# What thickness planer to buy



## murlsketeer (May 12, 2009)

Hello all, 

I am in the process of buying a thickness planner. I have narrowed it down to these 2 planers. 

1. RIDGID 13 In. 3-Blade Thickness Planer Model R4330 cost $369
and 
2. Craftsman 12-1/2in 2-blade thickness Planer Model# 21758 cost $249

Here is my question is the 3rd blade and half inch longe cutting head worth the extra $120? The ridgid is at the very very top end of my budget. 

Please let me know what you all think.
thank you


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Just FWIW, I have the Ryobi little brother of that Ridgid planer (AP1301) the 3 knife cutter head leaves a glass smooth finish. I wish I had the Ridgid for 2 reasons. #1. Better snipe control, the Ridgid is reported to have virtually no snipe, my Ryobi snipes on the 2" at the ends by about 1/64" or less... #2. The Ridgid has a 4" dust collection port option, the Ryobi is ONLY 2.5" port. Dust collection on the Ryobi works fairly well through my dust collection network IF I have everything sealed up right. If not it gets jammed up QUICK... Connection to my 4" system would go a LONG way to eliminating planer blockages...


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## Bigred15 (Dec 22, 2008)

I believe that the Craftsman does not have a depth of cut gauge, and the tables are very short. The Ridgid has a depth of cut gauge, on-board tool storage, a knive removal tool (I think) and also has an extra set of knives. I know for sure that the Ridgid blades are self indexing and reversable, but I am not sure about the Craftsman. The Ridgid also comes with a dust collection manifold that connects to a 4" dust collector OR a 2.5" shop vac. In this case, the Ridgid is miles better then the Craftsman, and well worth the extra money.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

The 1/2" means next to nothing. The 3rd blade does leave a smoother cut, but as mentioned, the biggest difference is likely to be snipe....that particular Craftsman does not have any method of locking the cutterhead. The Ridgid uses the 4-post method which negates the need for a separate locking mechanism to reduce snipe. The DeWalt 734 might suit your needs too.


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## snowi (Mar 2, 2008)

*Thickness Planner's*

I don't have a planner.... YET!! As a one time lumber grader, way back when. I have had the oppertunity to work behind all differnt types of industrial planners. The one thing that they all have in common .... IS.... (wait for it)...... THE BLADES.....

I don't know what company has what, so to me the best planner to buy would be the one with the thickest, and widest blades. For the life of me i cannot figure out what type of a planner would use those flimsy narrow double edge blades, and from what i read on here they don't seem to last very long.

At a price of about $70.00 Cdn at orangeboy, for replacement blades, it would not take to long at those prices to pay for an real planner that has knives that can be resharpened, and honed.

I just thought i would throw that out there.


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