Planers Reviews

The following are the observations of a hobbyist, not a professional.

Overall rating: 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)
Performance: 3.75 stars
Build Quality: 3.25 stars
Noise: 3 stars
Dust Collection: 4.5 stars
Shipping/Packing: 1.5 stars
Customer Service: 5 stars

Performance - 3.75 stars: After a 10-minute set-up (not including reading the instructions which I strongly recommend for all power tools), I fed some 3x3 doug fir into it. It did the job of surfacing a parallel opposite side to the specified thickness, though the first few inches of lumber were cut about 1/16-1/32" more than the remainder of the lumber (an issue known as snipe). Since then, I've noticed that this happened on a friend's Dewalt benchtop thickness planer as well as an old industrial 24" Oliver thickness planer at a shop I where I take classes. Snipe is apparently a common problem with thickness planers and jointers and there are several ways to address it. With regard to reducing/eliminating my particular snipe problem on this unit, both the Palmgren manual and service tech recommended slightly lifting the back end of the workpiece when feeding it (I'll update this review when I've tried that solution). The up/down crank works well enough - the crank arm is metal and attaches firmly to the crankshaft that goes into the housing. The plastic round red handle is well-sized but a little rattly, so I tightened it per the service technician's instructions: Remove red handle cover, tighten bolt, problem solved (more on Palmgren's encouraging technical support in "Customer Service" below). The accuracy is within 1/16", though the measurement on the thickness indicator applies to the aforementioned snipe. As with any tool, you're best off measuring the result some scrap and adjusting the tool accordingly before cutting your lumber.

Build Quality - 3.25 stars: The unit seems solid where it needs to be: non-ferrous metal base, caps and cutter head case and four chromed steel posts upon which the cutter head moves. However, the plastic side-covers and the power switch are made of unimpressively flimsy plastic - they may fulfill their relatively undemanding functions, but I get the feeling these will be the first things to break. One of the side covers already cracked due to damage during shipping. Like I mentioned in the title, there are NO INFEED OR OUTFEED TABLES as shown in the product picture. Having these could help reduce the snipe problem, but I won't know until I get them. I called Palmgren 6/23/06 and was told that they had mistakenly uploaded a picture of a different unit (see "Customer Service" below). That said, the bed on the unit I have is covered with this thin, cheap-looking piece of chromed tin that is loosely notched into two brackets that are mounted on the sides of the bed. Functionally it does the job of just being the surface along which the lumber slides, but it's disappointing compared to the folding tables you see in the picture.

Noise - 3 stars: Loud, but that's to be expected with any power tool that uses a Universal Motor - and almost all of them do.

Dust-Collection - 4.5 stars: Works well. This is one of the reasons I bought this unit, in addition to the positive reviews of Palmgren's 6 1/8" jointer. Even though I don't have the recommended 30 gallon round waste bin, I just cinched the dust bag around a much smaller 10" container. Of course you'll still have to sweep, but 95% of the wood chips get blown into the bin.

Shipping/Packing - 1.5 stars: Yes, it's free, but that's the only good thing. The frustration I encountered in itself would deter me from buying another one or at least recommending that you buy it online. For this particular item, I received a totally useless UPS tracking number of 999999999. Amazon and UPS both told me that some items do not get assigned tracking numbers right away - I my case, I never got one. This thing just showed up along with the 6 1/8" Palmgren jointed I ordered a few days before ordering this planer.

As noted in some reviews of the jointer, the packaging was insufficient. The molded styrofoam packaging was broken or very compressed in several pieces and coated in oil. One of the two plastic housings was cracked and the thickness measuring needed was bent outward (though easily pushed back in).

The following details pertain to the shipping frustrations of the jointer which I was able to track because I had a useful UPS tracking number.

Even though shipping was free, the unit weighs over the amount that UPS is allowed to deliver with one driver. Around the time the package was due to arrive, I started checking the UPS site. In the morning, it would say "OUT FOR DELIVERY". I'd wait around and then, in the afternoon, the site would say, "THE PACKAGE EXCEEDED THE MAXIMUM WEIGHT ACCEPTABLE IN THE UPS SYSTEM". It would also then say something like rescheduled for next day.

This happened THREE times before both the planer and the jointer arrived. I wasted a significant amount of time waiting around to receive this thing. After the second "THE PACKAGE EXCEEDED THE MAXIMUM WEIGHT.../scheduled for next day" update, UPS went ahead anyway, and made an attempt late that afternoon. Of course by then, I'd left my apartment thinking that it had been rescheduled. I called and emailed both Amazon and UPS. Amazon was unable to help other than to say I should contact UPS. The UPS reps on the phone the first two times simply repeated what the website told me. Finally I was able to get a UPS rep to call me back. He explained that they had to specially schedule a 2nd driver to help make the delivery but that sometimes they couldn't always get one, thus delaying the delivery until the next day - important information you don't get when tracking your package. He had a local UPS shipping coordinator call me the next morning to assure me that they'd be scheduling a 2nd driver to help with the delivery. Finally, the jointer and planer both arrived late on the that afternoon.

note: A friend of mine in Oakland, CA ordered the 6 1/8" jointer and received it no problem within a few days, delivered by one driver. In fact, another one was delivered a day or two later, which he sent back.

Customer Service - 5 stars: On 6/23/06, I called Palmgren to ask them about the infeed/outfeed tables. I was immediately put through to a friendly and knowledgeable technical service representative who apologized for the incorrect picture on Amazon (they'll also need to correct the product description). The 12" indeed does NOT come with the infeed and outfeed tables that the larger Palmgren planers apparently do. He then offered to send me the 13" as exchange. The 13" (model 84114) arrived 7/6 via UPS ground but this time there were no shipping problems. I got a tracking number from Palmgren and it was delivered when the UPS site said it would be - delivered by one driver with a strong back who helped me up two flights of stairs to my apartment. The item was double-boxed with heavy-duty ply chipboard support on the all edges. No shipping damage. Per instructions, I packed up the 12.5" into the 13" box and UPS came to pick it up yesterday. I am extremely happy with the way Palmgren rectified this order. As soon as I put the 13" through its paces, I'll write a review for that unit.