Which planer should I buy between these 2?

[Kent Adams]

Ok, neither is the planer I want, but may have to settle for at the moment. I would be planing primarily hardwood, no figured wood. One is a smaller but newer Dewalt planer and the other is an older Jet, not sure how old but there is probably someone here that does know. The Jet is 15" and 3hp. I haven't seen either planer so I don't know what kind of shape they are in. Dewalt asking price is $500 with stand and the Jet is $750 asking price with the stand.

Neither of these planers will hang out in my shop because I simply don't have the room unfortunately. The planer will either stay in my carport or I'll put it in the greenhouse which I don't use. Should I go for the newer smaller planer with less power, or the larger, older Jet? I am not handy at fixing these things up if there is something wrong. I don't have any indication there is, I just wanted to ad that in case someone assumed it.

[Ray Newman]

I would opt for the DeWalt, especially if it the #735, which has a reputation of being a very good planer. Plus the head moves up/down to change cutting depth, which in some cases is a plus, and the blades changes are easy.

[Marty Tippin]

If the Jet is in good condition, I think I'd lean that way. I've had the DW735 and currently have a Grizzly G0453PX and wouldn't trade it for anything (other than a bigger planer.) Nearly all of the planers like the Jet (Grizzly, Powermatic, etc.) are built pretty much the same - there's little that can go wrong and they're easy to work on if you have to.

The DeWalt is loud. Like "you need hearing protection and your neighbors are going to hate you" loud. Not sure but I'll bet the Jet is a little bit quieter.

[Tom M King]

get the Jet.

[Kent Adams]

I think that jet is from the early 90's but I can't seem to locate it on the internet. My concern with it is the front roller, just looking at the pictures seems to be out of alignment and I'm concerned the head will no longer track parallel and the gears may be messed up but with my low level knowledge I'd never know but generally a lot of folks recommend buying the older equipment.

[Kent Adams]

get the Jet.

any reason why?

[Kent Adams]

Ok, just got word the dewalt is sold. The Jet is still available. How in the world would someone as ignorant as me about planers know whether I'm buying a headache? I think the price is too high too.

[John TenEyck]

If you aren't comfortable or at least willing to diagnose and fix problems with a used machine you should buy a new planer, the biggest and most powerful you can justify. I can't remember buying any used machine that didn't need at least a little work.

John

[Michael Zerance]

I am happy with my 735. I've had it for about 9 years, use it often, and it works flawlessly. I was having a problem with snipe when I first got it but that has been mostly eliminated after I added the optional infeed/outfeed tables (which the one you're looking at already has installed).

I like that the knives are available at Lowes. If I am in the middle of a project and the cut quality diminishes, I can get a replacement set without delaying the project.

The depth stops are dead on and make for quick, fool-proof, and repeatable dimensioning to common thicknesses.

The chip fan works well.

It is portable...sort of. I have, on occasion, thrown it in the truck to use it on the jobsite. It is manageable.

It is very loud. It is the only tool that I regularly use hearing protection when using.

[Michael Zerance]

$550 new at Acme Tools: http://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/dewalt-dw735

- or -

$515 reconditioned at CPO: http://www.cpooutlets.com/dewalt-benchtop-planers/dewalt-benchtop-planers,default,sc.html

Both with no tax and free shipping.

[Wade Lippman]

You know you can get a new DW735 for $500... Why would you consider someone's discard for the same price? It's not that nice of a stand.

The Jet at $750 might be okay if it is perfect, but it is not a great discount for a 25 year old machine over a brand new $1250 Grizzly.

[Tom M King]

I looked at the CL ad for the Jet. It looks okay to me, and he has some extra blades with it too. I'd run a board through it, and offer 600 if it works okay, and go up to 650.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

If you decide to go with the Dewalt, I'd wait and keep an eye on different vendors for deals. I bought mine for $600 or $650 with the infeed/outfeed tables, stand and extra set of knifes.

[Marty Tippin]

And whichever one you end up with, add a Wixey digital readout. It's a great investment.

[Mike Henderson]

I'd negotiate to get the price down on the Jet and buy it. The DeWalt is a good planer - I own one - but the Jet has an induction motor and it's wider. It'll also be quieter.

Mike

[Allan Speers]

Just make sure the Jet is in good condition. Motor, Bearings, etc.

And I'd offer $500. That's just about right.

[Matt Day]

I have that Jet planer, though the dark blue color. It's the jwp-15ho model.

The infeed roller was likely put on for the picture and not adjusted. I don't have the rollers and they aren't necessary for good results and they make the footprint much larger.

I'd get the jet. It's a solid tried and true machine. More mass, quieter, can take a deeper cut, more capacity. If it's in good mechanical shape, I think $600 is a fair price for both parties. I got mine for $400 IIRC but it had chewed up knives and light surface rust all over. I completely Disassembled it to clean and tune up.

If you aren't comfortable mechanically and don't know want to deal with fixing/tuning up a machine, pass on it and buy a new 735 as suggested. You'll surely need to at least do a tune up and alignment on the Jet.

[Robert Parent]

The Jet would win hands-down in my opinion...... If the machine runs everything else can be easily fixed or adjusted. Lunchbox planers like the Dewalt (and my former Delta 2-speed) are fine for a few boards now and then but are not built for real planing which require real HP, and mass in the machine. The real planers are also much quieter which is always nice.

Example: I recently picked up a old RBI, installed a new feed roller and made some adjustments and the machine works like new. Final cost about the same as a new lunchbox.

Robert

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Kent, I would vote for the Jet planer, however..........

Having read your posts regarding your lack of mechanical skills, changing the knives may prove to be a problem for you on the Jet. Nothing you can't learn, however it's not "plug and play".

I believe the lunchbox planers use knives with indexing holes so there's no adjustment required when changing knives.

The Jet is however a far better planer than a lunchbox..............Regards, Rod.

[Brian Tymchak]

Kent, the Jet being a 3 HP motor will require 220-240V power where as the Dewalt will require household 110-120V. Do you have 220 in your carport? If not, you will need an electrician to run a circuit from your breaker box, and that will be added cost.

[Kent Adams]

Kent, the Jet being a 3 HP motor will require 220-240V power where as the Dewalt will require household 110-120V. Do you have 220 in your carport? If not, you will need an electrician to run a circuit from your breaker box, and that will be added cost.

Fortunately I do. My carport used to house an RV which required a 230V power source.