I just bought this Craftsman Planer today and ran across this video while in the parking lot at Lowes, I'm a woodworker of 8~ years. I'm working on an old rocker bench where I wanted to strip the previous paint jobs and finish off each piece of the bench. I killed myself trying to sand all of it off, and the stain I put didn't handle well the first time, so I wanted to strip it back down again. This wasn't the first time I struggled to strip an old finish off something. So I decided to invest in a thickness planer for the job. I figured it'd be something cool to use in the future, not just for removing finish, but smoothing out rough cut lumber (sometimes I build stuff out of cheap whitewood and construction lumber to safe money, or go for a certain aesthetic). I didn't wanna break the bank, nor scour the internet searching for a used one. So I went with this Craftsman.I found it to be an excellent planer. It perfectly planed each piece I fed through it. This is my first planer, I never owned or operated one prior. I'm gonna be blunt; I pretty much turned the dang thing on and started feeding wood through it out of the box. I cut about 20 pieces of California redwood with ease. I wasn't worried about them being perfect, I just wanted them nice and down to bare wood. Everything fed through the tool nice and smooth. It definitely didn't burn up or cause any issues for me. Despite your experience and video, I want to say to other hobbyist and first-time buyers, I wouldn't get scared of this Craftsman. I think it's a perfectly capable tool. It's probably gonna be a long time before I use it again, I don't have a need for a planer very often. If I were planing hundreds of pieces of wood and using the thing every day, I might invest in something beefier. I have a feeling it will last me a very long time. I'm still a Craftsman believer, I have a few Craftsman tools (even some from around 10~ years ago) that are still kicking. Also, both Lowes and Home Depot are pretty awesome about returns. If anyone ended up getting a dud like this, they will refund you without hassle.
Thanks for this honest review. I'm debating between the Craftsman and the Dewalt. Price is a big consideration. I'm a small hobbyist, so I'm thinking the Craftsman will do, but I've heard all over the internet about the snipe issue. Just seems silly that the consumer has to improvise to get around the issue and that Craftsman doesn't address it at the product level. I'm still undecided at this point.
Hi ! I agree! I ended up getting a Dewalt planer in the same style. I was asked to replace a coffee table top with white oak and I didn’t want to lose much material. What I liked about the DW one is the carriage lock that keeps the blades from moving down too far. Seems like this should be standard on all planers of this type but that I guess costs too much at such a low price range. I haven’t had any snipe issues with the DW one, I can lightly sand out the smallest of transitions lines from the wood, dimensionally it is just about perfect for my needs. Thanks for the comments and the views!
Hi, Not a dumb question at all! Quickest answer is it makes wood thinner. You can use this tool to make all your boards a known thickness. Makes it very convenient when planning out a project to have all the materials a consistent thickness. Thanks for watching, Pete
I hate to tell you, the new craftsman tools are not what the old craftsman tools were. My dad had an old craftsman table saw and radial arm saw. They were built like a tank.
I’ve had my Craftsman planer for two years and can offer two pieces of advice. First don’t overdue it, give a breather when doing lots of boards; two, don’t take too big of a bite, small incremental cuts are much better, giving you a nicer finish.
1/16 is the max for this planer. Design limited on purpose. Full cut in a wide w. oak board and yes i expect troubles. I am a professional cabinetmaker and have this planer it does fine but my lumber is bought all hit and miss. I cannot even find rough hardwood in my area. If you lift the board on infeed and outfeed the snipe is greatly diminished.
Hey Pete, Thanks for another informative video. The Delta should serve you well. I have an old K Line circa 1947... still works like a champ! Not exactly portable though... 😆
You got that right George. I was really disappointed in the Craftsman planer. I eventually found a deal on a used Dewalt, haven’t had any complaints yet. Thanks for the comment! Pete
just decided craftsman won't be bought by me. thanks for the video. I think you will get more clicks and views if you change your headline to "Craftsman thickness planer melted on the first day."
I think you just over worked it. These are consumer hobby tools, they probably will work perfectly fine for years if you only use it for a few boards at a time and let it sit for a while. That is what hobbyists doing small projects at home will do. Once you start pushing stacks of hardwood trough it for hours or start using it in commercial applications you are just pushing it beyond what it was designed for. In the end you do get what you pay for. Endurance and especially heat management on these tools costs money and are the things skimped on these things because they aren't supposed to be used continually. As long as you are realistic about what your usecase will be, cheap tools can be a good choice.
Hi Baron, Thanks for the comment. I tried to save a buck and ended up wasting time. Luckily I got my money back from this one and ended up buying a higher quality planer. I should have done that from the beginning! Thanks for watching and subscribe if you think I earned it. Pete
I just bought this Craftsman Planer today and ran across this video while in the parking lot at Lowes, I'm a woodworker of 8~ years. I'm working on an old rocker bench where I wanted to strip the previous paint jobs and finish off each piece of the bench. I killed myself trying to sand all of it off, and the stain I put didn't handle well the first time, so I wanted to strip it back down again. This wasn't the first time I struggled to strip an old finish off something. So I decided to invest in a thickness planer for the job. I figured it'd be something cool to use in the future, not just for removing finish, but smoothing out rough cut lumber (sometimes I build stuff out of cheap whitewood and construction lumber to safe money, or go for a certain aesthetic).
