15 inch planer

[Merrill Herring]

I have been looking to replace my 12 inch Makita bench top planer with a 15 inch unit. I have looked at the Delta, Jet and Powermatic. Does anyone have input on these planers. I want one that will take 8/4 hard woods and pull the board thru on its own with a nice smooth finish. The Delta 22-780x looks like a nice unit, and it is a bit less expensive.

[John Kain]

I have been looking to replace my 12 inch Makita bench top planer with a 15 inch unit. I have looked at the Delta, Jet and Powermatic. Does anyone have input on these planers. I want one that will take 8/4 hard woods and pull the board thru on its own with a nice smooth finish. The Delta 22-780x looks like a nice unit, and it is a bit less expensive.
Those are the usual suspects. I would also include the Bridgewood and Yorkcraft varieties from Wilke. I haven't seen a negative response about nearly any Yorkcraft machines. They are the cheaper version of what Wilke sells, and are probably better than the Delta product now-a-days.

[Mike Cutler]

I have the Jet 15" planer. It works as advertised. The finish isn't "smooth" though. The material still requires sanding.
You may want to look at a machine that comes with some type of a helical, or spherical head if the finish is really important to you.

[Jerry White]

Of the brands you mentioned, my choice would be the Powermatic model 15S. And although you did not mention this brand, I would suggest to you that you also look at the Grizzly model G1021X. I think these two seem to be above the others in features and quality.

[Steve Ash]

Merrill, the only one of your choices I can speak of is the Delta 15" X5. I have had mine for about a year and a half and it has performed flawlessly, a nice finish that looks like it has already been sanded. I've used it on hard maple, ash, oak, cherry, walnut and they have all turned out excellent. I'm sure the others you mention are very good choices, and owners will give their input as well, but I am very satisfied with mine.

Good luck in your decision.

[richard poitras]

Merrill,why dont you pm Matt Meiser he has one for sale on the Woodworkers Classifieds section right now and he could may be give you some insight on it ...

[Al Willits]

Not a lot of experience with planers, but the 15" York I have works very well, seems to have a nice smooth cut also.

Al

[Brian Hale]

Bridgewood and Yorkcraft gets my vote! (Never saw that coming did ya! :rolleyes: )

http://www.wilkemach.com

Brian :)

[John Miliunas]

Yeah, what Brian said! :D (I've got the Yorkcraft variety for a 15" planer.) However, I still do plan on saving for a Shelix (Byrd) head, as I do quite a bit of figured and "weird" wood planing. :) :cool:

[Brian Hale]

Umm, John........

You really need to spend less time in the sun.

A good shave wouldn't hurt either..........

Brian :)

Member of the Bridgetank society

[Bruce Page]

Merrill, I have the PM15, it’s a great planner but if I were shopping today I would buy their Model 15S Deluxe with cast iron infeed/outfeer tables, spiral cutterhead and Digital Readout.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

FELDER AD 741 with the digi drive
you simply can't get a better machine.

[CPeter James]

I have the Jet 15" with the motor on the bottom. Very important if you ever want to change/sharpen the knives. Any of the 15" ones will probably do about the same. They are pretty much cast in the same mold and use the same parts in different configurations. Check them out. I use the Makita wet grinder to sharpen my knives. I have the green wheel from Highland Hardware. Does a nice job and I can take the knives out, sharpen them and put them back in under 45 minutes, so I do it often and get good results for the planer, a nice smooth surface that needs only final sanding.

CPeter

[Phil Harding]

I also have the Delta 15" X5 and I have absolutely no complaints about its perfromance.

One thing to note however is that you will need a minimum 5" :( hose running to your chip/dust collector to avoid clogging the dust chute. I suspect this is true of any 15" planner.

-- Phil

[John Kain]

FELDER AD 741 with the digi drive
you simply can't get a better machine.\\

ah Cliff, that's my dream machine. You can't beat a euro built j/p. But I'm not sure we're talking the same money here.

[Martin Shupe]

I have a Delta, but my buddy, who bought his later, has the Powermatic. It has features that I wish I had. Spiraled knives, being the number one difference. Be sure to compare the features of the Powermatic while shopping.