Sizing Up A Gift To The Recipient's Situation

[Julie Moriarty]

Yesterday I listed a DW735 for sale. Last night it dawned on me it may make a really nice birthday/Christmas gift for my SO's son, Brian. He's an apprentice carpenter finishing his third year in a four year program. On one hand, I have concerns a planer might not be the right gift for him at this time but when I consider that the 735 might sell for a lot less than I paid for it... Well, I need some help here.

His situation: When we were in Chicago he lived with us for about a year. He seemed to enjoy working in my shop. But the things he does at work seldom reflect anything we do as woodworkers. So he's not learning much at work that can transfer to the home workshop. He now lives in an apartment.

Last Christmas we bought him tools for making dovetails and sent him to a Jeff Miller dovetail class. He talked mostly about the pretty girl taking the class with him but he did seem to enjoy the class. Last week he bought himself a benchtop router table with router. That was the first indication he's looking to take his woodworking skills to the next level.

The biggest obstacle for him owning a planer right now I see is he'd have use it outside. But why would he need it right now? When I was his age I roomed with a plumber who was into woodworking. We shared an apartment and built a lot of things using power tools inside the apartment but the loudest was a router or Skil saw. And we got some complaints. But I know if we had a planer, he would have figured out some project to use it on. And I'm guessing Brian will be the same way. I can see 2x8s being planed to oblivion.

But is the right gift at this time and place in Brian's life?

[Cary Falk]

An apartment is no place for a lunchbox planer inside or out!!!

[Warren Lake]

my view sell it and recoup some coin on the machine you just bought.

[Robert Engel]

From the sound of it, that probably wouldn't be the most practical tool for him. Hand tools might be a better gift.

I know you just got a new machine, but personally, I would hang on to that planer. Here's why: use it like a lot of people use second table saw. IOW you can hold a setting on one machine and use the other. For example, when milling a batch of lumber often times (at least in my shop a.k.a "The Demented Woodworker" ha ha) often after getting everything milled, I discover a bad board or a board I don't like or I forgot to run some test pieces -- OK, I'll just mill up some more lumber. Easy peasy, right?

The problem is, the last setting on my planer was the finished dimension, and now I have to readjust to get the thicker boards through and down to final dimension. That means sneaking up on the final EXACT thickness which is not easy (for me) to do. I just about always seem to go over. So I have to send everything through again just to make sure its all the same.

So for me, having a second planer to get it close, then sending it through the other left at the final dimension would save a bunch of hassle.

Even if this doesn't seem like a good reason to you, I would still hang on to it at least until you get through a door project & see if what I've said makes any sense to you. ;-)

Unless you get lucky, you're never going to get out of it what its probably worth to you.

[Steve Demuth]

A planer is neither a starter woodworking tool, nor a good fit for an apartment. You could however sell the 735 and use the proceeds to provide tools that are a better fit. My own son while in graduate school did a fair bit of woodworking in his small apartment. A lot of it was carving. Your SO's son would of course have to be interested, but variations on the theme from chip carving to flat plane figure carving all require a small, affordable set of tools, and fit nicely in a small setting. Beyond the knives and gouges themselves, some other additions that benefit carving and other small-scale woodworking: a 10" bandsaw, a table-top sander, a table-top drill press, work holding tools, and of course hand tools like saws, block planes.

What really matters when you choose, of course, is what he actually wants to do and grow into.

[Rick Potter]

I am with Cary. No way will he use that planer outside more than once, without being evicted.

[Julie Moriarty]

Thanks! Now I've got ammo to back out of last night's brilliant idea.

[Christopher Charles]

I can say that the 735 is one of the loudest things i've ever heard that was legal to use in city limits...

[Mark Rainey]

Thanks! Now I've got ammo to back out of last night's brilliant idea.
No Julie, you have no ammo left - your blew it all on the beautiful new Hammer. Whatever the significant other wants the significant other gets - just keep an image of that Hammer in your brain.

[Bernie May]

I would keep the 735. I had a 10" Grizzly combo and a Ridgid benchtop planer. Sold both when I got my Hammer A31. When the planer went down on my Hammer for a small part, I had to go buy a 735 to keep me operational. Needless to say the 735 stays in my arsenal now.