▼EXPAND FOR TOOL LINKS and INFO▼ Watch Next = Best Budget Planer - th-cam.com/video/PWGV_jg1Hi8/w-d-xo.html Tools In This Video: NEW MODEL Oliver Planer - amzn.to/3YH4b77 Oliver Planer (Amazon) - amzn.to/3Epqjcf Oliver Planer (Woodcraft) - bit.ly/49iq3cU DeWALT Planer - amzn.to/3GrwTBC Craftsman Planer - amzn.to/3Gqp3rX Wahuda Jointer - amzn.to/3rQTuPl (If you use one of these Amazon and other affiliate links, I may receive a commission) Some other useful links: Daily Tool Deals on my website: www.731woodworks.com/tool-deals Subscribe to our email Newsletter: mailchi.mp/7e44c16eefdc/731-woodworks-email-newsletter Check out our easy-to-follow woodworking plans: www.731woodworks.com/store Outlaw's Board Butter - So Good it Should be Outlawed: www.731woodworks.com/store/boardbutter
@@731Woodworks now that you have had the Oliver for a while would you still recommend it? I am buying a planer once whether high or low priced and I don't want to repurchase in the future, what do you recommend and why?
@@rickyperkins232 It's a great planer. I have a more detailed video comparing the DeWALT and Oliver coming out Thursday, 12-22-22 that may help with your decisions. It's an excellent planer. The DeWALT is better built in my opinion, but that's not to say the Oliver is bad. The DeWALT is just more robust. As far as planing, it works great and produces a super smooth finish.
I bought this Oliver Planer about a moth ago myself. The driving factor was I wanted the Byrd Shelix cutter head, and this is the lowest cost planer with that head. Getting the Wixey Digital read out was an additional feature that put it over the top. I use this weekly in my shop and love the performance. Very happy with the purchase.
@@AaronGeller I have an upgraded Harbor Freight 2HP Dust Collector with the Wynn Environmental Filter and a Super Dust Deputy Cyclone. It works very well.
Thank you for another excellent video. I live on a pretty tight budget. Spending 5 or 600 bucks is a big deal to me. And, I just can't afford to plunk down $1200 for a planer. But, I could budget the $550 it cost for the Dewalt 735 (it was on sale). I used it for a couple of years and added the Wixey digital gauge for another $100. A HUGE upgrade! A year goes by, and I'm starting to use more figured lumber, and the straight blades are causing tear out. So, I buy the Lux III helical cutting head for (ouch!) $550. So, now I've spent about the same bucks as the Oliver but I could budget it over three years and still get a whole bunch of excellent milling done as I saved up. Plus, I now have a really great planer.
I do own the DeWalt 735x and did the upgrade to the helical head. As it is the first and only planer I plan on buying, watching these comparisons is just for entertainment. Just remember that there is good reason the 735 has been a fan favorite for years.
As far as benchtop planers are concerned, if I am going to spend over $1,000 I would just go industrial. I have had the Cutech 13" spiral cutterhead 40600H with tungsten carbide inserts for over 5 years as a weekend DIYer and absolutely love it. Would love to hear your opinion on cutech considering you have a Wahuda jointer.
@@billboy7390 it appears that they have four sided cutters, according to their web site. That said, many high end machines have two sided cutters. Why does that matter?
An industrial machine does not offer portability. So for high end trim guys, or cabinet shops that need a portable machine for installs, this is likely the answer.
I completely agree. I have a 15 year old Ridgid 13" planer which is the same as yours (except orange vs. gray), now sold by Cutech. It's been a workhorse. It has planed every inch of hardwood in my semi-pro shop, including making hundreds of cutting boards and several complete kitchen & bathroom remodels. One kitchen required 42 white oak cabinets. Last year I replaced the drive rollers and cutter-head bearings (also available from Cutech). Still going strong.
I REALLY appreciate that you compare the Oliver and the DeWAlt (And even link to the vid about the Crapsman, too!). Thank you! I love that the Oliver has the Byrd-Shelix...but considering that it costs 2x the DeWalt, I think I'd go with the DeWalt. It'll get the job done, and the savings is significant. Granted, you likely get what you pay for if you spring for the Oliver with the Byrd-Shelix....but $1200 is hard to justify for a beginner/amateur. Truly an informative video which conveyed all of the relevant info very efficiently. Well-done!
This planer appears to be 95% of my 10 year old Ridgid planer (now sold by Cutech). The Ridgid has been very good, but if I was spending this much money, I would probably consider a stationary planer with more capacity. The DRO is something I would never completely trust and would still check my boards with a caliper anyway. The helical head and magnetic starter seem to be the stars of the show. Thanks for sharing.
I brought my DW735 about 5 months ago, and mine has the magnetic safety power switch on it. I don't know if its a reginal thing, but I am in New Zealand and its been the standard here for about 2 years I believe, they no longer have the Red power lever like yours has. I think in the USA they still sell with the red lever. No idea why other countries are different, but my DW735 is just like the Oliver's in that regard.
just got the Oliver planner yesterday I love the cut it makes biggest problem the digital gauge dosent work but I planned some really hard wood thru it smooth as a babys but
I really like that power switch. The built-in DRO is also a nice feature. I say go for the head-to-head! (especially since you don't need to buy more machinery for it) And I've been much happier after I upgraded my planer to the Shelix. Makes easy work of stuff like curly maple that always gave me tearout issues.
I am glad he talked about the Hard Maple tear out problem. I was working on my jointer today and tried running a hard maple 1" x 4" flat across the new blades, and I heard a big chunk rip out of the board, and felt it catch a little bit as it was going through. The Hard Maple seems to enjoy ripping chunks out. But it sands so smooth, it almost looks like a plastic composite material.
I have a Delta 22-555 thickness planer. It is a two knife machine with a 15 amp motor. It has a back mounted dust port, but even with the port attached, both infeed and outfeed tables can be completely folded into the machine. The dust port can be configured to exhaust on either side of the machine. It will handle boards 13" wide and 6" thick. The top is open with two metal rollers, which I have found useful in moving material from the outfeed side back to the infeed side. The cutterhead speed is 9400 rpm giving 18,800 cuts per minute. Its weight is listed as 58 pounds. The knives are two sided reversible and if there is a nick, you can move one knife laterally just a bit, and the two knives eliminate the nick track. It does require dust extraction and I hook my shop vac up for that purpose. The chip extraction could be a bit better and the other downside is that it is noisy. Hearing protection is an absolute must. Snipe is a problem. It is sometimes worse than at other times. There are some common ways to reduce or eliminate snipe and I do use some of those techniques. I would love to have a locking head and a shelix cutterhead. Maybe if I ever upgrade, I'll go to the Oliver.
