Looking to Buy a Planer, Advice Needed

123maxbars · December 18, 2011, 06:24:55 PM

I am looking to buy a planer and have been reading reviews online now for a month. Thought I would get the advice of the forum. I want to be able to plane atleast 12in wide boards. My budget is around 1k. I am looking for something that will last. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

WDH · December 18, 2011, 06:46:23 PM

You are a young guy, so get one that will serve you well for a long time. You can buy a 3 HP 15" planer for 1K. However, that is with knives. Save a little more money and get the spiral head with the carbide inserts. Buying a new planer without the spiral head with inserts is like buying a new car without air bags.

Get the spiral head!

LeeB · December 18, 2011, 06:54:25 PM

I'm real happy with the 15" grizzly with the spiral head, but like Danny said, it'll run you about $1500.

mandolin · December 18, 2011, 08:48:29 PM

I've got 2 planers, an old heavy cast iron Boice-Crane and a smaller Craftsman 12 1/2 inch. I use the Craftsman way more than the other. I like the Craftsman because the blades are so easy to install and have register pins that fit holes in the blades, so no setting. The blades are disposable but I usually sharpen them a couple of times before I chunk them. But if I was going to go out and buy a new one, it would probably be a Grizzly.

Dan_Shade · December 18, 2011, 08:50:56 PM

I second the spiral cutter head planer idea!

I have a big z-series 20" grizzly planer, it's a workhorse

Ironwood · December 18, 2011, 09:07:05 PM

You could look for a Powermatic 180. They are straight knife but darn well built and REALLY solid, last you a lifetime and then some. I saw one just the other day at a friend;s shop that passed away, likely $500-750 could buy it. In Pittsburgh Pa. IT is a "green" one which is the BEST vintage circa 1970. I have a green 225 Powermatic 24" and love it. Dont get the yellow Powermatics, they cheapened them up in later years.

Ironwood (I will pm' ya)

T Welsh · December 18, 2011, 09:27:09 PM

I think along the same lines Ironwood thinks!take a look at local auctions and craigs lists and look at older iron,you can pick up a really nice machine for a 1/4 of new costs,older vintage machines are built better,have better castings, and are made to last a life time! Tim

Radar67 · December 18, 2011, 09:32:02 PM

I have the 15 inch Grizzly and a 12 inch Delta. The Delta gets used on most of my projects. I bought the 15 inch because of the reviews I read on it and I wanted to be able to plane wider than 12 inches. Everyone talks the spiral heads up, and they may be good, but in the end, you are going to sand the material so save the money and get blades you can resharpen.

Cedarman · December 19, 2011, 07:28:29 AM

Spiral heads for me. We were constantly changing knives. When I went to the spiral head. We go for months and months. I would say 100,000' on our 26".
The other thing is that when you hit something, you only have to change a few little knives. So much quicker and cheaper.
WDH says using knives is like having a car without air bags. I say it is like not having power steering or power brakes and no air conditioning.

ely · December 19, 2011, 09:44:48 AM

i have the 15 grizzly with knives and it cost me 1200 bucks, but it also came with a 6 inch joiner and 17 inch bandsaw. ;D

PC-Urban-Sawyer · December 19, 2011, 10:19:54 AM

Quote from: ely on December 19, 2011, 09:44:48 AM
i have the 15 grizzly with knives and it cost me 1200 bucks, but it also came with a 6 inch joiner and 17 inch bandsaw. ;D

Now THAT was a SALE!!!

thecfarm · December 19, 2011, 10:20:52 AM

How much will you be using it?

Busy Beaver Lumber · December 19, 2011, 02:02:57 PM

Another vote for the Grizzly 15" with spiral cut head. I also have the Grizzly 6" jointer with spiral cut head. They are both excellent machines and plane as smooth as glass. Watch for their sales, because I got the planner for $1200 with free shipping around this time of year 2 years ago.

SwampDonkey · December 19, 2011, 02:35:06 PM

I have had a straight knife 12" Trademaster, for 20 years. I rebuilt it last year because a bearing seized and burnt up the motor. I was a little lax on giving the bearings a good shot of lubricant every once in awhile. Other than that I can't complain one bit. It's not a production planer by any means, but I'm not in a race. It gets done when it gets done. I sand everything with good quality sandpaper so a mark here and there disappears. It's 1/3 of the price the spiral head guys are on about. I'll keep my planer. I've never replaced a knife. ;D

Ironwood · December 20, 2011, 08:53:51 AM

I should alos mention the OLD Oliver 399 planer, it is an 18" and are VERY nice. Oliver has quite a following so usually not found cheaply, but it has happened once or twice ;)

Ironwood

petefrom bearswamp · December 20, 2011, 06:47:53 PM

I have a Dodo bird (Bridgewood) 20" planer with the spiral head.
Quite similar to the Grizzly as i looked at both before i bought.
Was sold on the supposed less power required, which was a fallacy and the less noise which is very true.
After i upgraded to a 10 HP 3 phase motor the unit worked OK, but still need to feed at low feed speed with quite a thin cut.
I am sure the Grizz will be OK.
Can't complain with the finish on my machine.
Pete

sealark37 · December 20, 2011, 07:51:30 PM

Depending on your time frame and your mechanical ability, I would take some time to find an older model of the known brands. If you aren't that wild about repairing old stuff, I would look at the Grizzly with the spiral head. If you have three phase power, or can make it, it works better than the single phase stuff. Regards, Clark

flip · December 22, 2011, 07:38:16 AM

Here is my .02. I have a 20" Griz with straight blades and the 3 blade Dewalt 13" and never have the right planer when I need it. A lot of the table tops I make are 20"+ which will not fit through the Griz. This means plane, joint, glue, plane, joint, glue, sand the seam and hope it comes out well. If you have the room and dust collection I would go with a 13" and a 24". I know that really kills the budget but if you are going to get serious about woodworking being able to run a whole top through the planer really cuts down on time. FWIW, I snagged a 12" jointer off craigs list cause the 8" is too small. Bigger is better when possible.

wheelinguy · December 30, 2011, 07:39:11 AM

I know that its starting to sound like the record is skipping, but i have a 15" grizzly and it has never failed me. From a one inch board to a fifteen incher nothing really slows it down, except for the little knob on the side that lets me select the speed. Look around they can be had cheap. Another good site to check is allofcraigs.com , it will let you search all of craigslist in the u.s. at once!

logboy · January 02, 2012, 11:08:51 PM

Another broken record. I bought a straight knife 20" Grizzly to replace my small portable 2 speed Delta 12". A couple years later I paid the extra $900 and changed the cutter head over to a spiral. I will never buy another straight knife machine, only spiral. Better finish, very low noise (you dont even need earplugs), and easier on the motor.