MillerFurniture Posted April 14, 2016 Report Share Posted April 14, 2016 I have been thinking about getting a planer for quite some time just not sure what to get. I hear that keeping the blades sharp and installing them correctly can take a lot of time and fuss. I want something that is going to be easy to maintain and keep sharp. I have seen spiral drums that have small blades that are easy to install and take out. Strait blades look harder to get allied but the planers are much cheaper. I am not looking to do much planing just a few bards every few months if that. Does anyone have experience they would like to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtnwoodworker Posted April 14, 2016 Report Share Posted April 14, 2016 I have a straight knife planer, and have had one the entire time I have been woodworking. I just changed my knives the other day and it took about 30 minutes to change them and get everything set back up. I have never had much trouble setting knives in my planer. I have a 15" planer now, but I thought changing the lunchbox style planer knives was even easier than my current planer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elrodk Posted April 14, 2016 Report Share Posted April 14, 2016 I have a Dewalt 735 and would recommend it to anyone looking for a 13" planer. The chip collection is good and knives are indexed and easy to change. Not the cheapest one out there but it is pretty good if you want something decent and are on a budget. Great fit for a home shop if you dont need wider than 13". I wouldn't spend a ton on a spiral planer unless you have a need and a few boards a month doesnt sound like it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 The carbide insert spiral is more expensive initially but, much cheaper over time. there are also less expensive high speed steel insert heads but I really question the wisdom on those. For an inexpensive machine with indexed knives that are near-impossible to get misaligned, the DeWalt DW734 has three knives like the DW 735, has a carriage lock so snipe control is very possible but, only has one speed. I sold my old one to a milling operation that had a couple of big iron planers on hand. The shop used the DW734 more than the larger machines and the guy wanted a spare in case his broke down. It served me well for years, I was just ready to make the leap to a carbide indexed insert machine. I nearly kept it as a spare but, I just didn't have the room for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 I have the DW735 and upgraded to the spiral cutter maybe 6 months or so ago. I will never buy another joiner or planer that doesn't have one. The cut quality is good with the straight knives, but it is that much better with the spiral cutter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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