Best method of planning a board

[miragese]

I work in a warehouse and I get some good hard wood boards. They need to be planned. What is the best bit.

[Dan-Woodman]

If you don't have a planer, just make a little larger carve region around your project, set the depth to whatever will clean the board up. Probabley .020 or if it's warped , build a sled , plane it flat with a carve region. Only bad thing is , it puts a lot of additional hrs. on CW.
later Daniel

[miragese]

I was afraid of that. I have a friend with a planner but he does not live next door.

[eromran]

Since the subject of planners was brought up. I've been debating between a dewalt dw735 or dw734. Does anybody use ether of these and is the 735 worth the extra money. What is everyone else using and how do you like. Also I'm basically talking about bench top or portable. If any one has a used one fill free to PM me. THANKS

[andes]

Ed, I purchased a Delta planer, saved some money and not too much differ. Read this http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/deltavsdewalt.shtml

Don't get me wrong, I love dewalt, most of my hand tools are dewalt. But I decided to go with the delta and save some cash ;-}

[usd5000000]

Hello Ed,

I own the DW733 and I can tell you it does a very nice job. Fine woodworking had a nice review of it:

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ToolGuide/ToolGuideProduct.aspx?id=5409

The surface quality is excellent. Little snipe, of course, if you don't support long boards well.

The DW734 is the generation after, but I'm not sure if it planes better.

I personally have lusted after the 735 and had considered selling my 733, but I'm not sure I can justify the extra size now. The main things I liked were the large capacity, disposable blades and better dust management.

BTW, thanks again for the hammer pattern. I tried carving it in pine and it chipped a lot. Would poplar work or should I just pay more and go use one of my maple, birch or cherry boards. I was trying to save a little money since I'm donating it.

Jeff

[Jeff_Birt]

I bought a Rigid R4330 13" planer a year or so ago. http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/R4330-Thickness-Planer/EN/index.htm

It does a very good job and seemed to have the best reviews in wood working magazines for a planer in that size/price range.

[ChrisAlb]

Hi Ed,

I've been wanting a planner for a while now. Can't afford one right now but when I can, it will be the dw735. Besides being a BIG DeWalt fan (Most of my larger tools are), I have a friend who owns one and I've had the opportunity to use it several times. I LOVE it!! And he swears by it.

While I'm sure other name brands are comparable, the ease of use and quality results for a portable planner make the 735 second to none in my opinion. But like I said, I'm a DeWalt fan.

I can speak to the quality of all my other Dewalt tools i.e. 12" sliding double compound miter saw, 10" table saw, belt sanders, 18 volt cordless drills, etc. etc which are all many years old and I've never had a problem with any of them. They've all been very accurate, tough and reliable.

[wasacop75]

One of the big box stores was selling the 734 at a great reduced price. dont know if they still are, i think they were getting rid of the ones in stock. I paid $300 for mine. Just dont remember if it was lowe's or HD.

[ChrisAlb]

300 is a good price for the 734. Our HD has had it for the standard 399 for years. Good score for 300!!

[cowetaron]

I've tried the Dewall 733 and like the size and the quality of the finish. I have a Ryobi 10" that has been faithful for 18 years but will need to replace it here soon. Was looking at the 15" Grizzly planer with the spiral heads , they have less chip out and more power. Higher price though and larger than the bench top models. Just remember that the wider the board is the less you can take off with each pass.

[mark1945]

I had 1 of the Harbor Freight 12 inch for a couple of years and it finally gave up.I bought a Dewalt 735 and its everything I hoped it would be and much more.Its a little louder but has a smoother cut and way more easy to use.I have a friend who has the smaller Dewalt and he loves it also,either one would be good.
Mark

[pine acres woodshop]

I also have the Rigid 13" planer, have had it for 6 or 7 years works great, and the knife changes are a snap.


Mark

[supershingler]

i also have a rigid 13" planer that i really like. i had a ryobi that more that did the job but was just alittle bit lite duty but never failed me. it was just getting tired so i had a friend offer to buy it so it is now in his shop.
i also got lucky and found a 2244 performax drum sander from a guy that i use a lot. i only had to give 275.00 for this little beauty and i cant say enough about it

kendall

[eromran]

Thanks everybody for your comments ,opinions and links it is a great help hearing from others. It really seems whatever choice a person made on the planer to begin with they are partial to it so i guess most of the top portable planers do a good job for what they were designed to do.

[jimsorrow]

My 734 plans wood very nicely. I do have problems with feed. If I don't keep the bottom plates waxed pretty often the wood will quite feeding and need to be pushed or pulled by hand. There is no way to adjust roller pressure that I'm aware of.

[mark1945]

Jim
Check the adjustment on your belt if it slips the drive rollers wont pull the wood thru very good.
Mark

[AskBud]

My 734 plans wood very nicely. I do have problems with feed. If I don't keep the bottom plates waxed pretty often the wood will quite feeding and need to be pushed or pulled by hand. There is no way to adjust roller pressure that I'm aware of.

Along with the belt, check the feed roller and all gears and/or pulleys/chains/belts connected to that shaft, or the other drive mechanism.

On mine Shop Smith, the Feed Roller is a "Toothed Roller" not just a smooth surface. They do that so the feed roller provides more force on a rough surface. It is true, that this kind of tool needs (can use) a dab of paste wax to keep rust from hampering the feed (especially when you have it in a garage or basement where moisture may be a factor. Lack of daily use will, also, allow some rust to form (quicker than you think).
AskBud

[miragese]

Here I was hopping I could just put the 3/8 straight bit in and let it go. The maching only want the 1/16 or 1/8. I could be at this for ever. It is work the drive to get the boards planned. I don't know what model Dewalt he has but I carved out a sign with my last name and a cut out of Michigan, put it through and I did not have to sand. It was ready for finishing when it came out.

[MikeMcCoy]

miragese, a couple of hand planes would go a long ways. I have the DW735 with the Byrd Shelix head but that cutter isn't the most economical in the world. If I'm only doing a couple of boards, I don't go to the trouble of getting the planer out of its parking spot and hand planes are quick.