# sander or planer



## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

I'm struggling with a hard decision. I have money and space for ONE of these only.
so, which one, benchtop planer/jointer, or small drum sander.

bear in mind I want small flat pieces of hard wood (beech, mahogany, oak, etc etc) say 1/4" thick by less than a foot square to make trinket boxes.

I'm thinking sander (quieter, better finish), but the planer would do the edges for gluing ?, so I need some help.


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## Bodger96 (Mar 18, 2014)

The sander is nice to have, the planer is more of a necessary tool for me. I have both now but for many years I did not have the sander. The sander compliments the planer but it does not replace it. The sander is much slower at getting the wood to a certain thickness but it does not leave planer marks. My planer with sharp blades does a very quick job of getting the wood to the exact thickness I want and I had to do a little sanding to finish it off. To each their own but for me if I could only have one it would be the planer.

Regards Bob


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## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

Based on your location, I am thinking you are talking about what we in North America think of as a jointer. A jointer and thickness sander serve two completely different purposes. A jointer's main purpose is to provide a straight edge and a flat face. It is not meant for making two parallel faces. That is what a planer (or thickneser) does. You could do that function with a sander as well, but that would be very time consuming.

If your goal is just to clean up the faces of an already flat and dimensioned board, the sander is the way to go.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Planer first for me, but it would depend on whether I was using big box wood, or dimensioning my own stock (furniture, boxes, fine stuff).


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

my boards are extremely un flat (lol)
i cant get any decent cut wood here, i have to buy it as sawn timber 3/4" thick x 7" wide, and get it cut at my local wood yard on a bandsaw that is way past its best, into strips about 3/8". but with wide variations over the length. Then I have to use a router sled with an adjustable base to get the wood flat and parallel, but its very messy and time consuming.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey, Bob; you're actually looking at three machines. What we call a planer over here is what you might call a thicknesser(?). Mike Ma already mentioned this.
A jointer is the first machine to go to for a flat face and edge. You can't safely do edges on thin boards with a 'thicknesser ' (planer) or drum sander, unless the drum sander is the type where you run the board _over_ the bottom mounted drum...open on top.
A disc sander would work well for doing edges (or the jointer).
There are combination belt/disc sanders that might work well for you... (won't take the wonky out of your boards however.)
I know I've asked you this before, but you're sure that there's no boatyards, or coffin makers that can get your wood project ready, or who'll sell you decent wood?
I wasn't joking about the coffin makers...they go through a lot of wood!


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Cyprus Coffins,Cyprus Caskets


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

You could do the edges with router and split fence or piece of tape on outfeed side...

I would take this out of the equation in case it steers you wrong...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

"You could do the edges with router and split fence or piece of tape on outfeed side..."

Being a router forum I'm surprised nobody's mentioned that ! Well done, Sir!!


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Whoa! Thanks, Bob!! If _you_ hadn't brought the subject up _I_ wouldn't have gone snooping...
https://www.kmstools.com/king-canada-16-open-drum-sander-106700

I was going to build one but this makes way more sense.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Sanders like the one Dan linked to are slow but the piece is finished and ready to use when you are done. You are only looking at a few thou removal per pass. A planer is quicker but you are close to the minimum length you can run through one. Neither machine will reliably do edges. Router table, jointer, or disc sander for that


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Maybe something like this, Bob?
No idea what the quality is like...
https://www.kmstools.com/king-canada-bench-top-belt-disc-sander-390

...but the price (over here) is right!