I've heard great things about Oliver equipment, especially their bigger stuff. For those of us who already own the yellow one … I highly recommend a helical cutter. I recently upgraded my 8yo DW to a Luxcut (Shelix was, probably still is, on LONG backorder) and the difference in quality is amazing. Next upgrade might be that digital depth gauge (and maybe one for the drum sander, too).
Good review, I love the Shelix cutter heads. I converted my Delta 22-580 to the Byrd Shelix head, have not regretted this. My thoughts are if you can stretch your budget and afford a Super tool, verses a great tool. go for the super tool. (shineing a light across the board you can see the difference between Knife vs Helix)
I have the Dewalt735x and i like it. A couple of years ago I looked into the shelix head to upgrade. If I would have bought it and installed it myself, it would have cost about the same as the oliver. The dewalt works great for me as don't use it all the time. So I won't be upgrading. Stay awesome.
I was thinking about same as fellow weekend woodworker. 735X is probably best way to go. Until you wear out all of the blades, there is no point in upgrading right away. Upgrade can be considered after all of the blades worn out and beyond repair.
Great comparison. I upgraded my DeWalt a few years ago and the Shelix costs $370 then. I also like the lower profile of the DeWalt. I also installed the Wix gauge on mine. GOD bless.
I bought my Oliver a few months ago. I haven't used it much yet, but I'm glad to have seen the review. It's going to see some heavy use in the next few weeks though. It was the Byrd head and Oliver name that had me pull the trigger on it. The few boards I passed through it already came out perfectly. I appreciate when a company sends you a product ready to work with right out of the box.
Another good choice for a helical head planer is the Jet. after three years I have to adjust the bed as it is about 1/32 off square. otherwise still going strong. Current pricing is about $850.00
I purchased the Oliver about 6 months ago after several weeks of research and changing my mind over that same timeline. I could not see purchasing anything other than the Oliver after the research that I had done. Comparing it to all the other benchtop planers, it is head and shoulders above the competition. Now grant you this is my first benchtop planer, so going in the same direction if I had already owned something else, I think would be a different story. I have absolutely no regrets with purchasing the Oliver and would recommend it to anyone that is looking to purchase a benchtop planer in the future.
I bought mine a few months ago before you bought yours. I did the research and wanted the style cutter that comes with the oliver. I’ve truly enjoyed this. I wish I had money and space for really wide planer but I sort of achieved it by getting the super max 19/38. Love it as well.
The best planer is one that is quality built and can last years of of use. I bought my Dewalt DW735 planer 19 years ago and I have put tens of thousands of boards through it (90% hardwod) and I have only had to change the blades. It is hooked up to an independent dust collector and is still going strong! The Dewalt DW733 would be my choice if the DW735 finally dies, Oliver is out of my price range at this point! Thanks for the video.
Nice video, the easiest way to explain straight, spiral, helical. I found this from looking into the different shapes of cutters. Straight is exactly that the blades are straight. Spiral is taken the straight blades and wrapping them around a tube. Like a drill bit on it’s side. These blades usually not carbide. Then the king helical. Same as spiral, however the blade is not continuous. If you’re metal working on a mill these can be high speed steel or carbide. On a thickness planer I have only seen these to be carbide.
I'm currently looking at purchasing the Dewalt Planer so I would really appreciate a head-to-head comparison between the two (or more) planers. Thanks for putting out such great material.
I'd love to see a head to head comparing the two machines. I actually just got the Oliver. I haven't had a chance to use it much but have been pleased so far. The major selling point to me was the cutting head.
Compared to other planer reviews on TH-cam, yours was the best! The Oliver is very nice, but that cheap plastic top kills it for me. In fact, BOTH of these planers are unacceptable for me and I'll tell you why. My whole shop is set up for planing from right to left, so I access the planer from the LEFT side of the machine. Both of these planers pretty much offer access from the RIGHT side. The cranks and other critical controls are on the RIGHT side. Alas, it looks like I'll have to buy the Makita 2012 again which has the height crank on the LEFT side. I'm very accustomed to the way it works, and I've been using it daily, or weekly anyway, for 16+ years. Anyway, thanks for a great review.
Matt, I have a small garage storage space and workroom. Almost all of my woodworking occurs in the driveway! Now that you've had the chance to use the Oliver planer for a while now, and if a person had the money to purchase either planer, which one would you recommend for the weekend woodworker to purchase? A planer is my next purchase, with these two units being the finalists, and both of these planers seem to be a great choice.
I like the design of the Oliver, can't argue with cut quality, but shelling out $1200 when I have a 20-year-old Delta 22-540 with no depth gauge, no head lock, 2 inches of snipe, and no blower for dust collection and crappy position for dust collection, it still works well so I can't justify the $$. The Delta leaves a nice finish and I've got other places to spend the $1200. If I was buying new, I'd sure consider it.
Nice to see Oliver take the base design of the DeWalt 734, and really trick it out. The addition of the digital depth gauge is super nice. While the top is plastic, that cuts the weight, so easier to move around along with the base handles. The blower would be nice for those that only have a shop vac. The helical head and mag switch are nice bonuses as well. I would consider it if I needed a new planer. Dedicated spot in the shop, 735x with head upgrade wins. If need to move it from storage to bench for use, this Oliver for sure.
I read in a forum thread from 2021 that someone successfully used the top of a 734 and swapped it out on their Oliver. It's about $50 for a metal head.
Hey first off, love the t-shirt! To the point. I have seen lots of reviews from other tubers. Absolutely great presentation. I'm 50 years old who never thought I'd fall in love with woodworking. I'm just doing from it for friends and family gifts etc. But I just been asked to build butcher block countertops for a local restaurant. I been using a hand planer for my small projects. A friend of mine has the 735 and has be absolutely awesome in letting me use it from time to time. ( I bought him cutting blades) lol. But to do 249 feet of countertops I need my own. I did like Oliver and consider it but knowing the 735 I was leaning that way. Buy your right getting the helical head and the warranty is worth the small up front price. Thank you for a great video. Can't wait to see more!!
I looked into the Oliver when buying my planer. Ultimately I settled on the DeWalt because of the 13", the four posts, the lower profile and this is not the same company as old. Basically this is another case of a Chinese company (Geetech) buying an American name for brand recognition (this happened in the early 2000s). That is not to say it is a bad tool, its to say that provenance of making tools since the 1800s should not be truly factored in.
