Do I need a new planer ?

[Gary Breckenridge]

:) I have an older Ryobi AP10 planer. I bought it new years ago as it was the first lunch box planer. I was never really happy with it as it would only cut about 1/64" per pass and the feed speed was slow even with freshly sharpened blades. Is this the best that this machine can do ? I'm wondering if the new breed of lunch box planers would do a better job. I have been looking at the Delta 12 1/2" and the Delta two speed 13" planers.;) Will these machines actually plane 1/8" at a reasonable speed ? The new planer would probably be expected to plane about 30 feet of lumber per month.:)

[Tom Henry]

I am fairly new at planing wood. With that said, I own the Delta and I am very happy with it so far.:D

[Larry Fox]

I have the Delta 13" and I like it ok. It certainly does not compare to a floor-model (IMO) but it does a great job for what it is.

That said, 1/8" per pass is quite a bite and I don't ever take that much per pass so I can't say how it will do for you there.

[Jerry Strojny]

The new breed of lunchbox planers are quite different than the 'ol Ryobi. The Delta 13" two speed is a very nice machine. I can handle most anything you through at it. I have the Rigid 13". It's a pretty good machine also. I think the Dewalt 735 has made people happy also. There are many to chose from that can handle 30 ft a month.

[Ellen Benkin]

A 1/8" cut is expecting a lot from a benchtop planer. It's also a lot from a large floor model planer. The two speed machines do give you a nice finish cut, though.

[Al Willits]

I think the DeWalt 13" goes for about $550 now, add the extended tables, and whatever else you want, I'm not sure if that's gonna be worth 30 bf a month, Also I think 1/8" might be pushing that planner too.
Might not get as much as you hoped for.

On the other hand, a new tool is always nice....:)

By the time I figured the extended table, cabinet and mobile base, it came close enough financially to buy the York 15" planer, and that is a beast compared to the DeWalt..nothing against them btw. :)


Al

[Blaine Harrison]

I have the DeWalt 13" planer and am very happy with it. The biggest problem I've found is that it is LOUD. There's a scale on the front of the infeed that tells you about how much you're taking off and a graph giving you an idea how much the manufacturer says the planer can handle. It will take off 1/8", but only on fairly narrow wood (about 3-4", IIRC). I've surfaced about 60 bdft. of wood in a couple hours (S3S, including face jointing) and the surface is quite nice.

Blaine

[Kent Fitzgerald]

Like Blaine said, width matters too. I take no more than 1/16" per pass on 6" wide boards with my old Delta 12" planer.

The benchtop planers all have 13-15A universal motors, so you're not going to see much variation in performance. Sharp blades make the biggest difference.

[scott spencer]

Technically most of them would probably cut 1/8" off per pass, but it'd really be taxing to them, and would likely shorten their life expectancy.

I've had a Delta 22-560 and now a 22-580 and have been happy with both.

[Mark Berenbrok]

Gary - I also have a Ryobi AP10 made in 1988 in Japan. I agree with you about the cutting depth; it can take a fair amount of time to plane just a few boards. However, I've never had a problem with slow feed rates when the knives were sharp and everything was clean. Make sure to keep the rollers and bed clean (alcohol or mineral spirits work fine). After cleaning, I also hit the bed with a surface treatment like Topcote to keep it slick.

For what it's worth, I picked up a used Powermatic Model 100 a few months ago and plan to tune it up over the holidays. I wanted something with greater width to work with.

[Mike Cutler]

Gary.

I can't speak to the "lunchbox" style planers, but an 1/8" per pass is more than I would attempt on my Jet 15" stationary planer.

[Chuck Hanger]

I have had my DW 735 for a couple of years now. I usually only take 1/16 at a time. Have messed up one time while running some 8" walnut taking 1/8". Really gave it a work out when it came to a rather large knot. Like others have said it has a gauge that lets you know how much you are taking off. Really like the pre set stops. Mine are dead on. Set it on 3/4 and it will be 3/4 really like that feature. Did build a stand and infeed and outfeed tables. You want it hooked up to a DC unless you want a 30X30 shop covered with chips. I ran about 32' through mine today. Took little over a hour. Even though it has a blower for chip extraction I have never had a problem with the compression DC fitting blowing off.
Good luck in you search,
Chuck

Going to try a photo just to see if I can do it right this time. It was taken as one of those before cleaning the shop and hooking up DC.

[Dennis Peacock]

I wore out and burned up two lunchbox planers. Over the years, I've upgraded a few times. Now I have a Powermatic Spiral 15" planer with digital readout. It simply ROCKS!!!!! :D :cool: