Planer pondering

[Andy Coverdale]

About 12 years ago my FIL bought a Hitachi P12RA. He never used it so I confiscated it for my shop. It worked well for me. A few years ago I found a Parks 12" planer at auction that I bought figuring it would be even better and I knew it would be quieter. I returned the Hitachi to FIL and tuned up the Parks and put new blades in her. She has never cut as good as the Hitachi. The tearout is pretty bad so I bought some Esta disposable blades for her which didn't improve things much.

The Parks does hog away the wood but it is hard to get a really good finishing pass.

Was in Lowes and almost pulled the trigger on the Dewalt 735. After reading reviews on the 735 and its problems I am glad I didn't.

I will probably sneak the Hitachi back into my shop (my FIL won't miss it) until I feel like I can justify one of those new spiral head combination Grizzlys. I think they might well be the ants pants, bees knees and cat's pajamas for a small shop.

Andy

[John Bailey]

Andy,

I got very good results with my Parks before I tore it apart for a rebuild. It's still in pieces as I'm just getting the rebuild done.

Have you tried going to the Old Woodworking Machines website and researching how to set up the Parks. There's a good article that describes all the steps and how to set up a jib with a dial indicator. All that being said, I think that, because of the speed of the cutter head with a good bench top model, most get a better finish with the bench tops, while the stationaries do the better job of removing material.

John

[Andy Coverdale]

Hey John,

Yes, I already spent a couple hours setting it up with a dial indicator according to the article you described. It rough cuts fine. I just like the finishing cuts on the Hitachi better.

Anybody out there using the Hitachi? Still no better built portable IMHO.

Andy

[Gary Keedwell]

My old DeWalt 733 is still going strong and produces a nice finish.

Gary

[Paul Girouard]

Anybody out there using the Hitachi? Still no better built portable IMHO.

Andy


A shop I worked at has one , it must be at least 25 years old . Hell of a planer , we replaced the armature about 7 years ago , it was pretty ease to change out. Makes me wonder why they aren't still making it:confused: To good?? Blade changing was a snap , plenty of power , durable as heck , yet no longer made :confused::(

Your FIL must be very understanding , or he really doesn't need or use his tools , I'd string you up if your tried to take my planer under similar circumstances :D

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

If fresh knives didn't fix it~ ~ ~
I'm wondering about the bearings on the park planer.
Old, original, new ~ ~ what?
And the bores into which they set? Tight, sloppy?

Of course you might take some of that same wood over to the other planer and see if that has the same tear out issues. Maybe it's the lumber. Sometimes the lumber is just a PITA and demands you to purchase a widebelt.

[Nelson Bradley]

Not to change the subject, but what are the problems with the 735? I've been considering getting one. All the reviews I've seen so far seemed pretty good, but I haven't really started researching it too much.

[Andy Coverdale]

Cliff
Bearings are new.

Nelson
The Dewalt 735 has junk knives by everything I read. Also some cheap gears in the roller drive.
Shame because everything else seems very well thought out.

Andy

[Chuck Burns]

I almost bought a 735. But I talked to a couple of guys that had them that had problems with the knives showing noticable deterioration after 50 bf of lumber. The knives are only 1/16" so you can't even upgrade to an aftermarket carbide.

In the end I'm glad I waited as I found a PM 15HH with the Byrd head for 1650 delivered. Excellent finish and that puppy is amazingly quiet. I figured I'd be in the 735 a bit over 700 with the stand and infeed and outfeed extentions. I figured that after frequent knife replacement in the 735 I'd be in it the cost of the 15HH in not too many years.

It's a crying shame; Dewalt came so close on the 735. Better gears and 1/8 knives would have done it.

[Andy Coverdale]

Chuck

It's just like everything else DeWalt (Black & Decker) does. They have a product that is selling in great numbers so the accountants see no reason to fix the problem.

I still get upset when I think about how B & D ruined the great old Dewalt Radial Arm Saws.

Acountants:mad: And I used to be one myself.

Andy

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Cliff
Bearings are new.

And the bores into which the bearings are set are tight?

If so then you absolutely must run right out and get yourself a 48" widebelt. Extrema makes a nice one.

Sorry, there is nothing else for it. It's prolly the wood and you can't waste good wood. That'd be terrible.

So it's the widebelt.