Which planer on a $350 - $400 budget?

[Ken Gartin]

Which one gets the seal of approval?

[Mike Heidrick]

That will buy a brand new Jet 6" which is nice and maybe a used 8" if you are patient. Have not seen too many name brands that have problems really. Jet, Grizzly, PM, Delta, and the older models of many types have been very good. I would look for a used 8" for a respectable WW home.

[Mack Cameron]

Ken; are you talking thickness planer or jointer? Thickness planer the DeWalt 735 gets my vote, jointers....no opinion.

[Art Mann]

The Ridgid TP1300LS available at Home Depot is the one I own. It has been an excellent piece of equipment for my purposes. It has a lot of extras that cost more on some models. Those include a stand, a dust collector chute, infeed and outfeed tables and an extra set of double edged knives. The finish it leaves is about as smooth as you will find. The accuracy of thickness was within 0.002" over the whole board and the indexed stops for common thicknesses are spot on. I installed the Wixey digital read-out for other thickness settings. It can be adjusted to produce no snipe. The controls are in the right spot for easy adjustment. I have used it a lot and it has shown no signs of getting sloppy mechanically.

Warning! Like most "lunchbox" planers, it is LOUD.

Other models which have generally received good reports include the premium Dewalt, Delta and Makita planers. You won't go wrong with any of these.

If you are in the right location, you might be able to find a cast iron industrial strength planer used for that price.

[Scott Long]

Ken,

I currently own a dw735, but that will be a littlwe out of your price range. So I would settle for a Ridgid, the thing that I really like about the Ridgid's are that you get a lifetime warranty on the product.

[Justin McCurdy]

My vote is for the Makita 2012NB. Just watch Amazon for the sales as its price jumps around a good bit. You do not have to buy the extension tables like you do with the DeWalt and it supports the Wixey digital height gauge. It also has a cutterhead lock.

Just my .02

[Al Willits]

With a $300-400 budget the Dewalt is $150+ over budget, depending on options you get, then your close enough in cost to go with one of the heavier models.
Might find one used or reconditioned though.

I agree with the Rigid unit, had a chance to look at one, and they seemed pretty nice for a lunch box unit, nice features too.

Al

[Joe Mioux]

Delta 20-580, I have one, but I also have a MM FS30. I am having a hard time parting with that little Delta. It has been a very good planer

Joe

[Sean Kinn]

How about a factory reconditioned Dewalt DW735? They run about $370 or so from Tool King. I've had great luck with Dewalt reconditioned tools. They all appeared new to me, and have performed flawlessly.

[Allen Bookout]

How about a factory reconditioned Dewalt DW735? They run about $370 or so from Tool King. I've had great luck with Dewalt reconditioned tools. They all appeared new to me, and have performed flawlessly.

Same here. That is where I got mine a year or two ago.

[Ken Gartin]

DW735 has 3 cutterheads. Seems like it'd give a smoother plane...Price range is a bit high though. There are several DW735s on E-Bay (reconditioned) for a BIN price of $344 and $50 shipping. I'm tempted...

I'm hearing a lot about Ridgid and Makita. I had at one time been eyeballing the Delta 22-580.

For some reason I'm hesitant to buy Ridgid. Not sure why...
The only Ridgid tool I have is a 12v Cordless drill and I am UNIMPRESSED. I got it a few years ago when they had the $59 ($69?) deal on it at HD.

[Allen Bookout]

Ken, I guess that it is just me but I am a little leary about ebay depending on who the seller is. I just checked ToolKing and they have the reconditioned DW735s and also new ones that have an add to cart to see the price. I tried it and it kept adding a Jet for $1300 plus. Would have to call them to get the correct price or it might work for you. Their shipping cost is $7.99 but it takes about a week or more to get it down here in Florida. http://www.toolking.com/category/power-tools/planersjointers/thickness-planers.aspx?page=2

I included the link because it is sometimes difficult to find some of their products.

[Art Mann]

DW735 has 3 cutterheads. Seems like it'd give a smoother plane...Price range is a bit high though.

The Dewalt has three knives and it also has a slow speed for the final finish pass. In theory, these features sound impressive but my experience has been they don't mean much. In practice, the sharpness of the knives has much, much more to do with the final finish than the number of knives or the slow feed rate. The guy whose DW735 I borrowed some years ago said he never runs his on the slow speed because he can't tell enough difference to put up with the slow feed rate. One swipe across the material with a ROS and fresh 220 grit and you for sure can't tell the difference.

I am not criticising the DW735 in general. Those reconditioned prices sound pretty appealing. I am just saying that the difference in quality of finish of the different planers is not a very significant factor. They all do very well - better than many industrial cast iron planers.

[Jason Beam]

Where's the DW734???

Yes, the 735 is a respectable planer. Yes, it's $150 more WITHOUT feed tables (which are another $60). It doesn't come with a dust-shroud, either (i don't think, someone may correct that)

Awhile back, the DW733 was given RAVE reviews by almost every magazine out there. They all noted a couple of nice-to-have upgrades and the DW734 has them. Three-knife cutter head. Comes with the dust shroud.

