guitar2005 Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 I'm about to buy a portable planer, partly for guitar building. I was going to buy the 2 speed RIDGID planer they have at home depot because it has 2 speeds, cuts 13" wide and seems to be built well. Then, I started to think about it some more... Do I really need that much sophistication? Would a small 12.5" delta planer be enough for the average builder? What do you guys think? Why should I spend twice as much on the Ridgid? Are the extra features worth it? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardd Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 I bought a DeWalt planer when I first got to the point to afford tools for guitar making. I soon realized that working with curly maple and other figured woods that a planer just won't work, unless you have a really sophisticated one tear out is a major problem. I have since added a Delta 18" drum sander to my shop. The planer now sits in the corner gathering dust, which the sander provides plenty of. If you can afford it, go with the drum sander. You can work with any kind of wood, make really small adjustments in thickness, work stock down to less than 1/16 th. in. thickness, way more flexible than a planer. Plus, with 36 grit paper, you can remove material almost as quickly as with a planer. Good Luck, d ward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 IMO any planer less then 15" wide is a complete waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 IMO any planer less then 15" wide is a complete waste. i totally agree..i've got a great little delta 12" which i use a lot..but not for guitars. if you're gluing up several different types of wood to make a body fine but my guitar blanks are usually 14"x24" so i still trade out work on a local cabinet maker's tube amp and axe for planning and sanding. don't know what your budget is but you might be able to find a grizzly or similar machine or like egdeltar said, get a sander if you can afford it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanb Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 This all depends on what you want to use it for. I have a 12.5" Delta planer I have been using for years (mostly non-guitar work). I also have the 18" Delta sander. The sander is a great tool for guitar work, but it does NOT replace a planer. Moving from a 12" or 12.5" planer to a 13" planer makes essentially no difference in the real world. The two speed option might make some sense if you do a lot of work on highly-figured woods, but in my opinion it isn't worth very much extra money. You won't be putting a full guitar top through it at once anyway ... really just for rough sizing multipiece body blanks, neck blanks, etc. Final work would then be done with planes, sanders, etc. A 15" or larger planer is a great luxury for sure, but at a significantly higher price point. If you can afford it, go that route. If not, a 12.5" planer is a very good tool to have around. Also keep in mind that the planer is not going to handle very thin stock either ... you won't be doing acoustic tops on most of them for example. That's another good time to pull out the wide drum sander. It's a different tool with different uses. One doesn't replace the other. Decide what kind of work you really want (and need) to do, then buy your tools appropriately. A small planer won't help much if you only want to do one-piece bodies and tops, but they are great for a lot of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 I sold my planer and bought a plane. Much more versatile. EDIT - And I sold it to someone who said that I could borrow it anytime I wanted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 I don't have a planer, and I don't foresee having room for a planer any time in the near future. I am, however, awaiting delivery of a Knight wooden jointer (24" long, 2.5" blade) and a Veritas bevel up Jack to complement the cheapie UK stanley #4 and block plane and the 1910-15 vintage #5. Hand planes = awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 I have a Rigid (1-speed) 13.5" wide thickness planer. I use it all the time for thicknessing layers for laminate bodies and neck-thru blanks. But it sees most of its use in prepping my raw lumber, which I buy rough-cut from a local shop, so I use it a fair bit. A 13.5" wide planer is plenty wide enough for Strat or LP-sized solid bodies. I can tweek the thickness to within hundreths of an inch, and you can go down to 1/16" if you stick your stock to a shim (but watch out if it peels and shoots out the back!!!). That said...I am strongly leaning toward getting a thickness sander in the not too distant future, mainly for figured woods and preparing stock for acoustic builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 I prefer my drum sander (Performax 16/32). If I am going to take more than a 1/4" off a board I re-saw it on my bandsaw(makes nice veneers and other useful pieces), although the sander with 36 grit would tear it down fast enough. I find the sander is a much more versatile tool for both taking thickness and smooth sanding. I use it for bodies, tops, kerfing, binding(down to about .02"), laminates and so on(can be adjusted to take about .003"(220 grit) per pass min. and best not to take more than .125" per pass(60-36grit)). I use my jointers for neck blanks and edge joints(I have a 6" for necks/ bodies and a 4" used for softer woods only(soundboards and what not). I can say without a doubt I would never even consider trading my sander for a planer. Just my 2 cents. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted March 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Well... a drum sander is pretty pricey and out of reach for me from what I've seen and I don't really need to put an entire body through it either. Not only that; I hate sanding and the dust it produces. I've glued up many bodies and cleaned up slight variations with a simple hand plane. The intent is not to glue up an entire body blank and put it through the planer . I would probably thickness the wood before glueing it together. I've never had a problem with that method . The guitar building application is really for 1/4" fretboards, thicknessing 1.25" to 1.75" wood prior to glue up, thicknessing 1/2" tops of probably figured woods (very rarely), cleaning up resawed wood. I guess that the two speeds would be useful for figured woods... So with a drum sander being out the question, Is the 2 speed planer with more power and width really worth 2x the money as a small Delta planer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dash Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 (edited) you could always go here or here and build your own. you could make it as wide as you like then. cheers darren Edited March 22, 2006 by dash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 A drum sander is a big investment. I did build my own and it worked well when I was using it of and on. The big difference is not so much accuracy, but a converyor makes the tool so much better. Since you are going with a planer. I would recommend you look at your local craigs list. They seem to show up quite a bit and used can save a lot of money. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 So with a drum sander being out the question, Is the 2 speed planer with more power and width really worth 2x the money as a small Delta planer? a recent issue of Workbench magazine did a shootout review of 6-8 portable planers in the under $500 price range, including a Ridgid like the one you're talking about. you should try to find that article somewhere. from what i remember, all the ones they tested needed some tweaking out of the box. the ~$500 Dewalt was the best, but the Ridgid won best value for the $$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
araz Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 The guitar building application is really for 1/4" fretboards, thicknessing 1.25" to 1.75" wood prior to glue up, thicknessing 1/2" tops of probably figured woods (very rarely), cleaning up resawed wood. I do all of the above with excellent results using this. The only thing is, you have to first build it but it's really simple... and doesn't cost very much in MDF... Take care, Araz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodBlessTexas Posted March 29, 2006 Report Share Posted March 29, 2006 you could always go here or here and build your own. you could make it as wide as you like then. cheers darren Thanks to you and araz for those links. I can't wait to setup my new garage workshop. GBT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted March 29, 2006 Report Share Posted March 29, 2006 GBT If you are into building a thickness sander, check this out. http://www.shopnotes.com/main/sn86-toc.html This magazine is currently on newstands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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