Buying a planer

[Augmont]

I've been milling around in my head for the last year on buying my first planer. After reading everything under the sun and knowing that I probably will use it more than lightly and one i'll probable keep for several years, i need some help.

I keep thinking that higher cuts speeds like 96 cuts per inch will save me sanding time but i don't know if that true. is it? Are higher cuts speed important and where's the break even point between higher speeds and sanding time.

Also, other then 1/2" wider, is there an advantage from the 13" over the 12 1/2" planers.

any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

[Tom Miller]

Easy answer first: I consider 12.5" and 13" virtually equal. (Edit: in addition, there is no extra hidden value to a 13" unit)

Regarding the need for sanding after planing: I think any decent consumer planer on the market is going to give you a surface that is arguably superior to what you could get from sanding.

Regards,
Tom

[mschrank]

quote:Originally posted by Tom Miller

Easy answer first: I consider 12.5" and 13" virtually equal. (Edit: in addition, there is no extra hidden value to a 13" unit)
Regards,
Tom

I'm not disagreeing, just trying to understand this myself...
If there's not much difference between 12.5" and 13", why are the 13" models so much more expensive? Who would pay more for a measly 1/2" gain?

I always assumed the 13" models were built a bit "beefier" and intended to last a bit longer and/or endure a bit more (ab)use...

Anyone care to enlighten?

[Tom Miller]

quote:Originally posted by mschrank

quote:Originally posted by Tom Miller

Easy answer first: I consider 12.5" and 13" virtually equal. (Edit: in addition, there is no extra hidden value to a 13" unit)
Regards,
Tom

I'm not disagreeing, just trying to understand this myself...
If there's not much difference between 12.5" and 13", why are the 13" models so much more expensive? Who would pay more for a measly 1/2" gain?

I always assumed the 13" models were built a bit "beefier" and intended to last a bit longer and/or endure a bit more (ab)use...

Anyone care to enlighten?

What I meant was that there was nothing magical about that extra 1/2". It's just an extra 1/2" of capacity. Whether or not all 13" planers out there happen are better in other ways (beefier, more features) than the 12 1/2" ones, whether by coincidence or design, would be news to me.

Regards,
Tom

[LarryG]

I suspect the manufacturers added only 1/2" to their 12-1/2" planers because most of them also make 15" stationary planers that sell for $1200-1500, and if they had REALLY upped the ante and came out with 14" benchtop planers that sold for $400-500 they'd have shot themselves in the foot. IOW, they realized that in this particular Tool War, they needed to escalate by very small increments.

The large price differences you see may because the 12-1/2" models are being discontinued, and/or because their tooling has been paid for and they can drop the selling price.

To address your other question: my Delta 22-580 has two speeds, 60 cpi for "dimensioning" and 90 cpi for "finishing," and there is a indeed a difference -- but maybe not the one you think. At 60 cpi, the planer yields an impressively smooth cut but the wood feeds through far more quickly than at 90 cpi. So I tend to hog off most of the material at 60 cpi, which saves time, and then make one or two final, very light passes at 90 cpi to get the best possible results.

[Tom Hintz]

I also can see no big advange to the extra 1/2" capacity on planers, unless of course, you need to plane material that wide. I have not felt width-challenged with any planer I have had.

The dual speeds give you more versatility. The lower cut-per-inch rate actually moves the wood through the planer faster for dimensioning the wood. Then, for the final cuts, switch to the higher rate which slows the wood down and produces a finer finish.
I still sand afterwards but only fine grits in most cases. The planed surface may not really need sanding but joints and such still meed to be finish sanded.

I have a review of the DeWalt 735 at the link below if that would be helpful.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/dw735rvu.html

[Knottscott]

The 1/2" is neglible, but some of the features you get on the more feature laden machines are nice to have. I like the 2 speed feature on my 22-580...especially for figured woods. The chip ejector would be handy on a DW735 if you don't have a DC. The only time I've ever seen a planer leave a surface that was ready to finish IMO is with brand new blades, and even then I'm likely to hit it with 220 grit or a scraper just to be sure. It doesn't take long for most blades to get some sort of a ding, and that leaves tiny ridges which need to be sanded out. I don't consider a planer to be a great finishing tool, but it can reduce sanding time alot depending on how bad the starting surface is. The planer's surface is a great start, but the sander is alot more predictable to finish the job IMO.