# What Planer to Buy?



## Walt_Pittsburgh (Feb 16, 2007)

I currently have a DW735 benchtop planer and as I get more into working with hard woods (I am a near beginner), I am finding the limitations of this tool. It's still good for shorter pieces of wood, but struggles with feeding longer and heavier pieces. I am looking to upgrade to a 15" planer. Price range would be up to $2000. This gets me up to the Powermatic with spiral cutter head. Others I am considering are the Delta due to its folding infeed and outfeed tables to save space and the new Grizzly 15" extreme with spiral cutter. 

Help!

I can see plenty of reviews on the Delta and Powermatic on Amazon, but nothing on the Grizzly, and I am really interested in this. It goes for around $1700 plus shipping. The Delta has the advantage of the folding tables to save space, but I am not crazy about the top mounted motor and open base. 

Second question. I shop at Woodcraft and noticed they have dropped Delta Power Equipment. Anyone know why? I have the Delta X5 Cabinet Saw and love it. What a difference from my Sears contractor table saw that is around 10 years old. So much more power and accuracy.


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## BULLHART (Oct 30, 2006)

Walt I'm not sure why they dropped delta. Probably some friction with their hip level attatchment to Jet/PM. I just bought a new Delta X5 with 30" Biesemeyer at your woodcraft in Robinson, and they had to order it in. They said they still have a weekly Delta delivery. But if you go to their website, Delta is a ghost. I'm not quite sure whats up.

As far as the planer, I've never owned a Grizzly, but I got the BIG book. And ALOT of guys on here give rave reviews of them. I think with PM tools about $500 goes directly to the name. One impression that I got with Grizzly is that you can get alot more tool for less money. But again I dont own one. As far as Dewalt, I'm about through with them. i've been throwing alot of yellow tools away lately. :thumbdown:I honestly feel since they became the "it" brand, their quality has suffered. JMO

Regards Bull


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Walt, welcome aboard. 

No doubt you will get plenty of advice for what to buy new, and that's all well and good. I would just remind you not to forget the used market.
It's a crapshoot as to whether you can find something you need but, sometimes it's worth the gamble because you _*may*_ find more planer for the same or less money than new.
Not always but sometimes it's worth the effort. Good luck.


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## joasis (Sep 15, 2006)

I bought a Woodmaster 18 inch last year, and am very satisfied with it, but I wish I had bought the 24 inch, but oh well, said it before, and I will say it again. I would give Grizzly a serious look for sure. I am sold on their quality and price.

BTW, welcome to the forum!


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## ch0mpie (Nov 10, 2006)

TexasTimbers said:


> Walt, welcome aboard.
> 
> No doubt you will get plenty of advice for what to buy new, and that's all well and good. I would just remind you not to forget the used market.
> It's a crapshoot as to whether you can find something you need but, sometimes it's worth the gamble because you _*may*_ find more planer for the same or less money than new.
> Not always but sometimes it's worth the effort. Good luck.


You got that right. I check out craigslist all the time and often find great deals. I don't know how far your willing to travel Walt, but heres one I noticed the other day

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/tls/280581953.html


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## brewmebaby (Feb 20, 2007)

*grizzly reviews*

i own a couple of grizzly shop tools, and i am very satisfied with the bang for the buck. I have a 15 inch band saw and a floor drill press. In tool reviews in both american woodworker magazine, and wood magazine, grizzly continually ranks in the "best value" categories for the majority of their product offerings. if i had the kind of budget that you are talking about, i would seriously look at grizzly because it seems like you get more for your money than some of the "premium" brands.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

That's a great dea on that 20" Grizzly if it's in good shape and, I bet it is. There isn't a whole lot you can do to foul one up if the motors aren't burnt up and you don't drop it off a loading dock.


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## ch0mpie (Nov 10, 2006)

Yea I'd be surprised if that one wasn't in good shape. I'd pick it up myself if I had a shop and $2500:laughing:


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## Harddog Wood (Feb 9, 2007)

Walt Pitt, I just bought the planer your upgrading (dw735). I was wondering about blade replacement. Do you know of any place you can buy the blades to fit this model that are not dewalt? If so, do they last longer than dewalt blades. 
thanks in advance.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I haven't been satisfied with the replacement blades either.


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## Walt_Pittsburgh (Feb 16, 2007)

*DW735 Blades*

I have yet to replace my blades. I did turn them recently. I have had the planer for around a year and a half. From all the posts on Amazon for the DW735, I learned long ago that this is a light duty planer so I take numerous passes with maybe 1/32 to 1/16 removed on each pass. I recently retired, and consider myself a beginner woodworker, so I am not running the hundreds of board feet that some people are discussing. 

