a hassle but won't cost you much.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Tyler Tool has a DeWalt 734R (reconditioned) for $329 w/free shipping.

Used ones in your area seem to be going for just a little less than that on CL.
Figure you might need new blades on a used one & you're darn near the same price.

[Erik Loza]

There is no chance I would rent out my planer but I would consider running a planing job for someone. Renting out a planer is sure to mean atleast a new set of knives if not worse damage. If I do the job myself I can inspect the wood that is going through it and limit the cuts to an appropriate thickness.

I reccomend you look for a woodworking shop that will run your project for you. I have paid for wide belt sanding work and I received a perfectly flat table top and they made a quick $40 for a few minutes work.

+1^^^

I can see lots of ruined boards from the machine "someone else" used. I would just try to find a local millwright shop and see if they will do the job for you. It would be cheaper and better in the end. Best of luck,

Erik

[lowell holmes]

+1^^^

I can see lots of ruined boards from the machine "someone else" used. I would just try to find a local millwright shop and see if they will do the job for you. It would be cheaper and better in the end. Best of luck,

Erik
Or maybe a cabinet shop in the area will do the job. I paid a shop to sand a blanket chest lid one time.

[John Pariseau]

Ok - thanks for the suggestions - the reconditioned price on that Dewalt looks good. I have quite a bit of linear feet to run - not too sure the benchtop model will be the best, but I can't afford a floor model right now. I kind of bit off more than I could chew on a project for myself, and need to plane down 1/8" (1/16" on each side) of some rough sawn 2x6.

[Dick Strauss]

John,
I've not seen one for rent but haven't looked either.

Where are you located in SE MI and what species in what condition do you have to run? Someone in your area might offer to help if they know more of the details with pics of the wood in need of planing. You might offer some of the lumber in trade for the planing services if you have more than you need.

Also, I assume you know you will want to joint one edge and one face first before planing to make lumber you can cut to finish dimension on the tablesaw, etc.

FYI-I would not want to mill barn boards on my planer with all of the staples/nails, bird waste, and crud. I assume others would be protective of their planer as well. It is not just a matter of the cost of replacing blades but the labor of replacing them along with resetting everything as necessary.

Good luck,
Dick

[John Pariseau]

John,
I've not seen one for rent but haven't looked either.

Where are you located in SE MI and what species in what condition do you have to run? Someone in your area might offer to help if they know more of the details with pics of the wood in need of planing. You might offer some of the lumber in trade for the planing services if you have more than you need.

Also, I assume you know you will want to joint one edge and one face first before planing to make lumber you can cut to finish dimension on the tablesaw, etc.

FYI-I would not want to mill barn boards on my planer with all of the staples/nails, bird waste, and crud. I assume others would be protective of their planer as well. It is not just a matter of the cost of replacing blades but the labor of replacing them along with resetting everything as necessary.

Good luck,
Dick
Ah, will post pics. Basically, I ordered enough 2x6 boards (plus extra) to side a "pole barn" - I'm using them as sidewall girts. I was not going to plane them originally - and only a few boards were thicker than the others (ie, 1/16-1/8 thicker). However, the more I thought about it the more I realized I wanted a flat surface, hence the planer. They are clean, free of debris (but I'd have to take a metal detector to them to be sure), and very straight/true. I have a few weeks to go for them to dry before I can begin surfacing them.

The "pole barn" - it's a timber frame. I um didn't realize just how nice the frame was going ot be finished. I know it sounds stupid, but the frame that I saw was no where near as nice as the one that was delivered and erected. I don't feel like the rough sawn wood fits in well with the clean, sanded appearance of mine.

[Mike Schuch]

Sounds like a pretty reasonable project. Flat clean wood probably won't be too scary for someone to run through their own planer. My local hardwood dealer has a nice huge commercial planer. I am sure they would never let me within 10 feet of it but I would bet they would do a job like you describe for a reasonable fee. I think you are right in figuring a lunchbox planer would be too lite for your project. Which is exactly why you will have a hard time finding one to rent.

[Erik Manchester]

At least you are seeking an ethical solution, some less ethical folks would be buying a Dewalt 735 at the Home Depot or Lowes and run all their lumber through it on a weekend and returning it on Monday with the no-quibble return policy. This explains why there are so many 'reconditioned' tools available online.

I would help you out if I were in your area as my planer will do 25" wide, with a split infeed roller, all day as fast as you can put stock into it at 80 fpm. Way more than I need but I got it cheap and am keeping it for the odd wide board or larger job.

Hopefully someone nearby with a planer will offer to help you out. Even if it costs you a sharpening job for a spare set of knives it would be worth it. I wouldn't want to try that with a small lunchbox planer as those universal motors are not designed for continuous work like that job would entail and would be overheating regularly. Anything with a decent induction motor will likely do OK but with the long board lengths it would certainly be nice to have infeed and outfeed roller supports to minimize snipe and a split infeed roller and rapid feed rate would speed the work.