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## denniswoody (Dec 11, 2011)

A thickness sander seems on the surface (clever pun intended) to be a good solution, BUT given the spotty quality of the wood you are starting with it will be difficult to get several boards the same thickness. A drum sander is designed to take only a tiny amount off so inputting boards of differing thickness will be problematical because you have to change the set-up for each board and work down. The sander is not intended to dimension boards of varying thickness. If you get yourself a really good hand plane you can plane one side of the rough boards to the point they can be run through a planer to get one good side - then flip them for the other side. The planer will handle boards of varying thickness and allow you to work to a pre-determined thicknesss.The hand plane will get you the square edges you need for glue-up with a bit of practice. There are also attachments for a hand plane that assist in squaring up. A good techniques is to plane two matching boards at the same time so a slight variance to 90 is compensated for when the two are paired up. A DeWalt DW735 is a good planer but there are others as well.


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

DaninVan said:


> Hey, Bob; you're actually looking at three machines. What we call a planer over here is what you might call a thicknesser(?). Mike Ma already mentioned this.
> A jointer is the first machine to go to for a flat face and edge. You can't safely do edges on thin boards with a 'thicknesser ' (planer) or drum sander, unless the drum sander is the type where you run the board _over_ the bottom mounted drum...open on top.
> A disc sander would work well for doing edges (or the jointer).
> There are combination belt/disc sanders that might work well for you... (won't take the wonky out of your boards however.)
> ...


My wood sources are very minimal here. Theres ample construction type wood available, but as mentioned before. there is no "hobby" market at all. I have even gotten my Cypriot woodyard owner to surf the greek language sites for me and he had to admit (grudgingly) that theres nothing out there.
I've tried several Cypriot sites that if not you, then others have given me links for, to date, I've had not one reply.
Theres a wooden furniture maker in the nearest big town, and I have managed to get a few offcuts from him, but most of his scrap goes to the poor for heating in the winter.
Boat repairs here is all fibreglass at an owner level. Theres just not enough population to support any new boat building industry.

So, on to my problem. i have tried the split fence router for edging, but with poor results. I can see the potential, but i just cant realise it. I'm obviously doing something wrong, but dont know what. I am making some progress, but its just too slow. I have to find a better and quicker way to get flat square pieces or this hobby will be over with next year.

i think you have all managed to talk me out of the drum sander. To get my wood flat would take so many passes I wouldnt gain any time time over my current method.

So, how about this idea?
I am looking at one of these http://www.amazon.com/Makita-2012NB-12-Inch-Interna-Lok-Automated/dp/B000051ZOO

If I glue my small pieces to a prepared sled then the 6mm thickness wont be a strain on the machine.
And if I clamp several pieces together edge on, i can get a straight edge. 
Feasible?

As if I dont have enough handicaps (lol) I have arthritic thumbs which wont take the stress of manual planing, so I HAVE to find a machine.
All your ideas and help are much appreciated.


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

I would go with the DEWALT 735. One nice feature is that it has automatic stops, one being 1/4" so that all you have to do is turn the selector and you will get the exact size every time. It also has two speeds for a finer finish, It takes up to 13" wide boards and 6" thick and has a powerful blower that extracts the chips and they can be directed to a garbage can. As far as the edges go you can easily do 3/4" without any problem. For 1/4" just stack them all together and you will have nice smooth edges.

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735-...TF8&qid=1447509616&sr=8-2&keywords=dewalt+735


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## billyjim (Feb 11, 2012)

+1 fpr the 735 plus the price is comparable to the Makita.


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

mgmine said:


> I would go with the DEWALT 735. One nice feature is that it has automatic stops, one being 1/4" so that all you have to do is turn the selector and you will get the exact size every time. It also has two speeds for a finer finish, It takes up to 13" wide boards and 6" thick and has a powerful blower that extracts the chips and they can be directed to a garbage can. As far as the edges go you can easily do 3/4" without any problem. For 1/4" just stack them all together and you will have nice smooth edges.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735-...TF8&qid=1447509616&sr=8-2&keywords=dewalt+735


 That model appears to be a USA only item.
I have to buy in the UK and bring it back with me. Cant find it on ebay or amazon UK.
This is the closest, but that works out at a thousand dollars.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/DEWALT-PORT...-fkmr1&keywords=dewalt+dw735+thickness+planer


