506
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #35,590 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★★★★
Feedback on Amazon and on first few uses of planer
First, a little praise for Amazon. $25.00 discount, free shipping, and free set of spare knives (didn't even know these were included.), resulted in a delivered price of [...]. That's the best deal in town, especially when you consider the free [...] knives.
Now, the planer. It's heavy. Really heavy. But that's a good thing. It took only 10 minutes to set up, read the manual, and make my first sawdust. Initial results were excellent. Glass-smooth surfaces on White Oak, Poplar, and Red Oak. Minimum snipe limited to ends of board. No snipe detected elsewhere.
Nice fit & finish. Decent manual. Good ergonomics. Plenty powerful.
So far, highly recommended. I'll update after a few hundred board feet.
UPDATE - 2 Years Later
I'm still very pleased. I've put in excess of 1000 bf through the planer now. It hasn't missed a beat. Unbelieveably, I'm still on my first set of knives. They are a little nicked now due to some hard maple I put through it a few weeks ago, but I'm not yet sufficiently motivated to change them. This machine has served me well, and shows no signs of slowing down. It still ranks 5 stars.
UPDATE - 1 Week since Last Update
I broke down and turned the knives over. I cut myself in the process. Clumsy! A few cuts after freshening the knives made it obvious that I should have done this some time ago. The planer performs like new. Still 5 stars.
Update - At 4 Years
Still 5 stars. I turn or replace the knives every 6 months or so. The knives don't like Hard Maple, but all other species do fine (including Walnut & Oak). The results delivered by this planer are excellent.
Update - At 6 Years
Still going strong. Just added a Wixey digital readout that I got from Amazon. Still 5 stars.
Update - At 12 Years
Still going strong. Feed rollers started to slip, so I cleaned them with a stiff brush and alcohol. Worked like a champ. Back to 100% function. Obviously a great planer.
Update - At 15 Years
Seriously. 15 years. My kid is now grown and off to college. The planer still delivers. I planed some Walnut a couple days ago. Fantastic results. Clearly, I got my money worth. Would buy another in a minute should the need arise.
Update - At 19 Years
The planer and I have grown old together. It functions far better than I do. The only problem I’ve had is a broken tab on the dust collection fitting. That’s trivial, considering all the use this machine has had. A great product.
September 2004 · Tools and Home Improvement · verified purchase