# Buying a Planer Tomorrow



## Dal300 (Jul 14, 2011)

Tomorrow the wife is going to allow me to buy a planer for my newby shop. My budget is in the dumps, so I only have about $250-$300 for this thing. 

Since tomorrow is Sunday, (July 17, 2011), and I live in east central Texas, there aren't going to be many pawn shops open for me to dig through to find something nice that needs a little TLC and some new blades for a low price.

Sooo... I'm stuck with going to one of the box stores. 

I've been looking at the Porter Cable PC305TP for $249. (This is at Lowe's and I don't have enough posts yet to post links).

I would really like a 3 blade planer, or even a helical blade model, but this is what's in the budget for the moment. I would wait for awhile, but I know that all the extra money in the bank will turn into shoes or household doo-dads if I don't act quickly.

Does anyone have any input on this machine, and anyplace else I should look? I have read the treatise on portable/benchtop planers here on the forum, and have given this a lot of consideration, but... I still have doubts, (Especially about my skills).

One thing I should mention is that we only get one day a week off here at the campground that we manage, and since I use pretty much only the wood from the land we are on, I need to do what I can when I can. At the moment, I'm working with a standing dead Bodark tree, (Osage Orange, one the most dense woods in North America), will this planer be able to do the job on wood with a max of 5/4 x 8 x 60?

Thanks all again, for letting me join and ask dumb questions!

Dallas


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Dallas

Just my 2 cents keep your money in your pocket for just a little bit and find a good use DeWalt off Graig's list that will be in your price range..
In that way you can test run it b/4 you put the money on the table..
Sometime you can get the little extra items with the machine..

Don't forget many go out and put out 700.oo bucks for a new one than use it a time or two and then sale it off.


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Dal300 said:


> Tomorrow the wife is going to allow me to buy a planer for my newby shop. My budget is in the dumps, so I only have about $250-$300 for this thing.
> 
> Since tomorrow is Sunday, (July 17, 2011), and I live in east central Texas, there aren't going to be many pawn shops open for me to dig through to find something nice that needs a little TLC and some new blades for a low price.
> 
> ...


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

check out the ridgid


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Welcome to the community Dallas....

I'll second the previous post and just say that you will be way ahead of the game if its at all possible to save a few more bucks and pick up a better planer. The Dewalt is head and shoulders above most of the tabletop models available today and rightfully so! Those who have em have nothing but good things to say about them. If you are planning on being busy using a planer, it will more than pay for the extra few bucks over the long run by what you save by purchasing or harvesting rough cut stock. 

Now having said that..... there are quite a few guys who have purchased other models, some considerably cheaper than the dewalts and are perfectly happy with the end product. I have an older 13" craftsman that by all rights should NOT give me the results I get. But for some reason it does, I get a fantastic finish, with just a bit of snipe (no matter what I try) at the end. So I just compensate for it. I need a 6" board, I pass a 6'8" board through the planer. and cut off the ends with the snipe. <<the dewalt 735 is known for having little if any snipe issues>>

Another consideration is just how much work are you willing to put into the board after you've passed it through the planer? The rougher the board comes out of your planer the more time you will need to spend with a handplane or drum sander etc...

You mentioned at helical head and/or a 3 blade cutter. Both of which add considerably to the asking price of a unit. A good Helical head alone can wipe out your current budget. 

Just about all popular name brand planers out there can handle Osage Orange. You'll just need to figure out how much to take off with each pass. 

good luck with your hunt!!! I've found that patience is usually rewarded...

b.


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

*Dewalt*

Not from expierience but from reading the reviews the Dewalt DW734 is a lot of bang for the buck..... $300 at Lowes Shop DEWALT 15-Amp 3-Blade Planer at Lowes.com


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Dallas, Both HarrySin and I own the 305 and it works just fine for us. I would not dispute the fact that there are better options available for more money; I am just saying that both Harry and I found the 305 handles anything we have thrown at it. Be sure to purchase the optional dust collection adapter (which should of been included but was not) as thickness planers create more sawdust than your average logging company! I have owned my 305 for a few years and bought it on sale from Rockler for $200 with a $25 gift card thrown in. (Gotta love special offers!)


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## Dal300 (Jul 14, 2011)

Thanks guys!
Marco, I went to the link you posted but the 734 you mentioned was $400 in my browser. 
Too bad... I have looked at that and the 735 a lot in the last couple of months.
Our problem is that we live so far out in the sticks that they pipe in pixels so the computer monitors will work, other wise we would have to use wind up computers.

One of my major concerns is weight. I plan on being able to pack this whole shop up and move from place to place in our travels. The largest machine I have right now is a 1 1/8hp 12" Craftsman band saw. I will have to figure out a way to dismember it to be able to store it in the bay area of our RV. Either that or put it on the wife's side of the bed, which may not be to healthy for me.

If the 305 will do the job, that will work for right now. I can always watch while we travel this great country for a better one. I'm not the most experienced wood worker and am learning things, or rather, Relearning things, that my dad taught me 40 years ago. It would hurt my feelings to tear up a $500-600 planer when I could have just as much experience tearing up a $300 unit.

Thanks again everyone! I'm really happy to have joined this network of experienced sawdust makers!


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Sounds like the 305 will be a great addition for you. I shopped online the Lowe's in Nacogdoches, TX to cure my curiosity and ..... yep $399 for the same planer as my local Lowe's.

I'm sure it will be $429 when I bust the piggy bank


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

Wait till Monday and see what the Pawn shops have.


