15 inch planer help

[simdave]

After 6 months of research I am convinced you cannot buy a quality well made 15 in planer that is easy to maintain, can be adjusted for no snipe, does not produce ridges, provides a finish that is equal to 120 grit sanding and doesn't require the same amount of time to hand carve a Chippendale chair as it does to change or adjust blades. It appears to me that most or all of these machines come from one or two Chiwan factories and that quality control is non-existent. Customer service from importers also appears to be poor at best.

It has crossed my mind that my expectations for what $3000 will buy are unrealistic and I'm just a whiner that has been overly influenced by bad internet reviews. Any recommendations/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm starting to lose it.

 

[manfre]

Grizzly's customer service reviews are consistenly very good. I have no experience with how long it takes to properly adjust their 15" planers or how long it would take to hand carve a chippendale chair, so I can't weigh in on that.

 

[bob vaughan]

Dave,
Take a deep breath and relax. The situation is only as bad as you want to make it.
You've got better cheap planers available to you now than you've ever had before. Those of us that bought our first "cheap" planer in the late 70's were stuck with $950.00 on sale from Sears. That $950.00 then has the same buying power as $2800.00 today. Just imagine what people had to deal with when the better small planers were considered such as a Powermatic model 100.

The snipe problem needs to be understood. There are many, many different causes of "snipe". The care of choosing and rough processing of the stock before it gets to the planer can have significant mitigating effects (face jointing). Planing technique can can create snipe when the stock isn't given support on the end. Weak hold down springs on a lightweight planer won't help the situation. The recreational woodworker will simply have to learn to work around the limits of their machinery because most machines intended for that market are way under 1/2 ton.

For setting knives, that should take about an hour for a typical Chaiwan 15" planer using a dial indicator rig. There are many that are unwilling to accept the responsibility of getting things right. Setting knives isn't like stuffing bread down a toaster for breakfast.

Customer service evaluations can vary, depending on the observer and the observer's expectations. If one expects the quality of a Northfield planer from a Chaiwan import, then that buyer is destined for disappointment and likely to air such on the internet forums.

I haven't experienced all brands and types of import 15" planers, but all I have seen were pretty much the same basic machine. The motor, electricals, paint job, stand and other things seem to vary.

Don't expect perfection from the metaphorical equivalent of a $2.00 hammer.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Dave, you're pretty much right on target. All the planers (and most other major power tools, for that matter) are made in a couple of factories overseas. They paint them different colors and put a different name tag on them, and ship them out. So w/ that in mind, I'd suggest first deciding on the style / model you want, then choose the supplier w/ the best customer service reputation, assuming their price isn't horrendously out of line. There is one other variable, but I'm not sure how reliable it is: some manufacturers claim to have their own quality control people on site to insure the machines meet their "standards". If you could verify this, it might make the difference between brand 'A' and brand 'B'.

I have a knock-off version of the Delta 22-790 15" planer. I've had it for just over 15 years and it has served me well. Blade changes are fairly easy. It came w/ a handy jig for setting the knives, so it actually goes pretty quick. The most time consuming part is removing the dust collection hood.

I've been able to reduce snipe down to a very minuscule level, but not completely eliminate it. I replaced the infeed / outfeed table rollers w/ a 8' table that runs through the planer. This works if you have room in the shop to set it up more-or-less permanently.

View image in gallery​

As for the rest of the concerns you raised (e.g. ridges, 120 grit finish, etc.), you're gonna have those w/ any planer I know of. But when you find one that does all those things, please post it here. Some day I'm gonna have to replace mine, and that's the one I want. :rotflm:

Seriously, I hope this helps.

Bill

 

[simdave]

great comments, thanks

 

[bassndboat]

Dave, I have a Grizzly 15" planer with a carbide cutterhead. I love it. I haven't had any problems with snipe and the boards have a super smooth finish. In the past I used a Grizzly 20" planer with regular knives. The difference is like night and day. Good luck with your decision and definitely think carbide.
Mark

 

[junquecol]

I have a Delta 15". The motor (2.0 HP) is on top and the head travels up and down. Table remains stationary. To change knives, I have to remove chip chute, and swing the motor out of the way. Using the little jig that came with my planer, a knife change takes less than an hour total time. Cuts are as good as could be expected. I also have a Rockwell 13" that was designed to compete with the Powermatic 100. It weighs close to a half ton. It's a HOSS of a planer. The motor is the size of a five gallon bucket. As far as brands go, most all these 15" machines are "generic." Mainly it's a choice of what color and how much do you want to pay

 

[eyekode]

For much less than 3k you can get a 15" planer with a helical head. This will solve your blade change issues and it deals well with crazy grain. I have snipe mostly controlled on my 15" planer but it does rear its ugly head sometimes. Lowering the bed rollers and locking the head help.This weekend I planed more than 40 feet of SPF cut in 12" sections without any noticeable snipe.

I don't see getting to 120 grit as a must for a planer. It is not a finishing operation. Mine gets me close enough that I could easily start at 120 but I prefer hand tools.

Oh, and I am not going to tell you what I paid for mine, you might get mad .

Good luck with your quest!
Salem

 

[kooshball]

I know many people swear by the portable Steel City helical head 13" planers so based on that you might want to look at their 16" helical model...it is ~$2,000 and has a 5-year warranty.

http://www.steelcitytoolworks.com/products_tools.cfm?section=2&category=9&tool=40260H

 

[eyekode]

By the way my planer doesn't have any out feed or in feed support built in. I use a portable roller stand on the output and often support the in feed by hand. My model the head moves and the table stays in place. I like this arrangement because it makes it easier to use non-attached in feed/out feed.

 

[junquecol]

Oh, and I am not going to tell you what I paid for mine, you might get mad .

Good luck with your quest!
Salem

For what Salem paid for his planer, he should be locked up! If you get a 15", have Salem do a link to his shop made setting gauge.