Portable thickness planer reviews: Find the widest input

A thickness planer is a powerful tool that lets you shave off thin layers of material from timber or lumber.

An essential tool for woodworking, carpentry, and sometimes construction, it enables you to trim down wooden slabs to the desired thickness by removing a little bit of material at a time.

By making several passes, an experienced woodworker can get a piece of wood to the right thickness with an impressive degree of accuracy.

Thickness planers are a more feasible alternative to other power tools that can accomplish the same job.

Although it is possible to reduce the thickness of wood slabs with a DIY Ryobi table saw, or higher quality, portable Makita or Milwaukee table saw it can be difficult to get accurate results with this method.

Furthermore, you must clean up the surface or edges of the stock afterward with a planer and a Makita or Dewalt palm sander.

By using a thickness planer from the start, you can get the job done a lot quicker and with more accurate results without any additional tools.

Electric planers range in size from handheld models to large bench planers that can handle sizeable slabs of wood.

Although handheld models offer the advantage of portability and convenience, bench planers are more suitable for high-volume jobs.

Additionally, bench planers have attributes such as depth stop settings that make it easier to get more accurate results.

• Large feed tables. These will enable you to work with wider pieces of wood.
• Snipe lock. This reduces the risk of snipes, which results in more even workpieces.
• Dust connection port. This directs the sawdust to a collection bag, preventing it from accumulating in your workspace. 
• Thermal overload protection. This prevents the motor and circuitry from overheating.
• On/off toggle switch with safety lock. This ensures that the planer only powers on when you are ready to use it.
• Quick change blade system. replace blades quickly and easily.

1. What is its durability?

Thickness planers are generally built for durability, especially the models from the best brands.

You do have to maintain them properly and avoid subjecting them to abuse.

This usually means not using them for excessively hard materials and

2. Consider bench size and the max cutting width.

Bench or table size is an important consideration when shopping for a thickness planer. Most models support boards from 12 to 13 inches.

Choose a planer that can accommodate the widths that you will likely be working with.

3. Count the blades.

Planers can have one to three blades. You can generally expect more efficient performance from planers with more blades, as they can remove more material in a single pass.

Moreover, they tend to last longer before they need to be sharpened. This is a definite plus, as sharpening is a time-consuming and tedious process. Unless you just buy new blades, to keep perfect cuts.

4. Look at the rated motor size.

You will want to get a planer with a powerful motor, which will allow you to trim down even hard and dense stock.

Most of the models featured here can trim a variety of woods efficiently without bogging down.

5. Think about the brand.

Some of the best thickness planers on the market are made by companies such as DeWalt, Makita, and WEN.

Brands such as Porter-Cable, Delta Power Tools, Grizzly Powertec, and Cutech make affordable models that deliver excellent value and performance.

6. Factor in the price.

Shopping according to price doesn’t necessarily equate to getting the cheapest model on the market. It is more important to maximize the value that you get from your tool, so price shouldn’t be the only consideration.

In most cases, it is better to spend a little more for a higher quality tool than to settle for a substandard model just to save a few bucks.

Portability is usually a plus when it comes to power tools. But in the case of planers, portable models aren’t necessarily the best or most appropriate solutions.

Despite the bulk and cost of a thickness planer, there are situations wherein they are the better option.

Electric hand planers really are better suited for quick trimming or leveling, where extreme accuracy isn’t that important.

The best electric hand planer  essentially lets you bring your tool to where you need to work instead of the other way around. However, what you gain in portability, you lose in power and accuracy.

On the other hand, if you do need to trim lumber into precisely measured slabs, a thickness planer will be tremendously useful. You can learn more about planers. 

Thickness planers can be quite useful in a home setting or a DIY wood shop.

They can be used to make finished lumber out of raw stock, which can save you a lot of money.

If you have a large construction project at home, for example, you can reduce your material costs considerably by milling your timber slabs or purchasing unfinished lumber and trimming them down yourself.

Thickness planers lets you get your lumber to the precise thickness that you need. While you can power hand plane wide boards, handheld solutions won’t give you anywhere near the same accuracy and will require a lot more work besides. 

With a top-rated thickness planer, you can trim down a pile of lumber to the correct thickness in a fraction of the time it would take with a hand planer.

Some of the best planers even smooth lumber down to a perfect finish so you won’t have to do any additional sanding afterward.

The DeWalt DW735X is a 13-inch thickness planer with a powerful 15-amp motor. Equipped with a triple-blade system, it can handle even the most stubborn stock without a hitch.

The 20,000 RPM motor spins the cutter head at a top speed of 10,000 RPM, which is more than adequate for even heavy-duty jobs.

The DW735X showcases a two-speed gearbox that lets you switch between 96 and 179 cuts per inch (CPI).

It even stands with a generously sized aluminum base that is twice as rigid as the standard base that comes with most thickness planers.