Replies

1. 
   CStanford_ | Mar 06, 2001 12:18am | #1

   *
   Get the newly designed Makita 12" planer.

1. 
   Jason | Mar 06, 2001 01:03am | #2

   *I had good luck with the Dewalt. I managed to push through (for some reason it wouldn't feed this stuff), 24' 4x8 timbers from an old barn. Real nice finish, no jams, very little snipe. I traded it in on a much larger one (since pushing a 400' piece of wood through a planer is as much fun as going to the dentist), but it seemed to work very well, and take the abuse very well. If they don't come with them now, definitely spring for the dust chute!

1. 
   Frank_"Mad_Dog"_Maglin | Mar 06, 2001 02:11am | #3

   *I have the Delta 22-540 which is the 12" planer. I've had it for 3 yrs, it gets used daily with mostly hardwoods, runs as good today as when it was new, very minimal snipe.I agree with C. Stanford on the Makita; however, for what the Makita costs, you could have a 15" planer only it would have to run on 230 volt.

1. 
   Joseph_Fusco | Mar 06, 2001 10:40pm | #4

   *Buck,

   I have the "old" Makita 12" planer and love it. In 12 years of moderately heavy use all I had to do is change blades and lube it now and then. I have on remarks on the "new" model, but if it's anything like the old one, then it's a good one.Just recently I had the chance to use, for about two days, the Ridgid planer. Great tool. For the price and warranty this will be one hard machine to top.

   View Image © 1999-2001"The first step towards vice is to shroud innocent actions in mystery, and whoever likes to conceal something sooner or later has reason to conceal it." Aristotle

1. 
   Brent_Hornick | Mar 07, 2001 04:27am | #5

   *I have the old Delta 12" 540 and it has done a pretty good deal of heavy work- lots of hard maple etc and it has done a great job. I took the strongbacks in to a local machinest and he removed 0.032" from the back which allows the bugger to take a full 1/8" industrial knife. I know your not supposed to mess with the original manufactures spec's but the new knives last twice as long (even with flipping the other ones) and are cheeper and easier to resharpen. I don't have the space or the loot but I would upgrade to a 15 or 20" in a second and keep the delta as a jobber.

2. 
   cooter_ | Mar 11, 2001 08:36am | #6

   *RIDGID!

3. 
   Bob_Utesch | Mar 27, 2001 05:12am | #7

   *I recently started a small trim job at a fairly remote site where having a thickness planer on-site is really handy. I bought the Rigid 13" portable, and was immediately impressed by the overall quality of this machine. That impression was somewhat diminished however, when the first board I ran through came out looking like an orange peel. The chips were loading up under the cutter head and getting beat into the surface of the wood - Bummer!So, I run out and purchase the "optional" dust collection hood, convinced this will solve my problem... wrong.I called Emerson, the manufacturer, and was quickly put in touch with a Product Development re who listened patiently to my story. He suggested that the probable cause was static. Since I live and work in a dry environment, he theories that the large amount of air being moved by the dust collection was charging the cutter head and causing the chips to stick to it.Has anyone else out there experienced this problem with this planer? How about other models?

4. 
   Frank_"Mad_Dog"_Maglin | Mar 27, 2001 02:07pm | #8

   *Bob,As I had mentioned before, I have a Delta, but I have experienced the problem you describe. The only time this happens for me is when I get into too much of a hurry and try to plane too much wood in one pass. The problem is magnified even more if my dust collecter bags are almost full.You might try starting out setting your planer depth of cut to where it just barely starts to surface the wood and see what happens, then gradually increase the depth of cut.In my opinion, I feel that a shop vac (if that's what you are using for dust collection) is not strong enough to properly remove all the shavings from the planer, especially the shavings from the farthest corners from the collection hose port. I'm hooked up to a 650 cfm dust collector with 4" dia hose and as I mentioned before, if the bags are close to full, the shaving removal is hampered, and shavings are then pressed into the board by the feed rollers. If that is the case it would probably be better to just use the discharge shoot without a collection hood.

5. 
   Ron_Teti | Mar 27, 2001 04:11pm | #9

   *I have the delta 12 1/2" planer when my dies and goes to the mystical recycling bin in the sky ill probably look hard at the dewalt, makita(my prefered one) or the rigid (cant beat the life time warranty)

6. 
   jim_"crazy_legs"_blodg | Mar 28, 2001 04:37am | #10

   *Does anybody know if Makita still makes that 15"planer/6"jointer combo tool they sold in the early 80's? I have the same 12" Makita as Joe and I agree wih him, it's a great tool. But then, I have always had good luck with Makita.

7. 
   Bill_Brennen | Apr 11, 2001 08:35am | #11

   *(Reply to #7)Bob, Your problem sounds like a poorly fitted chip deflector. I have had, and fixed this same problem on a 20" Tiawanese planer. The deflector has to ride close to the cutters so that the vacuum can suck the chips off the cutterhead before they get flung onto the outfeed side and rolled into the planed board surface. On the bigger machines, this is adjustable. Leave a little more gap than needed at rest, as the cutter grabbing that thing would be BAAAAD. Or return it and get another one?Bill

8. 
   GACC_DAllas | Apr 11, 2001 11:12pm | #12

   *Buck,I bought the DeWalt and was so impressed, I bought two more. I've got two little Delta's left, and nobody wants to use them. I had three, but one went in for repairs and it would cost more to repair it than buy a new one. I told Delta to dumpster it.Ed.

2. 
   Buck_Olmsted | Apr 11, 2001 11:12pm | #13

   *
   My 12 1/2" Delta thickness planer has once again died and I'm afraid this time for good. Any thoughts on what new planer I should get. I'm a "weekend warrior" with a small shop. I do a lot of work in hard woods which is hard on thickness planers. I can't afford to jump to the next size planer and so must stick to the max. $500 range. The planer must also work off of 110V.