Today’s thickness planers vary in price from less than $300 to nearly $500. In an effort to learn whether the price differences reflect the quality and features of the machines, I put nine of them through a hands-on test. To begin with, it’s important that the infeed and outfeed tables be flush with the bed, and I found that all of these machines made it easy to adjust the tables up and down. In addition, I tested how accurately and smoothly the planers cut (all produced amazingly smooth cuts). I also measured the noise level of the machines, checked to see how easy it was to change knives, and gauged the effectiveness of the dust collection.

New knives and the optional dust-collection hood for the moderately priced Jet were the most expensive. Two separate cutterhead-locking handles slowed the locking process. There was minimal snipe.

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Rockler Dust Right 650 CFM

While all five of the smaller units will collect chips efficiently when deployed properly, the 3/4-hp Rockler was just a bit more powerful in our suction test.

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Rikon 10-3061 10-in. Deluxe Bandsaw

The 1⁄2-hp motor has all the power needed to resaw at its maximum capacity of 5 in.

The saw has two speeds: 3,280 sfpm (surface feet per minute) for wood and 1,515 sfpm for soft metals and some plastics.

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Grizzly G0495X Industrial Helical Cutterhead 8-in. Jointer

Regardless of the board’s grain, this jointer produced excellent results. Its fence was totally flat, worked smoothly, and locked well, staying in place even after jointing multiple edges. Getting the fence to 90° was very easy, but the 90° stop was a little tricky to set and the fence did not go back to square when using it. For those who would use it, there is also a digital depth-of-cut scale.

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