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Well, I don’t use my planer all that much, but when I do need it, it has been invaluable, I have a Delta 12 1/2″, and last week it took 30 pieces of White Oak from 5/4 to 3/4 and 5/8 for stair treads and risers without any problems, of course I would like to have a Dewalt, but for the cost the Delta was a much better value for my use.
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I'm starting work on a survey article about portable thickness planers with one of my favorite authors, Michael Standish. Please help us out by relating your experiences with these tools, and tell us what you'd like to know about a particular model before you bought it. Have a favorite? Or one that you'd as soon use as a boat anchor? We'd like to know.
Thanks for the help.
Andy Engel
*Hi Andy, I thought I'd take a few minutes and give you my thoughts on this topic. I have a one man cabinet shop and also do finish and trim work for a couple of contractors in my area and had a need for a thickness planer. Due to the size of my shop and an occasional need to use a planer on the jobsite, I decided on a portable unit that could be easily moved from shop to job. Some of the portable models have a locking feature that they claim reduces snipe at the end of the boards. Being frugal, I opted for one that doesn't have this feature, the Delta 22-540. After doing a little fine tuning to the machine by adjusting the infeed and outfeed tables and not hogging too much wood in one pass, I have been able to keep the snipe depth down to about.002 to.003 thousandths depth which can easily be sanded out. I really appreciate the double edged knives that are on Delta's machines and a person can easily change them in about 10 minutes. The surface that it produces is extremely smooth. I purchased my planer from Woodworker's Supply for a great price which even included a dust hood to adapt it to a dust collection system. The other thing that swayed me to this purchase was Delta's 2 year warranty. I use my planer mostly for planing panels for raised panel doors. I've gotten to the point to where I plane the panel material down to 5/8" to bring the front of the panel flush with the door frame. So far I have built seven kitchens using this planer on everything from face frames,to drawer fronts, and doors, and ocassionally it has accompanied me on the jobsite to prepare some custom window trim. It has even been used to plane some pecan for a coffee table, and as you probably know pecan can really be tough even on carbide cutters. As you can tell, I am very pleased with its performance and would highly recommend it to anyone. Thanks for listening to me ramble. Frank "Mad Dog" Maglin.
**1. You might post this question around the corner in the Knots main forum. *2. Take a trip to Knots anyway and look around, particularly in the Tools Forum. There are one or two pertinent and/or related topics ongoing.*3. You've probably already done 2, therefore this suggestion is redundant. Sorry if that's the case. Just thought I'd mention it.*4. I don't have much experience with these little thicknesser's I'm afraid, so apart from the above, I'm not able to help much.
*I like that even the FH editors ignore the subfolders. Shouldn't this be in "Tools," Andy? :)I'm interested in this topic and will be listening.
*I've used one a few times (I think it was the Delta MD mentioned), but I've never seen enough applications for it on a jobsite to buy one. I prepare my stock in the big planer in my shop. That said; I think the finish quality is surprisingly good, at the expense of big cuts (there is probably a geometrical explanation for this related to the cutting circle). I think they do a good job at light finishing cuts, and they are quite good at very thin pieces that would require a backing board with a big planer to avoid self-destructing. I don't know what the "cuts per inch" are, but I would guess there are more than on my planer, even with two knives compared to three or four on bigger machines (I hope you will take a look at that question). The feed rate is definitely faster (I just checked a catalogue). Anyway, bottom line for me is they are too light weight for my work, but if I ever saw much use for them on a jobsite, I'd pick one up.
*Thanks for the feedback. Mad Dog, what did you do to your in and outfeed tables to reduce snipe?Sgian, I didn't post over at Knots because the demographics of FWW's readers suggests that they use tools in different ways than FHB readers. For starters, there aren't many professional woodworkers at FWW, but the largest group of FHB readers are pros. Andrew, I claim editorial privelege. Adrian, I've noticed that these little planers seem to give a cleaner finish, too. My little Powermatic leaves a nicer surface than the big Powermatic in Taunton's shop.Keep the comments coming.Andy
*I bought a Williams & Hussey about 18 years ago when I had to run lengths of custom profile moldings for a century old house to repair fire damage. It is restricted to a 7" width and 7" height but it does the job. The frame and enclosure are made of good old cast iron - very sturdy. I can change from flat surface knives to molding profiles in less than 5 minutes. I can draw a molding profile on paper or send a piece of actual molding to Williams & Hussey and they'll have a set of knives back to me in about 10 days at a very competitive price. It's totally manufactured in the USA.It's not a high production tool and the power feed mechanism is not as tough as could be - I had to have mine rebuilt once in the 18 years. But, for the small shop with an occassional need for thicknessing and custom moldings, I think it's a "best buy".