The 735 is 1/2" wider at 13". The 734 is single-speed, but with 3 blades, still leaves a dandy DANDY surface.

I chose the 734 because it was a MUCH better value to me. To me, the slower feed rate had no value since I sand or scrape or otherwise smooth out a surface fresh from the planer, anyway. The extra half inch didn't really appeal to me, either. If i ever wanted wider, I knew it was 15" monster time, 1/2" wasn't going to make or break too many projects. And the really big deal for me was the lack of feed tables. Another $60 bucks for tables? No, no thank you.

Yes, the 735's a great planer. Yep, it's gonna run you over $200 past the HIGH end of your budget once you get feed tables, unless you make your own. They're really needed, IMHO.

The 734 is every bit as good as the original 733, with an extra knife.

[Allen Bookout]

Where's the DW734???

Yes, the 735 is a respectable planer. Yes, it's $150 more WITHOUT feed tables (which are another $60). It doesn't come with a dust-shroud, either (i don't think, someone may correct that)



The 734 is every bit as good as the original 733, with an extra knife.

My 735 came with the dust-shroud if that is the thing that the dust collector connets to. I do not know if they normally do or not. I do not have the feed tables because I have it on a Ridgid MSUV and use the rollers. Before that I just walked around to the outfeed side and supported the wood piece with my hand because I had to move it out of the way anyway. I noticed that ToolKing also had the 734 on the same link that I posted above.

[Steve Roxberg]

Ken,

Do you currently have a dust collector of some sort? A planer begs to be connected to a dust collector so that will also be a cost.

That said, I heard today that Steel City will be including a dust collector with their planer. I saw one today at Woodcraft and it was priced at $450, but you can get some discounts now and again and if it comes with a small one machine collector it may be worth it.

I don't know anything about this planer, but Steel City sure seems to be getting good reviews across the board.

Probably worth a look.

[Ken Gartin]

No DC!! Woodcraft has Steel City Planer AND DC for $450??

[Bill Huber]

There is a new 3 blade Ridgid out called the R4330, it sells for around $350.

I think just about all they did was to add the third blade to it. The 1300 is a very good planner, very smooth cuts. So if they added one more blade I sure it would be really smooth, maybe even not have to sand...


http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/ezine/toolpreview.cfm

[Ken Gartin]

There is a new 3 blade Ridgid out called the R4330, it sells for around $350.

I think just about all they did was to add the third blade to it. The 1300 is a very good planner, very smooth cuts. So if they added one more blade I sure it would be really smooth, maybe even not have to sand...


http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/ezine/toolpreview.cfm


How reliable can THAT review be? It was by a WOMAN!









OH MAN! I was SO kidding!! Please don't kill me lady woodworkers! :eek: :D

[Mike Heaney]

Perhaps I'm not the biggest fan or Ridgid tools in general, but I have been more than happy with the planer. I happened to get a deal (don't we all!) and paid about $315 for it. I went through the same shopping list as you are now doing- thought really hard about the DW735, but thought that with stand, o/f tables/ dust extractor etc I was going to spend a lot more, and at that point I would be better with a bigger machine. I wasn't prepared to buy something that heavy that I would have to move out of my basement in a couple of years (my wife is a medical resident and we will move house when she finishes her residency)- so I decided to hold off on a big planer until we are somewhere more settled.

I looked hard at the Makita, but couldn't find one locally and wanted to lay my hands on it first so that fell by the wayside. The DW 734 also looked really good- but I thought I was getting as good a cut and more useful things (stand, dust hood, spare blades) for less money on the Ridgid. The Delta was also on my list, but I didn't like the way the locking mechanism felt on the one I tried, so dropped that- probably many others who prefer the mechanism on the Delta compared to the Ridgid, so I think thats just a personal preference at the time.
In the meantime the Ridgid has been great- pretty easy to set up, preset depths are useful and accurate (I cross check all my planing with a mounted Wixey gauge and a hand held digital gauge across the board- have been very happy with the results). My 1.5hp dust collector system handles it well- suggest good dust collection is a MUST HAVE for this, or probably any planer. I do have to blow some little shavings off the infeed table when feeding multiple passes- but I am a bit paranoid about keeping rollers clean and not embedding shaving marks in my boards! I should mention that I have never really tested this machine on really deep cuts- I am happy to always take a little and do a number of passes- after all, this is my spare time, not by job, so I don't have to be fast- and yes, I do sometimes do a board with my hand planes instead, just because I enjoy it. I can say that multiple shallow cuts in 12.5 inch wide oak have been no problem at all for the motor.
I always wear ear protection- it is loud. For longer boards (over 3-4 feet), I have slight snipe problems on the tail end of the board if I don't use a support stand or lift the board a little by hand as it comes out of the machine.
I have mine mounted on a Jet mobile base, which I find very useful- the supplied stand etc have all been first rate.
Quality of finish has been excellent on everything apart from some very figured curly maple- I have had some chip out- recovered with my hand scrapers. I don't know if that would be avoided with a third knife or a slower feed- from what I see here from others, I suspect the answer is no. The shallow cuts may also be why I have been happy with the quality of the finish for most things.
Can't speak to the new Ridgid model mentioned earlier- if they have maintained the quality, from the TP1300, then it should be good- and there is an extra blade to replace and more knobs, so thats always to the good! I wonder if there are some clearance deals on the TP1300 out there now- got to be a clueless Home Depot somewhere that doesnt know the difference between a Stanley No4 plane and a Ridgid plane?


best of luck with your search

Mike

[Steve Roxberg]

No DC!! Woodcraft has Steel City Planer AND DC for $450??

