# Does anyone have a Ryobi AP 10 Planer?



## ringore (Apr 14, 2011)

I found a Ryobi AP 10 benchtop planer on CL. I was wondering if anyone has/had one and what there opinion is of this planer.

Thanks in advance for your reponses.


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## russ960 (Dec 22, 2009)

I have the harbor fright version that is mechanically the same but a different color. So far the issue with it being only 10" has not been a problem but something to consider. You will need he in feed and out feed tables as it can snipe a bit with out them. I paid $90 a year ago on CL. Hope this helps.


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## cjwillie (Sep 6, 2011)

I was given one several years ago. It has served it's purpose well. I have no real issues other than size. I have run a lot of old wormy chestnut that had been painted to clean it up. It did a remarkable job with that. Although it's a bit noisy, it works well and is easy to replace blades. If you can get it at a good price, go for it. You can always update later.


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## ringore (Apr 14, 2011)

Thanks for the input so far. You have given me some good info. I really need a planer as I'm tired of dealing with dimensional lumber, but not quite ready to drop a lot of cash on a higher priced machine yet.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Oh I never had one but they don't have a bad rep.
The newer benchtop planers are a heavier grade of tool
and will work better on heavier boards with less snipe
but the machines themselves are heavy too.

Anyway, make sure the knives are in good shape because 
you won't be getting a bargain if you have to replace them
right away.


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## BobAtl (Jan 10, 2011)

I have one that I bought new about 16 - 18 years ago. It's served me very well. Some day, I'd like to upgrade but it's not a high priority, which speaks well for the planer.

Ditto Russ' comment about snipe. I hope to build a table for it soon to include infeed/exit tables to help control the snipe but I don't know if that will eliminate it. It's noisy but it's a planer! It's performed consistently well for me. Also, the dust/chip collection hood works well with either a shop vac or DC.

If it's a good price and mechanically sound, I say go for it!


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## pmayer (Jan 3, 2010)

I had one and it sniped like crazy. It was built quite well, however. Probably better than most lunchbox planers today.

Unless you are getting an unusually good deal, I would suggest looking for something with a locking cutterhead that will produce less snipe. I'm guessing this will cost you about $50 more on CL than the AP10, but it should give you an additional 2" capacity as well.


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## wingate_52 (May 14, 2011)

I have had this small 10" blue benchtop planer for 20 years or more. A heavy little beast that needed a little work to get the infeed right, to avoid snipe. My mate Angus comes round and pushes a few hundred feet of Osage and Bamboo through it one a year, to prep the materials to make his longbows. I plane guitar fingerboards, all sorts of timber. Noisy, deffo need extractiom and earmuffs, but a great workhorse.


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## TJColt (Oct 17, 2015)

Yes l have one in mint condition. Tim 440-742-1704 $150.00


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I have one that I bought new when they first came in the mid 80's I think. I use it nearly every day and it is still running strong.


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## conifur (Apr 1, 2015)

I bought one used 3 years ago for 90$, runs great, and for anything over 10", by wood supplier is 13 minutes away and theres is a 42 or 48", so no need for anything bigger.


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## newwoodbutcher (Aug 6, 2010)

I had one for many years, it served me well.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

I've got one and it's been my primary planer for over three years. That surprises most people considering that I'm running a professional shop and build more furniture in a year that most woodworkers will in a lifetime. Even when I had access to a Delta/Rockwell 24" 10HP machine I usually planed on the Ryobi. Furniture-makers don't spend much time planing lumber and firing up the phase converter and a 10HP planer to thickness a single board seemed wasteful.

The 10" limitation can be annoying at times if the lumberyard sends a perfect 12" wide piece of cherry lumber. It does have some snipe and the lack of a cutterhead lock means it can technically vibrate out of position over time (never noticed much problem myself). It struggles to take a 1/16" in one pass.

What's good about it is that it seems unstoppable (I'm the second owner) as it's been running for about 10 years in a pro shop without a hiccup. Michael Fortune owns one (or did at any rate) since it's in his slide show in his workshops at Marc Adams. I asked him what happened to it and he said it still worked fine, he just replaced it because he wanted a cutterhead lock.

Other benefits the AP-10 offers are the ability to take thin passes without leaving gouge marks from metal feed rollers. Like most other benchtop units, it has rubber rollers. It can plane thinner stock than larger planers and can handle curved stock since parts can be rotated as they are fed into the machine.

Now that I'm doing a lot of CNC work I finally purchased a heavier planer which is now the primary. The AP-10 is still used (especially for thin stock) but it takes too long to bring dozens of rough boards down to thickness using 1/32" passes. My "new" planer is some ancient 12" 2HP model with Babbitt bearings and it hogs wood a lot faster so I use that for most planing now.


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## MadGerman (Oct 2, 2012)

I have that exact planer. It was my late father's (RIP Dad) and now mine. I have no idea how old it is, but I'm betting it's at least 20 years old. He used the heck out of it, only sharpening the knives every so often. Other than replacing the cord at some point, it's been a fantastic planer. It's now mine and I've used it quite a bit and it never misses a beat. It's "only" a 10" planer, but for my needs it's enough. It's plenty wide to send boards through that I'm gluing up to make panels, so that's all that really counts to me. I just love sending "ugly" boards through the planer and having nice clean wood come out the other end.

By the way, is snipe when the board gets a little "divet" in it when it comes out of the planer and onto the outfeed roller? My outfeed roller is adjusted all the way down, and it this is what snipe is, I do get that. It's really not a huge deal since it's at the end of the board that usually gets cut off anyway.


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## BoxBuilder (Oct 30, 2009)

I just replaced an AP-10 after 35 years of use. A year ago I needed some parts and they still had them in stock. I only replaced the Ap-10 because it now does not do well on hardwood. Does OK on pine. I would love to see the stack of oak and walnut it went through in its lifetime. Replaced it with a Rigid 4331 13" planer as I needed the extra width. It is absolutely GREAT!


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## BoxBuilder (Oct 30, 2009)

I just replaced an AP-10 after 35 years of use. A year ago I needed some parts and they still had them in stock. I only replaced the Ap-10 because it now does not do well on hardwood. Does OK on pine. I would love to see the stack of oak and walnut it went through in its lifetime. Replaced it with a Rigid 4331 13" planer as I needed the extra width. It is absolutely GREAT!


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## JTEX (Dec 1, 2018)

Great post and i just with check all, the Ryobi AP-10 is very good planer. i with use 8 year already.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

That was the first "lunchbox" planer on the market. The quality of the old Ryobi tools was a lot better than the new ones. I believe it was then made in Japan; not anymore.


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

Ryobi invented the lunchbox planer. Before that, you had to be a big time pro to afford the planers that were available. The shop teacher where I taught in Bellingham bought one for the school shop. They stopped using the gigantic 24" or whatever it was (about as big as a VW), and just used the AP 10. You can imagine the abuse a shop full of kids could put a planer through. As far as I know, it was still going strong after I left (several years later).

Oh, the shop teacher bolted it down to a 6' table, and put rollers at each end to handle long stuff.


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## MSquared (Aug 20, 2018)

What was the price new? One for sale here at $250 w/3 sets of knives.


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