Thickness Planer Help

R

Robkonkoma

Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2007
Messages
25
  • Reading the posts from "glass1" got me looking for a better planer  :D
    I have a DW735 but not happy with it... noisy, short blade life, Byrd head available but reports of motor bogging :P
    I want a genuine free standing induction driven planer!
    Appears INCA is highly thought of here..but pretty much made of unobtanium..dont ever see many for sale.

    Has anyone had experience with Laguna Tools Platinum Series 16"?
    http://www.lagunatools.com/planer.platinum16.aspx

    41sZ7dyo8sL._SL500_AA280_.jpg


    Website says "european made" but dosnt say where.
    Specs:
    • Motor: 3 HP TFEC 220 1-phase
    • Main Table: 25" x 20"
    • Cutterhead: Shear-Tec 6 Row Spiral
    • Cut Capacity: 16" x 8" (W x H)
    • Weight: 560 lbs.

    Or should I be looking for something Grizzley or Shop Fox?
    Or even possibly an old school name brand 900 lb Ol Reliable Delta & upgrade it to a Byrd head?

    What say ye wise and knowing Festooligans? :)
 
Ooooo...I forgot about that one...Powermatic 15HH with Byrd
Its in the same price range..so I guess its a contender  ;D

1791213_main
 
funny, last week I was looking at the exact same situation (I also have the dewalt).  I really like alot of the grizzly stuff and being in the same town makes it easy to look at as well as get it to my place,  I was seriously considering the G0453Z - a 15" with a spiral cutterhead.  I went to look at it but I have to tell you, the grizzly planers just didn't do it for me...

In my research I noticed that there's quite a few threads on the FWW site regarding 15" vs. 20" machines and the overwhelming opinion seems to be that you should go with the 20".  I have a Jet 22-44 drum sander and so I don't think I'd need the 20" capacity and would rather put the money towards a spiral cutterhead.  I looked at alot of the other 15" planers out there which all seem to be around the $2500 mark.  This seems alot to spend, when my dewalt  still works fine (although the same things bother me.)

So I came to the same conclusion you did - the Laguna seemed like a good deal - spiral cutterhead,  16" vs 15" for just a little more capacity, good company reputation, etc.

However, it is a chunk more than the Grizzly, so I've decided to wait awhile before purchasing.

Carl
 
Delta RC33 a great planer that will take a 1/8" off a 12" wide oak board all day long.  Can be found on ebay for $400-$600 in good condition...  In any planer you get make sure it has bed rollers if you're planning to plane rough cut stuff....

Best,
Todd
 
I have the "Jet Equivalent" when there was such a thing, of the PM15.  The major difference is the Powermatic had cast iron extensions, and the Jet had rollers.  I only paid $300 dollars for it, and am now looking at spiral heads to replace the originals.  IMHO, you are better off buying a used PM, Jet, or Delta and adding the spiral or helical head. 
 
MWHafner....that is what I am also considering.  I do have an older PM15 and am considering putting a shelix head on it...I am curious what all differences there are between the PM15 and the 15HH other than the shelix.  I got my PM15 a while back and have yet to use it....it is not in ideal shape at the moment and I plan on a rebuild with the shelix head.
 
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