Looking for Planer recommendations....

[bt_guy]

My Dad's looking to make room in his shop and looking for a more portable planer to replace his 12" Belsaw planer he has. The 12" Belsaw he has is great, but his workshop is in a basement and it made a huge mess everytime he used it and he just doesn't really have the room.

He would rather have something he could use outside on a stand for the few times a year he uses a planer.

It will be tough to replace something as good as what he has, but any recommendations in the $400 - $600 range?

I might even start checking craigs list, but it would be good to know what models to keep an eye open for.

 

[RTM]

I have the dewalt 733. Two blade system does all right by me. Haven’t used it in a few years. Snipes a bit at the start of the cut, but with practice you can avoid it, or cut your boards so you don’t need every inch. It’s portable, but awkward. I clamp it down when using it.

Buddy has the bigger one 735? And having drive trouble recently, and his is a bit newer than mine.

 

[plinker]

The older Ridgid model (TP1300) we got in '07-'08 has worked very well. It also has a dust collection adapter that can be hooked up to a shop vac (needs a good size one). They had updated their models from a two knife to a three knife unit, which has been quite a while ago already, but looks like they have not changed it.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-13-in-Thickness-Corded-Planer-R4331/100634358

 

[matt_i]

I would look at ways to make that portable (mobile base, etc) and apply some rust preventative (many flavors but I preferred Boeshield T-9 for woodwerking tools) and stash it in a corner of the garage. Coordinate schedules to pull outdoors in nice weather to do your planing.

I went exact opposite as you are trying...Delta benchtop to Powermatic 12"...very similar machine as you have there...to get a heavier cast iron machine and get out of wasting board ends due to snipe.

 

[lardy1]

I have the DeWalt also. I like it but it does snipe more than I'd like it to. About two inches lost off both ends.

 

[tyyost]

How does he plan on getting the planer outside when he needs it? Portable planers are not really portable in a carry it up from the basement sense. They are bulky, and depending on the strength of the person lifting they could be a bit much to lift and carry far.

I’m not sure how a portable one will make a huge difference in space unless he sells the Belsaw and keeps the portable in the shed or garage tucked away. If the one he has does what he needs I would get it on a mobile base and get a small dust/chip collector set up on it to contain the mess. Heck, even a plastic hood and a shop vac may make it significantly better, especially if he only uses it infrequently. A quick google search for belsaw dust hood brings up some others who found inexpensive solutions.

 

[brianh]

Build a dust hood over the outfeed table I did that with mine I have dust collection but a decent shop vac should work. I got my belsaw for free, it had been sitting outside behind a shop under a tarp I had to restore it, I use it often.

The ability to make moldings and flooring is great. And all the parts are still available.

 

[bt_guy]

Thanks for all the replies. I’ll look up building a dust collection for it.

The thing is he doesn’t have a garage and it’s in a basement. There is no lugging this outside for him, and having it sit in a corner is using up valuable space for something he hasn’t used much.

The other problem is he doesn’t have a good source of good hard wood for it. If there was a good local mill around that sold hardwood he would probably use it more.

A few things to think about, because it’s is it such a well built old tool and it’s in good condition.

 

[exmaxima1]

I have the DeWalt also. I like it but it does snipe more than I'd like it to. About two inches lost off both ends.

I have the Dewalt 733 and find it very good for DIY use. I loaned it to a friend and he planed all his cedar siding for a house he was building. No issues. The heads locks and yields much less snipe than my older Delta planer. It helps to hold the board up as it leaves the planer.

The 733 is no longer available, but can be found for around $100 used. The blades are also pretty cheap and easy to replace..