I didn't wanna break the bank, nor scour the internet searching for a used one. So I went with this Craftsman.I found it to be an excellent planer. It perfectly planed each piece I fed through it. This is my first planer, I never owned or operated one prior. I'm gonna be blunt; I pretty much turned the dang thing on and started feeding wood through it out of the box. I cut about 20 pieces of California redwood with ease. I wasn't worried about them being perfect, I just wanted them nice and down to bare wood. Everything fed through the tool nice and smooth. It definitely didn't burn up or cause any issues for me.
Despite your experience and video, I want to say to other hobbyist and first-time buyers, I wouldn't get scared of this Craftsman. I think it's a perfectly capable tool. It's probably gonna be a long time before I use it again, I don't have a need for a planer very often. If I were planing hundreds of pieces of wood and using the thing every day, I might invest in something beefier. I have a feeling it will last me a very long time. I'm still a Craftsman believer, I have a few Craftsman tools (even some from around 10~ years ago) that are still kicking. Also, both Lowes and Home Depot are pretty awesome about returns. If anyone ended up getting a dud like this, they will refund you without hassle.
Thanks for this honest review. I'm debating between the Craftsman and the Dewalt. Price is a big consideration. I'm a small hobbyist, so I'm thinking the Craftsman will do, but I've heard all over the internet about the snipe issue. Just seems silly that the consumer has to improvise to get around the issue and that Craftsman doesn't address it at the product level. I'm still undecided at this point.
Hi !
I agree! I ended up getting a Dewalt planer in the same style. I was asked to replace a coffee table top with white oak and I didn’t want to lose much material. What I liked about the DW one is the carriage lock that keeps the blades from moving down too far. Seems like this should be standard on all planers of this type but that I guess costs too much at such a low price range. I haven’t had any snipe issues with the DW one, I can lightly sand out the smallest of transitions lines from the wood, dimensionally it is just about perfect for my needs.
Thanks for the comments and the views!
@@PetesGarageWorkshop I totally agree with you on the carriage lock. That's another good consideration. Thanks
Sorry for the dumb question. What does this do to the wood.
Hi,
Not a dumb question at all! Quickest answer is it makes wood thinner. You can use this tool to make all your boards a known thickness. Makes it very convenient when planning out a project to have all the materials a consistent thickness.
Thanks for watching,
Pete
I hate to tell you, the new craftsman tools are not what the old craftsman tools were. My dad had an old craftsman table saw and radial arm saw. They were built like a tank.
You got that right Kevin,definitely true.
Thanks for the comment.
Pete
@@PetesGarageWorkshop Same with Porter Cable and Black and Decker.
Just bought one today 350 at Lowes
Hi! I hope you have better luck than I did. Let me know how it works out, maybe I got a lemon or I did something wrong.
Thx
Pete
what happened? I was just going to buy one just now@@PetesGarageWorkshop
I'm glad I saw your video my whole garage is craftsman tools I need a planner and jointer.
It was working great for a while, I’m sure I just got a defective one. Glad to be able to return it and buy a different one.
Thanks for watching!
I’ve had my Craftsman planer for two years and can offer two pieces of advice. First don’t overdue it, give a breather when doing lots of boards; two, don’t take too big of a bite, small incremental cuts are much better, giving you a nicer finish.
Well it does have a 3 year warrenty
1/16 is the max for this planer. Design limited on purpose. Full cut in a wide w. oak board and yes i expect troubles. I am a professional cabinetmaker and have this planer it does fine but my lumber is bought all hit and miss. I cannot even find rough hardwood in my area. If you lift the board on infeed and outfeed the snipe is greatly diminished.
Hey Pete, Thanks for another informative video. The Delta should serve you well. I have an old K Line circa 1947... still works like a champ! Not exactly portable though... 😆
Hi Paul good to hear from you and thanks for watching. Took me a while to get another video out.
They don't make tools like they use too.
You got that right George. I was really disappointed in the Craftsman planer. I eventually found a deal on a used Dewalt, haven’t had any complaints yet.
Thanks for the comment!
Pete
just decided craftsman won't be bought by me. thanks for the video. I think you will get more clicks and views if you change your headline to "Craftsman thickness planer melted on the first day."
Thanks for watching and for the suggestion!
Pete
I think you just over worked it.
These are consumer hobby tools, they probably will work perfectly fine for years if you only use it for a few boards at a time and let it sit for a while. That is what hobbyists doing small projects at home will do.
Once you start pushing stacks of hardwood trough it for hours or start using it in commercial applications you are just pushing it beyond what it was designed for.
In the end you do get what you pay for. Endurance and especially heat management on these tools costs money and are the things skimped on these things because they aren't supposed to be used continually.
As long as you are realistic about what your usecase will be, cheap tools can be a good choice.
Hi Baron,
Thanks for the comment. I tried to save a buck and ended up wasting time. Luckily I got my money back from this one and ended up buying a higher quality planer. I should have done that from the beginning!
Thanks for watching and subscribe if you think I earned it.
Pete
Crapsman is no good . Stick with Kobalt or Vevo.