I’m looking to replace our 12 yr. old bench top planer. I’ve looked at the DeWalt, Delta and Makita. I’m experiencing the same frustration I always do when buying tools these days. Quality is minimal, design is for sports car drivers and I get the feeling that after a couple of weeks on site some plastic, extraneous knob is surely going to be broken. So now that I’ve vented, can you give some help here? What’s your experience? The Makita seems the cleanest, but I definitely need function.
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Replies
Recently scored the Dewalt 13" 2 sp, 3 knife, 93 lb behemoth...sweeeeeeeeeeeet.
"you are dead a lot longer than you are alive"
Noah Aaron MacKenzie, 1990.
Did you compare planers at all before purchase?
Extensively, both online shopping/reviews and here.DW being two speed swayed me from the ridgid. Delta was not really a contender, and Makita was not readily available to check out from more than a few users. The slow feeed on the DW will eliminate 90% of scraping sanding,,really.Downside is only the weight, and the price was almost 200 more than I had imagined spending..I already have a 12.5 planer, so this was a backup, and more portable than my ah-115. Which has a jointer attached with like a 6' bed, and is really not suited for anything that takes it out of the shop.Oh, the DW also came with a free 5" RO sander deal..planer is so good that sander might just collect dust. Pun. The dw has a fan forcded chip ejection as well as a good chip chute to a dust collecter.Really, it is a great planer for the price.
Thanks for your follow up. It seems like the consensus is definitely towards the DeWalt.
A trick for ya, with a nick in the blades, crack the cover, loosen and slide one Knife either left or right ( whichever direction has a little room to move) tighten and fire it up. Mark it with a sharpie so when the next nick happens, slide a different knife. slid three, flip em for the new sharp edges. If you're milling for thickness this saves some time and $ on blades.__________________________
Judo Chop!
I bought a Delta 12" I think. It's not the biggest bench top they sell. This one is much more basic than the bigger one, but it aso seems to have less plastic. And it weighs enough less that I can move it around.
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Thanks. Yeah I'm just trying to find the planer that goes up and down and lasts awhile. It's tough to find tools these days built for the long haul.
I've jammed about 7500 board feet of pine, cherry and maple through my Ridgid 13" planer in the past year. Been through about five sets of blades, and I found that a very careful honing with a diamond stone will restore the blades to almost-new condition, good for putting rough-sawn stock through with a heavy cut. I'll swap out sets of blades right before I make the final pass, so that the last cut is glass smooth and won't need much sanding, if any.
Thanks for your "on the job" reply. I appreciate the info.
I have the Dewalt 13" that sphere mentioned, used it for about two years or so now and love it except the blades seem to wear a little quick. They're not that expensive to replace at 50 each and they're double sided...
I used the 13" Delta a few times before I bought mine, it didn't impress me much
13" DeWalt. Run 1,000 of feet through it. It's an animal and even on low RPM oak barely needs sanding.
The others may be good, but I know this one is.
Never serious, but always right.
Edited 6/13/2007 12:44 am by JRuss
We have a 13" dewalt, and it's a great planer. It does a great job, but at the risk of making a fool of my self, my Ryobi leaves a much nicer finish than the Dewalt. It doesn't have the power, but if finish is what you are after, then don't rule out the Ryobi.
I've had the Makita benchtop planer for about 5-6 years now. I have put it through just about every test, and would say its just "average". The snipe is a little bit more than I would like. The blades aren't that expensive and they are reversible, so that helps.
After using the Makita for a while, I know what its limitations are, and would probably explore other brands if I had to buy a new benchtop planer.
SS
I have had the Hitachi 12PRA (or something like that) for almost 10 years and it is a workhorse. It has a joiner component that is good for short lengths. Well made machine witha minimal of plastic. Jay
Thanks Jay. That is the top of the line from what I hear. Unfortunately they no longer make them. If anybody knows where one is available, I'd be interested.
Since I carry the planer to and from the truck the heaviest models, which would probably have longer life and better performance for thick cuts on wide boards, are out.