The Amazon posts also discuss replacement blades, and I don’t think anyone found better blades that what DW will sell. You would think by now DW would have gotten the message and produced a better set of blades, but then again, they make a lot of money when blades don’t last that long. I plan on keeping my DW for lighter work (softer woods). It’s not a bad planner for someone in my category.


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## Harddog Wood (Feb 9, 2007)

TexasTimbers said:


> I haven't been satisfied with the replacement blades either.


for some reason I couldn't reply... so I had to quote a shorter one. Thanks Walt Pitt for your reply. I did have some snipe issues with this planer at first but it was purely operator error. it took a little practice before I got the "feel" of things. I'm on my first edge, first set, but read the reviews and was trying to be proactive on possible future problems. Most of the wood I use is oak, cedar, and walnut. My favorite is the latter of the three. 
How long were the boards when you started to see the limitations of the dw735 planer? I usually run nothing larger than 4 foot.


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## Walt_Pittsburgh (Feb 16, 2007)

*DW735 Planer*

I was running oak between six and eight feet long. Mostly 8 inches or less in width. I had to manually assist the feed. I have learned to stay within four feet in length and usually 4 to inches wide. I am not building furniture, and probably never will. Currenly I am making oak molding or surrounds for our bathroom mirrors and lights and oak surrounds for our bar bulkhead. I have not had a problem with snipe as long as I keep my roller stands at the right hight. Again as a beginner, I learned this the hard way. 

I would love to go to a 20" planer, but I need to keep most equipment portable, and on a 20" planer, I would think you are stretching the limitations of portability due to weight. I would not have a problem moving a 15" on a mobile base. Occasionally, I need to move my Delta X5 cabinet saw which probably has a total weight of 500 pounds or more with the outfeed table. I do this when I want to do a complete cleaning of my shop after finishing several projects. It's really not that hard to move. I love this saw!


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## kingsix (Mar 8, 2007)

Have you looked at the RBI 20" planer? They are 4-in-1 units and are build very well!


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## oscorner (Dec 10, 2006)

I have the WoodMaster 18" and love it. Add its ability to sand, the gag rip saw and molding function and you can't go wrong. It's American made, too!!


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## mike p (Nov 11, 2006)

The Cheap Grizzly Is Just That 
Cheap!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Nancy Laird (May 7, 2007)

*15" Planer*

You might want to look at the Steel City Tool Works 15" planer.

They have brought out a line of tools that are as good or better than any of the competitors on the market and their customer service is second to none. They've even got the president of the company answering phones just to help out and keep in touch with the customers.

Dave


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## nailgunner7 (Jun 1, 2007)

I wish I would have read this thread before I bought my DeWalt 735.
I was in the middle of a paying project when it crapped out. I haven't even put 2000 bf through it and it shut down on a 1/32" pass. Burnt toast. I took it to a warranty station and that was 3 weeks ago. I borrowed a friend's 15 Grizzly to finish the job. 

Nailgunner7


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## edp (May 25, 2007)

*Planer*

Keeping in mind that any boards over 10" in width, should be ripped down to prevent cupping (my experience only, not an industry rule) a planer larger than 15" is a luxury, not a necessity. I have been using my Grizzly 15" planer for several years now and wouldn't consider any other machine. It is mobile which allows me to park it out of the way but beefy enough to go to work when I am ready. I work almost exclusively in red oak. I purchase it in 600 bf lots (because that is about all; my F150 can handle at 5 lbs per bf) and i plane it all from 1" plus rough cut, down to .8" before I stack it. I do keep a portable planer handy for use on the jobsite but I can't tell you the last time I used it.


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## Walt_Pittsburgh (Feb 16, 2007)

*Update on Yorkcraft Equipment*

Just noticed the other day that Wilke Machinery (Wilkemachinery.com) in York, PA no longer shows the Yorkcraft planers. Also looks like they dropped the Yorkcraft name completely. I was there in April and they did not have a 20" planer to sell, they did not expect any for a few months. They were also very reluctant to discuss what the price would be. Until July or so, they were still showing Yorkcraft at the old price indicating it was in stock. Looks like a poor job of keeping their web site up to date. 

I have also found out that ShopFox is very similar to Yorkcraft and Grizzly. ShopFox distribution centers are in the same cities as Grizzly (probably same building). ShopFox has an upgraded 20" similar to the Grizzly with the spiral cutters, but the ShopFox has standard blades for several hundred less, but it appears to have all the other features as the primium Grizzly. Price I believe was around $1700. For those interested, you might want to go to utterguys.com or theutterguys. com to check prices. Not sure exactly what path takes you there. They have a lot of name brand equipment at good prices. As for me, I am still sitting on my DW735. Too much summer work to get done outside!

Thanks to all who posted to my original question on planners. 

Walt


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