# Wen 12.5" thickness planer not so good



## bayouwood (Nov 26, 2015)

This is just a PSA if anyone is thinking of going the cheap route for a thickness planer.

I found some coupons I could stack and got this planer http://www.sears.com/wen-12.5-inch-benchtop-thickness-planer/p-00923347000P

for just under $190. At first I loved it. Then I realized the granite bed was not parallel to the blade and its a pain in the @ss to adjust. All of my boards were thicker on 1 side by a few hundredths. Also it gets bogged down if cutting more than 1/32. Sometimes the rollers would just stop. Its only 2 blades. I returned mine to kmart where I picked up the online order. That was rather funny as they had no idea what it was.

Going to get a dewalt 735 like I should have in the first place. Finding a great deal on one is hard to do. Its not even eligible for the small dewalt black friday discount


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## ohtimberwolf (Dec 17, 2011)

NOT surprised! You will like the dewalt. larry


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

Wow - didn't even know Wen was sold by Sears - too low grade I thought, even for them. And that granite block is interesting. Nothing I'd like to have on my planer, but interesting.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Didn't even know that the WEN brand was still around. They had some good soldering irons about 40 years ago.
Bill


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Could always try to epoxy some shims from a feeler gauge. Or get a 735x. I have one. Love it. The 735x comes with infeed outfeed tables and an extra set of knives.


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## Racer2007 (Jan 13, 2011)

> Wow - didn t even know Wen was sold by Sears - too low grade I thought, even for them. And that granite block is interesting. Nothing I d like to have on my planer, but interesting.
> 
> - Tennessee


Well Kmart is the Low End of the Sears store so it makes since they would have it. I still have a WEN Soldering Iron that is about 25 years old and still works. I want the Dewalt 735x but need the room for it.
Opps , Just noticed it was a Sears ad.


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## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

Interesting. I wonder if you just happened to get a bad one. It looks identical to many other brands that have gotten decent reviews. Most of them are just made in the same factory, but this just has a different bed.


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## bonesbr549 (Jan 1, 2010)

Yep, sad but true. Buy a good tool and you feel the pain once. Cheap and its' over and over. We've all learned that lesson at some point in our lives.


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## Jay39 (Nov 9, 2015)

Got the Dewalt 735 with free base at Woodwerks and paid $560 for everything out the door. Stand was free and got in feed/out feed tables and an extra set of blades. The deal was so good that I couldn't pass it up. I wasn't even looking for one. Here's a pic of the planer with the mobile base:


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## ohtimberwolf (Dec 17, 2011)

You see what happens when you aren't looking. They get into your pocket book. Nice planer!


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## Jay39 (Nov 9, 2015)

Thanks! It's pretty awesome. But, you're right…when you're not looking you usually run into these great deals. It's bitten me many time…LOL.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

> Yep, sad but true. Buy a good tool and you feel the pain once. Cheap and its over and over. We ve all learned that lesson at some point in our lives.


Certainly true when buying new.



> Going to get a dewalt 735 like I should have in the first place. Finding a great deal on one is hard to do. Its not even eligible for the small dewalt black friday discount


Those lunchbox planers are everywhere, so you may want to search locally for a gently used one. They pop up around me all the time in the $200-$400 range, and in many cases are in almost new condition (used for one project and then no longer needed by the seller). I just did a quick scan for my area and there is a Delta Shopmaster out there now for $150, and a Dewalt 734 for $250… both look like they have never been used 

Cheers,
Brad


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## daddywoofdawg (Feb 1, 2014)

I have a wen miter saw from menard's and other than the beaver teeth saw blade (changed out) it works fine.


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