Got a new toy - a Dewalt Planer

[golfandwoodnut]

I have been milling some Oak and Cherry for the last 2 years and people ask me what am I going to do with it? I do not have any immediate plans but I like the idea of making lumber, and if you price a piece of Oak at Lowes it can b $30 for a small board.

Well I have been eyeing planers for a long time and finally pulled the trigger, because obviously the wood is pretty rough cut with a chainsaw. I am really impressed with the Dewalt 3 blade planer. It makes a mountain of sawdust/noodles but turns my rough cut lumber into beautiful wood. It will only do 12 1/2 inches wide, any thickness of a board. The only issue is that it would be nice to be able to do wider boards, but I am sure a planer like that would cost alot.

Just wondering if any of you other guys milling have bought a planter yet? What is you experience with them?

 

[greg13]

I have an early Ryobi planer, Works great. Use supports on both in & out feeds or build a table so the planer tables sit at the same height as the table. Blow it out when you're done and take light cuts on your final passes.

 

[Thistle]

Bought my Delta 12 1/2" Portable Planer in early '90's.One of their first models,still works great.2 knife cutterhead,uses those thin HSS knives,considered ''disposable'',but around $25/pair I wasnt about to do that They are easy to sharpen in place with a special diamond grit stone mounted in small wood block.Also a magnetic knife setting jig to hold them at correct height when shifting them sideways to avoid a knick in the edge.I thought about solid carbide knives once,but with them being extremely fragile & costly (over $150 years ago) plus that I deal with salvaged wood all the time - the chance of hitting broken or hidden metal fasteners isnt worth the risk.


Within a couple months I built a stand from salvaged Red & White Oak dunnage & 3/4"plywood from a jobsite dumpster for it with locking casters.Tossed the flimsy sheetmetal infeed & outfeed tables,replaced them with small offcuts from a recycled formica covered plywood countertop.No flex or sniping on the ends of boards as they enter/exit the planer after that retrofit.Just dont try taking too big of bite in wide or extra hard woods.Anything wider or extra heavy I use my various jointer/panel planes instead,extreme cases the 3 x 21 belt sander gets put into service some times also.

 

[HDRock]

I have been milling some Oak and Cherry for the last 2 years and people ask me what am I going to do with it? I do not have any immediate plans but I like the idea of making lumber, and if you price a piece of Oak at Lowes it can b $30 for a small board.

Well I have been eyeing planers for a long time and finally pulled the trigger, because obviously the wood is pretty rough cut with a chainsaw. I am really impressed with the Dewalt 3 blade planer. It makes a mountain of sawdust/noodles but turns my rough cut lumber into beautiful wood. It will only do 12 1/2 inches wide, any thickness of a board. The only issue is that it would be nice to be able to do wider boards, but I am sure a planer like that would cost alot.

Just wondering if any of you other guys milling have bought a planter yet? What is you experience with them?

Portable planers do a very good job for their price point, it is very hard to eliminate snipe with these. I used to have one.
Furniture and such is not built with wide boards, because of expansion contraction and warpage, tabletops and case sides for example are made up of glued up panels generally made from 4 to 6 inch wide stock.
I use a 3 hp 220v 15 inch planer it does most of what I need, the good thing about a 24 or 36 inch or bigger planar is you can plane down your glued up panels , besides that you really don't need a wide planer .
While planing down rough stock , what ever you do, do not plane it down to finished size until it is dry and ready to be used building something, then it can be prepared , jointed, planed, and squared up, after that let it acclimate a week or two .

 

[HDRock]

Oh ya , a good thing to have is a portable metal detector , ( they are not expensive), to help in preventing hitting any metal.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

thanks for all the good input. I have already build a stand at a lower level than my workbench so the wood can come straight out. I guess I will have to build a table on the other end as well eventually. The thing really does produce a ton of sawdust but it is such a pleasure to see it turn rough cut lumber into beautiful smooth lumber. As I move closer to retirement I can see expanding to have a full woodshop.

 

[HDRock]

Well U got a portable planer now, U can get a portable dust collector at pretty good price, or U could start out with a 2 to 5 hp collector and not have to upgrade later,
with that and a dust collection hood on your planer ,it is more enjoyable running it, and much less mess to take care of

 

[loadstarken]

I have been eyeing a planer on craigslist that is for my Shopsmith but I'm waiting for the price to go down more. Hehe

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Just wondering if any of you other guys milling have bought a planter yet? What is you experience with them?

I have the exact same one. I got a deal on it from lowes 20% off or something.

I got a small nick in the blade though i hit a buried nail .I guess i need on of those metal detectors. Anyone have any recommendations on them?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Oh ya , a good thing to have is a portable metal detector , ( they are not expensive), to help in preventing hitting any metal.

WHere did you get it? ANd what s the damage?

 

[smokinj]

My neighbor has one and I used it quite a bit. I really like it. With my new table saw I can even cut my slabs without a chainsaw.

 

[bogydave]

I like mine. Bigger would always be nice but it gets the job done.
Just take small bites with oak & hard maple