Advice RE: next equipment purchase

[jeremy romoser]

I've had my table saw a couple months now and it is great.

Now looking to add a second piece of equipment to the shop. Based on responses to my previous post, it seems
my next purchase should either be a planer, bandsaw, or jointer.

Of the three it seems to me a planer would make most sense?

Grizzly has the G1021Z 15" planer for $1632 + tax (most expensive of the three by the time you add freight, lift gate service, and a mobile base) and the G0453 15"planer for $1550 + tax (free freight and includes integrated mobile base). Rockler has the Jet JWP-160s 16" planer $1599 + tax + base ( an hour away so I can pick it up=no freight).
The other brands: laguna, PM, Rikon, etc are more than I want to spend.

Any thoughts on the above or recommendations on other options I should consider are welcomed.

Frankly, I am leaning toward the jet so I don't have to deal with Grizzly dumping the unit on the road at the end of my driveway about 60ish yards from the entrance to my shop or transferring from their truck to my truck.

For a newbie, are these overkill? I've seen good comments on the dewalt 735 also at about 1/3 of the price. Although, I'd rather spend more now once than save now but have to upgrade in a couple years.

Thanks in advance to all who respond.

[Tony Roun]

I would recommend the planer be your next tool. If you are new, I’d stick with a smaller planer like the Dewalt you mentioned. One additional brand to consider is Cutech. For roughly the same price as the Dewalt 735, you can buy one of their higher end models with spiral cutter head with carbide. I’m considering upgrading my older two-blade lunchbox planer to one of these. I’ve heard positive feedback regarding their quality.

[jeremy romoser]

Thanks for the suggestion, Cutech is a new one to me. I'll look into it.

[Lee Schierer]

To me it depends on what you plan to make most often and what materials you will use. If you normally use s4s lumber and make furniture and cabinets, a jointer will be more used than a planer. If you make lots of projects from thin or odd sized material or plan to buy mostly rough lumber then the planer will see more use.

IMO both tools are essential in most shops.

[Cary Falk]

I say if you are thinking about a 15" cast iron planer you already have the funds and space for one so get one. Tool prices are just going to increase. You will loose money on the Dewalt when you sale it. You also have to take the time to sale it. I am looking at the Grizzly 2019 catalog and you prices look high. The G0453 is $1250+$169 sh+tax. Either way if you want to go with Jet that is fine as well.

[Robert Engel]

I think if you're getting a planer, you will also want a jointer. They kind of go together.

If the budget will allow, I recommend taking a look at some combo jointer/planers. Jet has a nice unit at my local Woodcraft I think it was $2500. Plus, its 12" which is nice for a jointer.

I have a 20" planer and honestly I rarely ever put anything over 10" wide through it.

IMO in the long run, you're always better of with a stationary machine and lots of cast iron. The DW planer might suffice it all depends on how much/how hard you're using it. If you plan on milling rough lumber, I would definitely go with a stationary unit the motors on the lunchbox planers are the issue.

[glenn bradley]

A planer makes the most sense if you build a planer sled for face jointing. The jointer and planer are a team and each is only partially useful without the other. The planer can deal with face jointing via a sled.

CoD-crnr-wide (1).jpg

And the tablesaw can do edge jointing after a fashion with a sled.

Taper Jig (18).jpg

But, the jointer cannot thickness plane. So, IMHO . . . Planer, jointer, then bandsaw although there can be innumerable reasons to alter this order ;-)

[Cary Falk]

Do it(stationary) for the noise also. Lunchbox planers are screamers. The neighbors will thank you.

[Jacob Mac]

A planer and a sled will make it so you can get by without a jointer. But if you are in this for the long haul, a joiner planer combo machine is worth considering if you have the funds. It will get you a wider jointer. Certainly not the only way to go. But if you're pressed for space, it is a good option.

[jeremy romoser]

To me it depends on what you plan to make most often and what materials you will use. If you normally use s4s lumber and make furniture and cabinets, a jointer will be more used than a planer. If you make lots of projects from thin or odd sized material or plan to buy mostly rough lumber then the planer will see more use.

IMO both tools are essential in most shops.

My wife has a long list of furniture for the house for me to attempt and I would also like to make some cutting boards. She likes the look of walnut in the house so probably a lot of Walnut along with other hardwoods that I like.
I am new to this so I don't have a "normal" yet but my reading of this site and others like it have me thinking rough lumber or s2s is the most cost effective way to go (once I have a planer and jointer)???
I do plan on buying both a planer and jointer but was hoping to have a couple months in between each purchase.

[Bob Vaughan]

A well thought out decision on a multitude of levels for putting together a wood shop. The only potential down side, if you want to call it that, is that having the capacity of a full size machine will accelerate your needs for other machines of at least equal quality. Maybe another down side is the angst of self-discipline to not plane every piece of rough lumber you've got in stock.

[jeremy romoser]

I say if you are thinking about a 15" cast iron planer you already have the funds and space for one so get one. Tool prices are just going to increase. You will loose money on the Dewalt when you sale it. You also have to take the time to sale it. I am looking at the Grizzly 2019 catalog and you prices look high. The G0453 is $1250+$169 sh+tax. Either way if you want to go with Jet that is fine as well.

I don't have the 2019 catalog yet but the prices I quoted were off their website yesterday. The website price had the mobile base and shipping included so maybe they just increased the price to cover the "free" shipping and base.

I have no knowledge regarding Jet vs. Grizzly, I just like the idea of being able to go to the store and pick up the Jet.

[Jason Lester]

I just got the Grizzly G1021X2. It's a very nice piece of equipment. It replaced a Dewalt 734. As others mentioned, it's so much quieter than the Dewalt. I can also get through milling much faster since it has no issue taking off 1/16 at a time. If you can afford the difference, step up to the carbide head. It gives a much better finish, especially on figured wood or wood with reversing grain. I fed some figured white oak through multiple ways and never got any tearout.

[andy bessette]

If a table saw was my only shop machine I definitely would not want a planer to be my next purchase.

Instead I would buy the Festool track saw next. Then I would want a bandsaw and drill press before even considering a thickness plane. Once I got those other machines I'd be looking for a heavy duty, used, Delta 13" planer just like the one I bought new decades ago, shown in the lower right corner of the photo.

[Simon MacGowen]

I am new to this so I don't have a "normal" yet but my reading of this site and others like it have me thinking rough lumber or s2s is the most cost effective way to go (once I have a planer and jointer)???
.

As John Mac (unrelated) pointed out, you can do with just a planer (thicknesser) and a sled, without the need for a jointer to dress all your rough lumber. I have been doing just like that for the past decade after selling my long jointer. You have got the SawStop and with 3HP, it can joint anything you want (using a cutting a sled).

Even if you have space and money for the jointer, there is one more reason why you may not want it: skill & maintenance requirements. The jointer, unlike the planer (which just needs shims to work for difficult boards), requires skills to dress a twist board as well as long boards that rocks. Be sure you will develop those skills or you will get frustrated. People who sell jointers won't tell you that. The process of replacing the jointer knives, leveling both the infeed and outfeed tables can be intimidating to some, too. Don't expect the experience with your SawStop a default when you deal with other imported machines. I had lived long enough to tame my jointer before our divorce. But I see no reason why I would need it again, even though I use mostly rough lumber (so I can choose the grain and thickness).

Simon