As much as I hate to admit it, the lowly Delta 12-1/2" circa 2003 with disposible double sided blades has been one of the best investments I've made. Minimal snipe, smooth finish, no problems after 10s of thousands of lineal feet of stock have been put through it. Sharp blades make it work half as much so regular replacment has helped it last.
Granted, most cuts are light just to remove saw marks and the material is typically not very wide, but for this purpose I'd buy the same machine again, except they have since changed they way it's built and the new model is terrible.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
I'm curious as to why there aren't more posts on the Makita. It seems a solid machine- more solid than the others by appearance in the stores, but only one responder had anything to say. Thanks for your story, people who use tools know them the best!
I am very pleased with my Makita. Never much snipe, and it's QUIET! Also, the DC hood works like a charm.
From all the reviews I've read, Dewalt leads the pack. The Ridgid gets the best value award.
I've not used the dewalt, but have looked it over, swapped blades, etc at a show. Seems pretty user friendly, and the 2 speeds can't hurt.
just for grins and giggles go to hd and look at ridgid and ryobi.they are the exact same motor! ridgid has some fancy plastic hanging on it but if you look at the motor castings,screws,evrything the are the same thing.
i went to buy a rigid one day and after standing there for 20 mins decided i wasn't spend ing 350 for a orange ryobi. larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Yeah, I'm thinking after all this I should just consider price and color. Heck you can't even have stuff worked on anymore-just toss it and buy the next dial-o-matic tool of the month.
A vote for the Makita ............ been pleased with mine. Minimal snipe and leaves a nice finish. I'd also looked at the Delta 22-580 and DW735. The Mak is quieter (the noise from the Dw735 will raise the dead- 100+dB) and more portable than either.
I have the delta 13" planer. Love it.I was considering the default but at the time they were having trouble with the gearing. Im sure default has corrected theproblem by now. Either one would be a great buy.
View Image "We fight not to enslave ,but to set free"
Thomas Paine
Toolking has a re-con Dewalt for around 390.00
http://www.toolking.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=25461&e_id=email_20070614
Thank you!
Try woodworkers supply for the hitachi p12ra
Thanks! Now I just have to decide whether to spend $500 or $1400.
If you're comfortable spending 1400 and need a jointer and planer, purchase seperate equipment.
The bed lenght on the jointer is to short to be effective for all but the shortest of stock IMO.
I have a 6" jointer with a 48" bed, everytime I use it for anything longer then 5-6' I wish it was longer.
I have to agree with you. I know cabinet shops that bought the Hitachi P12RA just for the planer and tossed the jointer.
I started with the 12" Delta in 1995 or so--it was a decent machine but I used it hard and used it up.
Got a 12 1/2" Dewalt, used it hard and used it up too. Probably could have rebuilt it (bearing wore out, funny sounds from the motor, lots of broken/missing pieces) but it did a good job so I got another one. Still using it frequently, it's a tough machine. The snipe lock feature is good and it works but it can be hard to train new users to unlock it.
In the meantime I've used the newer 13" Dewalt beheamouth my company owns quite a bit. It's heavy, and heavy-duty, but we have had issues with shavings collecting inside the unit. Hours on the phone with customer service and at a local authorized repair shop. In the end their diagnosis was "collects 90% of the dust." I KNOW! IT'S THE OTHER 10% THAT COLLECTS INSIDE THAT IS A PROBLEM! Anyway, I've had enough of that machine. It's too heavy to be portable, and if I had a shop planer I'd want a 15" machine.
Which brings me to the Makita. I used one off and on that belonged to a GC I used to sub to. I loved it! Yes, snipe was worse than with the other machines, but it's compact, LIGHT WEIGHT and QUIET. Those are important features to me. You know a Makita motor will never die. There's a reason it costs more than the other 12" machines. Next planer I get will be blue.
I had a feeling...
Thanks for the info. Snipe is in the hands of the feeder.