Good luck.

[John Pariseau]

Well, no decision yet but a local wood store will plane the boards for $80/hr. They are 15 minutes away. My brother is too far away (about 45 minutes on the expressway), but he has a heavy duty machine (don't know the model #). As-is, I'm not too sure if I have the towing capacity to move all the boards, possibly 4 trips. There's a General (30-125) for $750 on Craigslist which is tempting only because I could possibly use it then sell it on Craigslist.

There is also a guy down the road that does woodworking. I think I'll give him a call.

[lowell holmes]

The local wood store option sounds like the option requiring the least effort on your part.

[Earl McLain]

That General for $750 (or less) may very well be worth a look--if it's servicable as it is or with minimal work, could be a good find. Do you have a 20 amp 240v circuit? Not tough to install if you have room in the box.
earl

[John Pariseau]

That General for $750 (or less) may very well be worth a look--if it's servicable as it is or with minimal work, could be a good find. Do you have a 20 amp 240v circuit? Not tough to install if you have room in the box.
earl
The guy emailed me earlier today - it sold :(

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

I would think that buying the $329 planer is the best option. That way, you don't have to load and unload all the boards and haul them to the store and back.
Sell the planer when you're finished, and it should only cost you about $100 or less.

[mark kosse]

You might try a HS shop class. We do projects for locals at mine. Youll probably have to contact one through the website though. It's tough to get into a school nowadays. I have a 1964 powermatic 225 in mine. One fine machine.

[John Pariseau]

I'm strongly leaning towards buying the refurb Dewalt. I am not in a rush - and I just don't see myself transporting this wood 20 miles down the road. If I can get a few boards planed down each day, I'll be happy. As long as I can make some sort of infeed/outfeed table to reduce snipe, I don't see this being all that difficult, perhaps a bit time consuming.

I got my second/final load last week, and in moving/stacking/stickering it today I had a good chance to look the boards over carefully (unlike the first time, where I was rushed). The variance on the previous delivery is about 1/8-1/16, and these were the same. This batch is beautiful - no stain or fungus -> the previous batch had some bad boards in it - though not too many. It could be when he cut them - it was warmer then. A few of the 2x6's have a slight parallelogram shape. I don't care if the sides are perpendicular to the face, so I'm not going to need to run these through a jointer. The 2x's are very straight, with no warp.

Tomorrow I'll upload pictures. I had to head in because of rain, otherwise would have taken some.

[John Pariseau]

I bought a refurb Dewalt 734, it arrived yesterday. I also started checking the wood moisture - it varies between 12 and 16%. I'm still in the process of installing the roofing material (2x6 T&G), so I'll probably do some testing over the weekend on some scrap wood, and set up a planing station in the garage so I have the ability to run boards a few at a time. I may only surface one side - the other will be against sheathing and while there are saw marks (more of like a fuzz) the boards are fairly flat and don't look like they need much to make them smooth. If this planer works out, I don't think I'll sell it.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

[lowell holmes]

I bought a refurb Dewalt 734, it arrived yesterday. I also started checking the wood moisture - it varies between 12 and 16%. I'm still in the process of installing the roofing material (2x6 T&G), so I'll probably do some testing over the weekend on some scrap wood, and set up a planing station in the garage so I have the ability to run boards a few at a time. I may only surface one side - the other will be against sheathing and while there are saw marks (more of like a fuzz) the boards are fairly flat and don't look like they need much to make them smooth. If this planer works out, I don't think I'll sell it.

Thanks for all the suggestions!
I have a DW734. I bought it in preference to a DW735.
IMO, the 734 is a keeper.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I have a DW734. I bought it in preference to a DW735.
Why so?
I have the 734 and I'm considering getting the 735 for the better chip collection.

[Curt Harms]

As long as you're not in a hurry, I'd plane for a little while then shut down and let it cool off. Universal motors are not all-day-long motors like induction motors found on large cast iron planers but I'll bet it'll work just fine as long as you don't take too deep a cut and don't run too long at one time under load. Those 734s seem to have a pretty good rep.

[lowell holmes]

I was speaking for my self. I don't like all of the bells and whistles on the 735. Too expensive and too many adjustments. I don't like having to pay for the inlet and outlet tables.

My 734 replaced my old Porter Cable lunch box planer.

The 734 is strong, no snipe, easy to operate and it planes boards to thickness. The thickness adjustment can be as little as 1/64". It is absolutely accurate. I just want to run a board through it and be done with it.

My 734 is a rock solid planer.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Ok - thanks!
I swear I saw a post here where someone mentioned picking up a DW735 on closeout @ Sears for $329.00.
That got me thinking about selling my DW734 and putting the money towards a DW735.

