Lunchbox Planer

[Stew Hagerty]

DW735 with Extension Tables.
Couldn't be happier, even though I still have the straight knife head. I originally figured I'd get the Byrd head for it, but it works good enough for the way I use it that I'm going to spend that money elsewhere (already have a couple of times over actually .

[anthony wall]

I have the 2012NB Makita which I enjoy using very much. It's quieter than most on the market and about the lightest of the current L/B planers out there. Handles are great as are fit and finish. Dust chute which is not supplied could be improved upon, better yet build your own with conventional 4" connection. Overall a very good machine although not perfect.
Mac

when i bought my lunchbox planer they were very scarce and difficult to find but eventualy found a couple of makes in what would be the equivalent of your big box stores both were on the shelf next to each other ,one was the makita 2012nb and priced at 19000 baht(about $560) the other was a clone of the same machine a pumpkin 2012nb priced at just over 8000 baht(about $235)identical in every way even the colour and as i use mainly reclaimed timber i opted for the pumpkin thinking that if i miss any nails in the timber i am only destroying a cheap machine .when i got it home and started looking at it properly i was amazed at what a good quality machine it is the spare parts list and the instructions were all headed as makita .i have had it for three years now and used it hard with no problems as yet, very happy with it

[Kent E. Matthew]

This thread gives me hope. I have had a dresser project stalled in need of a planer. I have trolled craigslist for about a year now. At first funding prohibited the purchase. Now people wanting 80 percent for today's planer cost for machines 20 or 30 years old is the problem. I have considered just buying a lunchbox and get on with it.

Two questions. Can your lunchbox handle hardwood 10 inches wide?
What is the technique for eliminating snipe?

[Phil Thien]

I just recently (two weeks ago) got the Dewalt DW734.

I looked at the Ridgid. They had the 4330 in the store, and the 4331 on the web site. Reasons for not going w/ the Ridgid: (1) I read that getting the knives out can be a bear, the Allen head screws are apparently so tight on some of them that people have to sometimes restore to drastic measures to remove them. (2) The knives are not universally stocked in stores, they used to be, but not any longer? (3) Read complaints from users that the 4331's head can shift during use (looks like Bill fixed his by tightening the chain).

I looked at the Steel City units. The newer units use two-sided inserts. And the less expensive one doesn't offer a cutter-head lock but is rather a clone of the Ridgid 4331 but w/ the Accu-head. I couldn't find one locally, decided to just pass on it.

Looked at the Makita. Had the dollars, but didn't want to spend that much, quite frankly. By the time you add the cost of the dust chute, it starts getting up there.

Looked at used units on Craigslist, but many were Delta units that didn't have the gauge that tells you how much stock you will remove. Most people seem to like that feature.

Looked at Dewalt. I felt the 735 was a little pricey. Ultimately decided on the 734. It has Torx for the knife screws, so I should (hopefully) not have problems getting those out when the time comes. Has a cutterhead lock. Knives are pretty easy to find. Has the stock removal gauge (which I do like). Came w/ a dust chute.

I'm very happy with the finish I get out of the unit. I had been worried that I would regret not getting a unit w/ the helical head, but no regrets whatsoever.

[Sam Murdoch]

This was my solution to the Makita dust chute - simple and very cheap for a 4" attachment and works great (scroll down the page for the photos): http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ta-2012-Planer

[Joe Angrisani]

The link that I included above specs a 4 sided cutter head insert. Maybe there are 2 versions?

There ARE two versions. Maybe I have older/newer reversed, and it's the early one that had the 2-sided cutters. I do know this to be fact: Steel City 40200H planers with serial numbers starting with SM have 4-sided cutters. Steel City 40200H planers with serial numbers starting with SM2 have 2-sided cutters.

[Phil Thien]

There ARE two versions. Maybe I have older/newer reversed, and it's the early one that had the 2-sided cutters. I do know this to be fact: Steel City 40200H planers with serial numbers starting with SM have 4-sided cutters. Steel City 40200H planers with serial numbers starting with SM2 have 2-sided cutters.

When I was looking into this, I learned:

(1) Steel City units designed for 4-sided inserts can use carbide inserts as replacements for the HSS. That is a nice feature, IMHO.

(2) Steel City switched to heads with 2-sided inserts, which are supposed to be easier to seat precisely. All their newer units have the 2-sided inserts. Steel City will be selling 2-sided carbide inserts that are interchangeable with the HSS inserts "soon."

(3) Some people (Alan) have even replaced their 2-sided HSS with four-sided carbide.

(4) Highland Hardware had some of the older 4-sided machines in stock a couple of weeks ago, for people that want one of those. Not sure if they still have them.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

This thread gives me hope. I have had a dresser project stalled in need of a planer. I have trolled craigslist for about a year now. At first funding prohibited the purchase. Now people wanting 80 percent for today's planer cost for machines 20 or 30 years old is the problem. I have considered just buying a lunchbox and get on with it.

Two questions. Can your lunchbox handle hardwood 10 inches wide?
What is the technique for eliminating snipe?

Ten inches is the max for my no longer made planer. I'm not aware of any now made that are less than 12", but occasionally I am wrong.

Snipe is caused by the board moving up, or the head moving down. The easiest solution is to figure out how much gets sniped, usually 2" per end, then make your work that much longer and cut to length after planning. When I got my planer 20+ years ago, I made a stand for it that helps me eliminate snipe. I feed a sacrificial board thru first, the use the same piece to chase it, eliminating snipe. If I have 10 boards to plane to the same thickness, I feed one after another, the chase with the sacrificial piece. I was a production cabinet maker for years and this solution worked well for me.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Funny how things go....
35 odd posts here before anyone mentioned the DW734.

Three/three and a half years ago, in a similar thread, the DW734, the DW735 and the DW733 seemed to be all anyone used.
I jumped all over a DW734 at that time when Amazon ran them on sale for $278.00.
I'd love to tell you how well it works, but,,I have yet to use it! I mounted it on the flip side of my flip top and it's been sitting upside down now for going on three years.

The only real con anyone mentioned w/the DW734 was the price of blades and the fact they can't be sharpened.

[Bill Geibe]

Rich said:
<<Funny how things go....
35 odd posts here before anyone mentioned the DW734.

Three/three and a half years ago, in a similar thread, the DW734, the DW735 and the DW733 seemed to be all anyone used.>>

Since that's the case, I'll put my 2 cents in about my DeWalt 733. I bought a used one 2-3 years ago and have been quite pleased with it. It looks like the 734 but has a 2-blade cutterhead instead of 3. The blades can be resharpened and are easily available and reasonably priced. I changed out the blades once (and the machine got a lot quieter) and had the old ones resharpened for future use.

I have no problems with the finish the machine leaves and it has next to no snipe if I make the last cut a small one and make sure the cutterhead is locked. Dust collection is great with the 733 hooked up to a 5HP Ridgid shop vac via a short piece of 2.5 inch hose.

Bill