"habbi" wrote in message
...
Is there any reason not to buy a cheap 12.5" thickness planer. Are some
better than others. I plan on making raised panels for doors and cabinet
doors. Is a thickness planers one of those tools that you either buy top
quality or don't bother at all? Thanks


I bought the DeWalt 535 and it is great. Yes it was a little more then the
Rigid but I like that it has a lot of the features from a full width depth
guage to a 2 speed option. I am in the process of making my own cabinetts
and this planer has saved me its price in wood (compared to buying 1/2 " and
1/4" wood from HD or Lowes). I can say that my buddy that does this for a
living will occasionally want to use my planer for some of his harder woods
(like hickory) that like to snipe. He has a Rigid and for the most part it
has served him well. It just doesn't do as well on some woods. It might be
that the dewalt is a 3 blade and his is a 2 blade. Hope this little bit of
input helps. One other thing, it is also VERY easy to change blades.


EPI