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It planes smoothly if you take small cuts. I paid $205 for this planer at Lowe's because it is being replaced by a Porter Cable model that appeared to me to be nearly the exact same tool. I prefer to do no more than 1/4 turn of the adjustment handle at a time, which is somewhere around 1/32" if I had to guess. The sales guy at Lowe's told me it was being replaced by the P.C., so I'm taking his word for it. To the review:Setup was simple, you don't need a narrative about this. It can handle a deeper cut, but this is what I prefer to do because it does not bog the tool down. On that note, run it on a 20 amp breaker to give it sufficient power.If you have dust collection capabilities, buy the optional hood with the dust port because this, like ANY planer, will make a huge mess.The knives do not last as long as others, but they are two sided and indexed, so setting is a breeze.
Wish I had forked out the extra $200 to get a beefier unit in the first place. For serious woodworkers who build large projects on a regular basis, you need a tool with more capacity.
It will plane small volumes of wood (4-5 boards at a time (max)) but it will only plane, at most, 1/16" each pass with any amount of quality, and there will still be some snipe. This is a decent planer for the customer I believe Delta is targeting - the light hobbyist.
bottom line - for the infrequent user, small projects, and soft woods, this will do an adequate job and should last for years. Obviously, you'll spend a lot of time reaching the the desired thickness but for occasional use, that's probably okay.
Beware that the unit heats up very quickly and really bogs down if attempting more aggressive cuts, or if attempting to plane hard woods like oak or hickory. You'll burn this tool out very quickly (my motor literally melted), will spend A LOT of project time reaching the desired thickness and will be less than satisfied with the cut quality.
Now I'm paying the price - a second time.
I learned to work in small batches and give the machine a rest, but what I really needed was a planer that could work when I wanted to for as long as I wanted to. While the price may be tempting, if you are wanting this for large projects, large quantities or hardwood, or just a lot of use, invest in a better machine. This will not make the recommended depths of cuts on very many board feet of wood before getting hot. The warranty is out on mine, the motor totally shelled and a replacement motor cannot be purchased. This is a low-use throw-away machine and Delta should be ashamed to have their name on it.
ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS WE HAVE A DELTA TP305 AND A DEWALT WE USE IN THE SHOP AND SINCE I AM NOT A FAST TYPER AND TAKE FOREVER TYPING I'LL JUST SAY DELTA IS BY FAR MORE DEPENDABLE THAN OUR DEWALT SURE DEWALT LOOKS NICER AND IS A LITTLE MORE QUIET BUT TRUST ME MY DELTA PERFORMS A WHOLE LOT BETTER AND SEEMS TO TAKE A BEATING WE HAVE ALREADY TAKEN THE DEWALT FOR REPAIRS AND WE HAVE OWNED THE DELTA LONGER BUT LIKE I SAID IF I NEW HOW TO TYPE FASTER AND HAD THE TIME I WOULD EXPLAIN ALOT MORE REASONS WHY I LIKE DELTA MORE.
My Delta planer struggles with oak wood, but does not give up. Works hard and gets results.
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