Planer Advice Please

[CraftyNYScroller]

Well since everyone here was on the money with my Dewalt 788 Purchase, I need some more advice.
Here is the situation. I have been given many board feet of rough lumber, Pine, Butternut, oak, Maple and cherry. Problem it is all rough cut. So the only way I am going to be able to do anything with it is to plane it all. Guess it is time to purchase one. I will be doing mostly projects like the snowman puzzle and thicker stuff like 1/2" - 3/4" Maybe 1/4" but not sure on that. I don't want to spend a fortune if I don't have to or maybe with as much wood as I have I may need to spend the extra for durability. I am just not sure what to get.
I have a 8x16 workshop so most would be done outside. My father has a grizzly and the thing weighs a ton, don't like that. easy to move is better. So any advice or help in selection would be great even feedback on what is being used.
I do have some plans for furniture making also if that matters.

Also what are thoughts on reconditioned vs new?

Thank you so much in advance for all the help.
CraftyNYScroller

[miamw]

My suggestion would be to be nice to your father and use his planer until you can afford a bigger workshop and a bigger, heavier planer.

j/k! I couldn't resist!

I don't have any real suggestions, but would like to see what everyone else suggests because I have a similar situation, except a lot of my rough cut wood is too thin for a planer.

[Paul S WI]

There are several very good portable thickness planers on the market that would suit your needs and budget. Check into Delta, Ryobi, DeWalt, to name a few. They can be mounted on a work bench. I use the planer to remove no more than a 1/4 inch. Otherwise I use the bandsaw for resawing and then a drum sander to remove the bandsaw marks and bring the material to the thickness I need. The Drum sander is excellent for thin wood. A jig can be made to run thin stock through the planer as well but I prefer the drum sander - Safer.

[lucky788scroller]

Paul covered it pretty well, a portable planer would suit your needs nicely. One other one to check out is the Ridgid, sold at Home Depots, or sometimes on ebay you will find some good deals on them.I like my Ridgid planer, but if I could get the one with two speeds for the same money, thats what I would suggest. I have planed lumber down to 1/8th thick without any problem. I also have a drum sander, which is a priceless tool I cant imagine being without now, but with good sharp knives in the planer, a light hand sanding after planing is all thats needed . With the rough lumber, you may have trouble getting it planed flat without a jointer to first clean up one side. Another option is a sled for each board to mount into until you get one side flat on the planer. You may be able to have a lumber outfit near you to run them through their planer for you for a small fee. In fact, when I need a bunch of my lumber planed, its worth 25 cents a bf to take it to them to plane it to within a 1/16th, just to save me the time and hassle, then I do the final 1/16th as i use the wood, running it through the performax. Dale

[Old Forester]

Hey, I like Mia's idea of using your father's planer. (grin)

I have a Makita 12" portable planer and it's fine for running a few rough cut boards through, but the motor heats up if I try to run a lot of lumber through it at one session. My buddy has a portable Ridgid 13" planer that he and I used when he built his house. He has a small saw mill and we sawed and planed all the wood for his house. That machine does good quality work and it is a tank!! He's had it for about 8 years with no problems and it has had some heavy use at times. It's sold at Home depot and it's one of the cheaper brands. I plan to buy one when my Makita finally dies. although......borrowing one does make a lot of sense!!!

[Steviegwood]

Hi Crafty, I have two craftsmens planers one with and one without the positive head lock. I do not care what brand name that you get on a planer but I would suggest a positive head lock. The difference is like night and day. If it does not have the head lock I would not buy it. If you can get something that has the reversible two sided blades that also saves and I suggest if you can get it with three or more blades for better performance. Steve

[Rolf]

I did alot of research when I went through this same decision process. I decided to spend the extra money and bought the Dewalt 13 inch planer. DW735
I have a great review of the 13 inch planners in PDF format. I will try and find the source.
I have done alot of 1/8 material, bloodwood, oak, maple, etc.
You just have to take light cuts when you get that thin. And it does generate lots of chips, it has a very strong built in blower.
The review was in popular woodworking Feb 2004.
I can't seem to find the link.

[CraftyNYScroller]

Thank you all for your input. Mia I like the use dad's also and may do it but it is a bit heavy to lug around.. I was looking at toolking and see that they have the dewalt 735 fro like 389.00 but it is reconditioned... Has anyone had any problems with this company or reconditioned?
Thanks again for all the help.

[Paul S WI]

Reconditioned is a label used for different purposes. Could be a store display model, a returned gift, purchaser didn't like the color, etc. Does not necessarily mean there was a problem but if there was some type of repair I'm sure Toolking could answer that question. I have not had any problems with Toolking.

[Kevin12]

I bought a reconditioned Ridgid 13" at the Woodworking Show. Can't remember exactly what I paid, but it struck me as a darn good deal. I haven't used it a whole lot, but what I have, it works like a charm. Glad to read Bob's post that the Ridgid 13" is a tank of a work-horse.