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Bob I've run pieces clamped together on edge through my planer and it works fairly well, the trick is keeping them vertical. If I was going to do a lot of that I would build a sled with a 90* vertical fence and clamp my boards to it. That would ensure they stay vertical.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

The 735 is a great device and features 2 head speeds one for mass removal the other for a "finish" grade. If you initial material is very uneven you'll need to take care to support the downside so the material remains rigid as it passes through the planer. If not the board will just be smoother but still warped. There are posts on this site for planer sleds that are definitely worth viewing. Given the local costs you quoted, the router sled sounds like a good alternative though. 

One alternative to stacking the material on edge to run through the planer, if you have access to a table saw, hot glue the board to a sled with a true edge. Run the true edge against the fence and rip the bad edge on the material of interest.


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## vindaloo (May 30, 2009)

I got the Dewalt 733. It worked great straight out the box with no snipe, nice smooth boards. It's a bit noisy but ear defenders work just great. You still know it's on but don't get deafened.

If I remember rightly the DW735 doesn't have a pillar lock, whereas the DW733 does so the rollers don't cause the snipe.

It's planed a lot of board feet of pine so far with no problems except when I stupidly put a scrap piece of timber through to re-use it and found out too late it had a couple of screws buried. Got a metal detector now and had the blades sharpened. Now it's back to good as new. Fitting the blades at the correct depth was a doddle.


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> Bob I've run pieces clamped together on edge through my planer and it works fairly well, the trick is keeping them vertical. If I was going to do a lot of that I would build a sled with a 90* vertical fence and clamp my boards to it. That would ensure they stay vertical.


 I'm thinking more and more this is the way to go.
I am getting boards to my sizes with my router sled and sliding router table for the edges, but its all taking too long, i can spend a day or more making enough pieces to make a 6" across 8 sided trinket box.
I'm not trying to make money at this, but its just such a frustrating waste of time.


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## chessnut2 (Sep 15, 2011)

mgmine said:


> I would go with the DEWALT 735. One nice feature is that it has automatic stops, one being 1/4" so that all you have to do is turn the selector and you will get the exact size every time. It also has two speeds for a finer finish, It takes up to 13" wide boards and 6" thick and has a powerful blower that extracts the chips and they can be directed to a garbage can. As far as the edges go you can easily do 3/4" without any problem. For 1/4" just stack them all together and you will have nice smooth edges.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735-...TF8&qid=1447509616&sr=8-2&keywords=dewalt+735


I had access to that Dewalt for a short time once, and the finish it put on a board at the slow speed was great.


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

vindaloo said:


> I got the Dewalt 733. It worked great straight out the box with no snipe, nice smooth boards. It's a bit noisy but ear defenders work just great. You still know it's on but don't get deafened.
> 
> If I remember rightly the DW735 doesn't have a pillar lock, whereas the DW733 does so the rollers don't cause the snipe.
> 
> It's planed a lot of board feet of pine so far with no problems except when I stupidly put a scrap piece of timber through to re-use it and found out too late it had a couple of screws buried. Got a metal detector now and had the blades sharpened. Now it's back to good as new. Fitting the blades at the correct depth was a doddle.


The makita is 50 quid cheaper than the dewalt, and the makita is claimed to be the quietist make.

i have a few makita items already, so I think that will be my xmas present this year. I'm back in the uk for 3 weeks till just after xmas. i can bring it back with me.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Can you take wood back? Build a big shipping crate (in Ol' Blighty) out of something(s) nice...walnut/Maple/Cherry and ship all your toys back to Cyprus in _that_.
They don't call me helpful for nothin'...