My only complaint about my DW734 is that it gets clogged by chips a lot when I use it.

Other than that, it's a real work horse.

[Earl McLain]

Ok - thanks!
I swear I saw a post here where someone mentioned picking up a DW735 on closeout @ Sears for $329.00.
That got me thinking about selling my DW734 and putting the money towards a DW735.

My only complaint about my DW734 is that it gets clogged by chips a lot when I use it.

Other than that, it's a real work horse.



Might have been me Rich. That's what i paid for a display model but it's been 2 years ago now. At that time the Sears Outlet site listed them from $329 to about $500 depending on location and wheter new in box. Was an easy decision at the time, adding a Byrd head was a tougher choice but i did it. One heck of a machine with a spiral cutterhead!!
earl

[John Pariseau]

Well, I got the planer setup temporarily to run a few test pieces. I only took one picture (of a small test scrap), but was able to plane a full board in two passes. The planer is very quick - maybe 2 minutes per board pass including measuring time? I didn't time it, but I measured the board with a pair of calipers at two points, placed it in the planer and set the thickness to remove, and turned it on and zip! I know some of the boards out there are thicker, but I'm very pleased with the performance and the fact that the wood was dry enough to plane. Next step is to make a long support table for in and outfeed.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/604/22466852983_b96dab5eab_z.jpg

[John Pariseau]

I built the infeed/outfeed table today:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/620/22920274553_9a19d0db4b_z.jpg

The boards are 20" x 5'. I used a sanded pine plywood, 5/16". I based it off of this design: http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/2007/10/12/sn/

Tomorrow I'm going to start running my boards!

[Erik Manchester]

Looks good John, I assume that you will be supporting the ends of your infeed and outfeed extensions to keep everything in one plane.

[John Pariseau]

Looks good John, I assume that you will be supporting the ends of your infeed and outfeed extensions to keep everything in one plane.
Yes. How I do it (2x4 legs, saw horses, etc...) will be determined by where I end up doing the planing. I have three locations - two on concrete, and one on the uneven ground.

I would prefer to do the planing in the barn, on the concrete, but I'm not sure my power cord is up to the task. I have a 12 gauge 100' long power cord - the planer is a 15A unit. The cord was labeled for 15A, but doing some internet research makes it seem like I should be running a 10 gauge extension cord. Add to that the little chart in the owners manual on page 3 (http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/66/66c91f8e-e3a8-4564-a8db-739ac2094308.pdf), and I'm not sure I can use my 100' cord at all, even if I have a 10 gauge cord.

[rudy de haas]

1 - WIndsor Plywood in Canada and the U.S. NW does this kind of thing for their customers - I had them do some hickory for me a few years ago and the guy did a great job for not much money.

2 - I'd suggest you try a piece of 2 x 6 on a dewalt benchtop before spending the $329 - I found that longer, heavier, boards required building a table top around the planer to support the wood coming and going - in the end I bought a 220 Volt, 3HP unit that weighs 240 or so pounds largely because it handles larger boards with no problems.

[John Pariseau]

I (and family :D) were able to plane 44 - 2x6-8' boards today. I ended up *not* needing outriggers or legs. The sawhorses, as bad as they look, were sufficient. My goal was to support the 2x6 enough that it didn't cause problems going in or out. A few of the boards were curved and pressed against my in/outfeed tables. I ended up having to lower it on the outer ends. Otherwise, it worked out very well!

I used the 100' 12 gauge extension cord. No issues there, checked the cord and it didn't heat up. The planer was able to take off 1/32" at a time. For the thickness I had to remove (max 1/8"), I ended up making about four passes on each board, on the same side (only one side is visible). Most were uniformly thick, but two or three were thicker in the middle. I used a digital caliper to measure thickness, my target was 2" but ended up being 1.9-1.85" for most boards. For how I'm using them this is close enough, my primary goal was to eliminate saw marks.

As for having someone plane these for me - it would have been nice. However, I already purchased the planer. Had I not purchased it, I wouldn't have had a vehicle to tow the boards as our Escape was totaled a few weeks ago, and we haven't gotten a replacement yet. I already had to rent a truck from Home Depot and that cost more than I needed to spend, I either invest in myself (equipment) or someone else.

[John Pariseau]

It took somewhere around 12 hours to plane all the wood. Keep in mind I am only surfacing one side - and not the edges. My goal was to have a nice appearance that matched the timber frame, and leave the edges rough as a design choice. Hopefully I won't regret it. Towards the final 10 boards or so I suspect the blades needed to be flipped.

After tallying up all of the boards:

44 2x6-8
61 2x6-10
2 2x6-12
2 2x6-14

I think if I ever add onto this space I'll either do one board a day for three months :D or find a source of planed lumber.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/637/23411845700_40997f4623_z.jpg

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5690/23708523686_283f6f48ba_z.jpg