Replies

1. 
   Woodman41 | Jan 02, 2008 05:53am | #1

   6 inches.

   But the 18" will probably be a lot more durable (you didn't indicate what brand). I have a Powermatic 15" and the spiral cutterhead is pretty slick, but from a cut quality standpoint it probably wouldn't beat any of the 12 or 13" portable planers on the market today. I do know that my Powermatic can take a bigger cut and it will still be in my shop 20 years from now.

   One other thing to keep in mind, medium size planers (15-20") tend to be a lot quieter than the benchtop models, the exception being the Woodmaster which also sounds like a jet engine (but it is built like a tank).

   Lastly, a double drum sander won't replace a planer.

2. 
   Syma | Jan 03, 2008 06:01am | #2

   Hi Bill,
   When I see these 18-20"+ planners and they don't have segmented infeed rollers or pressure bars my eyes roll back in my head.

   Only a very few large planners have segmented infeeds, and their price points are usually WAY out of the realm of the woodworkers here. I'm talking $12k and upwards to $20K for a Martin.

   Only a planner with segmented infeed roller and pressure bar can handle various thicknesses of material at one time. In other words, you can put say 20 pieces of 1" wide stock all different thicknesses side by side at one time through a 20" planner and it will come out at whatever you have set the new depth of cut to be. Of course this depends on the machines limitations on what the + or - differences can be from the thickest piece to the thinest piece.

   Unless the planner you are looking at has segmentation OR you are consistently planing 18" wide boards. GET THE 12".

   
   

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   Edited 1/2/2008 10:03 pm ET by Syma

1. 
   frenchy | Jan 13, 2008 07:26pm | #10

   Syma.

     What?

      My 20"Grizzly doesn't have those and it works just fine thank you.. I buy rough sawn wood all of the time and like all rough sawn wood it varies in thickness a lot.

    I just start out a tad on the high side and shove wood thru. If I'm planing a few thousand bd.ft. I might need to  shove it thru a few times before it's all a standard thickness.

      That doesn't take much time.

    I shove it thru one way and turn the planner around and shove it back thru the other way. Infeed and outfeed rollers make it a simple task for one person to do by himself..

    My only regret is that I only have a 20 inch planer.   Some of the boards I get from the sawmill are 22 inches wide.

     By the way  try shoving big timbers thru those little bench tops.  There often is a taper to them over their 20 foot length

1. 
   saschafer | Jan 13, 2008 08:18pm | #11

   He's talking about running multiple pieces of wood through at one time. If you're just sending a single piece through, the (unsegmented) roller will grab the highest point on that piece, wherever it is, and you'll be fine. But if you're running multiple pieces, and they're not all the same thickness, an unsegmented roller will grab only the highest piece and leave the rest behind.

   -Steve

    

1. 
   Syma | Jan 13, 2008 08:38pm | #12

   Thanks Steve. I appreciate your clear explanation to Frenchy.

2. 
   frenchy | Jan 13, 2008 11:12pm | #13

   Steve,

    You didn't read that I push several thousand bd.ft. thru at a time? 

1. 
   saschafer | Jan 13, 2008 11:44pm | #14

   The amount of board feet doesn't matter. It's the number of boards being sent through simultaneously that's at issue here.

   -Steve

    

2. 
   frenchy | Jan 14, 2008 12:04am | #15

   Steve,

    

     You did read where I send boards of different thickness thru my planer didn't you?  Some tolerance is allowed.  I'd guess an 1/8 th different will go thru at the same time.. If I shove a few 6 inch wide boards or a couple of  8 inch wide ones at the same time and there is say 1/8 th difference both or all  will be planed.

     If they are radically thicker they won't go thru  or radically thinner I shove them thru manually. The next pass will start to clean things up..

     However if I spend 10 times the amount  $12,000 instead of $1200 I can do  radically differant boards without adjustment?   How radical?  3/16ths?  1/4 inch? 

3. 
   saschafer | Jan 14, 2008 12:15am | #16

   "If I shove a few 6 inch wide boards or a couple of  8 inch wide ones at the same time and there is say 1/8 th difference both or all  will be planed."