*Andy, You make a fair point regarding the number of pro's in Knots, but they certainly do exist. Let me give you my professional furniture makers view if that helps. I have almost no use for one of these machines. We have one that gets dragged out every few months to skim some lightweight stuff. Lippings or something like that. Like all these machines it is too flimsily built, underweight and underpowered for the particular work I do. For intermittent light work they are fine, but they are unsuitable for continuous feeding of such materials as cherry, white oak, maple, etc., for 6-8 hrs. By the same token therefore, they are also too small and underpowered for thicknessing glued up table tops, cabinet sides, and the like after flattening the part on the overhand surface planer (US jointer.)I have to admit that I always build my furniture in the workshop, and therefore do not do 'built ins'. I deliver complete items, that may need a bit of trimming in, but even this trimming in material is prepared in the workshop, so on-site thicknessing requirements are virtually nil.However, there are still one or two pertinent threads in the Knots tool section that might be worth your while taking a look at. I can't do those blue link deals, I'm afraid, but one asks for opinions on the DeWalt portable thicknesser, and Delta gets brought into the exchange somewhere. Sliante.
*Okay, I took a look over at Knots for you. Try these two threads. *In the b main forum, quite some way down is "Snipe from a 15" thicknesser." A fair bit of information there to chew on, which includes an answer to your question to Mad Dog Maglin.*The other is "DeWalt 12-1/2" thicknesser" in the b Tools forum, again some way down.Sorry, still can't do those blue link deals for you. This is the best I can do.
*Thanks, Sgian. I didn't mean to dismiss the opinions of professional furniture makers, and I'm glad to have yours. I agree that these lightweight planers are no match for a 20-in. cast-iron behemoth when it comes to surfacing a thousand BF in a day. On the other side of the coin, I once made my living trimming houses and many's the time I could have used one. For example, I recently photographed a project in Arkansas where the carpenters had ripped a pile of stock into 1x4. Instead of edge-jointing each stick to remove the saw marks, they ganged several together and ran them through their DeWalt planer at once. Admirably efficient. Thanks also for the directions to Knots. I'll take a spin over to visit my Woodworking brethern soon. Although I've got enough Scottish blood in me to recognize "sliante" as being a Gaelic toast, the German half of my parentage prevents me from knowing how to pronounce it or to properly respond. Help?Andy
*Andy, My Delta planer has an adjustable stop screw on each side of the extension tables, and there are also screws along the edges that can be loosened to make the required adjustments, then tightened back down. I placed a straight edge on the infeed table and adjusted until it was level with the planer table. This has to be done on both sides of the infeed table. Outfeed table is adjusted the same way. After adjusting, I ran a piece through and maybe raised the outfeed just a hair higher than the planer table, and kept fine tuning until snipe was almost eliminated. MDM
*I didn't feel dismissed at all, and the on site joiner or carpenter, and the amateur woodworker both have very different needs to me. Those little machines are invaluable in the right place, as I'm sure many in this BT forum would testify to. I simply burdened you with a furniture makers experience!Sliante, (Slan-jhu; the jh sounded softly a little like the French J in Jean, and the end u as in Huh.)
*Hi Andy,I have used the Ryobi and Delta, as well as the DeWalt, which I own and use in my woodshop and on the job as a carpenter. To me, the DeWalt is the man, and the first two I mentioned are like small boys.I could list a whole mess of things I can't stand about the Delta, but they are already in the threads under tools, and I don't want to slam Delta unmercifully because I have some other tools of theirs that I like, although suffice to say that it would make a great boat anchor, as long as you didn't mind the weight!But the DeWalt has served me admirably. I was running some chainsawed timbers through it, a little too much stress, and it broke the infeed belt. While in the shop, I talked to the repairman, and he said that would be considered abuse, but he mentioned another timber framer who actually ran timber on a Delta by mounting the planer on the timber piece, and it ran itself along the length of the timber! I can't remember if it was upright or upside down. He thought that would be extremely abusive, and well, the Delta didn't hold up to that.One thing I'd like to know is why can't we preset a final thickness, and set a depth of cut, and then just keep feeding the board through until it automatically gets to the desired thickness instead of turning the crank a little bit each time?MD
*Well Andy, if you are really interested, and are reallllly nice to me, I can probably put you in touch with someone who designs portable planners. He buys different planers and takes them apart, tests them, etc. He designed the snipe lockout on the DeWalt. He can probably give you some ideas about the mechanical differences.e-mail me directly if you want,[email protected]
*Hey Mad Dog, I really like your idea about the preset final thickness thing. Maybe you should apply for a patent or sell your idea to the manufacturers. The other Mad Dog.
