Evaluating thickness planer

[oscarthefuzz]

You NEED to get the blades sharpened .. end of story .. nothing else mentioned on here should be tried before that.. got a loan of a planer last week to plane oak boards and it (DeWalt .. I hate DeWalt) screamed and complained about taking even the tiniest amount off, burn marks and the whole shbang, got a loan of a Delta planer instead and that hummed through them no problem. Despite how I feel about DeWalt I know that it was down to blade sharpness, the first guy I got the loaner off is a contractor who doesn't take care of his tools and the second guy is a small woodwork shop who takes immaculate care of his tools.
Honestly, by just visually checking the blades I would not have known which was sharper..

[dlbristol]

My SS planer will handle 8 in wide red oak at 1/8 fairly easily if it has sharp blades. I agree that you need to go there first. Not any kind of expert, but I started on a bed project and really didn't like the quality of cut, so I had the blades sharpened and it was like a whole new world. remember to check the SS specs for minimum width for safe use.

[wdelliott]

Thanks everyone. You motivated me to replace my blades, with sharp ones. Yes, that was the problem. Thanks to Nick and the Sawdust Sessions for the guidance on how to do that.