Milwaukee is also a Chinese owned brand now. Most Lenovo and Apple products are made in China, and those are generally considered the 2 highest quality consumer computer brands. Cars from a lot of European brands sold anywhere except North America are made in China. Made in China doesn't mean the same thing it did 20 years ago. They are just as capable of making high quality stuff as anyone else now. But most Chinese companies don't have the culture of making high quality products that respected Japanese, American, or German companies do so you still have to be more careful.
It's kinda funny...I have never thought of American manufactured products as quality made like German's and Japanese's...Until I settle in Australia where strangely to me, US manufactured goods were considered high quality... Trying to buy into this idea got some Snap On tools. I deeply regret my European toolbox. Snap On was overpriced, over engineered/bulky but not nice to work with. Broke a spanner, got it replace for free, still, never broke any for decades before. Same with car hoists (repetitively failing hydraulics and power switch). GM and Ford are basic vehicles with no major innovation and yet fail with unique stupid designs. Such as a crank angle sensor position through the bell of a transmission requiring hours to replace, or electronics set under the bonnet against the engine. I don't like though the over complexity from German cars, Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW...It's like their engineers always add more to fix a previous issue. But I fell in love with Honda's engines. Simple efficient design. Hardly any fault...Although not good for my business then, lol. All spare parts seem to be manufactured in China nowadays anyway...To different standards, depending on a large Western company specs or for direct retail...
Dude I am so glad you did this review. My local woodcraft began selling these cheaper than the dewalt and it did kind of seem better. But the internet always says the dewalt is the best. However yhe Oliver is so much cheaper and has so many more features
I purchased the dewalt 735 planer i havent used any yet i work full time i would love to see a head to head challenge. I find Dewalt tool are very good. I own serval table saw, miter saw & Router. Thank you Matt!
Harbor Freight has a decent planer with roller bars on top. I use a caliper to measure thickness. Blades are easy to access and flip. The bed could be stouter is my only con but I have got alot of use out of it...pine and oak.
Found this informative and well presented. I’m looking for a bench top planer and researching what would be best for me. Just wondering if you where to raise that all the way up and fold up back plate, would it still hit the dust port.
I love my Dewalt 735. It is 6 years old and I have over time added the shelix head and the Wixi digital scale. The only thing I don't like about the Dewalt is the locking for various dimensions!
The dimension stops is what I miss about it. We used it for final dressing face frame for almost ten years. We ran hundreds of thousands of board ft of maple, oak, and alder through it. The only repairs during that time was to replace the drive pulley and one reset button. That machine is still in use in my wife's hobby woodshop now.
A head-to-head video would be a great idea. I am considering a planer now and having a tough time figuring out which I would buy. I'd like to see a review or head-to-head with the 13in Wen planer as well if you ever grab one.
@@djbartles7337 Good choice. Dewalt makes a few versions but their dw735 is the best ive used for a benchtop. Ill occasionally have a few feeding issues, but that could be related to taking off alittle to much material.
Oilver any day! I've had mine for a year and wouldn't want anything else in this category. A product designed to work from the start will, in most cases, work better than after market mod. I am always pleasantly surprised by the results which equals to less work on the board afterwards.
Hey, I just upgraded the on my dw375 with a grizzly helical head, came with everything you need for installation, the cutter head was about $400 and the planner I had for over 3 years now and it was time to upgrade or replace, so far so good, I do get my snipe with the new cutter head, probably I need to do some adjustments, but pretty much no tear out and no more streaks , all together I’m under 1k since I got my planer on sale under $600 with tax, great videos keep it up
I bought a used Rigid 13". Little cleaning, replaced with helical head (can buy from shelix or other) and installed a $30 DRO. Cutter head is most important.
There is one comparison you left out, and its one many small shop owners would consider as I did when I was choosing between the DeWalt 734 and 735. because of the larger foot print i went with the 734 because I wanted save space by using a flip top cart and the 735 would have needed a much larger flip top cart due to its handles and also more difficult to spin from top to bottom because of the added weight.
Not complaining but I saw the Oliver planer at Harbor Freight under their badge but with the 3 blade system and no digital read out and it still got good reviews
How about doing a review on Ryobi thickness planer and cordless planer. I have a 10 foot by 12 foot enclosure woodshop in the basement. I also have a garage that I use in warmer weather
Oliver is the one I want... happy to take that Oliver off your hands Matt lol. This is the only planer I'd buy unless I goto a stand alone version 15" or 20"
I have the DW735 with shelix cutter head. Over the course of the last 3 years the head has paid for itself in what I would have spent in blades. If you do a lot of hardwood its worth it. Now the Oliver one does look nice plastic on top I dont like. I also like the 13 inch on my dewalt a lot of times i will do 2 glue ups instead of one so i can run it back though my planner to try to cover up glue lines best i can. And i like the 2 speeds yes I'm the guy that runs on 1 till the last pass i wont adjust the height run through 1 last time on 2. If I could go back im not sure while I love the 735 I would almost look at a little bigger model as im a chuck of change in my 735 now. But strait knifes and white oak dont mix very well the dull quick and I work with alot of white oak. Good video
That is a very fair comparison, so nice work. I like the Oliver, however for $1,100 I'm not impressed with the flimsy plastic top piece. This, however would not probably not preclude me from purchasing it. I happen to be considering the DeWalt but think the no warranty with the helical head is a problem, especially for that price. Thanks for sharing this.
Apparently, this is the same machine as the Laguna PX|12. I own one and every bit of the body and basic features is the same as this Oliver. The Laguna is only $699 (I bought for $500 on sale last year), but comes with a spiral head instead of helical and without the digital gauge.
I don't have a planer the now and it's driving me nuts the DeWalt looks great would love to own it. Cash is tight right now I am looking to get one just need find the cash from somewhere unless Matt u fancy helping a Scottish brother out and send me the craftstman I'll certainly give it a loving home and put it through its paces! 👍🏴
The tables will fold up if you raise the cutter to the top. Same as on the DW735. So many people complain they dont fold up - but they do if you raise the head up. A pain I know, but it at least enables it to fold up!
The Oliver is an exact copy of my Dewalt 734, except for the knives. Yes agreed the shelix head does cut better than my straight steel blades. But I have been using my 734 for over 10 years.
It's funny how much the Oliver looks like my old Dewalt that I still have and love I paid 375.00 for mine but it doesn't have a helix cutter but it still puts out a smooth cut. I know it's made in America but 1600.00 I just can't justify it. It's still a bench-top planner.