According to my source the promotion will start on 9/1 and will run until 3/31/2008. the collector listed below would be free with the purchase of the small planer.

Here is the description of the dust collector, they announced it at the last woodworking show.



Steel City Introduces Conveinence in a Little Package Steel City introduces their Mini Dust Collector (Model 65115) for convenience and easy portability.

The Mini Dust Collector is designed for use on the 4' dust port of virtually any machine in the woodshop. Running at 300 CFM combined with its light weight, it makes it an appealing accessory for most small shops as well as job-site dust collection needs. No need to lug around a shop vacuum or dust collector and hose again.

The Steel City Mini Dust Collector comes equipped with: a 4' quick change adapter, dust bag, six foot power cord, 30 micron bag and external brushes for quick maintenance. The Dust Collector is also backed by the Steel City Tool Work's five-year warranty.

[Jason Beam]

I've seen pictures - Calling it a dust collector is a bit of a stretch, however it's true. It's really just a little blower with a bag attached. Better than nothing, for sure, but hardly what most of us think of when we think "portable dust collector". I think the impeller is about 6" or so (tho haven't seen specs).

[Jake Helmboldt]

I've had my Delta for about 2 years I guess and it has been great. 2-speed, cutterhead lock, zero snipe 99% of the time, and I got it for $300.

OK, so I lucked out on that price, but it has been an excellent planer.

[mike roe]

what about a 734? I got mine for 228 shipped. i love amazon.

[Steve Roxberg]

I've seen pictures - Calling it a dust collector is a bit of a stretch, however it's true. It's really just a little blower with a bag attached. Better than nothing, for sure, but hardly what most of us think of when we think "portable dust collector". I think the impeller is about 6" or so (tho haven't seen specs).

I would agree after reading the specs, a chip collector is a better definition. But it would be a LOT better than nothing on a planer.

[Jason Beam]

what about a 734? I got mine for 228 shipped. i love amazon.

Funny, i asked the same thing!!!

Got mine the same way - when dewalt had their $50 gift card rebate. That was nice :)

[Dave MacArthur]

Ken,
I have 2 DW735s. Got one as part of a package deal with my bandsaw. I have it on CraigsList for $400, but would sell it for $350. Not a plug (unless you PM me ;) ), but I bought my original one on CL for $400 myself--my point is that you can in fact find almost new DW735s out there for good savings.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

The 735 with dust hood, infeed tables, etc come awefully close to a much more substantial 15" Grizzly.

I had the Ridgid for a few months before upgrading to a stationary unit. I really liked the Ridgid. I dont like HD nor am I a big fan of Ridgid. But for the price it is an excellent, well thought out machine. Includes dust hood with 2.5" (vac) and 4" opening, extra set of blades, stand, etc and LIFETIME warrenty.

[Jack Ganssle]

Love my Rigid. With a 2.5" vacuum it's clean, cuts well, is loud, but very precise with no measureable snipe problems. Match it with a decent bandsaw and you can get any thickness wood you want, with little waste.

The infeed/outfeed tables are crucial. Also really important is a cutterhead lock.

Whatever you decide, having a jointer/planer/TS is just a ton of fun. Flat, square timber is truly a joy to use.

Jack

[Shane Sura]

I was in the home depot today and saw the Ridgid 1300 for $349. Their web site show 379. If they truly are releasing the 4330 then maybe we can expect a price decrease?

[Josiah Bartlett]

I've honestly stopped buying tools at Home Depot because they keep orphaning them. You can get parts for a Delta or Dewalt forever, everywhere, but if HD decides to stop carrying a tool they also stop carrying the blades and accessories. I'm sure the Rigid is a perfectly acceptable planer, but that alone would make me steer clear.

I have a 22-580 and I've had good experience with it thus far. I like the ease and accessibilty of the controls, and it has been able to handle some pretty gnarly grain without tearout. My dad has a DW 734 and I hate the cutterhead lock on it- I skin my knuckles every time I use it. I've never used a 735. I'm not sure about this, but I think the main thing I would miss going to the Dewalt from the Delta is that the Delta has a fully infinite depth stop, where the Dewalt only works from 1-1/4" in increments.

Get whichever one you feel you like the best, but I recommend sticking with a planer that you have a good source of knives for locally, since you will be looking for a set late on a sunday afternoon after you planed a nail and you wanted to finish your project.