Good morning from arizona...

I am pretty new to woodworking and am setting up my shop in my garage.
I want to buy a planer and really like the DeWalt 735 but the $499
price tag is really beyond my grasp right now.

What planer(s) would you suggest under $400 and why. Also, how do you
limit snipe in a planer, it seems like such a waste of wood? Or, would
you suggest a reconditioned DeWalt 735 for $369 (but it only has a 1
year warranty and would need to be shipped).

Thanks in advance. I have learned a lot from reading these posts, and
yes, I did a search on planers but did not find anything along this
path.

Have a great day!

You might look for a 734 or 733. The 735's knives are disposable,
whereas the 733's can be resharpened. So I'm helping out my local
sharpening service. You can limit snipe by lifting up on the ends of
your boards as they enter and exit the planer, and by adjusting the
in/outfeed tables slightly higher at the ends. Tom

"ddakadmc" wrote in message
oups.com...
Good morning from arizona...

I am pretty new to woodworking and am setting up my shop in my garage.
I want to buy a planer and really like the DeWalt 735 but the $499
price tag is really beyond my grasp right now.

What planer(s) would you suggest under $400 and why. Also, how do you
limit snipe in a planer, it seems like such a waste of wood? Or, would
you suggest a reconditioned DeWalt 735 for $369 (but it only has a 1
year warranty and would need to be shipped).

Thanks in advance. I have learned a lot from reading these posts, and
yes, I did a search on planers but did not find anything along this
path.

Have a great day!


Affordable is a bad term to use in association with tools since affordable
is quite dependent upon the resources of the purchaser. I'd consider the
735 to be very much in the category of affordable, though that may not make
it the next purchase on my list. The term affordable usually ends up
meaning "I bought a piece of junk". My advice - save your pennies for a few
more months. It's not like you are talking the difference between a $2,000
cabinet saw and a $600 contractor's saw. In that case, I'd be making some
arguments in favor of the lower price - depending upon how you anticipate
using it.

I'm not much of a believer in reconditioned equipment anymore since all of
the manufacturers have figured out that they can drop the price by a few
points and shorten the warranty, and still take your money. It's not like
it used to be where reconditioned tools were significantly cheaper than new.
Hell, for a $31 savings - before shipping, why would one even consider it?
It's no deal for the consumer.

As a beginner, you might not even want to consider a planer. The savings
you are likely to realize by purchasing rough cut lumber is not going to be
squat. Buy a decent table saw, a decent set of oxy/acetylene torches (these
are just a must for anything...), and start making things. Buy S4S lumber
and don't worry about a planer for a while.

As for snipe - that's more of a user issue than a planner issue. Set up the
infeed/outfeed path properly and you'll greatly reduce snipe. Cut your
boards a little long and by the time you plane them, trim them to size,
you'll end up with absolutely no snipe.

--

-Mike-

Well, you could get a scrub plane, a jointer, and a smoother...

When I finally broke down and got a power planter, I got the 12-1/2"
Delta. I like it just fine. It will snipe long boards if I don't lift
slightly at the end of outfeed, but I'm there anyway trying keep the
thing from hitting the floor. The blades are easy to change and
reverse, and it's generally done a great job in my shop.

I don't see the model I purchased, but it's most similar to this one:
http://www.toolseeker.com/WdWkMac/Pl...p?var1=TP400LS

Make sure you get one with the anti-snipe lock.


ddakadmc wrote:
Good morning from arizona...

I am pretty new to woodworking and am setting up my shop in my garage.
I want to buy a planer and really like the DeWalt 735 but the $499
price tag is really beyond my grasp right now.

What planer(s) would you suggest under $400 and why. Also, how do you
limit snipe in a planer, it seems like such a waste of wood? Or, would
you suggest a reconditioned DeWalt 735 for $369 (but it only has a 1
year warranty and would need to be shipped).

Thanks in advance. I have learned a lot from reading these posts, and
yes, I did a search on planers but did not find anything along this
path.

Have a great day!

ddakadmc wrote:


What planer(s) would you suggest under $400 and why.

DW734, the update to the DW733 that I've been using for years. I'd buy
the 733 again, if it were available.

To me, a good tool disappears. When I don't have to think about the
tool, only the desired result, I count it as a disappearing tool. The
DW733 has provided me with flawless service, easy maintenance and simple
knife changes. My 733 was $299, brand new, including a dust hood and
extra set of blades. It's become an invisible tool.

The 734 uses disposable blades, keep an extra set on hand.

Also, how do you
limit snipe in a planer, it seems like such a waste of wood?

I thickness before I cut to final length, lift long board ends as I feed
them in and pull them out, and occasionally adjust the tables.
Adjusting the tables is such a no-brainer with a bit of experience, that
it's a non-issue to me. If I see snipe, I crank them up until it's gone
and move on. G


Barry

B a r r y wrote:
ddakadmc wrote:



What planer(s) would you suggest under $400 and why.


DW734, the update to the DW733 that I've been using for years. I'd buy
the 733 again, if it were available.

