Thread: Electic planer advice

Hi there. I have used Makita professionally for over 25 years. Their plane is bullet proof and easy to repair if required. The Ryobi will only rebate 3mm, the Makita 9mm. Festool seem incredibly overpriced. I can't afford it.

This bloke likes the Ryobi plane but he has to tweek it a bit first.
How to tune up your electric planer for best results! - YouTube
Regardless if you get the Ryobi or not the video is worth a watch just to see how those machines function.
Regards
John

"Why is the Ryobi 780w only $100?" Same reason Rolls Royce Cost $600,000 and a Mini $40,000, with all due respect to those who own them Ryobi is rubbish, Makita has produced the same proven design for over 45 years, in the hands of DIY and professional shops, pretty much every one else has copied it so that should tell you something.

Buy the Makita, a professional quality tool at a very reasonable price

Festool is more expensive because they are the best, simple. Mine is 16 years old, gets used every day, and has never had anything done to it, nothing. You get what you pay for.

Makita or Bosch, used both, very good, reliable bullet proof

+1 for the Makita (although I own two De-Walts!).

Forget the Ryobi; overpriced junk. If you want cheap tools go for Ozito; Ryobi quality is no better.

My first planer was a Makita. Did the job. Easy to replace the blades. (They do not like screws.) What I hated was the mess. Put a bag on and that solved one problem but then it became awkward to use.

Lashed out on a Festool EHL 65. Dust extraction can be on either side. Happy to work inside and have little to no clean up. (My first job with it was shaving a bathroom door. It was too hard to move outside so did it in the bathroom. Did not even sweep the floor afterwards. Very easy to adjust depth. Guides for rebating and depth are easy to use. Perhaps the only down side is the planing width 65mm Vs Makita 82mm.

Thanks Gents.

Looks like the Makita has the popular vote. The Bosch is marginally quieter and with my hearing that would be a good thing but I doubt the difference would be noticeable.

Cheers.

I have has Hitachi electric hand plane for close on 40yrs has not missed a beat apart from me running over the cord at one stage.I bought spre blades & brushes for it bit have not had to use them.Also have the Festool one but the Hitachi is the one in the draw thats easy to grab.

Originally Posted by John Saxton

I have has Hitachi electric hand plane for close on 40yrs has not missed a beat .....

Yep, but Hitachi and Metabo were both taken over by an American hedge fund, KKR, a year or so ago, rebranded Hikoki, and who knows what the future holds?

I have a 30 year old Makita and its bullet proof - Graeme proof too!

De Walt and Bosch blue are also very similar.

Festool is arguably even better. It has better dust collection, is quieter and smoother, just nicer to use. But is it worth 250% of the price of the others????

PS: My Mikata planer gets limited use only; I regard it as a scrub plane, certainly not a precision tool.

I have both a corded and 18v cordless Makita planer. The corded one has not come out of the cupboard for the last couple of years since I bought the battery one.

I just recently bought a cordless Makita planer, the corded one is now a dedicated paper weight.

You

Originally Posted by rwbuild

I just recently bought a cordless Makita planer, the corded one is now a dedicated paper weight.

They are brilliant aren’t they Ray, the cordless trimmer and jigsaw are fantastic too.