I bought my husband an Hitachi planer P 13F because it had a stand with it. Of course, I didn’t know the first thing about a planer. I had the option of two Dewalt models-without stands (all of these are for non-profissional). Now I find out the Hitachi has 2 blades and the Dewalts 3 blades. Please tell me the pros and cons of my purchase.
THANKS
Replies
Relax. The planer that you bought will probably suit him just fine. I have an older model Dewalt with 2 blades and have used it successfully for about 6 years. If there's an advantage, there's one less blade to change when they get dull.
"...Now I find out the Hitachi has 2 blades and the Dewalts 3 blades. "
...Uh-oh....now you're both going to die! Hopefully it'll take several more decades though! ;-)
Assuming the cutterhead is spinning at the same RPM, a 3 blade unit will have more cuts per inch, resulting in a smoother surface. The downside is that blade replacement will cost about 50% more and take about 50% longer to change. It's not a real big deal...both planers will produce a fairly smooth surface provided the knives are sharp and the machine is adjusted properly. Most people will still want to hit the board with a light sanding anyway. It seems most of the time that my knives have some sort of ding or nick in them anyway which leaves small ridges in the board...whether it's 2 blades or 3, they're likely to get dings in them too! :-(
Thanks for the kind info. I should do more homework if I buy any more power tools for the hubby. He is just beginning to like to play with wood and I guess you don't need top-of-the-line at first, huh?
I should do more homework if I buy any more power tools for the hubby. You did just fine and sure he was happy as can be.. Two/three blades does not make or break a tool..Now you have to put a order in for what you want him to make for you!
Not to worry -- the 3-blade cutterheads are a relatively new development and there's been tons of furniture made using 2-blade cutterheads. Not that I'd turn a 3-blader down if it was given to me, but not something to lose any sleep over. Use the extra money for a different tool!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
You did good, I have used the hitachi a few times though I do not own one. I did not realize until your post that it had two knives. Worked fine for us, I have larger stationary machines, but if I needed a small planer I would not afraid to get the hitachi.I did own the dewalt bench type planer at one time, worked fine until the motor went. The cuts on both bench type machines were equal in my opinion,both very satisfactory.
For his birthday he'll need 500 board feet of hardwoods.
mike
There really aren't any cons to most two knife planers. The spec sheet will show the cuts per minute and the RPM of the cutter head may be higher than the three knife. If it's adjusted properly, it'll be hard to see the difference in most light. If there's a nick, one knife can be shifted to the side and the ridge will go away. With sharp knives, a little sanding will get rid of any planer marks. You did good.
Get a metal detector for finding and eliminating nails. etc in rough sawn boards. They can be bought for $9.99 (on sale now at Woodcraft) and the company is called Wizard. I bought one and broke the battery cover when I dropped it immediately upon opening the package (pretty brilliant of me- just washed my hands and can't do a thing with them) and their CS is exeptional. It works very well and has saved my knives several times.
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