I went with the Grizzly G0940 becasue of the total cost of getting a DeWalt and upgrading to the better cutter heard was more. And sigh, as I just went to look up which exact model I bought, I see it is now $695, and I bought it for $795... This thing is great so far for what I put through it. One tip, especially if you are like me with a brand new work bench, put something under it as they seem to go a lil extra on lubribcation under the unit and it can drip down.
Agree ! I will be replacing my old planer with this Grizzly. Same HP same type of cutters. 13" wide not 12.5" like the Oliver. That Oliver is way overpriced.
I have been using the Grizzly for about a year on all kinds of hardwood and it has performed very well. I should point out that Grizzly calls the cutter helical, but I call it spiral. The blades are not on an angle. Even so, I have not had to rotate a single blade yet. In my opinion, the Grizzly is still the best value. And it is often on sale for $695 (plus $75 shipping).
I have been buying into the Rikon line of products. I ran a lot of hard maple through the 13" portable planer and also the 8" jointer.....both with eliptical cutting heads. Super great cutting.! I need them portable for site trim work too. But, this Oliver has 2x the small cutters vs. RIKON. Rikon was $895. Canadian.
I do like the magnetic switch. More shop tools should have them. How would the Grizzly G0940 - 13" 2 HP Benchtop Planer With Helical Cutterhead compare to this Oliver? The Grizzly is $795 and price is something I have to always consider as I am on a fixed income.
Thanks for the video. If you ever have a chance would be interested in your take on the Grizzly G0959 - 12" Combo Planer/Jointer with Helical Cutterhead. The price is $1,175 with the helical cutter head. Also the Grizzly G0940 - 13" 2 HP Benchtop Planer With Helical Cutterhead at 895 looks good too.
I almost bought the dewalt. However I found a few 3 hp floor models on market place for just a little more money. I would recommend stepping up to a bigger used planer at that price point if you aren’t limited on the space.
I just really like the design of the 735X a little better overall with the 4 post vs that lunchbox style but that Oliver sure is a nice machine. The other one that interest me is the Grizzly 13" helical head lunchbox style planer for $700 on sale. Only cause it's so close in price to the Dewalt but does have a few less features than the Oliver: No fan discharge and no digital display. But with helical head for only a couple hundred more than the Dewalt it sure seems like a good option as well. I'll probably run my Dewalt though until I move shops and have room for a larger full base planer. Great video though and great comparison!!
I got a DW735 recently on sale for $580CAD, normally $900CAD. There's a helical cutterhead from Sheartak for this for $535CAD in Canada as well. All in all, it runs to a bit more than $1200 CAD with taxes and shipping and whatnot. Of course, that means you're doing the install yourself, but I figured I'd share the numbers for comparison sake. I always try to go for sales. Have you ever tried the Rikon thickness planer? Lee Valley sells them at $1000 CAD, and it has a helical cutterhead in it. Can't say it has as many features as the Oliver one here, but it's another alternative in that price range.
I upgraded my DW735 to a Lux Cut helical head. Shelix heads were on backorder with at least a 10 month lead. The Lux Cut was delivered in about five days. I also bought a vertical dust collection port that pulls (you need a dust collector but that's a give with these beasts) out the top of the machine. The dust port on the back is just a bad idea.
I've known about Oliver for 40 years, though I didn't know they made portables that I could actually afford. The one I used in high school was a 24 inch floor standing model. That thing could plane anything. I routinely ran things like dresser sides and tops through it without even thinking about it. It was so good that it actually hurt my skills a bit. Why spend a few hours flattening a top with a hand plane when I can make a few passes through the Oliver? Should my el-cheapo (but pretty decent) Wen give up the ghost, I will have to give this one a look.
I enjoy my 735. I bought some machinist squares and once I figured out the planer quirks (THEY ALL HAVE THEM), I get nice and square. The key is when you are trying to get everything perfect, you have to run all your pieces in and just keep going, at 1/32 or 1/16 at a time (not much more though, the surface get's spotty at that point) and flip and flip and flip and flip working down. Honestly, I love the process, good time to think some organic thoughts. I also like sanding. Yes, that's right. I like sanding. Another chance to think. When I use the tablesaw, I only think about what I'm doing because that thing comes out of the factory saying "I was born to murder you" which is also my opinion on helicopters, which isn't that far in the relationship. A helicopter has spinning blades, they fail, you die (most likely) same with a table you slip, and your hand flies towards that blade, bad times.
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NEW MODEL Oliver Planer - amzn.to/3YH4b77
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Matt, if the Dewalt 735 had the Shelix head would it be the better planer?
Yes it would. It’s better built.
@@731Woodworks now that you have had the Oliver for a while would you still recommend it?
I am buying a planer once whether high or low priced and I don't want to repurchase in the future, what do you recommend and why?
@@rickyperkins232 It's a great planer. I have a more detailed video comparing the DeWALT and Oliver coming out Thursday, 12-22-22 that may help with your decisions. It's an excellent planer. The DeWALT is better built in my opinion, but that's not to say the Oliver is bad. The DeWALT is just more robust. As far as planing, it works great and produces a super smooth finish.
I bought this Oliver Planer about a moth ago myself. The driving factor was I wanted the Byrd Shelix cutter head, and this is the lowest cost planer with that head. Getting the Wixey Digital read out was an additional feature that put it over the top. I use this weekly in my shop and love the performance. Very happy with the purchase.
What are you using for dust extraction with it?
@@AaronGeller I have an upgraded Harbor Freight 2HP Dust Collector with the Wynn Environmental Filter and a Super Dust Deputy Cyclone. It works very well.
@@bobesposito2204 thank you for sharing 😊
Thank you for another excellent video. I live on a pretty tight budget. Spending 5 or 600 bucks is a big deal to me. And, I just can't afford to plunk down $1200 for a planer. But, I could budget the $550 it cost for the Dewalt 735 (it was on sale). I used it for a couple of years and added the Wixey digital gauge for another $100. A HUGE upgrade! A year goes by, and I'm starting to use more figured lumber, and the straight blades are causing tear out. So, I buy the Lux III helical cutting head for (ouch!) $550. So, now I've spent about the same bucks as the Oliver but I could budget it over three years and still get a whole bunch of excellent milling done as I saved up. Plus, I now have a really great planer.
I do own the DeWalt 735x and did the upgrade to the helical head. As it is the first and only planer I plan on buying, watching these comparisons is just for entertainment. Just remember that there is good reason the 735 has been a fan favorite for years.
Thanks!
Thank you Marc!
You're a good man 731! Thanks for the great content!
I appreciate that! Thank you Big TBO! 👊
I saw this video about a year ago and it convinced me to buy one. It is one of the best tools I have purchased. Great advise from you.
