Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

I presently have a $200 Ryobi planer which I picked up about 6-8 months ago, and I think it's time to upgrade. It has no infeed/outfeed tables, I get a crazy about of snipe on longer boards and it makes alot of tearout on sapele and mahogany even with brand new blades :D I saw this planer recently at Woodcraft and it seemed like a heck of a deal for $400. it's got a 3 knife cutterhead, 2 speeds, and infeed/outfeed tables. Anyone have any experience with this or any other Steel City tools?

Posted

No idea, but I've read great things about Steel City in a few woodworking magazines. I'd definitely love to try one out, seems like a great price!

Posted

I would question whether that planer is really that much different than your Ryobi. It does have a lot of cuts per in. It doesn't mention a cutterhead lock.

I did read a review about the Dewalt 13" planer when it came out. The writers liked it very much. It is about 150 more than that steel city and has a proven track record I guess. I'd like to get rid of my Jet planer/molder and buy the DeWalt and save some space in the process.

I'd say planers are an example of another machine where you get what you pay for. See if you can dig up a review somewhere on the steel city.

Marty

Posted
I would question whether that planer is really that much different than your Ryobi. It does have a lot of cuts per in. It doesn't mention a cutterhead lock.

I did read a review about the Dewalt 13" planer when it came out. The writers liked it very much. It is about 150 more than that steel city and has a proven track record I guess. I'd like to get rid of my Jet planer/molder and buy the DeWalt and save some space in the process.

I'd say planers are an example of another machine where you get what you pay for. See if you can dig up a review somewhere on the steel city.

Marty

What do you mean by a cutterhead lock? Also, like the Dewalt for the most part but no infeed/outfeed tables makes me a bit worried. My cheapo Ryobi can make the first and last 3" of most boards unusable with snipe but maybe there are other factors too. And the Dewalt's pricey but I know that the saying 'you get what you pay for' often holds true.

Thanks for the help folks!

Posted

The Dewalt and some others that I've seen over the years have a mechanical device to keep the cutterhead from moving after you adust the thickness. This was a" fix" to some degree in an effort to stop the sniping. That movement of the cutterhead contributes to the snipe, as does a lack of support at the outfeed/outfeed. Small planers sometimes do not contain pressure bars that you would find in a more commercial model. I had your Ryobi when if was a 500 dollar machine years ago. It was actually the first entry level planer of that type. My father in law has it now and it still works well ( still snipes though).

Posted

i recently bought the 735 and it has been great. infeed/outfeed tables are available for it for around $50. i was told that DeWalt didnt include them because they expected more people to build larger more permanent tables for it. its a "portable" planer but it does weigh about 90 pounds.

i dont currently have any infeed/outfeed tables on it and i get a slight amount of snipe every now and then. i attribute that to operator sloppiness more than to the machine.

Posted
Do you guys find a 13" planer to be big enough? I know for my LP top the glued up blank needed to be about 13 1/2". Or are you guys not cutting things that big?

for the most part 13" is enough. i have to send the bigger items through before i glue them up. the jump from 13" to 15" is more than i could afford right now.

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

steel city IS awsome;

but i wouldnt spennd that much on a new planer if the other one can cut at all;

i got my crappy mastercraft 12.5" thicknesser; which i se to rough up lumber; and the steel city 16" (i think) thickness sander to do all the post glue thicknesses; when things get too wide

it cost me 1600 cdn$ and was worth every penny; cause i use everyday and my joints have never looked nicer w/o any tears in any figure

Posted

Steel City is a newer company, but the people running it and designing the tools are not new. Every tool I have seen from the company has looked to beef up the weak links that are found in other tools on the market. Little things that may not even be noticed by a person that has not used the tool regularly have been reinforced, modified or made to work in a more reliable manner. When I was looking for my new bandsaw. I compaired brands, really looking at the areas that were critical to me(I had plenty of experience to tell me where weak links would be). The simple mods they made make all the difference in the world, and the machine is rock solid reliable. I don't place a lot of blind faith in any company, but these guys know what they are doing and their lines are aimed at the experienced hobbiest. They have the right approach IMO.

I would also add that a drum sander is a great solution for wide work. It is a versatile tool. It may not remove material as fast as a planer, but it is very well suited to figured woods, produces a smoother surface, can be used for extreamly thin(my Performax makes my .02" fine binding) work and most handle wood up to 3" thick. I use my sander regularly and am always finding new uses. I would also add that you can target tolerances in the thousandths with a well tuned drum sander.

Good luck with your search :D

Peace,Rich

Posted

Steel City happens to be comprised of the old Delta engineers that left after it(Delta) moved operations overseas. These guys know there business and from what I have seen the tools reflect the quality of the OLD DELTA brand.

MK

Posted (edited)

I just want to point out that if you are just looking to replace a portable planer with another you wind up with the same issues regardless of who makes it and if it comes with infeed or outfeed tables. Its small made for on site or hobby use and if you run a long board through it you will have snipe regardless.

You may want to look to a low end 15" stationary planer. A stationary planer can provide enough force to hold the board down tight while it cuts; where as a portable unit cannot apply the same amount of force. We are talking 400 lbs vs 40 -90 lbs of tool. Snipe is inevitable in almost all machines (even the sanders), the degree of snipe it leaves is the issue. Unless you have big bucks or lots of time to devote to perfecting your setup expect some snipe.

I also have the delta sander and with a heavy grit paper you can do some limited planing, but its slower going over all. Better left for the final thickness sanding stage. Of course if you have a wavy grain figured wood a planer no matter how good, may chew it up and a sander comes in very handy.

Edited by Woodenspoke
Posted

What Woodenspoke is saying makes good sense. One thing I would add. If I have a board that needs more than 3/16" removed to get it to the proper thickness. I will use my bandsaw to claim veneer or thicker depending on how much is to be removed. This of course can be a non option if you are dealing with a wide one piece body(but I rarely use one piece). If you are dealing with large, long boards you should certainly consider a larger machine.

Peace,Rich

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...