Planer: Ridgid or Makita?

[Schleeper]

Last week I agreed to buy a Makita 2012NB thickness planer from a guy that had listed it on CL. He never used it; it's still in the sealed box. The price is very good - $285 (the best I've seen elsewhere is about $450.) However, the guy lives about an hour and a half away. We made plans to meet halfway this past Saturday, but he had to cancel. I really don't want to drive 3 hours round trip to pick up that planer, but the seller hasn't called me back yet to reschedule. Now I'm in limbo.

(You may be wondering why I even bothered answering the posting. The fellow listed it in the Philadelphia section, which isn't much of a stretch for me. Turns out, he lives almost as far north of Philly, as I am south.)

HD is offering instant rebates on power tool purchases through April 30, which means I can buy the Ridgid planer for net $309. Might it be wiser to take "the bird in the hand?" (There's no sense of urgency on my part, other than the fact that the rebate program ends in 2 days.)

This may tip the scales a bit: HD is offering a free upgrade on their warranty, from 3 years to lifetime. Unless I miss my guess, I'll be working completely "without a net" if I buy the Makita.

[mschrank]

For what it's worth, I have the Makita and love it...though I've not used anything else. I rarely have problems with snipe, unless running a very long board through it and not paying attention to proper technique.

On the other hand, the lifetime warranty on the Ridgid is a nice bonus. The addtional $24.00 isn't much when you figure in gas and time to pick up the Makita. Hopefully, someone will chime in on the merits of the Ridgid.

[BasementDweller]

I have a ridgid and love it. Don't have any complaints to date. I've had it probably about 2 years and fed it a lot of wood. The chip collection is great, controls/adjustments all seems great. And the lock makes it so I have no snipe on most passes.

I have no experience with a Makita. It could be as good, better or worse. But I like my ridgid and won't hestitate to buy it again.

[Knottscott]

My guess is that you'll be happy with either. Even though I think I'd prefer the Makita if given my druthers, in this situation, I think I'd be grabbing the Ridgid "in hand" at $310, along with all the return priveleges and support of buying from a store.

[BigguyZ]

I don't have a planer, so take my comments with a grain of salt.

I'd get the Rigid. Every Rigid tool I've owned has been top quality. With the LT warranty, and the savings from gas and your time, is it really worth getting the Makita?

[jussi]

With the cost of gas you won't be saving much by getting the one listed on CL (if any at all). Plus it's used and you always take a chance with that. Personally I don't like buying from CL unless it's 50% off list price. If I buy it and it turns out to be a paper weight, I'm sol. No experience with the Makita but I've used the Ridgid before and really like it. Almost no snipe when supported properly.

[Schleeper]

I don't know which one I'll end up with, but I'm going to keep my options open by buying the Ridgid today. I can always return it if the Makita purchase actually goes through.

I know that price is not always a good indication, and I wouldn't know a good planer from a bad one. Are these planers truly comparable? The Makita sells for $500 or more (when you include the cost of shipping,) while Home Depot sells theirs, with base included, for $369. Back out the cost of the base, and we're talking about a spread of $200 on a $500 tool. Do the big names really command that kind of premium in the marketplace over the BORG private label?

[Knottscott]

I don't know which one I'll end up with, but I'm going to keep my options open by buying the Ridgid today. I can always return it if the Makita purchase actually goes through.

I know that price is not always a good indication, and I wouldn't know a good planer from a bad one. Are these planers truly comparable? The Makita sells for $500 or more (when you include the cost of shipping,) while Home Depot sells theirs, with base included, for $369. Back out the cost of the base, and we're talking about a spread of $200 on a $500 tool. Do the big names really command that kind of premium in the marketplace over the BORG private label?

That's a good question. The condition of the knives and setup adjustments have such a huge impact on actual performance, that it's really tough to compare them even if they were side by side. Owners of both seem happy. Owners of the Makita seem "happier" (technically speaking ), but fewer in number. You'd really have to take a peek under the hood and compare designs and materials of construction in critical components....even then, you'd have to have some engineering training or be mechanically inclined to decipher much.