Glad it was helpful!
When and where did you purchase one? It’s been out of stock at Oliver for a year!
As far as benchtop planers are concerned, if I am going to spend over $1,000 I would just go industrial. I have had the Cutech 13" spiral cutterhead 40600H with tungsten carbide inserts for over 5 years as a weekend DIYer and absolutely love it. Would love to hear your opinion on cutech considering you have a Wahuda jointer.
Cuteck only has two-sided inserts.
@@billboy7390 it appears that they have four sided cutters, according to their web site. That said, many high end machines have two sided cutters. Why does that matter?
An industrial machine does not offer portability. So for high end trim guys, or cabinet shops that need a portable machine for installs, this is likely the answer.
Whole heartedly agree! I bought a used 13" delta on Marketplace and its done wonders for my game.
I completely agree. I have a 15 year old Ridgid 13" planer which is the same as yours (except orange vs. gray), now sold by Cutech. It's been a workhorse. It has planed every inch of hardwood in my semi-pro shop, including making hundreds of cutting boards and several complete kitchen & bathroom remodels. One kitchen required 42 white oak cabinets. Last year I replaced the drive rollers and cutter-head bearings (also available from Cutech). Still going strong.
I REALLY appreciate that you compare the Oliver and the DeWAlt (And even link to the vid about the Crapsman, too!). Thank you! I love that the Oliver has the Byrd-Shelix...but considering that it costs 2x the DeWalt, I think I'd go with the DeWalt. It'll get the job done, and the savings is significant. Granted, you likely get what you pay for if you spring for the Oliver with the Byrd-Shelix....but $1200 is hard to justify for a beginner/amateur. Truly an informative video which conveyed all of the relevant info very efficiently. Well-done!
I dunno, at $1200 I'm looking for a used Jet or Delta 15", esp. if the seller can be induced to deliver :D
Oliver is making some great tools that are non-commercial, but with commercial features. I use the portable table saw for my business and its great.
This planer appears to be 95% of my 10 year old Ridgid planer (now sold by Cutech). The Ridgid has been very good, but if I was spending this much money, I would probably consider a stationary planer with more capacity. The DRO is something I would never completely trust and would still check my boards with a caliper anyway. The helical head and magnetic starter seem to be the stars of the show. Thanks for sharing.
I brought my DW735 about 5 months ago, and mine has the magnetic safety power switch on it. I don't know if its a reginal thing, but I am in New Zealand and its been the standard here for about 2 years I believe, they no longer have the Red power lever like yours has. I think in the USA they still sell with the red lever. No idea why other countries are different, but my DW735 is just like the Oliver's in that regard.
just got the Oliver planner yesterday I love the cut it makes biggest problem the digital gauge dosent work but I planned some
really hard wood thru it smooth as a babys but
I really like that power switch. The built-in DRO is also a nice feature.
I say go for the head-to-head! (especially since you don't need to buy more machinery for it)
And I've been much happier after I upgraded my planer to the Shelix. Makes easy work of stuff like curly maple that always gave me tearout issues.
I am glad he talked about the Hard Maple tear out problem. I was working on my jointer today and tried running a hard maple 1" x 4" flat across the new blades, and I heard a big chunk rip out of the board, and felt it catch a little bit as it was going through. The Hard Maple seems to enjoy ripping chunks out. But it sands so smooth, it almost looks like a plastic composite material.
I have a Delta 22-555 thickness planer. It is a two knife machine with a 15 amp motor. It has a back mounted dust port, but even with the port attached, both infeed and outfeed tables can be completely folded into the machine. The dust port can be configured to exhaust on either side of the machine. It will handle boards 13" wide and 6" thick. The top is open with two metal rollers, which I have found useful in moving material from the outfeed side back to the infeed side. The cutterhead speed is 9400 rpm giving 18,800 cuts per minute. Its weight is listed as 58 pounds. The knives are two sided reversible and if there is a nick, you can move one knife laterally just a bit, and the two knives eliminate the nick track. It does require dust extraction and I hook my shop vac up for that purpose. The chip extraction could be a bit better and the other downside is that it is noisy. Hearing protection is an absolute must. Snipe is a problem. It is sometimes worse than at other times. There are some common ways to reduce or eliminate snipe and I do use some of those techniques. I would love to have a locking head and a shelix cutterhead. Maybe if I ever upgrade, I'll go to the Oliver.
I've heard great things about Oliver equipment, especially their bigger stuff. For those of us who already own the yellow one … I highly recommend a helical cutter. I recently upgraded my 8yo DW to a Luxcut (Shelix was, probably still is, on LONG backorder) and the difference in quality is amazing. Next upgrade might be that digital depth gauge (and maybe one for the drum sander, too).
Which DW is it?
@@woodandtable 735x, same as in the video.
Good review, I love the Shelix cutter heads. I converted my Delta 22-580 to the Byrd Shelix head, have not regretted this. My thoughts are if you can stretch your budget and afford a Super tool, verses a great tool. go for the super tool. (shineing a light across the board you can see the difference between Knife vs Helix)
I bought this planer as soon as they came out. I love it… plus they sold it for a few hundred less back then!
Love the Oliver - Price is right. Agree that only worry is the top plastic should be better quality of Plasitic. Enjoy the videos....Keep them coming.
I have the Dewalt735x and i like it. A couple of years ago I looked into the shelix head to upgrade. If I would have bought it and installed it myself, it would have cost about the same as the oliver. The dewalt works great for me as don't use it all the time. So I won't be upgrading. Stay awesome.
I was thinking about same as fellow weekend woodworker. 735X is probably best way to go. Until you wear out all of the blades, there is no point in upgrading right away. Upgrade can be considered after all of the blades worn out and beyond repair.
Worth it. When I pull the trigger on getting a thicknesser this is the one.
I had a shelix and liked it alot, but I really love the Lux3 cutting head on my DeWalt 735
Great comparison. I upgraded my DeWalt a few years ago and the Shelix costs $370 then. I also like the lower profile of the DeWalt. I also installed the Wix gauge on mine. GOD bless.
I bought my Oliver a few months ago. I haven't used it much yet, but I'm glad to have seen the review. It's going to see some heavy use in the next few weeks though.
It was the Byrd head and Oliver name that had me pull the trigger on it. The few boards I passed through it already came out perfectly. I appreciate when a company sends you a product ready to work with right out of the box.
