# Makita 1806B 6 3/4" Planer



## kenny_ (Feb 28, 2014)

This just arrived from Home Depot (online) so I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet, but I'm here to give my first impressions of it. 










This Makita planer is probably the 2nd most expensive tool I have in my shop (the first being the Delta Unisaw). I don't do a lot of wood working, mostly melamines/laminate, but a recent job required the use of this planer. I am using it to plane down large slabs of wood to use for table tops and bench seats in a restaurant.










I have to say though, it is quite a huge beast, especially compared to the two Bosch 3 1/4" planers I own (that just didn't cut it for the large slabs). Included in the box are the: knife sharpening jig, allen key for blade removal, triangle guide for blade setting, and a fence. The fence does not have any width adjustment, but it does have an angle adjustment. The planer itself came perfectly adjusted to provide about a 1/4" of push (didn't measure the diameter of the cutter so I can't give a number about the depth of the cut) to the triangle ruler. The box itself looks to be a handmade plywood box (although a bit damaged from UPS shipping) that doesn't protect the tool very well, but a nice touch.
























The total length of the plate is about 20 3/4" and the width is 6 1/2". The plate itself seems to be made of aluminum, and is machined mirror smooth and flat. 



















A giant hand screw up front adjusts the front plate height, and is adjustable from almost 1/8" above the back plate to 3/32" or more below (haven't measured yet). The numbers listed on the dial are not very accurate though. The cutter head has two HSS knives (Tungsten carbide also available, at a price). Definitely very easy to adjust with two blade height adjustment screws that let you dial in the precise height you need.

Not sure what else to say until I get to using it. The rain in California now isn't helping, but we need as much as we can get.
If you would like to know anything else about this planer, let me know.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I don't have that particular planer, but I have a few others. I don't use them for surfacing wood like you are planning to do. I use them more for rough carpentry projects...mostly trimming passage doors. I wish you luck in getting proficient in using it. It can do some wood eating pretty fast.








 







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## unclefester (Aug 23, 2013)

That planer is a beast. I had to check it out online and the u tube shows a guy planing a rough sawn 6x6 for timber construction.

If you're using it for surface planing watch for kick back and the old fingers.

Post some photos of the job it does


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## kenny_ (Feb 28, 2014)

It cuts like a hot knife through butter. The final cut it provides is glassy smooth, almost like taking 800 grit sandpaper or higher on it. I had previously done a rough plane with the smaller 3 1/4" planer, and this is what it looked like.








After using the Makita planer it was nice and flat.








These are just legs for a table top. My only complaint is the weird oblong hole that doesn't really fit anything for a dust collector/shop vac. The mess it makes just doing 2 passes of 1/32" is crazy. 








Need to wait for the weather to get better to be planing everything down.

Any tips for preventing one side of the planer digging in more than the next pass?


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