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## Oakwerks (May 9, 2013)

Bodger96 said:


> The sander is nice to have, the planer is more of a necessary tool for me. I have both now but for many years I did not have the sander. The sander compliments the planer but it does not replace it. The sander is much slower at getting the wood to a certain thickness but it does not leave planer marks. My planer with sharp blades does a very quick job of getting the wood to the exact thickness I want and I had to do a little sanding to finish it off. To each their own but for me if I could only have one it would be the planer.
> 
> Regards Bob


Exactly !!
I have both now, too.... I was reluctant to spend the money ($1100+) for a Jet 16-32.... The drawback to my Ridgid planer is the minimum stock length of 13 inch...... This drum sander can handle stock length down to 2 1/4 inches....I use it more than the planer, if taking off small amounts of stock, and it eliminates a lot of hand sanding...
But, I admit, it is a luxury.... Buy a planer first.....


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

DaninVan said:


> Can you take wood back? Build a big shipping crate (in Ol' Blighty) out of something(s) nice...walnut/Maple/Cherry and ship all your toys back to Cyprus in _that_.
> They don't call me helpful for nothin'...


 Dan, the wood itself isnt the problem. I can buy exotic wood here, even if it is in 5 metre lengths x 200mm x 30mm.
Even in the UK I cant get the sized pieces that I want.
And no, i cant ship bulk wood (wish that I could) the freight cost makes the wood hideously expensive. When we fly back to see family, i get 23kg luggage allowance usually, or i can pay extra and get a 32 kilo box, so my machinery comes back in either one or two pieces, depending on the day.
Because Cyprus is in the EU, i dont have any customs or import duty hassle like I would shipping something from America


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## Ray Newman (Mar 9, 2009)

SunnyBob: if you will work inside, how good is your dust collection? Thicknessers/planers are notorious and have a well deserved reputation for spewing lager amounts of shavings, chips, and dust.

As an aside, about ¼” is the thinnest you can go on a thicknesser without making a sled to hold the stock to feed it into the cutters. Will also for work short pieces. From what I have seen of these sleds, they are relatively easy to fabricate and do not take up to much room in the work room

http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/2006/05/26/wb/

Or, you can easily fabricate a set of router skis. Once took a Melamine cut off, made ski set-up like in the link, attached the work with double sided tape to the Melamine, and adjusted the bit the slowly reduce thickness. Quick, easy to make up, and very cheap!

http://www.thesharkguard.com/sled.php


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## Garyk (Dec 29, 2011)

Decisions,decisions. You have to weigh what is more important for you. You can plane with a drum sander using 80 grit belts but it is a slow process because you must change belts and go up in grits progressively to get a decent finish. With a planer you can take off more wood a lot faster. With a good planer you can hog off a bunch in a hurry then take tiny fractions of an inch to get closer to what you need. Then a hand sander for a good finish. Ditto on the router for the edge glue needs. Unless you are going very thin (music instrument thin) you would probably be happier with the planer first. A drum sander doesn't make that good of a planer (IMHO).


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## denniswoody (Dec 11, 2011)

If you choose to go with a planer make sure you know minimum wood sizes it will handle. Going from memory my DW735 won't take anything less than 12 inches long. As pointed out there are ways of dealing with thickness, but with two rollers you have to respect the length requirement or there will be a problem.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Say that again?
_"Dan, the wood itself isn't the problem. I can buy exotic wood here, even if it is in 5 metre lengths x 200mm x 30mm."_
Just to be clear, Bob, I can't buy small pieces of hardwood either. The wholesaler sells hardwood _planks!_
I buy the smaller planks...maybe 6' - 8' x whatever is in stock. It's not going to go bad if I don't use it right away.


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

sorry for delay, internet has been down all day.

Dan, yes, I can buy 5 metre planks, but thats enough wood of any one type to last me 3 years, and I have no storage space for it in my 15 metre square room, without having all that money tied up in it.
All of my problems have been in trying to get wood of a usable thickness to me.

