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Thread: 20 vs 15 planer

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Nov 2022
    Location
    Northern Colorado
    Posts
    1,066
    Hands down, 15" with a better head. And you are right, it matters what you do, but if you're new, I'm guessing you might want to build a table or a dresser with real wood faces or maybe a nice cabinet or perhaps a night stand? You don't need 20" to do any of that. In fact 12" is sufficient. Why? Well if you don't want that nice table to be as curvy as a mountain road, you better make sure the widest board is around 6" or less. Plane boards to thickness, glue up into panel width you need and cut to dimension. I've build some incredible furniture with a 12" planer.

    Bigger is not always better. Bigger can sometimes be just more expensive and not much else. Even if you live and die by the "I'd rather not need it an have it than not have it and need it" sword. Now, if you're a full production shop interested in making money and saving maximum time...buy two 20" planers.

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,894
    As a general rule the wider the planer the longer the minimum length is for work to be planed. This minimum is basically the center to center distance of the infeed and outfeed rollers.
    That does rule not really apply to a jointer. Except a larger jointer will tend to have bigger diameter cutter head and a bigger gap between the tables to clear it
    Bill D

  3. #33
    Join Date
    May 2021
    Location
    New Hampster, USA
    Posts
    130
    Depends on your expectations and how you use your planer. The 20" capacity is very useful if you run glued-up panels. As some have pointed out, the difference isn't just 5" of cut capacity. The 20" four-poster probably has a pressure bar and adjustable feed rate, which the 15s sometimes do not, so the 20 may give a better surface with less snipe. Some have suggested the 20 has the advantage of allowing gang-planing but 4-post planers don't have segmented feed rollers etc so gang-planing with a 4-poster is not recommended IMO. I wouldn't buy a machine based on the cutters because the cutterhead can be replaced in a few hours. You can't add on a pressure bar and 5" of cut capacity.
    Last edited by Holmes Anderson; 03-08-2023 at 11:04 AM.

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Toronto Ontario
    Posts
    11,248
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson View Post
    There are times when I want to plane a panel that I've glued up from boards that I was able to joint on my jointer.

    Mike
    That’s true Mike, however I never do that,I find the most I need is a card scraper…….Regards, Rod

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Nov 2022
    Location
    Northern Colorado
    Posts
    1,066
    Quote Originally Posted by Rod Sheridan View Post
    That’s true Mike, however I never do that,I find the most I need is a card scraper…….Regards, Rod
    I'm of the same opinion. Barring any arguments whether or not that's good on a helical head (I tend to think it's fine if you clean periodically), I find anything left is gone during surface sanding.

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