Do I need a Planer

[everettdavis]

I almost just want to say 'ditto'

A jointer to true up boards, a well aligned table saw and sanding capabilities are well understood, but a planer can make life easier, procedures less involved, and improve the quality and quantity of your work.

If you've never used one, find a buddy who can let you see firsthand how useful they are and make your decision.

Once you have used a cheaper quality table top import one, you can begin to value the quality in the two Shopsmith versions. I have both and love them.

Sometimes it is less a matter of what you make, and more of a what you would like to make issue.

Everett

[putttn]

My neighbor had a Ridgid 4330 and it ended up eating a blade because the blade bar came loose and disengaged at full speed. I was there, not pretty and destroyed the housing by putting a hole in it. Now he can't find a blade holder for it so I'm feeling like it's my turn to invest in a machine that we can share. I was hoping that the combination I have would suffice but I can see between the two of us it would be more convenient to have the planer.
Researching these things is kind of enlightening. From the bench top to the combo machines, there's a pretty good selection and they can be pretty pricey.

[tomsalwasser]

Well, since reible mentions the DeWalt -- I have the DW735 and while I have nothing else to compare it to, I do like it very much!

Al I have the DW734, little brother to the 735. I like it a lot too. A real workhorse that planes to very nice surface. I mounted mine on an extra SS frame. The other day I was moving SPTs around looking for a place to set them down and I saw the available mounts on my planer cart. I don't know why I didn't think of that right away.

Photo Mar 18, 3 23 25 PM.jpg (222.99 KiB) Viewed 5978 times

[algale]

Nice cart!

[paulrussell]

I don't know if you need a planer, but mine is one of the most used tools in my workshop. Turns an unusable warped piece of 3/4 wood into a useful piece of 1/2". Allows me to plane hardwood to match the undersized thickness of ply. I run a piece of scrap till it is the exact thickness of the Shopsmith miter slot and cut a stack of miter bars for homebrew fixtures. I use it to flatten glue-ups that didn't go quite as planned.

Your mileage may vary.

[jsburger]

I don't know if you need a planer, but mine is one of the most used tools in my workshop. Turns an unusable warped piece of 3/4 wood into a useful piece of 1/2". Allows me to plane hardwood to match the undersized thickness of ply. I run a piece of scrap till it is the exact thickness of the Shopsmith miter slot and cut a stack of miter bars for homebrew fixtures. I use it to flatten glue-ups that didn't go quite as planned.

Your mileage may vary.

Spot on Paul. I would never be without one.

[ERLover]

As I got into wood working and used a neighbors DeWalt 735 once I was totally impressed with it, that is the one I want, BUT my wood prevaior does it dirt cheap, and a drum sander with an oscillating head again dirt cheap. So I just have it done there when I buy my wood. I cant justify 600$ for the 735.
I came across a Ryobi 10" old school when they were still quality for 80$. I use it for planing wood sometimes, and in my style of wood working I use square dowels that I can make on it, also some projects I use less then 3/4" from the scrap bin so I can plane it to my thickness without running to my privaior, which would be a major inconvenience.
Bottom line, yes you should have one, but think about how many times you think you will use it, and spend/buy accordingly, its value to you, size, new or used, ect.
There has been a SS free standing Power Pro on CL for 550 here I almost popped for, then thought about it, I could get the DeWalt for that on sale with a warranty. Granted the SS PP is a great planer also, I passed on it, about 5 weeks later he is still posting it for 550$.

[masonsailor2]

Having a planer gives you so much more versatility in your woodworking. Without it projects are generally limited to using standard sized lumber. I believe it will give you a different level of creativity. That's not to say you can't dimensionalize wood by hand or using other methods but a surface planer does it quick and accurately. I use mine on most projects. I personally prefer to buy lumber in the rough because then I can determine the final thickness. I think the SS planer takes surface planing to level that is far above the rest. I have had several other planers including a 15" Grizzly and having the ability to control the feed rate independent of the cutter head speed and both with variable speed control gives results that cannot be achieved with other planers. The only thing better would be to add the spiral cutter head.
Paul

[jsburger]

Having a planer gives you so much more versatility in your woodworking. Without it projects are generally limited to using standard sized lumber. I believe it will give you a different level of creativity. That's not to say you can't dimensionalize wood by hand or using other methods but a surface planer does it quick and accurately. I use mine on most projects. I personally prefer to buy lumber in the rough because then I can determine the final thickness. I think the SS planer takes surface planing to level that is far above the rest. I have had several other planers including a 15" Grizzly and having the ability to control the feed rate independent of the cutter head speed and both with variable speed control gives results that cannot be achieved with other planers. The only thing better would be to add the spiral cutter head.
Paul

I couldn't agree with you more. I buy rough stock so I use the planer on almost every project. Dewalt 735 planers are around $600. A used SS planer can be had for far less than that. Even the Pro Planers can be had for less than $600 if you are patient.

I bought two immaculate SS Pro Planers locally for friends for $150 and $100.

[putttn]

Yesterday I decided to see just how long it would take to make a twisted 16 inch 2x4 board and turn it into a perfect board. Ran it through my jointer then off the the Supermax drum sander. After quite a few passes I finally got the board flat and square on all sides. It took quite a long time to complete but it came out quite a bit smaller but perfect. I can see where the Planer is going to be much faster.
I've heard good things about the SS Planer but it's been quite a long time since I've seen one on CL in our area.