*Andy,
Joseph FuscoView Image"Whenever, therefore, people are deceived and form opinions wide of the truth, it is clear that the error has slid into their minds through the medium of certain resemblance's to that truth." Socrates
*Well, I don't use my planer all that much, but when I do need it, it has been invaluable, I have a Delta 12 1/2", and last week it took 30 pieces of White Oak from 5/4 to 3/4 and 5/8 for stair treads and risers without any problems, of course I would like to have a Dewalt, but for the cost the Delta was a much better value for my use.
*Hello Andy,I have a Ryobi 12" planer, and I love it. I especially love the Rapid Blade change feature. I do not use my planer for custom cabinet work. I use it on the jobsite, and sometimes in the shop for just plain ol' taking meat off of the stock I am using. Sometimes I may need a 5/8" thick board for a door jamb, so I take a clear 1x and plane that sucker down. It has served me well, and it gives an excellent finish on the wood. I have only used it on oak, or other hard woods a few times, but it leaves a nice, smooth finish. I really have not encountered a snipe problem like the others have, but I plane full length boards, and cut off the ends anyway, so it wouldn't matter much. I got a great deal on my planer ($200.00) so I opted to buy this one, and maybe upgrade later on. I have had my planer for 3 years, and have literally run the heck out of it. It has taken the abuse, hard use, and still performs very well. I have not found a need or a reason to buy another brand of planer. This one has served me well.If I needed to plane fine grade wood for custom cabinet or furniture type work, I would probably go to a much better grade planer, but for general purpose planing, this is one dandy little machine.Just my opinion...James DuHamel
*Thanks, guys, for the help. Keep it coming, and if you would, include some comments about what you'd like to see in tool surveys. Andy
*Andy,We are using a new Delta 12" surface planer on the job at this point. I had asked one of my carpenters to bring in his new machine so we could use it. I have found it to be very useful in that it frees us up to make different sized pieces very easily which we would not normally attempt to do with only a table saw and a power planer. One surprising application was when I ripped up some pine for stiles and rails for a bookcase, we sent the pieces through the planer on their edge to trim up the rip cuts from the saw. The planer did a fine job and none of the pieces twisted or jammed the machine and the edges remained square and all the pieces were very standard in their width which is not always a given when planed by hand. We have not adjusted my friend's machine nor needed to to avoid snipes on any of the work we have done with the machine in the last month. We are still getting a fine surface to work with at this point.It is a bit heavy for me to carry around or lift up to a bench so it is better to locate it in the job site and leave it sit. We have found that the dust collecting is not complete. On a lenthy run of stock we must blow out the machine with an air hose while it is working to keep the dust from building up. When my friend is no longer around to bring his machine to the job I will probably buy one for myself because I have found the applications so valuable in my work.
*I bought my Makita 2012 in the early nineties and I love it. One of the things we sell is stamp blocks and we manufacture them by the thousands. Sometimes we plane Ponderosa Pine for a couple days straight and that little planer gives a nice consistant finish. I've used it to plane Red Oak, Cherry, Pine, Fir, Alder, Maple, Sugar Pine, SYP, Mahogany and I don't know what all. Tens of thousands of feet and that thing still works like new. The only problem I've had is with Red Cedar. For some reason the shavings are real long and stringy and clog the exhaust port, even with the dust collector disconnected. I've noticed the newer portable planers are 12.5" and even 13" and wider would be handier, no doubt. But I have gotten my money's worth out of that little Makita and would definately look at them if I were to buy another. Hard to beat any of the Makita professional tools.
*jim,What's a stamp block? When I was a kid and I collected stamps I sometimes acquired a block of four....In ignorant mode,Rich Beckman
*Joe, I've the same model... same results.Andy, I'm in the market for a 15 to 20 inch shop planer... why don't you guys drop off two or three, and I'll letcha know which one I like.
*I've also used my 12" Delta to S4S a few thousand lin. ft. of cabinet faceframe stock, jamb extensions, etc. Running four or five pieces at a time is a lot easier and faster than a jointer, you just have to make sure they come off the table saw square and straight because unlike a jointer all a planner will do is make it thinner goin out than it was comin in. As for snipe I've found it helps alot to lift up slightly on the trailing end until the piece is under the outfeed roller and again on the leading end as its coming out.We even took some old knives and ground them to in combination with a shop built guide make a relief cut on the back of some casing we milled in the shop. Probably would have voided the warranty if it was still in effect .Chuck
*Hey Rich - I don't want to derail this thread, but what we make are size related geometric shapes, covered with rubber foam, that serve as ink stamps. Kids in schools use them with various colored inks to explore geometry and integrate Art into Social Studies and Math through activities like quilting and geometric design. Cool stuff.
*Shucks. That had all the makin's of a pretty good slap fest.
*Frank, what kind of dust collector were you using? I've got my Powermatic hooked up to a Delta 1 1/2hp system, and it picks up almost all the dust and chips. I'm wondering if your experience is because of the planer or the dust collector? Andy