Reddit mentions of DEWALT 13-Inch Thickness Planer - Three Knife, Two speed, DW735X model

The Dewalt DW735 is my recommendation. I have used many floor model planers including by General, Grizzly, and some others. I have also used several of the bench top models, although not the cheaper Dewalt. Once I tried the DW735 at someone else's workshop, it blew me away. I bought one and have planed many types of wood with mine now including hickory, ash, maple, walnut, zebrawood, purpleheart, bloodwood, birch.

It does extremely well on the difficult woods like zebrawood which actually has grain sticking up both ways. None of the other planers I had tried worked very well on this, I would always get some tearout due to the weird grain pattern.

The other thing I was never able to do on other planers is plane thin pieces, on this I have planed pieces down to 1/8" without having to use another sled underneath (there are tricks you can play with laying the thin piece on another board when putting it through like a sled). I have also planed pieces up to 16/4 thick full width taking off 1/8"+ per pass. You will probably want to bolt it down to something, but I have run 12 foot boards through mine by holding it for the first few feet then going to the other side to hold up the finished end. It is expensive, but mine has absolutely worked like a charm. Also a little heavy for a benchtop, but I can pretty easily lift by myself, and it adds stability for when you do longer boards compared to other benchtops.

A few thing will give you excellent blade life for any planer. I check my wood very carefully for any foreign objects like staples nails etc. I cut 1/4" off both ends of the boards first because boards can stand up in dirty areas and get imbedded with dirt, metal shavings, gravel, etc before you get them or while you store them. Sometimes I wire brush the board surface if it looks dirty. Unless you are using especially knotty wood or plywood, the only real cause of knife nicks is from non-wood debris in the wood you are planing. I run on the slow speed setting even when roughing because the blades are removing less material with each cut (less stress on blade). The blade replacement is super easy on this planer too though for when shit does happen or they get dull.

I literally used a chainsaw on an ash tree and a hickory tree to turn them into boards. Probably a 10" hickory and a 16" diameter ash. Got several 10' sections from each. Cut it up with chainsaw into boards, let them dry, cut 6"-12" off the ends from splitting, then ran them all through this planer. After many other smaller projects and then nearly two entire trees, it was time to change the blades for the first time... definitely a workhorse that was worth what I paid.

The tables in this package are worth it in my opinion because they help reduce snipe. I get none to very little snipe. http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735X-Two-Speed-Planer-Package/dp/B003OX9KME/

I'm a professional carpenter and general contractor, and from my personal experience and the anecdotal evidence from the guys I regularly see, Bosch is of the best you can get for cordless tools nowadays. DeWalt used to be the go-to, but their quality has dropped considerably over the last 5-10 years. They still have some decent products, but I know of a lot of people who have had major issues with their drill chucks being off center.

This said, you kind of need a grab bag to get the best of each tool.

Here's my current setup, which is the same as quite a few contractors I work with:

• Bosch 18V impact driver/drill set. I've dropped my driver with a 6" bit attached directly onto the bit from 10' up, on concrete, and the entire thing was unscathed. Batteries last forever and charge very quickly.
  
  
• Festool jigsaw. Festool makes AMAZING products, but it's probably way overkill for most, and this Bosch model is a great second option I've seen used by many guys with a ton of success.
  
  
• Skil Mag 77 circular saw. This is the be all end all saw. It has enough torque to change the rotation of the earth. It's heavy, though, so a decent sidewinder might be your best bet. I would never use anything else, personally, though.
  
  
• Bosch compound sliding miter saw. I love this thing. You can put it flat up against a wall and still use the slider, which is a feature unique to them.
  
  
• DeWalt table saw. The major plus of this saw is that the rip fence is on a track, so both sides move together. I still never trust their gauges, but to know that both the front and back are equidistant from the blade 100% of the time is worth its weight in gold.
  
  
• DeWalt thickness planer. Never thought I'd buy one, and now I wouldn't be without one. With the combination of the above 3, you can pretty much make anything out of anything. Have a 5/4 board at the house but you need a 1x? 2 passes through the planer and you're set.
  