To me, a good tool disappears. When I don't have to think about the
tool, only the desired result, I count it as a disappearing tool. The
DW733 has provided me with flawless service, easy maintenance and simple
knife changes. My 733 was $299, brand new, including a dust hood and
extra set of blades. It's become an invisible tool.

The 734 uses disposable blades, keep an extra set on hand.

Also, how do you
limit snipe in a planer, it seems like such a waste of wood?


I thickness before I cut to final length, lift long board ends as I feed
them in and pull them out, and occasionally adjust the tables. Adjusting
the tables is such a no-brainer with a bit of experience, that it's a
non-issue to me. If I see snipe, I crank them up until it's gone and
move on. G


Barry

I mostly agree with your assessment of the 733. With properly adjusted
tables, I don't get any snipe. Replacing the blades, OTOH is a major
PITA. I've read numerous reports of broken sprockets on the newer
735 and also wimpy blades that need to be changed often.

Dave

David wrote:
Replacing the blades, OTOH is a major
PITA.

Something like 5 screws and 8 bolts?

Dave, you're a MECHANIC! G

Barry

B a r r y wrote:
David wrote:

Replacing the blades, OTOH is a major
PITA.


Something like 5 screws and 8 bolts?

Dave, you're a MECHANIC! G

Barry
first of all you have to work upside down.
secondly, getting them perfectly parallel to the table requires at least
4 swear words.

The 735 blades are changed from the top and they are indexed. Much easier.

Dave

Dave

David wrote:

first of all you have to work upside down.
secondly, getting them perfectly parallel to the table requires at least
4 swear words.

I can't say that I share your experience.

I lock the head, pull the old blade, insert the new blade down into the
spring, and tighten the bolts. After rotating the head to the other
blade, repeat...

I've only done mine 4-5 times and never remember working upside down.
Maybe I'm doing it wrong, which wouldn't be a first!

Barry

Hey - I'm sort of thinking along the same lines as you. The Dewalt 735
seems over priced, especially when compaired to the Delta 22-580. I am
leaning toward the 22-580. These are going, if you shop around, for
$360 Amazon. $350 Northwestpowertools.com, etc. Woodcraft has them
for $419. My local Delta service center is selling 'reconditioned'
22-580s for $361 plus state sales tax.The orange store sells the via
Internet for $369++. Rockler is $430.

So, IMO the Delta 22-580 is the best deal under $400.

I found this interesting and useful.
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/fe...aners.0204.pdf
Its a review from 2004 and includes the Delta and Dewalt

ddakadmc wrote:
Good morning from arizona...

I am pretty new to woodworking and am setting up my shop in my garage.
I want to buy a planer and really like the DeWalt 735 but the $499
price tag is really beyond my grasp right now.

What planer(s) would you suggest under $400 and why. Also, how do you
limit snipe in a planer, it seems like such a waste of wood? Or, would
you suggest a reconditioned DeWalt 735 for $369 (but it only has a 1
year warranty and would need to be shipped).

Thanks in advance. I have learned a lot from reading these posts, and
yes, I did a search on planers but did not find anything along this
path.

Have a great day!

When I decided I just had to have a planer I bought a $200 Wilton brand
from the local building supply chain.

I added a long melamine bottom table which helped reduce snipe by
lengthening the input and output tables.

Note also that the planer is probably eligible for free shipping from
Amazon. I just bought a 115lb stick welder from them, and they shipped
it for free. Goofballs.

$359 out the door is a great price for the 22-580

No wrote:
Hey - I'm sort of thinking along the same lines as you. The Dewalt 735
seems over priced, especially when compaired to the Delta 22-580. I am
leaning toward the 22-580. These are going, if you shop around, for
$360 Amazon. $350 Northwestpowertools.com, etc. Woodcraft has them
for $419. My local Delta service center is selling 'reconditioned'
22-580s for $361 plus state sales tax.The orange store sells the via
Internet for $369++. Rockler is $430.

So, IMO the Delta 22-580 is the best deal under $400.

I found this interesting and useful.
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/fe...aners.0204.pdf
Its a review from 2004 and includes the Delta and Dewalt

My experience is the same as Barry's, I think David should try placing his
planer right-side up su that he does not have to do blade changes on his
head.

I just changed the blades on my 733 last night for probably the 5th time.
Its a 10 minute job if you're quick 15 if your slow.... maybe 20 if it's the
first time and you're reading the manual. It's very easy and the magnetic
knife setting gauges require *no* fiddling. All tools are provided and and a
home inside the planer. 2 allen screws to get off the dust shroud and then 9
or 10 bolts on each knife.

BTW my ond delta snipemaster-12 was a very different experience... one hour
of cussing and tweeking, mostly because the knife stetting jig sucked.

-Steve





"B a r r y" wrote in message
m...
David wrote:

first of all you have to work upside down.
secondly, getting them perfectly parallel to the table requires at least
4 swear words.

I can't say that I share your experience.

I lock the head, pull the old blade, insert the new blade down into the
spring, and tighten the bolts. After rotating the head to the other
blade, repeat...

I've only done mine 4-5 times and never remember working upside down.
Maybe I'm doing it wrong, which wouldn't be a first!

Barry