Which planer? dewalt or SS?

[ibskot]

I have question. If you were gonna get a planer would you buy a used SS planer? Or a new Dewalt 734 lunchbox planer? Not the pro planer SS sells mind you, but the kind that set on the tubes. I know this is a SS forum but a lot of folks are hybrids like me.
I forgot to mention that price is about the same.


thoughts?

[rjent]

I have a shopsmith mounted planer for my Mark 7. It does everything I want it to, I can sharpen the blades and it works as good as you could want. It is a hand crank type which frees up yet another power plug and it also lets me plane at any feed speed I want. I get glass smooth surfaces. I have used a few lunch box planers in the past. IMHO, they don't hold a candle to the shopsmith. The Mark 7 handles the load. I don't know how the Mark 5 handles the load, but I assume it does ok. You can find them pretty cheap (200 to 500).

FWIW

[richardrouse]

I'd go with the shopsmith planer. I have the pro planer and am incredibly happy with it. Very solid piece of equipment. I'm guessing that the planer that goes on the shopsmith would be of the same quality.

[jsburger]

I too have the Pro Planer and agree with Richard. The SS planer wins hands down.

[rcplaneguy]

I have question. If you were gonna get a planer would you buy a used SS planer? Or a new Dewalt 734 lunchbox planer? Not the pro planer SS sells mind you, but the kind that set on the tubes. I know this is a SS forum but a lot of folks are hybrids like me.
I forgot to mention that price is about the same.


thoughts?

I have a pro planer and love it. Inherited from my father, perfect condition.

All that said, if I were in your place I'd buy the DeWalt. New with warranty. Reversible and disposable blades. Fantastic reviews on Amazon.

[reible]

If you are going new, then this is how I would go. DeWalt has the DW735X that is a 13" 2 speed planer, it comes with 3 extra knives and an in and out feed tables, all for just under $600. Now it you could price around and maybe find a better price but here at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735X-Two ... 35x+planer

It ships for free if you are a prime member.


Getting one new from shopsmith could be a wait:

"Shopsmith Planers are temporarily unavailable. Currently, we do not have an estimated date for their return."

Used can be a bargain or money pit but it is hard to tell until you own it.

Ed

[Sterling]

I picked up a SS planer a couple weeks ago. After spending the last decade with a Delta 12" lunchbox planer, I am stunned by the quality work the SS planer produces. The nearly 30" cast iron bed almost eliminates snipe. The variable speed feed rate is extremely helpful with difficult wood grain.

On the other hand, the Dewalt will have a new tool warranty, tho"

Sterling

[Gene Howe]

100% agree!

If you are going new, then this is how I would go. DeWalt has the DW735X that is a 13" 2 speed planer, it comes with 3 extra knives and an in and out feed tables, all for just under $600. Now it you could price around and maybe find a better price but here at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735X-Two ... 35x+planer

It ships for free if you are a prime member.


Getting one new from shopsmith could be a wait:

"Shopsmith Planers are temporarily unavailable. Currently, we do not have an estimated date for their return."

Used can be a bargain or money pit but it is hard to tell until you own it.

Ed

[benush26]

100% agree!

If you are going new, then this is how I would go. DeWalt has the DW735X that is a 13" 2 speed planer, it comes with 3 extra knives and an in and out feed tables, all for just under $600. Now it you could price around and maybe find a better price but here at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735X-Two ... 35x+planer

It ships for free if you are a prime member.


Getting one new from shopsmith could be a wait:

"Shopsmith Planers are temporarily unavailable. Currently, we do not have an estimated date for their return."

Used can be a bargain or money pit but it is hard to tell until you own it.

Ed

I think Ed and Gene are steering you down the best path.

HOWEVER, if your price point is $400, then I think you should look at the Ridgid before the DeWalt 734. Personally I think the 735 is significantly better than the 734 and if I needed a new one, I'd wait until I could afford the 735. A good friend went down the same decision path. He also had a discount from Home Depot so he got the Ridgid for about $350 versus $380 for the DeWalt from Lowe's.

Just my 2 cents.

Be well,
Ben

[BuckeyeDennis]

Gene, Ed, Ben, do any of you own a Shopsmith planer?

Ibscot, I got a great deal a couple years ago on a 20 year old Pro Planer, and I've been thrilled with it. Nothing like being able to dial in the thickness to better than 5 thou edge to edge, with virtually no snipe, and a better finish than I've seen from any other planer. And when you aren't cutting, the sound from the induction motor, belt, and cutterhead is a pleasantly subdued whirrrrrrrrrr. No way would I trade it for a brand-new DW735 (with which I have no personal experience ).

Call me crazy, but sooner or later I'll probably ante up the $650 for a Shelix spiral head. Which would bring my total investment to $875.

I see really good deals come up on my local CL maybe once a year. So the price of a new DW735 for a SS-mount planer does sound a bit high. I'd probably offer a couple hundred bucks less (which would just about cover the cost of a 1.5 hp induction motor, belt, and pulleys).