The thing I have liked least (or close to least) about woodworking with hand tools is thicknessing wood by hand. If I only have a piece or two, no problem. However, if I have a lot, I put off the project or end up using wood in a non-desired thickness.
This past fall, I have been taking a local woodworking class (more about that in detail in a future post). The purpose of the class was for me to obtain some training on woodworking machines. I don't want to fill my shop with a lot of machines, but I would like to learn how to use them. In learning how to use them, I can develop further opinions on the ones I really want.
During this class it became quickly evident to me at how handy it was to have a thicknesser there. They have a 15in (ish) and a 24" wide PowerMatic thicknesser. I have used them quite a bit since I finished my class assigned project to thickness some wood for upcoming 2023 projects at home. Yes, they are noisy but wow, do they make quick work of getting work to desired thicknes with a high degree of control. I think after using them a few times, I was able to take three or so five foot boards from 7/8" thick to 1/2" thickness in 30 minutes or less. To do this by hand would have taken me a few weekends of work. I can certainly do it but I really don't enjoy doing it.
As such, I want a planer at my home. The main debate for me was the Dewalt 735 (with or without helical head) and the similar lunchbox Oliver that comes with a helical head. I haven't seen many reviews on the Oliver (always makes me suspicious; is it too new or does it not work well). In the case of the Oliver, I think it is too new. I decided to go with the Dewalt 735 with straight knives. Cost ended up being $650 including the stand, second set of knives, and the extensions for the table. I also bought the adaptor for my ShopVac. I am going to be purchasing a proper dust collector within the next six months (waiting for Oneida or ClearVue to offer a discount).
Set up was straight forward. I ran a few boards through it (oak and paduk). It worked well. Some minor snipe that can likely be removed with a hand plane. I used the preset 1/2" stop and measured six spots on the board. Five of the six had the same exact number when measured in 64ths by my digital calipers and one was a 64th thick. Works for me.
What about my temporary dust collection set up? I have a ClearVue cyclone going into a 5-gallon bucket. I also own a Dylos particulate meter. The initial number was 81 (very good) before I started for the small particulates. After running, the three boards, the number was 342 (fair). With the garage doors and side door opened, the air quality was nearly back to normal in about 10 minutes. As such, I will be wearing a respirator (and eye and ear protection). Is this the best/perfect system and set up I did to test things? No. However, it does give me some useful info and is better than guessing.
I'm happy I have it. I don't like the noise and am not crazy about the dust (though it will likely get better when I have the proper dust collector). Given how infrequently I will need to use it (start of a project), I can tolerate the noise and extra PPE I need. The straight knives seem to be good enough for my needs. If I get tear out, I will simply use my hand tools to fix it. For now, I'd rather save the money than buy a fancy helical head cutter.
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