Makita 2012NB / A quieter planer for townhouse workshop

[Aaron Middleton]

Hi everyone, first post here!

I’m trying to find a thickness planer for my small, 1-car garage workshop in my townhouse. Ideally, I would love to find something that’s on the quieter side due to shared walls with neighbors and the fact that I get to do most of my woodworking in the evenings.
I came across the Makita 2012NB, which seems to be touted as one of the quietest lunchbox planers. But, while it’s quieter than maybe the DeWalt or Ridgid solutions, what I would love to find out from people who own it, is how quiet is it actually? If I run it at 7-8pm at night, will I still be pissing off the neighbors?
It’s also a bit more expensive than the DeWalt and Ridgid versions. If it’s quiet enough that I can use it in the evenings, then I’m happy to pay the extra for it. But if, in reality, it’s still too loud to use in the evenings, then I might as well just save some money and get a DeWalt or Ridgid and just use it during the day on weekends when I’m home.
And before anyone mentions it, while I would love to have a big 15” or larger floor standing model, I’m very limited on room and need something I can move to a shelf when I’m not using it.
Additionally, I do have several hand planes, so I’m not lacking there and I understand that’s the quietest solution. I’m more than happy to use them to flatten sides and for finishing work. I would just like to offload the actual thicknessing to a planer.

[Jamie Buxton]

If your garage walls are shared with neighbors' garages, you might get by running noisy tools in the evening. But if your shop walls are your neighbors' living space, you should likely keep your noisy machine work for the weekend days.

Or even better, get serious about soundproofing your workshop. There's quite a bit of information and materials out there, and it isn't difficult work while your shop is still relatively empty.

[Matthew Hills]

What tools are you currently using in the garage, and how are the neighbors responding to those?

Matt

[Aaron Middleton]

What tools are you currently using in the garage, and how are the neighbors responding to those?

Matt

Currently, I have a Grizzly 1019Z bandsaw, Makita circular saw (that I use sparingly), Dewalt miter saw, orbital sander, and that's about it as far as powertools. The bandsaw is pretty quiet, and the neighbors don't seem to mind me using the miter or circular saw in the evening as long as it's not for a very extended amount of time.

[Bruce Page]

Aaron, welcome to the Creek. I watched some videos of the Makita in operation. It doesn’t sound much quieter than the Delta I used to own. Universal motors are just loud by nature. I agree with trying to soundproof your garage as an alternative.

I sold my Delta lunchbox and bought a larger 15 planer. The 15” is still loud but has a lower pitch that makes it more tolerable to my ears.

[Paul F Franklin]

Unfortunately, any planer with a universal motor (pretty much all lunchbox type planers) is going to be loud. The Makita says 83 db, which may be quieter than some others, but is still quite loud. Spiral cutterheads are quieter than straight knives, so that would be one option, but with the lunchbox planers you are still left with the noise of the motor itself.

My Uncle used to run a little side gig out of his garage and it involved a metal stapler machine (for fastening sheet metal with metal staples). His neighbors were 50 or 60 feet away but still complained about the noise and threatened to turn him in for running a business in a residential area. So he built a little booth around the machine lined with sound deadening material and it helped enough. Maybe you could do something like that, leaving room of course for the stock entry and exit. It would be a smaller job than soundproofing the whole shop, although that would obviously be a more flexible solution.

[Aaron Middleton]

Seems to be the consensus is that it's going to be loud no matter which lunchbox planer I get. Bummer, I was hoping the Makita was notably quieter than the rest. But that might mean I get to save some money and go with something a little cheaper.

[Scott Bernstein]

I'm a power tool guy, I have a few hand planes but don't use them much. However, if I were in a condo or townhouse situation with shared walls, I would think twice about lunchbox planers. My DeWalt 735 was screaming loud...like jet engine loud...I wore earplugs AND earmuffs and I still thought it was loud. I replaced it with a European jointer-planer combo machine with an induction motor and spiral cutter head - it is whisper quite in comparison. What about using winding sticks and hand planes? It is definitely slower, but it would be opportunity to learn new skills... and with properly sharp tools and good technique you will get as good results as a machine.

[Aaron Middleton]

I'm a power tool guy, I have a few hand planes but don't use them much. However, if I were in a condo or townhouse situation with shared walls, I would think twice about lunchbox planers. My DeWalt 735 was screaming loud...like jet engine loud...I wore earplugs AND earmuffs and I still thought it was loud. I replaced it with a European jointer-planer combo machine with an induction motor and spiral cutter head - it is whisper quite in comparison. What about using winding sticks and hand planes? It is definitely slower, but it would be opportunity to learn new skills... and with properly sharp tools and good technique you will get as good results as a machine.