[LarryG]

I've been debating whether to add my two cents, since I have no actual experience with either planer. With that said:

I'm the kind of person who researches most purchases to death, and FWIW my research on planers persuaded me to buy the Makita. This was back in the days when amazon.com was still offering some really primo sale prices and/or discounts regularly, so I settled in to wait for the next good deal to come along on the Makita. Before that happened, Lowe's had their infamous Delta tool blowout and I was able to purchase my close-second choice, the Delta 22-580, for a paltry $229. I will never know whether I'd have been more satisfied with the Makita but I do know that the Delta has proven fantastic, for about half what the Makita would have cost.

Offered FWIW. And I should add that I didn't really consider the Ridgid, since we did not yet have a Home Depot here at the time. From what I've read about it on this forum, I'm sure it would have been in the running.

[jussi]

IThis was back in the days when amazon.com was still offering some really primo sale prices and/or discounts regularly,

Ahh the good ol' days

[mpauly]

Here's a mini write-up I did on the Ridgid over on Woodnet http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthr...v=#Post3555048

With the current deals going on at HD, I personally wouldn't think twice about getting it new over a 'used' Makita (even though it may still be sealed). You'll get the customer support, free parts for life, ability to return and no hassle dealing with a flaky seller that cancels on you. Blades are easy to source as well.

My only gripe with it is that it's loud. So loud that I've contemplated moving it from my basement shop to the garage and getting a small DC to handle it. Oh and you will likely need a decent DC, the shopvac just didn't cut it for me, allowing too many of the chips to fall back down and get pressed into the wood by the rollers (which caused dimpling).

Either way you can't go wrong, but my choice would be the Ridgid.

Michael

[JackAZ]

Planer choice

More for what its worth, Amazon has the DeWalt DW735 for about the same as the Makita with free shipping for either. As a happy owner of the 735, I can heartily recommend it. And with lots of experience with Amazon and its free ship policy (for as long as it lasts), I can also recommend that perk without any question.

[Schleeper]

More for what its worth, Amazon has the DeWalt DW735 for about the same as the Makita with free shipping for either. As a happy owner of the 735, I can heartily recommend it. And with lots of experience with Amazon and its free ship policy (for as long as it lasts), I can also recommend that perk without any question.

Believe me, if Amazon had DW735 planers for the same price that I can buy the Makita for ($285,) with free shipping, I'd do it in a NY minute (along with probably a dozen other guys on this forum!)

[Schleeper]

I don't know which one I'll end up with, but I'm going to keep my options open by buying the Ridgid today. I can always return it if the Makita purchase actually goes through.

I know that price is not always a good indication, and I wouldn't know a good planer from a bad one. Are these planers truly comparable? The Makita sells for $500 or more (when you include the cost of shipping,) while Home Depot sells theirs, with base included, for $369. Back out the cost of the base, and we're talking about a spread of $200 on a $500 tool. Do the big names really command that kind of premium in the marketplace over the BORG private label?

Surprise, surprise, surprise! (I'm channeling Gomer Pyle this morning.) I purchased THE Ridgid thickness planer yesterday, and it wasn't THE Ridgid planer that I was expecting. Instead of the TP1300LS that I was talking about, and the one the HD web site says is sold online and in their stores, I ended up with a model R4330. Apparently, that model is now THE Ridgid thickness planer. Unlike the TP1300LS, it does NOT come with the base, or with any extra blades. What HAS stayed the same, curiously enough, is the SKU number.

I read what Michael had to say about the new model, and a few other reviews that I was able to find (now that I know the new model number,) and it appears that the new model has some improvements. So this may work out for the best. But it probably means I won't be able to put off that DC purchase any longer. And I have to come up with another $%^#$@ base!

The web site says they are still selling the TP1300SL online for $369 with free shipping, and there's no mention of the R4330. I wonder if that's really true?