  
• Bosch Rotary Hammer. The demo master. It can hammer drill massive holes in concrete, or switch to hammer only mode to remove tile or glued on drywall particles. These are bulletproof.
  
  
• DeWalt orbital sander. Nothing fancy, as I don't do a ton of heavy sanding. Something to look for in these is the variable speed; makes jobs much easier.
  
  
• Bosch oscillating tool. Most brands are similar, and depending on your uses a corded model may be better. I have a second tool that uses these batteries so I have lots of backups (and they charge very quickly), and I often use it in places that running a cord would be a pain in the ass. This is great for trimming things that are immovable and can't be sawed: think door frame bottoms for new floors, baseboard trim to accommodate a new vent, drywall patching, anything. Love this thing.
  
  
• RotoZip spiral saw. Great for drywall, and there's a masonry style bit that works good for cutting pieces of tile (like around a faucet or control).
  
  
• Bosch planer. Again, nothing fancy and I definitely don't use it daily...but when you need a planer, there's not much else you can use.
  
  
  So there you go. Those are the ones that have gone through the ringer on a construction crew and have survived heavy abuse and regular moving/dropping without any signs of letting go. Some may be overkill for your situation, but they're what I've found to be best. I'm probably missing a few loose ends so look out for edits.

Would recommend it if you want your wood coming out square and equal thickness!

My jointer is a Cutech 40160H-CT (shipped from Tennessee): https://www.cutechtool.com/product-p/40160h-ct.htm

My planer is a Dewalt DW735: https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-Two-Speed-Thickness-Package-13-Inch/dp/B003OX9KME/ref=sr_1_1?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1502140300&sr=1-1&keywords=dewalt+planer

Just got a notification from CamelCamelCamel and wanted to share:

Amazon has the Dewalt 735X Planer marked down to $530 right now.
https://smile.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735X-Two-Speed-Thickness-Package/dp/B003OX9KME/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Dewalt+735x&qid=1573819734&sr=8-2

This is a pretty good price on these new, normal price is around $650. They are very good planers and I love mine even though I haven't gotten to use it as much as I'd like. If anyone has been thinking about getting one, this might be the right time!

edit: swapped the link for an Amazon Smile one.

If I were in your position, I would definitely shoot for a big ticket item such as the sawstop PCS (36" T-glide) with 1.75hp motor. That will eat up your entire budget (plus $219 more). I cannot imagine a hobbyist woodworker who would not be happy with it.

OR you can do lots of little stuff: (take out the things he may already have)
Sharpening: this this this this and this

Chisels: here

Japanese saw: this and this

Caliper: here

Exceptional quality hand plane set every woodworker would love to have if they don't have it already: here. Conversely, you can get the Lie Nielsen 60-1/2 block plane and get the #4 and #5 from Lee Valley (I prefer their version).


If he doesn't have a planer, this is a great one: here


As for festool products, I would highly recommend the Rotex 150 with Dust collector combination

I'm sure i'm missing a couple of stuff here and there but I hope the list helps you get started.

All planers take some tuning.

Plan to pay minimum $500 for a decent one (13" width). Get a dial indicator for tuning the blade depth.

I'm still saving for one myself. This is the one I have had my eye on.

Amazon has the Dewalt 735x for $544.59. The X is the one with the in/outfeed tables and an extra set of blades. It is a very good thickness planer. There is also a third party helical head for it.

What is a layer, ie, how much material do you want to remove? How big is the piece? These questions would matter in giving you a helpful response.

FWIW, I have NEVER used a belt sander on anything I'm making. But I do have a dw735

I recommend the DeWalt DW735. It's a great machine.

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735X-Two-Speed-Thickness-Package/dp/B003OX9KME/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=dewalt+735x&qid=1574962882&sr=8-1

Oh yeah I'm sure he does. That probably makes all the difference in this kind of stuff. I've done endgrain with my dad's Ryobi planer with 2 flat blades and it works ok. Lots of tear out on the back end of course. I've got my eye on this with this sexy beast. mmmmmfff...

Not sure if it's exactly the same kit, but that model is $570 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735X-Two-Speed-Planer-Package/dp/B003OX9KME