The best planer under $500 is the DeWalt DW734. Best planer under $500 Best in US & Canada It varies in price quite a bit, but can sometimes be found for €350-400. It is generally considered to be quite a bit better build quality than the other machines in this price range. If you are lucky and find a good deal, the Triton TPT125 would be the superior choice. They do have the depth of cut indicator, which is lacking on the Vevor. These are all pretty much identical and also extremely similar to the WEN discussed above except for having 2 blades instead of 3 and a slightly less powerful motor. If you are indeed able to spend about €/£50 more, you could consider the Scheppach, Holzstar, or Bernardo planers (links to Amazon). One small difference though is that it often comes with a metal stand included, which the other options do not have. It will probably do a reasonable job, but I would still recommend spending maybe €/£50 more to get a slightly better machine. It really has no unique selling feature other than its price. It is essentially the same as a lot of other planers, sold under different brands like Lumberjack or Ryobi. It is an extremely basic machine without any of the useful features of the WEN. So limited that I only actually know of one model that sells for that price: The Vevor 12.5 Planer. In the EU, choices are very limited in the sub-350 category. However if you could find a discount deal somewhere, you could consider getting the Craftsman CMEW320, which gets pretty good reviews as well (see for example the reviews on Amazon). I wouldn’t really recommend looking at competitors at this price, because none of them are cheaper than the WEN, while offering less features. From all the sub-350 benchtop thickness planers, this is definitely the one to get. Obviously you cannot expect great build quality at this price, but that is a problem of all competitors too. The dust port is also fan-assisted, which helps prevent clogs.Īll in all, it’s a solid benchtop planer that will do the job. It’s a simple feature but makes life a lot easier and it is missing on other machines of this price. This allows you to quickly see if you’re taking off too much or too little. Depth of Cut IndicatorĪnother upgrade is the depth of cut indicator, which measures how much you’re shaving off as you feed in the wood. It also has a cast-iron table, and a pretty powerful 1800 Watt (15 Amps) motor, which is just as much as more expensive competitors like DeWalt and Makita. This reduces the ‘choppy’ pattern you get from some planers. It has 3 blades now, instead of 2, which leads to better cut quality as there is less space between each blade’s contact with the wood. However, the latest 6552T model from WEN sets itself apart from the competition – all while maintaining the same competitive price. That used to be true for the previous WEN 6550 model as well. They are all more or less the same basic machines, just with different branding. There’s quite a few brands ( Craftsman, Porter Cable, and more) selling almost identical benchtop planers in this price range. I’ll also give specific options for the EU and North America, as not all machines are available globally. To help you filter out the options and go straight to the best machines for your specific budget.įor each price range I not only select the best machine, but also give you some alternatives – as not everyone has the same demands, so you’ll have something to choose between. There’s so many options out there these days, especially in the more affordable categories. However, picking a planer is not that easy. That is what makes it a great machine for anyone who prefers to focus on creating something rather than hand planing for hours before you can actually start building. Something that could cost hours with the hand plane takes mere minutes with a planer. They make bringing stock to a specific thickness extremely easy. Thickness planers, or planers for short, are one of the most convenient and useful machines in woodworking.
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