ridge planer or delta 22-580 planer? experienced users opinions appreciated

I’d love to be able to help you, but I have an 18” WoodMaster planer/molder/sander. The woodworking mags pick the Ridgid as the best value and have written great reviews of it.

-- Jesus is Lord!

I have the Ridgid planer and it has worked great for me.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I’ve got the 13” Delta (22-580) and I love it! I get an average of an inch of snipe on the end of boards, which I’m willing to live with (you’ll get snipe from any portable machine – so the less the better!). I attribute this to being able to lock the cutterhead in place on this machine. A friend of mine bought the super-deluxe Dewalt 13”er, 3-blade machine, and he seems to get 3” or so of snipe pretty consistenly. No true cutter head lock on this machine. Don’t know much in detail about the Ridgid, but do know another fellow who uses one and I’ve never heard a complaint. I’d be curious if it too has a cutterhead lock…

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

I have the ridgid, it does have a cutterhead lock. My snipe is not consitant, but its more due to the setup and use (ie my fault). I need to level the output table. It has worked great for me, I dont’ have a Jointer so I use it to Skim plane first. If I dont’ put a nick in the blade I think it leaves a great slick finish not really needing sanding.

-- David, www.briskibusiness.com

I have the Ridigid and love it. The ergonomics are great, and if set up properly, you shouldn’t have any snipe at all. Mine doesn’t.

I’ve not had any snipe problem with my Rigid as well.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I have a Rigid and new out of the box and no snipe.

-- Barry, Pennsylvania,

Thanks folks for the response. I ended up going with the Rigid and am excited to put it to the test. I’ll be dimensioning lumber for my workbench in the near future. We’ll see how it works. Thanks again for the help.

Let us know how that goes BD. I am looking at planers as well. I am trying to decide between the Ridgid and the DeWalt. The DeWalt is rated one and Ridgid two, but there is also over $200 difference in the price. The outfeed tables for the DeWalt are extra, as well as a stand. These are part of the package with Ridgid.

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

Enjoy you new tool and take lots of photos.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

BD and Bill,
I have the Rigid and I love it. I did look at the DeWalt as well as the Delta and came up with a couple of things that made the difference for me. First, the DeWalt didn’t offer any feature that was worth the extra $200. Second, I have closer access to replacement blades with the Rigid than for the Delta. (I now have a local HD) I have not put mine up on the stand yet so I have to fold the tables each time I store it out of the way. This means that I need to check the infeed and out feed tables every time I go to use it. I would expect that this would be the case for any of the planers. I have used my quite a bit and the only times I had problems with snipe was when I was in a hurry and didn’t check the feed tables. The Rigid is a great value and if I had to make the same decision, I would go with the same product.

Just my humble opinion,
Greg

-- Greg - Charles Town, WV

A nice endorsement Greg, Monk, Wayne and others. I am waiting to hear how BD likes his new planer.

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

I also have the Ridgid. The only time I have had snipe issues is when I let a long piece droop. Other than that It has been a great tool.

Also, I have lurking here for a short while and this is my first post; however it will not be my last.

-- Chris

Dang! Looks like I should’ve gotten the Ridgid! But, can’t complain cause, my Delta was a gift from my sister and brother-in-law a couple years ago!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

I’ve got the Delta and have had no problems with it. I bought the Wixey digital depth gauge for it, but haven’t had time to install it yet. I’ll post some pics and give my thoughts once I get it on.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/