7 Best Benchtop Planers 2020 – Best Woodworking Tools

7 Best Benchtop Planer

A benchtop planer is a portable woodworking machine used for shaping, cutting, and smoothening wood edges. It is also known as a thickness planer or surface planer. This tool lets your DIY woodworking projects much easier, add this thickness planer or surface plane to your home tool or woodworking shop. Check out the 7 best benchtop jointers along with a buying guide and Find the best one here.

The best benchtop planer is the best finishing touch machine and you will literally enjoy your productive time, whether you are using it for home DIY projects or professional use. There are a lot of best thickness planers in the market today so finding the right one is a little difficult, we have brought together a list of 7 best benchtop planers of various brands, design, and quality. 

7 Best Benchtop Planers 2020

Image Product  Feature Price
DEWALT DW735X Benchtop Planer 3 Knife Cutting Head Check Price On Amazon
Dewalt DW734 Benchtop Planer Quick And Precise Cuts Check Price On Amazon
Makita 2012NB Benchtop Planer Quiet Operation Check Price On Amazon
PORTER-CABLE PC305TP Benchtop Planer Longer Tool Life Check Price On Amazon
CRAFTSMAN CMEW320 Benchtop Planer Superior Performance Check Price On Amazon
POWERTEC PL1252 Benchtop Planer Heavy Duty Base Check Price On Amazon
Grizzly Industrial G0505 Benchtop Planer Most Secure Check Price On Amazon

1. DEWALT DW735X - 13-Inch Thickness Planer

The DEWALT DW735X 13-Inch 3-knife 2-speed Thickness Planer is the best tool for both DIY woodworking use and professional use. It is a perfect choice for faster, smoother performance. This benchtop planer dimension is 24 * 22 * 18 inches. The weight of this benchtop planer is 92 pounds.  

Features

The powerful 15-amp motor with 20,000 RPM speed and 10,000 cutter head speed ensures larger cut in wide material with ease. It has a 2-speed gearbox that allows the user to change feed speed to optimizing cuter per inch at 96 or 279 CPI. It features a 19-¾” cast aluminum base, fan-assisted chip ejection that vacuum chips off, material removal gauge and extra-large thickness scale that delivers accurate cuts, and automatic carriage lock reduces the movement that causes snipe without the need of manual engagement. It includes infeed and outfeed tables, and an extra set of knives.  

Pros
  • Great Finishing
  • Three knife
  • Two speed
Cons
  • It is a little bit of a heavy tool.

2. DEWALT DW734 - 12-½” Three Knife Benchtop Planer

The DEWALT DW734 12-½” Three Knife Benchtop Planer is the perfect option for a large, deep cut in hardwood. This portable planer offers quick, accurate, and smooth cuts with ease. This benchtop planer dimension is 24 * 17 * 21 inches. The weight of this benchtop planer is 80 pounds.  

Features

The 15-amp powerful motor with 20,000 RPM speed offers better performance and the 3 knife cutter head provides 96 CPI. It has disposable, reversible knives that deliver 30 percent more knife life and make the knife easy to change. It has 4 columns carriage lock to reduce the movement that causes snipe and extra-long inferred and outfeed tables to provide 33-½” of material support. It has a material removal gauge and XL thickness scale for an accurate cut. 

Pros
  • Quick and Precise cuts
  • 3 Knife cutter head
  • Easy to use
Cons
  • It requires maintenance.

3. Makita 2012NB - 12-inch Benchtop Planer

The Makita 2012NB 12-inch Benchtop Planer is engineered for finish woodworking and ideal for cabinets, closets, staircases, furniture, and more. It consists of innovative technology and best-in-class engineering. This benchtop planer dimension is 30.35 * 19.02 * 15.79 inches. The weight of this benchtop planer is 61.8 pounds.  

Features

It has a powerful 15-amp with 8,500 RPM no-load speed and 83 dB quietest operation in its class. It consists of post design and signal cross support for stability. It has large table extensions to support the workpiece. It features a fully adjustable depth stop for repeat cuts. It includes an LED light indicator that the planer is plugged into the power source. It has an internal-lock automated head clamp that eliminates sniping and an optional dust hood enables a dust collection system to be connected to the planer. It includes a blade set, magnetic holder, wrenches, and toolbox. 

Pros
  • Quiet operation
  • Easier and faster blade change
  • Compact design
Cons
  • It requires maintenance.

4. PORTER-CABLE PC305TP - 12-inch Thickness Planer

The PORTER-CABLE PC305TP 12-inch Thickness Planer is ideal for dimensioning lumber to the desired thickness, and even planes glued up material. It allows fast stock removal and smooth operation. This benchtop planer dimension is 23 * 15 * 17.7 inches. The weight of this benchtop planer is 64.8 pounds.  

Features

The 15-amp powerful motor with 8,000 RPM speed and 16,000 Cits per minute cutter head speed to ensure smooth and faster operation. It has a solid steel cutter, 2 knives, and a head-mounted on a ball bearing. It features high carbon steel, double-edged, reversible knives for twice the cutting life. It features patented cutter elevation on 4 precision ground columns for superior cut stability, poly V belt cutter head drives with rugged gearbox/chain, and SPROCKET feed roller drive for maximum power transfer. 

