planer upgrade 15 or 20"

[Dave Bonde]

Hello all, I am ready to upgrade my planer. I am looking at the 20" Yorkcraft and was just ready to pull the trigger and then a little voice in the back of my head said "do you really need a 20" planer" so I looked at the 15" Yorkcraft and it looks nice also. So I guess I am asking for advise or words of wisdom. Those of you that have a 15" planer do you ever wish you bought a 20" and those that have a 20" is the extra cost worh it? Space is not an issue for me. I made the mistake with my current jointer and bought a 6" and now wish I would have bought at least an 8" and don't want to upgrade my planer again but as I am typing I am having trouble seeing the need for the 20" planer as you can tell I need HELP:eek: , any thoughts you have would be appreciated. Dave

P.S. Thanks to John Miliunas and all that replied to his review of the Yorkcraft 15" planer review it was very helpful.

[tod evans]

horse power,horse power,horse power...........and maybe a quick change knife system. my.02 tod

[Dan Oliphant]

Dave, I have a 20 inch unit and a 13 inch unit, would not have anything less than 20 inches as a stand alone planer. One doesn't always need the entire width but when needed, it's nice to have.
As Tod mentioned, get as much HP as is available with the units being considered.

[Bob Johnson2]

I've got the 15" and have yet to need one bigger, however had I the extra cash and the ability to get the 20" down the hatchway I would have gone for it, your experience with the jointer says it all.

[Steve Clardy]

I went from a 12" to a 20" and haven't regreted it.

[lou sansone]

When I was shopping what went through my mind is overall design and strength of the machine. there are some wimpy 20" machines and some beefy 15" ones. It does depend on what you are planning on doing and the type of shop you have. Folks who know me know that heavy is good and really heavy is really good. I have made my mistakes with machines that are just too big. My current planer is a 24" machine that weighs about 3000 lbs. I almost bought one ( till I realized how heavy it really was ) that was an " American 444 " I believe. That was also a 24" machine, but it weighed about 9000 lbs !! man that would have been a pain moving into my shop. So take a look at them and figure out what is important. I think I know both of those designs and they will both work great.
best wishes
lou

[Frank Pellow]

...It does depend on what you are planning on doing and the type of shop you have. Folks who know me know that heavy is good and really heavy is really good. I have made my mistakes with machines that are just too big. ...lou
Lou is bang on about the wieght consideration. In my smallish shop, everything has to be mobile. I have a 15" Delta planer that weighs about 150 kilos and can be moved easily. I did look at a Delta 20" planer but it weighed more than twice as much, that is about 380 kols. I quickly realized that such a heavy machine would pose mobility problems. So far, my 15" planer has been just fine.

By the way, what size jointer are you planning to have to go along with a 20" planer?

[John Miliunas]

Dave, having lived with my 15" for a while now, I have no regrets and I'm just not sure I'd use the capacity of a 20" unit. Among other things, wide boards are getting hard to come by and, as for ones you glue up yourself, a little care in the original glue-up and you shouldn't have to worry about it. A few swipes with a nice hand plane and it's a done deal.:) Now, some guys might tell you that the 20 is nicer for when you have some more figured woods in narrow widths. With the 20", you can easier skew the feed line and minimize tear out. True enough but, if you're trying to decide between the 15 and 20" units, I'd probably go after the 15" with the Shelix head!!! Much quieter, no blade setting issues, easier on the motor and you can run figured woods to your heart's content! Just MHO, but that would be the way to do it, if you have the funds. :) With a pretty poor financial situation right now,:( mine is a real long way down the road but, that's exactly the direction I'm headed!:) :cool:

[David Duke]

If room and $$ aren't a big concern I would go with the 20"; you can run a 1/2" wide piece through a 20" but can't run a 15 1/2" piece through a 15" planer.

[James Boster]

Someone posted here or on another site some time ago an answer that fits here also. They wre asking about a lathe but same goes for all tools. Someone answer was that you can turn someting small on a big lathe but you can't turn big in a little one. Same goes for a planer. You are already "upgrading", so if you don't get the big one will you be "upgrading" again in the future. I know i've been there. started with a 12" went to a 20" and now I have a 24". Do I NEED a 24" probably not but it's there if I do.

[Dave Bonde]

[QUOTE= By the way, what size jointer are you planning to have to go along with a 20"planer?[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the replies guys all good information to process - as for the jointer Frank I will probably focus on a 12" but may end up with a 8". My biggest complaint isn't really the width it is the bed length. I have trouble getting a flat edge joint on longer lumber. Dave

[J.R. Rutter]

Having the added leverage of a feeder on the outfeed table really helps to straighten long boards. There was some discussion of this in another post recently.

[Jim Schmoll]

I have a 20 and wish I had a 24. My projects keep getting biger as the machines get biger.:confused:

Jim frm Idyllwild CA

[John Miliunas]

My projects keep getting biger as the machines get biger.:confused:

Jim frm Idyllwild CA

LOL!:D Not sure, but that may be a real good reason NOT to get real big machines!:D :cool:

[Alan Turner]

In my basement shop I have a 20" generic 4-post, which weighs about 780#, and have no trouble rolling it around. If they had made a 24" that I could have gotten into the basement at the time, I would have gone for it. I don;t oft need the full 20", but when you do, you do. Solid drawer bottoms are an example. Many drawers are over 15" deep, but les than, or about, 20" deep, and even a carful glue up is difficult when you are trying to net 1/4". Also, if you do period work, and like to work with single slab sides, the 20" is pretty handy as much case work of the 18th century comes in at about 19" or so. Mahogany is pretty much still available in wide planks, as is cherry and walnut if you look a bit harder.

[Mike Cutler]

I have the Jet 15" planer, and it's a good little beast, but last fall I really needed a 17":eek:

One way to rephrase the question is this. If someone were giving me a planer, and I had to choose betwen a 15" and a 20", which would I choose?

Bigger is better in my book, as long as you have the room.;)