Another good choice for a helical head planer is the Jet. after three years I have to adjust the bed as it is about 1/32 off square. otherwise still going strong. Current pricing is about $850.00
I purchased the Oliver about 6 months ago after several weeks of research and changing my mind over that same timeline. I could not see purchasing anything other than the Oliver after the research that I had done. Comparing it to all the other benchtop planers, it is head and shoulders above the competition. Now grant you this is my first benchtop planer, so going in the same direction if I had already owned something else, I think would be a different story. I have absolutely no regrets with purchasing the Oliver and would recommend it to anyone that is looking to purchase a benchtop planer in the future.
What were the main factors that led you to choose the Oliver?
I bought mine a few months ago before you bought yours. I did the research and wanted the style cutter that comes with the oliver. I’ve truly enjoyed this. I wish I had money and space for really wide planer but I sort of achieved it by getting the super max 19/38. Love it as well.
The best planer is one that is quality built and can last years of of use. I bought my Dewalt DW735 planer 19 years ago and I have put tens of thousands of boards through it (90% hardwod) and I have only had to change the blades. It is hooked up to an independent dust collector and is still going strong! The Dewalt DW733 would be my choice if the DW735 finally dies, Oliver is out of my price range at this point! Thanks for the video.
Nice video, the easiest way to explain straight, spiral, helical. I found this from looking into the different shapes of cutters. Straight is exactly that the blades are straight. Spiral is taken the straight blades and wrapping them around a tube. Like a drill bit on it’s side. These blades usually not carbide. Then the king helical. Same as spiral, however the blade is not continuous. If you’re metal working on a mill these can be high speed steel or carbide. On a thickness planer I have only seen these to be carbide.
I'm currently looking at purchasing the Dewalt Planer so I would really appreciate a head-to-head comparison between the two (or more) planers. Thanks for putting out such great material.
I'd love to see a head to head comparing the two machines. I actually just got the Oliver. I haven't had a chance to use it much but have been pleased so far. The major selling point to me was the cutting head.
Compared to other planer reviews on TH-cam, yours was the best! The Oliver is very nice, but that cheap plastic top kills it for me. In fact, BOTH of these planers are unacceptable for me and I'll tell you why. My whole shop is set up for planing from right to left, so I access the planer from the LEFT side of the machine. Both of these planers pretty much offer access from the RIGHT side. The cranks and other critical controls are on the RIGHT side. Alas, it looks like I'll have to buy the Makita 2012 again which has the height crank on the LEFT side. I'm very accustomed to the way it works, and I've been using it daily, or weekly anyway, for 16+ years. Anyway, thanks for a great review.
Another great review! Yes do a head to head comparison - I look forward to knowing which one you'll keep in the end!
I just order the dewalt 735 yesterday. I have been saving up for 6 months. I’m super excited
the 735 is an excellent planer! I've had mine over 5 years now.
Great video…I’m shopping for a planer and looking at the Dewalt…Yes do a head to head Dewalt vs Oliver….Thanks Matt…
I’m looking at upgrading my delta lunchbox and saw your video on tiktok and will be purchasing once it warms up again. Love the review!
If you raise the cutter head fully, will that allow the extension table in the back to fold up all the way? Same question for DW735X?
Just found your videos. New to woodworking so I very much appreciate your sharing your expertise. Thanks
Matt, I have a small garage storage space and workroom. Almost all of my woodworking occurs in the driveway! Now that you've had the chance to use the Oliver planer for a while now, and if a person had the money to purchase either planer, which one would you recommend for the weekend woodworker to purchase? A planer is my next purchase, with these two units being the finalists, and both of these planers seem to be a great choice.
I was going to go get the dewalt planer the lower priced one lol but hoped on marketplace and picked up the DW735 for 200 bucks almost new
Looks like a Dewalt 734. Except helical cutter and a few bells and whistles. Love my 734, great planer.
I also have a DeWalt 735 with the cart, the digital gauge on this is pretty cool though
Thank you. I'll keep looking. I need something for beginners.
I like the design of the Oliver, can't argue with cut quality, but shelling out $1200 when I have a 20-year-old Delta 22-540 with no depth gauge, no head lock, 2 inches of snipe, and no blower for dust collection and crappy position for dust collection, it still works well so I can't justify the $$. The Delta leaves a nice finish and I've got other places to spend the $1200. If I was buying new, I'd sure consider it.
I would appreciate you looking at the Vevor planer and considering it for a first time unit for a beginner wood worker.
Minus the helical head the Oliver reminds me of my Craftsman professional 13" planer. Model 351.217430 it has powered raise and lower which is nice!
I bought the Craftsman planer you recommended, it works great! Boy does it kick out sawdust from the front and the output!
Nice to see Oliver take the base design of the DeWalt 734, and really trick it out. The addition of the digital depth gauge is super nice. While the top is plastic, that cuts the weight, so easier to move around along with the base handles. The blower would be nice for those that only have a shop vac. The helical head and mag switch are nice bonuses as well.
I would consider it if I needed a new planer. Dedicated spot in the shop, 735x with head upgrade wins. If need to move it from storage to bench for use, this Oliver for sure.
I read in a forum thread from 2021 that someone successfully used the top of a 734 and swapped it out on their Oliver. It's about $50 for a metal head.
Hey first off, love the t-shirt! To the point. I have seen lots of reviews from other tubers. Absolutely great presentation. I'm 50 years old who never thought I'd fall in love with woodworking. I'm just doing from it for friends and family gifts etc. But I just been asked to build butcher block countertops for a local restaurant. I been using a hand planer for my small projects. A friend of mine has the 735 and has be absolutely awesome in letting me use it from time to time. ( I bought him cutting blades) lol. But to do 249 feet of countertops I need my own. I did like Oliver and consider it but knowing the 735 I was leaning that way. Buy your right getting the helical head and the warranty is worth the small up front price. Thank you for a great video. Can't wait to see more!!
I looked into the Oliver when buying my planer. Ultimately I settled on the DeWalt because of the 13", the four posts, the lower profile and this is not the same company as old. Basically this is another case of a Chinese company (Geetech) buying an American name for brand recognition (this happened in the early 2000s). That is not to say it is a bad tool, its to say that provenance of making tools since the 1800s should not be truly factored in.
The Dewalt is also made in China and Taiwan
Oliver also has 4 post design. It's hidden under the aforementioned garbage plastic shell.
@@khurd7904 Taiwan is O.K. but not China. Taiwan also makes a lot of co.puter chips. They are very well engineered.