Pros
  • Smooth Operation
  • Longer tool life
  • Maximum power transfer
Cons
  • It needs maintenance.

5. CRAFTSMAN CMEW320 - Benchtop Planer

The CRAFTSMAN CMEW320 Benchtop Planer is ideal for both hard and softwood material removal with ease. It is perfect for dimensioning lumber to the desired thickness, and glued-up material. This benchtop planer dimension is 24 * 18 * 16 inches. The weight of this benchtop planer is 61.9 pounds.  

Features

The 15-amp powerful motor with 8,000 RPM speed and 16,000 Cits per minute cutter head speed to ensure smooth and faster operation. It has a solid steel cutter, 2 knives, and a head-mounted on a ball bearing. It features high carbon steel, double-edged, reversible knives for twice the cutting life. It features patented cutter elevation on 4 precision ground columns for superior cut stability, poly V belt cutter head drives for maximum stock removal.

Pros
  • Maximum stock removal
  • Longer cutting life
  • Superior performance
Cons
  • It needs high maintenance.

6. POWERTEC PL1252 - 12-½” Benchtop Thickness Planer

The POWERTEC PL1252 12-½” Benchtop Thickness Planer serves as an essential tool and workhorse for a wide range of professional and DIY Woodworking projects. It is specially engineered for repurposing wood(old, weathered, and worn wood). This benchtop planer dimension is 24 * 18 * 14 inches. The weight of this benchtop planer is 63.3 pounds.  

Features

The 15-amp powerful motor with 9,400 RPM speed and 18,800 Cits per minute cutter head speed to ensure smooth and faster operation. It has a 4-column design that provides greater precision and stability while reducing snipe. It features a cutting depth scale to ensure desired cuts. It features a heavy-duty cast iron base, foldable infeed table, side handles, crack handles, circuit breaker, and on/off switch.  

Pros
  • Heavy-duty base
  • Comfortable grip handle
  • Easy blade replacement
Cons
  • It does not include a built-in dust port.

7. Grizzly Industrial G0505 - 12-½-inch Benchtop Planer

The Grizzly Industrial G0505 12-½-inch Benchtop Planer is a portable planer that is lighter to carry around and finishes cutting faster & smoother. It has better design quality. This benchtop planer dimension is 24 * 18 * 14 inches. The weight of this benchtop planer is 73 pounds.  

Features

The 15-amp Powerful motor with 10,000 cutter head speed for better performance. It features 2 reversible HSS knives in the cutter head and offers a maximum depth of cut 3/32”. It has an on/off toggle switch with safety lock, top-mounted rollers, Extras large extensions able to support a large workpiece, lifting handle for portability, easy to read cutting height gauge, thermal overload protection, and double-sided blade. It includes knife setting jig and wrench. 

Pros
  • Most Secure
  • XL table extensions
  • Easy to read
Cons
  • It requires high maintenance.

Buying Guide Of Best Benchtop Planer

Motor

It is an important part to focus on. It determines the capability of the machine. High power motors offer a wide variety of tasks with ease. But low power motors are good enough for limited woodworking projects. Most of the benchtop planers come with 15 amperage power to tackle a wide variety of tasks. Find the best benchtop planer that offers smooth and faster operation. 

Cutter Head

It plays a vital role in the best benchtop planer because it offers a better quality of results. Most of the thickness planer comes with 3 knife cutter heads to tackle larger tasks with ease and produce low noise. While on the other side some of the benchtop planers come with 2 knife cutter heads. The 3 knife cutter head is the best for both softwood and hardwood projects.

Dust Collection System

It plays a vital role in benchtop planers because when you are dealing with woodworking projects, it releases a lot of dust and unwanted material. It can be harmful to health and productivity. So while purchasing pick the best benchtop planer that comes with a dust collection system to keep the work area clean and increase productivity.

Snipe Handling

While buying, you should focus on the snipe handling features. When you work on larger workpieces so due to lack of stability and balance, you can not get proper cutting that we call it snipe(common cutting defect). To reduce the movement of the workpiece, pick the best benchtop planer that comes with an automatic carriage lock to avoid snipping.

Extras

There are few features that make the ergonomic benchtop planer such as cutting depth, cutting speed, cutter rotation speed for better cutting capacity, focus on all these factors. Durability is also an important factor because it is a good amount of investment. So, find the best thickness planer to ensure durability and withstand for everyday use. 

The Bottom Line

In this article, We have reviewed 7 top-rated benchtop planers of a different variety, brands, design, budget, and quality. This article is also described along with a buying guide that will give a quick idea to get the best benchtop planer that will suit your needs, budget, and preferences. As per the expert suggestion, the DEWALT benchtop planer and PORTER-CABLE benchtop planer are the best planers that handle a wide variety of woodworking projects with ease. Follow the above guidelines and pick the best thickness planer.

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