SS jionter vs other brands

[charlese]

Sounds like the Delta or DeWalt might be a good compromise?

Putttn: Think you are on the right track here!

Here are a couple of addresses that should show you the 13" Delta and the 13" DeWalt "benchtop planers. They are from the "Resource Digest" that is published by "The Woodworker's Journal".
http://www.deltamachinery.com/index.asp?e=136&p=950
http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=5935

I wanted to tell you that although the DeWalt 735 is more expensive than other bench top planers, it is the only one having an internal fan to exhaust chips. This fan blows several times more air than the SS 3300 inhales all by itself. I hook up th3 3300 and it catches all of the chips. Just have to make sure there is a good connection of the hose so the DeWalt doesn't blow the hose off. That would get messy. 172 cuts per inch with no snipe (or very little) - NO chips to vacuum up - But it is not quite a "benchtop" machine as it weighs 92 lbs. In my way of thinking (hefting) it needs to sit on a stand with wheels.

[dusty]

I'm sorry guys. I am still sold on my Pro Planer. I have had it for many years and it has never failed me. Wish I knew the number of board feet that have been planed. Nearly every piece that has come into my shop destined for a project.

I do have a bit of snipe that I could do without but that is my only complaint. I sharpen my own knives. Have one set that has been touched up probably three times. Last tiome within the month.

The challenge; buy you DeWalt, DeLta, PC, whatever and keep a track record. Come back in twenty years and let's compare notes. Mine is still running like a champ and if it ever quits doing so - I can get replacement parts. The same part numbers that I would have ordered in the very beginning. Says something for longevity of design and quality of constuction.

I guess the kids are right. I am old and sentimental and frugal.
___________________
Making Sawdust Safely

[ericolson]

Chuck;

I'll be taking next week off, so hopefully the mill will be here by then. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm pretty excited about it.

Puttn;

I had the Delta 22-540 for about eight years. That model is no longer made, but you can find used ones. However, portable planers are, all things considered, relatively inexpensive, so I would go with a new one.

Dusty;

I think I've got you beat. :) I'm the second owner of my Parks and the original owner bought it in 1952. The only thing he ever replaced were the drive belts. I took the original knives in for sharpening and my sharpening guy wouldn't take my money as he said there was no need to sharpen them. The original owner told me that he had never had them sharpened. Not too shabby, I think...

[dusty]

eric;

OK I concede that the SS is not the best tool for all jobs. I can tell from your posts that you tax your equipment much heavier than I. I mean, after all you have fallen trees in your future. Or should I say, your planer, saw and jointer have fallen trees in their future.

I matter about my SS. I'm no longer up to that level of tasking anymore.
___________________
Making Sawdust Safely

[Ed in Tampa]

I'm sorry guys. I am still sold on my Pro Planer. I have had it for many years and it has never failed me. Wish I knew the number of board feet that have been planed. Nearly every piece that has come into my shop destined for a project.

I do have a bit of snipe that I could do without but that is my only complaint. I sharpen my own knives. Have one set that has been touched up probably three times. Last tiome within the month.

The challenge; buy you DeWalt, DeLta, PC, whatever and keep a track record. Come back in twenty years and let's compare notes. Mine is still running like a champ and if it ever quits doing so - I can get replacement parts. The same part numbers that I would have ordered in the very beginning. Says something for longevity of design and quality of constuction.

I guess the kids are right. I am old and sentimental and frugal.
___________________
Making Sawdust Safely


Dusty I would agree with everything you said if it weren't possible to buy three Dewalt, Delta planners for the price of one Shopsmith. While I have no doubt the Shopsmith will be around in 20 years. I have owned my Delta for five, it is running fine and it cost me less than a third of the Shopsmith.

Also I know commerical shops that have 19 and 20 inch 5 hp 3 phase commerical planners in them. Yet when you walk in somebody is probably planning on the old 2 blade Dewalt. The guys love it for touching up the boards before they use them.

If the big planners blades get nicked it will be weeks and sometimes months before someone will take the time to rehone them. Let the Dewalt or Delta blades get nicked and they are replaced immediately. Most of the time they simple take them out and toss them and put in a new set it is cheaper than messing with them when you consider labor costs.

I laugh all the time as I see these big guys jamming huge boards into the little machine when the big machine is sitting there doing nothing.
Ed

[charlese]

I guess the kids are right. I am old and sentimental and frugal.
___________________
Making Sawdust Safely

Nothing wrong wit' that! These are three qualities to be proud of! I'm especially proud of the old and frugal qualities I possess. eg: When contractors were putting up my shop - I picked up nails and straightened many. Put them in an old coffee can and up on a shelf along with other nails straightened many years ago and moved across country with me.

The availability of future parts is one feature of the SS planer that passed me by. Part availability and the helpful attitude of the SS people is, after all, one of the most valued attributes of any SS tool. History shows that SS tools live quite a bit longer than their owners, and the SS company's service goes on. If only - the planers weren't soooo expensive!!

You can buy 2 DeWalt DW 735s for the price of one SS Planer. -- Once again - frugality rules!

Incidently, Dusty - I have you by a few years. That's OK, as I'm planning to hang around forever and use my 510 (and attachments).

[charlese]

Dusty I would agree with everything you said if it weren't possible to buy three Dewalt, Delta planners for the price of one Shopsmith.

Ed
I see you and I are of the same mind (at least sometimes)

Yes, blade changes with my DW 735 are a breeze! Just take them out - reverse sides and replace them with the magnetic handle - Tighten the blade holder and I'm done! No gauge adjustments - perfect every time!

[ericolson]

Actually, Dusty, I'd put the Shopsmith pro-planer in the same category as my Parks: a smaller industrial machine. Portable planers only have one motor in them, powering both the cutterhead and feed rollers. Industrial equipment usually has two (sometimes 3-4, depending on how big the machine is) motors to power the cutterhead and feed rollers. I have to concede one BIG point in your favor: SS parts and service is pretty much second to none. Parks went out of business in '85, I think, so no customer service and the only parts I can get (if I ever need any) are through junker machines I pick up. Thankfully, the fella I bought my Parks from is a retired NASA machinist. Suffice to say, the 1952 vintage planer is in immaculate condition, minus shop dings and nicks. The mechanicals are immaculate and I was fortunate to pick it up. Yeah, guys, I could've picked up a brand spankin' new DeWalt 735 for what I paid for my Parks, but there's something about an inordinately heavy, cast iron beastie that appeals to me. I think the thinnest casting is the cutterhead cover and it's at least 1/4" thick! After I mill and dry the lumber I've got laying all over the place, my machinery will definitely get a work out dimensioning the stock. The only disadvantage to vintage machinery is that if something breaks, it's not easy to get parts. But, I figure if the stuff has been making chips and sawdust for the last 50-60 years, I shouldn't have any problems. The machinery, including my SS, has taken everything I've thrown at it and then some.

Ed;

I know exactly what you're talking about, in regards to the machinery in some cabinet shops. Some of your bigger planers won't cut anything less than 1/2" thick. There's a shop a few miles down the road where the guys were grousing one day when they burned up their DeWalt. I guess they had been pushing a lot of maple into it when it died. The job had pretty much come to a standstill and the boss had driven into town to pick up a new one. Oh, there was a 20" Oliver battleship of a planer, sitting idle. Maybe someday they'll want to get rid of it (insert wistful sigh here).