Milwaukee is also a Chinese owned brand now. Most Lenovo and Apple products are made in China, and those are generally considered the 2 highest quality consumer computer brands. Cars from a lot of European brands sold anywhere except North America are made in China. Made in China doesn't mean the same thing it did 20 years ago. They are just as capable of making high quality stuff as anyone else now. But most Chinese companies don't have the culture of making high quality products that respected Japanese, American, or German companies do so you still have to be more careful.
It's kinda funny...I have never thought of American manufactured products as quality made like German's and Japanese's...Until I settle in Australia where strangely to me, US manufactured goods were considered high quality...
Trying to buy into this idea got some Snap On tools. I deeply regret my European toolbox. Snap On was overpriced, over engineered/bulky but not nice to work with. Broke a spanner, got it replace for free, still, never broke any for decades before.
Same with car hoists (repetitively failing hydraulics and power switch). GM and Ford are basic vehicles with no major innovation and yet fail with unique stupid designs. Such as a crank angle sensor position through the bell of a transmission requiring hours to replace, or electronics set under the bonnet against the engine.
I don't like though the over complexity from German cars, Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW...It's like their engineers always add more to fix a previous issue.
But I fell in love with Honda's engines. Simple efficient design. Hardly any fault...Although not good for my business then, lol.
All spare parts seem to be manufactured in China nowadays anyway...To different standards, depending on a large Western company specs or for direct retail...
It's nice that it comes with the better cutter because I watched a video on how to swap it out on a DeWalt... It's a HUGE pain in the ass
Dude I am so glad you did this review. My local woodcraft began selling these cheaper than the dewalt and it did kind of seem better. But the internet always says the dewalt is the best. However yhe Oliver is so much cheaper and has so many more features
This was originally suppose to be priced at 599.00 before the pandemic.
Got the DeWalt years ago. Got it for 425 new. If I recall, that was with no tax.
I purchased the dewalt 735 planer i havent used any yet i work full time i would love to see a head to head challenge. I find Dewalt tool are very good. I own serval table saw, miter saw & Router. Thank you Matt!
I have the DW735 and will be adding the Shelix blades this summer or sooner if necessary.
Harbor Freight has a decent planer with roller bars on top. I use a caliper to measure thickness. Blades are easy to access and flip. The bed could be stouter is my only con but I have got alot of use out of it...pine and oak.
Found this informative and well presented. I’m looking for a bench top planer and researching what would be best for me. Just wondering if you where to raise that all the way up and fold up back plate, would it still hit the dust port.
we got craftex here in canada at busy bee tools. 12 1/2 and 13" with helical head.many say better then dewalt and on sale quite often!
I love my Dewalt 735. It is 6 years old and I have over time added the shelix head and the Wixi digital scale. The only thing I don't like about the Dewalt is the locking for various dimensions!
The dimension stops is what I miss about it. We used it for final dressing face frame for almost ten years. We ran hundreds of thousands of board ft of maple, oak, and alder through it. The only repairs during that time was to replace the drive pulley and one reset button. That machine is still in use in my wife's hobby woodshop now.
I have had the Dewalt 733 for many years and I think for the job it does and the price, I will stick with it.
I really think you should try the WEN planer. I absolutely love it!
A head-to-head video would be a great idea. I am considering a planer now and having a tough time figuring out which I would buy. I'd like to see a review or head-to-head with the 13in Wen planer as well if you ever grab one.
Get the big dewalt one.
@@cloggedpitot1 As a matter of fact, I just bought the Dewalt in December. Saw a decent price and grabbed it.
@@djbartles7337 Good choice. Dewalt makes a few versions but their dw735 is the best ive used for a benchtop. Ill occasionally have a few feeding issues, but that could be related to taking off alittle to much material.
Have you considered evaluating and reviewing the Wahuda 13 in planer since you’ve had good experience with their jointer?
Oilver any day! I've had mine for a year and wouldn't want anything else in this category. A product designed to work from the start will, in most cases, work better than after market mod. I am always pleasantly surprised by the results which equals to less work on the board afterwards.
Hey, I just upgraded the on my dw375 with a grizzly helical head, came with everything you need for installation, the cutter head was about $400 and the planner I had for over 3 years now and it was time to upgrade or replace, so far so good, I do get my snipe with the new cutter head, probably I need to do some adjustments, but pretty much no tear out and no more streaks , all together I’m under 1k since I got my planer on sale under $600 with tax, great videos keep it up
I bought a used Rigid 13". Little cleaning, replaced with helical head (can buy from shelix or other) and installed a $30 DRO.
Cutter head is most important.
There is one comparison you left out, and its one many small shop owners would consider as I did when I was choosing between the DeWalt 734 and 735. because of the larger foot print i went with the 734 because I wanted save space by using a flip top cart and the 735 would have needed a much larger flip top cart due to its handles and also more difficult to spin from top to bottom because of the added weight.
Do you have any comments on Hercules Table saw, Miter saw, Planer as a beginner tool?
They seem to be very competitive.
Not complaining but I saw the Oliver planer at Harbor Freight under their badge but with the 3 blade system and no digital read out and it still got good reviews
Love to see you compare it to the Laguna PX12. No digital gauge, but very similar otherwise.
How about doing a review on Ryobi thickness planer and cordless planer.
I have a 10 foot by 12 foot enclosure woodshop in the basement. I also have a garage that I use in warmer weather
Oliver is the one I want... happy to take that Oliver off your hands Matt lol. This is the only planer I'd buy unless I goto a stand alone version 15" or 20"
I have the DW735 with shelix cutter head. Over the course of the last 3 years the head has paid for itself in what I would have spent in blades. If you do a lot of hardwood its worth it. Now the Oliver one does look nice plastic on top I dont like. I also like the 13 inch on my dewalt a lot of times i will do 2 glue ups instead of one so i can run it back though my planner to try to cover up glue lines best i can. And i like the 2 speeds yes I'm the guy that runs on 1 till the last pass i wont adjust the height run through 1 last time on 2. If I could go back im not sure while I love the 735 I would almost look at a little bigger model as im a chuck of change in my 735 now. But strait knifes and white oak dont mix very well the dull quick and I work with alot of white oak. Good video
That is a very fair comparison, so nice work. I like the Oliver, however for $1,100 I'm not impressed with the flimsy plastic top piece. This, however would not probably not preclude me from purchasing it. I happen to be considering the DeWalt but think the no warranty with the helical head is a problem, especially for that price. Thanks for sharing this.
It might be unbreakable plastic. And why in the heck would you drop boards on the top of it?
Apparently, this is the same machine as the Laguna PX|12. I own one and every bit of the body and basic features is the same as this Oliver. The Laguna is only $699 (I bought for $500 on sale last year), but comes with a spiral head instead of helical and without the digital gauge.
