in the market for a planer

I can’t speak for the Rigid but I do have the same Delta planer and agree that it works great.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I owned one of the Delta 12 1/2” planers for years and put probably a couple of miles of lumber through it. I don’t know if the two speed planer is built from the same design, but if it is, it should be a good planer. I think the 12 1/2” is still sold, so that would be a good planer for the money. I think they sell for less than $300.
The double edge blades with the index pins are really nice when it comes time to change blades. I now have a 15” planer and I usually spend about an hour changing blades. Delta has the bench top planer designed figured out, so don’t let the $$ signs cause you to buy something you may regret later.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

I also have the Delta 22-580. I have use the planner for five years and never had a problem. It does an excellent job. This is my first planner and I was worried about changing the knives, but I couldn’t believe how quick and easy it was. chiefk

-- P Kennedy Crossville, TN

I considered buying the Ridgid before settling on my dewalt. In my research, I found many people complaining about replacement blades for the Ridgid and not being able to find them. This was around a year ago, but when I called my HD to verify, they said they didn’t stock the blades either. Could have changed by now, but if you decide on the Ridgid, make sure the HD you buy it at stocks the blades, or atleast insure you have a source.

-- David, Lakeland, FL - GO BOLTS!!!

I don’t own one yet, but the newer Rigid model (R4330) has gotten rave reviews. It is the one on my wish list. Check it out.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

I have the 22-580 and have put several hundred feet of cherry and maple through it without any problem at all. I have had mine for three years and am still on the original knives. Whichever one you get purchase the dust collection attachment as well. I just put this on last month and, for the life of me, can’t understand why I didn’t do it earlier.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I have the Ridgid planer and it works great for me. I have never used another planer, so I don’t have anything to compare it to. But, for the price I think I did well buying it.

On the availabilty of blades, I have not had to change mine yet. They are two sided, and my planer came with an extra set. So after the ones I am using need changed, I still have three sets left. I checked my local Home Depot and they stock the blades, as well as the Ryobi blades. The Ryobi and Ridgid 13” planer blades are interchangeable. I don’t know if that is true on Ridgid’s new model (R4330), but for the TP1300, I know it is.

aaahhhh ha, I had not seen the R4330 model yet. Three blades and 96cpi seems pretty good for under $400. The delta I used the other day was a two speed planer and the ridgid is not…...do you actually switch speeds often? Would this be a hinderance in the long run?

I am big on craftsman (and I know some are not) but I was not impressed with their planers, even the “professional” brand.

-- It seem's I just make scrap wood and saw dust most of the time !

I was looking at the Ridgid planer too before buying my DeWalt planer. I was interested in the new Ridgid model, but none of the local Home Depot’s had it. It had great reviews as mentioned, but all the reviews I read said the DeWalt was the best. So far it has been a great planer.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

I haven’t gotten one yet, planning on it soon though, but a friend has the Ridgid TP1300LS and he raves about it. He used it to plane down all the wood he used to build a Timber Frame building and it’s still running strong. He did warn about hard to find blades but that was over a year ago and I’ve heard lately that it’s a lot easier to find.

-- Centerville, MN - Hobbyist and DIYer

At least you can order the blades from Ridgid (Gardner). I had to do this to get a set of blades for my Ridgid jointer, since Home Depot does not stock them.

Last time I was in Lowe’s, I checked and they carried the DeWalt planer blades and had them in stock.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Check out the reviews for planers on this site.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I use the DeWalt 735. Costs a little more but worth it. Blades are available lots of places.

-- Thos. Angle

I also have the DeWalt 735. I’ve not had any problems with it, although I’ve only owned it for a little over a year. I just bought replacement blades from Infinity tools. I plan on doing a review of these blades. That being said I’d really like to have one of the bigger 15” models with the spiral cutter heads.

-- Owen Johnson - aka IowaWoodcrafter

I have the Ridgid. Top notch tool, and tough to bury the motor, even in 12” wide cherry, taking a heavy cut. I’ll sell you mine for 1 million dollars….

That’s what it would take to get it out of my shop

-- The only easy wood project is a fire

i don’t have a thickness planer but I’ve read a lot of good reviews on the Grizzly “lean and mean” planer. I’m not sure how much exactly it costs but i think that it is somewhere around 300.

check out amazon for a planer

you may get free shipping, best prices, no tax and has lots of reviews.

I have a dewalt and real happy with it. still have a original 10 inch ryobi. had it for many years. it was real reliable too.

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

craigslist has a great deal on a delta planer …. link ....

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

for a 13 inch.. delta or dewalt.. I have the dewalt

-- making sawdust....

It’s not on your list, but I say buy the best so you don’t need to upgrade later. I love the Dewalt 735. It has three knives and virtually no-shipe. The slowest feed rate on the model is the slowest of any other planer out there which leaves a flawlessly smooth surface.

Check out the reviews section of the site…some good info there too. It also won the Fine Woodworking review for best portable planer.

Good luck!

I’ve owned a 22-580 now for 3 years… the speed change is only used on the final pass for a extra smooth finish, also it is important to only change speeds while the machine is running…over all it’s perform very well. fyi check Northwest tool for pricing I payed 389.00 with free shipping hope this help…Blkcherry

Personally, I am not a fan of universal type electrical motors on stationary tools. You can reduce your noise level considerably by paying a little more for a planer with an induction motor. It will also last longer.

Buying a planer that is well designed for dust and chip collection also makes a lot of sense.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

I have the DeWalt 734 (1 step below the 735 and about $370). My first power thickness planer (been doing it by hand, but time/# of demands necessitated power). Very pleased with it and really don’t see how the 735 could be much better for the price ($130 more), especially beings the tables (another $50) are usually added cost. I bought it because I could not find the Delta 22-580 in stock around here (numerous very good reviews from people I know, have used it extensively, and produce awesome work), and the blades, etc are readily available. I have run over 500 ft of lumber thorugh it an am very pleased. There is some snipe using the infeed/outfeed tables with 2 x lumber over 4’ long until you get the knack of slightly raising it on the feed and egress as the tables will flex under weight. Dust/chip collection works good with a Ridgid 14 gal shop vac.

If you are not going big to the 220v power, I think it and the Delta 22-580 would be your “best buys”.

Go

-- Go http://ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=730