Is this a good buy for my 1st thickness planer?


Fricasseekid

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My local big box hardware store has a broken Ridgid lunchbox planer on clearance.

It's one of these:

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/13-inch-thickness-planer

I inspected the planer and it appears the cast iron die (for lack of better description) that guides the all thread that raises an lowers cutter head is cracked in half. This is on the side that has the crank handle. The other side seems to be in perfect shape. The other side has the guide as part of the main body of the machine. But on the side that is broken, the die piece seems to be a separate part that can be changed out.

This is all just handling the machine in the store. I didn't have the opportunity to take it apart and inspect it further. It doesn't seem that anything else on the unit would be damaged, but I don't know much about planets. It seems otherwise brand new.

I know parts are easy to come by online.

So here is the kicker, the store manager said I could have it for $90! It's not the exact beginners planer I want (I'd like the larger dewalt lunchbox planer, but it's out of my budget), but these normally go for $369.

What do y'all think?

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I have one of these planers and I love it. If you are handy enough to fix this one for not much money it's a deal. If you are able to register it for the warranty it's a no brainer.

I don't think you'd find a better deal on one unless you found one used, and even then they sell for darn near the new price.

In the end, you need to know what parts need to be replaced and determine if it's worth it to you.

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Make sure the part is available and in stock ! A lot of times there are parts they deem not available or non replaceable. I am assuming your mechanical skills and tools are up to the challenge. The parts may be a mixture of metric and inch nuts, threads etc.

Take lots of digital pictures and notes as you disassemble the tool. Watch out for screws of different lengths and where they came from. Note the path and colors of wires, they will only fit one exact way, get them out of order and the cover may not close or you could burn out a switch, motor etc.

Beware of little clips, springs and nuts that will go flying and be impossible to find.

I label ziplock bags to keep parts in.

I have been working on my own equipment for over 40 years and learned a lot of these tips the hard way.

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To echo what Steve said...

If I were on a similar budget and the part was available, I'd buy it... But I know I have the skills and tools to fix it. The cost comes in if you have to buy a special tool or something odd... The frustration comes in if you don't have the skills to fix it.

If you need pics of what it should look like (unbroken) let me know.

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I'll echo what some have said above.  If you can fix it cheaply, then it's a good deal.  If you can afford the 735, then I'd just start there as that's a really nice planer.

 

I've had a grizzly in my shop for a long time and it's still doing great.  I have every intention of upgrading to the 735 but, I just can't seem to kill the grizz.  I think the grizz  runs about 300 bucks.

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If it were me, I would pass.  When you are patient, a great deal will come along that does not require fixing of potential problems.  My dad picked up an older model ridgid planer for $150 hardly used and it works great.  He also found me a dewalt 733 for around $100 used that works awesome.  Most of my tools were purchased used and at great prices.  $90 is a good price, but I personally would not spend even that if I had to fix it.

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Replacing the broken part may be the easy part.  Remember that the way a planer works is to surface one side *exactly* parallel to the opposite side.  Once you get the thread housing repaired/replaced you need to make sure the head is parallel (not level) to the work surface or you're going to be making wedges.

 

I'm not telling you this to discourage you but rather to make sure you fully consider what the repair entails.  A well made set of matching trim blocks, one for each side of the machine, *might help.

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Many planners have a gauge on them and some even have positive stops.  Few to none of them are accurate enough to be totally trustworthy.  Nothing is better than a good caliper or measuring gauge of some sort to determine the actual thickness of what comes out of the planner.  Use the built in gauge to get close and then use a device you trust to get you to the final measurement.

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