Dewalt or Delta ?

[rick o'brien]

I am in the market for a thickness planer. Both Dewalt and Delta offer portable models for around the same price, under $600. There are cheaper ones, but they don't appear to be as robust as the mid line models. The only "real" difference seems to be that the Dewalt has 3 blades, the Delta has 2. Also the Dewalt has 2 speeds. To me, the Dewalt "looks" like a better machine. The guys at the tool shop say, " we have never had any complaints about the performance of the Delta. And have sold more of them." My question; If you had $600 to spend on a portable thickness planer, which one of the 2 models I have mentioned would you buy?

[Mrleft8]

DeWalt by a mile. The Delta jobbies are notorious for going out of adjustment, and just dying for no apparent reason.
I would also recomend taking a look at the RIDGID 13" planner. I'd be hard pressed to choose between the DeWalt and Ridgid....... (I'd probably go with the DeWalt in the end though....)

[Rigadog]

The Dewalt is supposed to be the best. I have a Rigid which works very well, but I wish I had a Dewalt.

[botebum]

Second the DeWalt. Deltas have been plagued with issues since they first came out. When I was shopping them out, the Delta model had a rep for having problems with the infeed/outfeed tables and (as Lefty noted) for going out of adjustment. I've put well over 1000 feet of lumber through my Dewalt 12½" model that came with an extra set of knives(which I haven't need to replace yet). I owe most of the tool's longevity to solid, quality construction and some to my care in what I try to shove through it.

Doug

[David G]

I don't own either of them, but the word I hear also is that the DeWalt is head and shoulders above the Delta for this tool (and for most tools, actually).


"One only needs two tools in life: WD40 to make things go and duct tape to make them stop" -- G. Weilacher

[Dale H]

Dewalt. My Dewalt tools are heads and shoulders above the other brands I own with the exception of my old Bosch ROS.

Dale

www.alistego.com

[rick o'brien]

Thanks for your opinions. I was leaning more towards the Dewalt, but thought I'd "run it through" the forum.

[TerryLL]

Fine Woodworking did a comprehensive review of benchtop thickness planers in issue 195 (Winter 07/08). The DeWalt 734 was rated best overall. I own the Delta 22-580 and can tell you that the blades are simple to change and the machine has plenty of power for a benchtop. Alignment was perfect from the factory and has not shifted after several years of use, and snipe is negligible with adequate infeed and outfeed tables.

[merlinron]

just used a friend's rigid....
although greatfull for borrowing it, i don't think i'd like to use it again. too light weight and a little underpowered. granted i was planing hard maple, light cuts are a must, but even with the butternut(soft) it bogged allot and feed rate seemed a bit fast, lot's of knife marks to sand out and a good number of dents from chips that didn't get out of the way. i thought it would be a better machine considering the table saw they have is a pretty nice contractor type.
i know there's not much difference in all of the 13 inch types out there. with 600 bucks your budget, i'd opt for watching for a bigger used unit. the biggest problem with the portables is thier lack of decent in and out feed tables. you have to either build them into an infeed and out feed table( which takes up allot of room in a small shop) or support the lumber by hand as you feed it through.
i have and old 13 inch craftsman, from the 70's or 80's ....good machine, all cast iron and pretty heavy, with 2 feed speeds..... not much around like that any more as far as portables go . as much as i hate any craftsman woodworking tools, i have to say it is/was one of thier tools that was a good buy.

[Bob Perkins]

Dewalt - Most (if not all) product coming from Delta these days has really taken a turn for the worst as far as quality goes. The Dewalt 735 is the way to go in benchtop machines. It's just very heavy - good for woodworking - bad for moving.

[onobleboat]

I am a boatbuilder by choice but a cabinet installer to pay the bills, all my tools are Dewalt because the Milwakees, Ryobies, Craftsman, Makita and so on just keep breaking down, wasted a lot of money on the cheaper brands before I learned my lesson, you also have to give a little thought to resales if you should ever want to sell it ! ! Dewalt or Delta? which would you buy used?

[coelacanth2]

I picked up the DeWalt just when they went from two to three blades for both their regular duty and heavy duty portables. No problems, lotsa loblolly through it, leaves a nice surface. The new 3 blade heavy duty should be about 600 (it looks squatter and more businesslike than the regular duty version) and will be still working when you're gone. I envy you the dilemma...:) I got the older 2 blade model as I said, JUST before they announced the new ones. Oh well, it was on sale(I wonder why:p)

[botebum]

...you also have to give a little thought to resales if you should ever want to sell it... I've never understood why anyone would sell their tools. I know people do but the idea is unfathomable to me. As long as I have my tools, I've got a chance to make a living. Without them, who knows.
As far as buying tools, the best advice I ever got came from my grandfather and was repeated often by my father and I've repeated it to my sons- "Always buy the best tools you can afford. They will last you a lifetime and possibly your children's lifetimes as well." As proof of the wisdom, I own tools that were owned by my grandfather and by my father. I will be passing these on to my children.

Doug

[Texasgaloot]

One might sell one's tools to trade up, although I agree in principle; like a shooting friend of mine once said, "You don't sell guns. You buy guns." Same principle.

[kc8pql]

One might sell one's tools to trade up
I've never sold a tool in my life. If having one is good, two are even better. That's how I ended up with 8 routers. :)

[Chan]

I agree with botebum, buy the best you can afford. You get what you pay for.

[Bob Cleek]

Unless you have some unfortunate limitation (e.g. space or a real need for portability), ANY "lunchbox" planer is a poor tool investment. Planers are about accuracy and power. Accuracy and power mean MASS. Aside from the fact that the "desktop" planers will gag on anything but smaller stuff, they lack the stability and the mass to hold accurate tolerances. Out of the box with razor sharp new blades, they can do an impressive job for their size, but put a few miles on them and you really find yourself stuck with a half-assed machine. For $600, you can find yourself a serious, top of the line hunk of "Amuricun Arn" that will last your lifetime and then some, and consistently turn out top quality work effortlessly.

http://www.redmond-machinery.com/images/Rockwell/Rockwell_13_Planer_-_Front_small.jpg

Here's a 13" Rockwell/Delta machine like the one I picked up for $600 a few years ago. Serious tool from "back in the days" before slimebag "marketeers" bought up all the quality tool brand labels and started sticking them on crap made by Red Chinese slave labor. Today, there's little else new available. Given that, take a serious look at Grizzly. Same stuff... better quality control (That's the difference in price point with identical, differently branded Chinese imports.), excellent customer service.

That's where I'd be putting my money... which it isn't, so do what you will.