I don't have a planer the now and it's driving me nuts the DeWalt looks great would love to own it. Cash is tight right now I am looking to get one just need find the cash from somewhere unless Matt u fancy helping a Scottish brother out and send me the craftstman I'll certainly give it a loving home and put it through its paces! 👍🏴
Great video. Can you tell me what the footprint dimensions of the Oliver planer are?
The tables will fold up if you raise the cutter to the top. Same as on the DW735. So many people complain they dont fold up - but they do if you raise the head up. A pain I know, but it at least enables it to fold up!
The Oliver is an exact copy of my Dewalt 734, except for the knives. Yes agreed the shelix head does cut better than my straight steel blades. But I have been using my 734 for over 10 years.
Definitely, please do a head head comparison with the DeWalt
It's funny how much the Oliver looks like my old Dewalt that I still have and love I paid 375.00 for mine but it doesn't have a helix cutter but it still puts out a smooth cut. I know it's made in America but 1600.00 I just can't justify it. It's still a bench-top planner.
I went with the Grizzly G0940 becasue of the total cost of getting a DeWalt and upgrading to the better cutter heard was more. And sigh, as I just went to look up which exact model I bought, I see it is now $695, and I bought it for $795... This thing is great so far for what I put through it. One tip, especially if you are like me with a brand new work bench, put something under it as they seem to go a lil extra on lubribcation under the unit and it can drip down.
Agree ! I will be replacing my old planer with this Grizzly. Same HP same type of cutters. 13" wide not 12.5" like the Oliver. That Oliver is way overpriced.
I have been using the Grizzly for about a year on all kinds of hardwood and it has performed very well. I should point out that Grizzly calls the cutter helical, but I call it spiral. The blades are not on an angle. Even so, I have not had to rotate a single blade yet. In my opinion, the Grizzly is still the best value. And it is often on sale for $695 (plus $75 shipping).
I have been buying into the Rikon line of products. I ran a lot of hard maple through the 13" portable planer and also the 8" jointer.....both with eliptical cutting heads. Super great cutting.! I need them portable for site trim work too.
But, this Oliver has 2x the small cutters vs. RIKON. Rikon was $895. Canadian.
Bought my 734 for ~ $350 over 13 years ago. Still going strong and does just fine for me. But I’d love to have a helix…
What about the Makita? That's the one I've been interested in for a while. Would like to hear your thoughts on that one.
Nice, thorough review . Lol, I was looking for someone to help me decide. It's great to have choices - but I guess I'll flip a coin at this point!
I almost bought a 735 with shelix for $800 but let it slip... oh well, you win some and lose some.
I do like the magnetic switch. More shop tools should have them. How would the Grizzly G0940 - 13" 2 HP Benchtop Planer With Helical Cutterhead compare to this Oliver? The Grizzly is $795 and price is something I have to always consider as I am on a fixed income.
Thanks for the video. If you ever have a chance would be interested in your take on the Grizzly G0959 - 12" Combo Planer/Jointer with Helical Cutterhead. The price is $1,175 with the helical cutter head. Also the Grizzly G0940 - 13" 2 HP Benchtop Planer With Helical Cutterhead at 895 looks good too.
I would like to see your evaluation of the Makita 2012 by comparison.
I almost bought the dewalt. However I found a few 3 hp floor models on market place for just a little more money. I would recommend stepping up to a bigger used planer at that price point if you aren’t limited on the space.
I am looking at 1 that is a slightly step up from the dewalt as well,did you find one you liked
Are you able to fold up the extension if you crank the head all the way up?
In my opinion it is all about the finish product... It comes down to how much work will it save you and is it worth the money ?
You can buy a Byrd Shelix for any planer. The 735:with the Shelix is as close as to a commercial planer as you are going to get.
agreed!
I just really like the design of the 735X a little better overall with the 4 post vs that lunchbox style but that Oliver sure is a nice machine. The other one that interest me is the Grizzly 13" helical head lunchbox style planer for $700 on sale. Only cause it's so close in price to the Dewalt but does have a few less features than the Oliver: No fan discharge and no digital display. But with helical head for only a couple hundred more than the Dewalt it sure seems like a good option as well. I'll probably run my Dewalt though until I move shops and have room for a larger full base planer. Great video though and great comparison!!
Grizzly doesn't accept returns if you don't like the product and the sprockets on the bottom are plastic. Not a good sign.
I got a DW735 recently on sale for $580CAD, normally $900CAD. There's a helical cutterhead from Sheartak for this for $535CAD in Canada as well. All in all, it runs to a bit more than $1200 CAD with taxes and shipping and whatnot. Of course, that means you're doing the install yourself, but I figured I'd share the numbers for comparison sake. I always try to go for sales.
Have you ever tried the Rikon thickness planer? Lee Valley sells them at $1000 CAD, and it has a helical cutterhead in it. Can't say it has as many features as the Oliver one here, but it's another alternative in that price range.
I upgraded my DW735 to a Lux Cut helical head. Shelix heads were on backorder with at least a 10 month lead. The Lux Cut was delivered in about five days.
I also bought a vertical dust collection port that pulls (you need a dust collector but that's a give with these beasts) out the top of the machine. The dust port on the back is just a bad idea.
I've known about Oliver for 40 years, though I didn't know they made portables that I could actually afford. The one I used in high school was a 24 inch floor standing model. That thing could plane anything. I routinely ran things like dresser sides and tops through it without even thinking about it. It was so good that it actually hurt my skills a bit. Why spend a few hours flattening a top with a hand plane when I can make a few passes through the Oliver?
Should my el-cheapo (but pretty decent) Wen give up the ghost, I will have to give this one a look.
I enjoy my 735. I bought some machinist squares and once I figured out the planer quirks (THEY ALL HAVE THEM), I get nice and square. The key is when you are trying to get everything perfect, you have to run all your pieces in and just keep going, at 1/32 or 1/16 at a time (not much more though, the surface get's spotty at that point) and flip and flip and flip and flip working down. Honestly, I love the process, good time to think some organic thoughts. I also like sanding.
Yes, that's right. I like sanding. Another chance to think. When I use the tablesaw, I only think about what I'm doing because that thing comes out of the factory saying "I was born to murder you" which is also my opinion on helicopters, which isn't that far in the relationship. A helicopter has spinning blades, they fail, you die (most likely) same with a table you slip, and your hand flies towards that blade, bad times.
yes a comparison would be great......please....thank you.
Nice planer. I have never heard of this brand. I tend to be brand loyal but will not hesitate to buy a different brand if it’s the best product