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## mpbc48 (Sep 17, 2010)

Harbor Freight

12" Planer w/ Dust Collection - 2-1/2 HP

This planer is considered one of the Harbor Freight Gems and I fully agree. Right out of the box the unit was dead on. The setup consisted of screwing on a couple of wire brackets for power cord storage and attaching the dust collection. With a little input and output support there is virtually no snipe and the dust collection is excellent.

Print the page from above link and get 20% off. 

Mike


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## Dal300 (Jul 14, 2011)

Wow! I was going to stop at HF anyway for some sand paper and some other stuff. I'll check that planer out. 
I looked at it in my search, but always worry about quality with the HF stuff especially when it comes to big machinery.


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## Dal300 (Jul 14, 2011)

I would wait until Monday, but we only get one day off a week and that is Sunday, although at different times I have seen some pawn shops in the Bryan/College Station area open 7 days a week, it's usually around the holidays.
If any are open, you can bet I'll be in there like a fly on stink! I have a long history of pawn shop and flea market crawling!


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

I got a Ridgid off Craig's list for 150.00 and a DeWALT 733 for 100.00. I was going to sell on of them but decided to use the 733 as a rough planer and the Ridgid as a finish planer. The DeWALT has rugged knives that can be resharpened the Ridgid has 3 knives, not nearly as rugged as the 733.

As for the Osage Orange I have some that has been drying for the past year and I think I will give it another year.
before doing anything with it.


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## Gene Howe (Jul 10, 2007)

I've run Boise d' Arc and mesquite through my Deltas and I'll tell you, you'd be wise to have one or two extra blade sets handy.


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## Dal300 (Jul 14, 2011)

Yeah, I know how hard on blade Osage Orange is... I've cut up about 800 bd ft of it and gone through 2 - 4TPI hardback 1/2" bandsaw blades and a large number of table saw blades. A couple of the table saw blades were Freud and are out being sharpened now.
As for waiting on the Osage to dry, ..... we've been in a drought for the last three years, this tree has been standing dead for at least 2 years and maybe longer. I tested it with a moisture meter in a number of different spots and never got a reading higher than 8%.

Woo-Hoo... post number 10! Thanks gentlemen!


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## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

Hold your horses, and Craigslist it, (not graigslist) craigslist.org, you'll find a lot of tools locally and regionally, plus you can go to searchtempest.com and search for items locally to nationally, it really is worth it to wait, and that goes for more than just tool purchases.


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## del schisler (Feb 2, 2006)

Dal300 said:


> Tomorrow the wife is going to allow me to buy a planer for my newby shop. My budget is in the dumps, so I only have about $250-$300 for this thing.
> 
> Since tomorrow is Sunday, (July 17, 2011), and I live in east central Texas, there aren't going to be many pawn shops open for me to dig through to find something nice that needs a little TLC and some new blades for a low price.
> 
> ...



Rigid planer is very good and has a life time warrenty. I have one and it is very good and will plane wood just like those very high priced one's. It come's with a extra set of blades.Not like those others Good luck


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## Cookie Monster (Jun 30, 2011)

*Direct Tools Outlet mall San Marcos*



Dal300 said:


> Tomorrow the wife is going to allow me to buy a planer for my newby shop. My budget is in the dumps, so I only have about $250-$300 for this thing.
> 
> Since tomorrow is Sunday, (July 17, 2011), and I live in east central Texas, there aren't going to be many pawn shops open for me to dig through to find something nice that needs a little TLC and some new blades for a low price.
> 
> ...


Hi,

The Direct Tools store is at the Outlet Mall in San Marcos. They also have a website for online ordering. This bunch handles reconditioned tools and in the past I have seen Ryobi Planners and DeWalt. The Rigid Sander that I bought does a fine job and was priced right.


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## Dal300 (Jul 14, 2011)

Thanks to everyone for the advice and the help.
We went to town early this morning and stopped a number of places including Harbor Freight and Home Depot, we also had a friend meet us who has a couple of friends that own pawn shops. 
I looked at 4 pawnshop planers, (1 Rigid, a Dewalt 734, a 735, and a Ryobi AP1301). A couple were missing parts, the Dewalt 735 was missing a blade (one blade??), and the Ryobi was in such poor shape it looked as if it had been hit by a fork lift. 
Harbor Freight had their model out, but didn't have any boxed models in stock. I asked about buying the floor model and the clerk didn't know if she could or not, and didn't have a manager at the moment. I said we would continue looking and after about 45 minutes, we ended up paying for our other stuff and left.
I ended up buying the Porter Cable planer at Lowe's and have been riding around in the car the rest of the day chomping at the bit to get home and play with it.
I tried to get the chip removal hood but they didn't have one. No problem, I can conjure one up out of some scrap aluminum in the morning.
I have been spending the last couple of hours setting the machine up and making sure everything is where it's suppose to be. So Far So Good!
I haven't actually run any wood through it yet, but I wil in the morning after I build the saw dust hood for it.
I want to thank everyone who has given advice, opinions and anecdotes! They are all appreciated and all welcomed!


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Jack Wilson said:


> Hold your horses, and Craigslist it, (not graigslist) craigslist.org, you'll find a lot of tools locally and regionally, plus you can go to searchtempest.com and search for items locally to nationally, it really is worth it to wait, and that goes for more than just tool purchases.


Classifieds - Claz.org is also a great way to look across multiple regions of craigslist.


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Congratulations Dallas! Hope you have years of satisfaction with your PC Planer and all of your plans work out!


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## papawd (Jan 5, 2011)

Glad Ya found one , Let us know how the PC planer works


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