I've already got some nice planes, so I'm good there. I'm totally comfortable flattening a side or two, or using them for finishing. But I would love to leave the actual thicknessing to a powered planer if possible. It just gets really time consuming with hand planes, and since I mainly just get a couple hours in the evenings or occasionally on weekends to build things, it would be a big time saver.

[Jeff Monson]

Are you able to run a dust collector? I had a DW735 a few years back, I installed a byrd shelix head in it and removed the extremely loud blower, it was very quiet after that. But you have to run a dust collector, and if that is too loud for your situation its a moot point.

[Patrick Irish]

Even with spiral heads, any of these bench planers will be loud because they are spinning around 10k rpm. My old 16" powermatic with a 5hp is quieter than the 13" bench ridgid that I started with.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I know this will not help you, but it gives you an idea of how loud, or quiet, these machines are.

I sold my DW735 and bought the Hammer A3-31. I was amazed how quiet it was compared my Dewalt with a Shelix head.

In the video, I have my Jet Dust Collector running, my overhead Jet Air Filter running and then face joint, on edge and on face, a piece of wood.

If you were outside my garage, you would barely hear these machines running.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbnS_MhLZPw

[johnny means]

Honestly, really loud hobbies and townhouse living are incompatable. When my son asked for drums, he got electronic drums and even that was limited to daytime hours.

[william walton]

It seems that so far I'm the only one responding who does have the Makita planer. How loud is it? I don't do sound comparison reviews but I can tell you it's much quieter than the DeWalt I had a few years ago. Highly satisfied. I understand about the neighbor issues.

[Aaron Middleton]

It seems that so far I'm the only one responding who does have the Makita planer. How loud is it? I don't do sound comparison reviews but I can tell you it's much quieter than the DeWalt I had a few years ago. Highly satisfied. I understand about the neighbor issues.

Thanks William. Is it noticeably quieter than the Dewalt? Or just slightly? Quiet enough to keep neighbors from busting down your door?

[ChrisA Edwards]

It seems that so far I'm the only one responding who does have the Makita planer. How loud is it? I don't do sound comparison reviews but I can tell you it's much quieter than the DeWalt I had a few years ago. Highly satisfied. I understand about the neighbor issues.

William, do us a favor, if you have a smartphone, you can get free Decibel Sound Meter apps, like the one I showed in my video above. Cut a piece of wood with your Makita and just let us know what the peak sound was.

[william walton]

Whether or not a planer is compatible with your neighbors is something only you can answer. As for getting sound ratings from my Makita? Most of my equipment (on wheels) is inaccessible right now. (Wife's car is in for a while).

[Sanford Imhoff]

I also have the Makita. Reviews always touted it as being the quietest, small lunchbox planer. Quietest is relative and it is still a loud lunchbox planer.

"If I run it at 7-8pm at night, will I still be pissing off the neighbors?" Personally, I would say 'yes'.

[Bert McMahan]

Part of the noise comes from the blade design. Swapping the standard Dewalt straight blades to a Shelix improves the sound noticeably, though it's still loud.

[Mark Daily]

Are you able to run a dust collector? I had a DW735 a few years back, I installed a byrd shelix head in it and removed the extremely loud blower, it was very quiet after that. But you have to run a dust collector, and if that is too loud for your situation its a moot point.
How did you remove the blower? Big job?

[william watts]

The Makita 2012nb is a slightly quieter planer, not a lot, a little, and as a bonus Makita guarantees no snipe! I bit on this fantastic puffed up advertising and bought one. In my ears the difference in noise level is small enough to be insignificant. More importantly, and more than 1/2 the time, the planer just would not feed the work no matter how shallow the cut or how you fed the work. Straight ahead, or at an angle, lift the end a little, made no difference.

Thinking the planer somehow made it thru quality controlI. I exchange it for another Makita, same model, same trouble. When the planer would feed it left very little to heavy snipe. Never knew what would come out. Getting anxious to finish a project I exchanged the 2nd. Makita for a Dewalt Dw735. Louder, yes, but not much, and actually planes wood. H.D. has a no hassle return.

[Mike Wilkins]

Scott's suggestion for a spiral head machine is spot-on. I replaced my straight knife jointer/planer machine with the Silent Power J/P from Hammer. Big difference in the decibel department and the finished surface is really smooth. Like going straight to 150 grit random orbit sander smooth.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

It seems that so far I'm the only one responding who does have the Makita planer. How loud is it? I don't do sound comparison reviews but I can tell you it's much quieter than the DeWalt I had a few years ago. Highly satisfied. I understand about the neighbor issues.

I had same experience as Makita thickness planer user. Additionally DeWalt version has a different sound pitch given much more nuisance for my ears.

Anyway, even my Makita planer, is my loudest tool...