   Do you mean literally "shove" them through? I find it hard to imagine that if you had three boards, one 1" thick and two 1-1/8" thick, and tried to run them through, with the 1"-thick board in the center of the platen and the other two on either side, that the input feed roller would grab the middle board at all.

   The amount of board-to-board difference that a planer with segmented feed rollers can accept will depend on the model, but I think 1/4" is typical.

   -Steve

    

4. 
   frenchy | Jan 14, 2008 01:36am | #17

   Steve, 

      Yeh.   It will.   I mean it did it often enough that I didn't ever question it..   Please don't forget I've run over 50,000 bd.ft. thru my planer (plus all the other work I've done building this place)   I found fast ways to do things..

     The stop point is where it was too thick and I suspect that   1/4 of an inch probably the point, heck maybe even 3/16ths.  I'm sure an 1/8th would go right thru because I could plane more than 1/8th each pass.

     When I would "shove" a board thru it was too thin to even be touched by the planer blades at all. most likely 1/4 of an inch or more thinner..   shoving it thru was simply a way to get it in the stack that had already been planned..

    Realize that usually I ran each board I planed on one side  through 3 times. about 5 times for both sides..

    seems to be a very expensive way to deal with another 1/8th inch..

3. 
   jeff100 | Jan 10, 2008 08:31pm | #3

   There is a relatively small amount of variation you can feed into a planer and not exceed the amount of stock you can safely remove in one pass!!  I went thru the selection dilemma a while back and decided to buy a 16" planer because I got a great deal on it (used).  It will last me a lifetime, and probably my kids too.  It's built like a tank.  You will wear out a 12" consumer planer after a few years if you are an active woodworker.  I paid $650 for my planer, so my vote is for the larger machines...

   In my case, I used the additional capacity on my first project, my woodworking workbench top!  BTW, I have a 6" jointer, just for your info...YES, you will use the additional capacity for glue ups!!!

   Jeff

   
   

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   Edited 1/10/2008 12:34 pm by jeff100

4. 
   TonyCz | Jan 11, 2008 08:32am | #4

   Always go bigger then you think you need I can't tell you how much I would like to trade in my 15" delta for a 20" or 24" planer. I just may happen some time this year. I could have used it today.

5. 
   JeffHeath | Jan 11, 2008 09:51am | #5

   I used to have an older 24" Oliver planer, circa 1937.  It was the best planer I've ever used, and I've used quite a few.

   I now have a 15" Powermatic, and regret the day I sold the Oliver.  I'm presently looking for another one, as I do alot of work with large, wide slabs, 20" + wide.  Saves time over surfacing them by hand.

   Jeff

6. 
   SRL | Jan 12, 2008 08:54pm | #6

   I had a 13 delta 22-580. I sold it and bought a 20" powermatic which I use a lot and am happy with. Now I am buying another Delta 22-580, the powermatic is just to big for some things. When I am doing a short narrow thin figured board I dont need 5hp eating it.

1. 
   jeff100 | Jan 13, 2008 03:12am | #7

   ...When I am doing a short narrow thin figured board I dont need 5hp eating it.Think...drum sander!

1. 
   SRL | Jan 13, 2008 03:19am | #8

   You are correct. I should have kept my performax 16 x 32 but got rid of it around the same time as my 13" planer. Now I need one or the other back and the drum sanders are ridiculously priced for what they are.

7. 
   bones | Jan 13, 2008 07:27am | #9

    I have a 12" makita 21012 portable that I've had for years that helps weigh down my bench.  I also have a delta 18/36 drum sander. I would say it's like a jointer, it's never wide enough.  I had to glue up some cherry panels today that need to be 14" wide.  I took the 5" wide boards down to real close to final thickness and glue them up in 3's.  Tomorrow I will pass them through the sander to get them perfect.  It would have been great to have just glued up three boards and then run them through the 20" planer.  You get the picture.  Anyway, I would love to have the grizzly 20" planer, but my makita 12 just keeps going and going and going, so I just can't justify a new one even if It's only 1500.  Good luck on the decision. 

   Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:
   If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
   And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
   

   
   

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   Edited 1/12/2008 11:34 pm by bones