Ray, my dust system is good, I can connect the planer direct into it. I also wear dust masks when cutting, and vacuum the work room at the end of each session. I am VERY aware of dust problems. I can glue small pieces to a wood sled to get the planer to operate correctly. I have a home made router planer, using a marble floor tile as a bed, with adjustable raised sides. It works well, but is very noisy, very slow, and very dusty and I cant get the dust collection over to that side of the room, so I really need to come up with a better faster way.


Gary, I think the makita planer is the tool for me.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Bob; so then the problem is really storage rather than unavailability. The fact that you'll have a three year supply is a good thing!


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

Yes, if I had the space AND the money, i could buy most of the types i want to have, beech, mahogany, sapele, oak, that kind, although I havent seen any purple heart or maple yet.
If I could find someone else with the same hobby I could share the wood, but no luck.

I even found some mansonia, which apparently is not sold in europe due to its poisonous dust. I only found that out after I had made a tissue box holder out of it! So i put lots of mineral oil on the thing regularly.

But i am only making (TRYING to make!) small items that mostly fit in your hand, got no interest in furniture or large works, so those huge boards are wild overkill for me.

My desperate need is to find a way to make what wood i can buy and scrounge, into thin planks or strips.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

I'm out of ideas, Bob.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

There is a store near where I live Bob that sells offcuts of some exotics from time to time. Is there a source of that for you? A furniture maker's offcuts for example.


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

Charles, yes, thats how I get the wood i do have, but its little and not often. They point blank refuse to cut a board for me unless I buy the whole thing. But obviously they have some bigger customers they oblige from time to time. This is the only place I have found so far that stocks "exotic hardwoods", but they are an in and out business, no machinery except a plywood board saw and chop saw.

I managed to get three offcuts of mahogany a month ago, about 3 foot long, but thats when the problem starts, cutting that 1" x 8" piece into usable strips for me. My tools are all small hobby size, and wont handle that size wood.

I can get the wood cut at another woodyard that I am friendly with. but this place only does construction softwoods and ply. They will run my offcuts through their bandsaw, but its old and not serviced and the cut pieces are very uneven, ranging from 1/2" to 1/8" along the length. Thats why I need the planer. 

Its a very frustrating hobby for me, but it certainly fills up my days (g)

Ironic to think back where I lived in the UK are several huge wood shops within easy travelling distance.


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## aahwhatever2 (Oct 16, 2015)

What about the Cutech planer's? From what I remember, they will ship outside of the US. I have not seen any reviews yet, but the come with a "spiral?" head cutter rather than 2 or 3 blades. It looks like they share the same body style as the Mikita planer?

Just a thought....


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

aahwhatever2 said:


> What about the Cutech planer's? From what I remember, they will ship outside of the US. I have not seen any reviews yet, but the come with a "spiral?" head cutter rather than 2 or 3 blades. It looks like they share the same body style as the Mikita planer?
> 
> Just a thought....


 Shipping from any where outside of the EU is not viable. Apart from the 4 weeks and upwards delivery times, and the added shipping charges, when it finally does arrive I then have to go to the customs office and pay 20% on the total value of the item, PLUS another 20 % of the shiipping cost.
I once got a motorcycle seat sent to me from america, from another owner. i got him to declare 50 dollars gift value which is not duty payable. Oh the fuss at customs. He finally charged me 50% of the shiipping, and there is no appeal. you pay, or it stays in customs.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Customs anywhere is about as close to a dictatorship as you can get inside a democratic country.


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

When i moved here, I bought my motorcycle with me. oh boy, what mistak'a to mak'a.
Took me over 4 months to get it registered, and had to pay several hundred pounds for the privilege. then after a couple years i thought to sell it and buy another. they wanted 50% of the value of the bike in duty. After 6 years and a lot of pressure from the EU government to toe the line like the rest of the EU, i managed to get that duty down to GB£150.

The customs man was almost pulling his hair out over that seat. i had it wrapped complete with christmas card to me to prove it was a gift, but he wasnt letting me out of there without me paying for something.


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