[Matthew Hills]

Currently, I have a Grizzly 1019Z bandsaw, Makita circular saw (that I use sparingly), Dewalt miter saw, orbital sander, and that's about it as far as powertools. The bandsaw is pretty quiet, and the neighbors don't seem to mind me using the miter or circular saw in the evening as long as it's not for a very extended amount of time.

I'd roughly lump the planer in the same bucket as the circular saw and miter saw for neighborhood intrusiveness.
Up close, the cutting action on a wide board is pretty loud, but IMO the cutting sound is more pleasant than the motor whine of these tools.
One consideration is that a planer tends to remain on longer, while the saws get used for multiple short cuts.

If your neighbors are okay with the occasional project times you are making noise now, I'd think the planer to not change much.
I don't think this would fall into the relatively silent category like the bandsaw or a handplane.
(in one of the woodworking podcasts, I recall one guy talking about how he likes the hollow-chisel mortiser because it is relatively quiet -- even more so than chopping by hand -- and so he can use it at home)

Matt

[Mark Daily]

Just FYI, I checked my DW735 with my Extech professional sound level meter and at about 3’ away it registers about 92dB just running by itself, no dust collector. When planing wood it jumps up to about 100 dB. Definitely a loud beast!

I believe the Mikita that the OP listed claims 82 dB in its advertising. If accurate, that would be a big difference.

[Roger Feeley]

Make some stuff for your neighbors. Maybe help them with a project or two.

[Frank Pratt]

If your garage walls are shared with neighbors' garages, you might get by running noisy tools in the evening. But if your shop walls are your neighbors' living space, you should likely keep your noisy machine work for the weekend days.

Or even better, get serious about soundproofing your workshop. There's quite a bit of information and materials out there, and it isn't difficult work while your shop is still relatively empty.

Good soundproofing will be especially effective with the high frequency noise of a planer, miter saw, table saw, etc. It's harder to block out the low frequency sound of an air compressor, or say, a really loud home theater :)

[Randall Houghton]

Makita rates this planer at 83db according to there site. I own one and overall I would say it is one of the quietest planers I've used in the last fifty years of woodworking. You should PM Rod Sheridan about working in a townhouse shop. He has had one in Toronto for a number of years and uses Hammer equipment including their J/P.
Regards Randy

[Alex Zeller]

It was suggested to get a dust collector. I can't help with the planer but what I can say is I picked up a 1hp Harbor Freight dust collector and would recommend it. I got sick and tired of rolling my 3hp cyclone out every time I wanted to make a cut on the band saw so I toyed with getting a small one just for occasional use. In hindsight I would have bought a more expensive one but I thought it was going to be worthless. Until I got it I was using the (noisy) vac. The thing is very quiet, much quieter than my larger collector. The only thing I had to do was remove the plastic guards on the inlet/ outlet of it. The smallest of particles would get caught and collect everything and soon it would stop sucking. Occasionally now I can hear a chip hit the fan blade but that's because I don't use a separator with it. If you can remove the blower from the planer and get a trash can separator for in between the planer and DC I would serious look to go that route. If you don't have one sooner or later you will want a dust collector anyway. Working in a small shop, even with the door open, without one is not that much fun.

[Aaron Middleton]

A follow up to this thread: I ended up purchasing the Makita and have been playing around with it for the last week. I've run poplar and southern yellow pine through it so far, and honestly, it's not nearly as loud as I was expecting. My shop vac is much louder. I ran it by itself last night for a bit and have had no complaints from the neighbors today. Really happy with it, and it's not terribly heavy so I've been able to move it around the garage as needed.

I'll try to run a db meter on it soon.

[kent borcherding]

If you are in an area where there is a store that sells musical instruments talk to the people in the store ,about folks that record band music.
These folks know how to make area quiet almost sound proof. Several friends of mine who are woodworkers went this route , worked well.
A good store will give you advice and help - a really good store will let you try materials and set up before paying for it.
Never hurts to try and barter a deal for the materials you need to lower sound of sawing and running the planer.

[Elliot Karlsson]

A follow up to this thread: I ended up purchasing the Makita and have been playing around with it for the last week. I've run poplar and southern yellow pine through it so far, and honestly, it's not nearly as loud as I was expecting. My shop vac is much louder. I ran it by itself last night for a bit and have had no complaints from the neighbors today. Really happy with it, and it's not terribly heavy so I've been able to move it around the garage as needed.

I'll try to run a db meter on it soon.

Thanks for the update, Aaron. I'm in the same boat as you. Ever get to making any dB readings? Still happy with the planer?

[Matthew Hills]

I'll try to run a db meter on it soon.

Glad to hear this seems to be working out for you.

If you get a chance to record the noise, it might be useful to have a friend record the effect outside -- what are the neighbors actually hearing when you run lumber through?

PS--some vacuums are quieter than others, too :-)


Matt