Latest reviews about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

waltben says "Great tool when I bought it!" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

waltben — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:30:39 GMT

I've had mine for over five years. It's mostly been used for planing poplar slabs, but also for some harder woods. I've had to replace the blades (reasonably priced) two times, but their reversable so they do last well. It's been a good tool and I'm not replacing it until it wears out!

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Anonymous says "It's junk" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:00:05 GMT

Craftsman is usually good stuff and I have a lot of Craftsman tools and power tools. This unit broke several times. There are 2 cogs under the base with a chain running around them. The cogs are made of pot metal and kept shattering. I gave up and got a cheap, smaller Delta that was OK but not great, but didn't break and then moved to a Jet which is very nice. I liked the finger touch height adjustment, very cool and when it went it did a reasonable job, it just failed and more than once. It could be a good unit if they addressed the weak points....

AJHackett says "Surprisingly good" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:45:04 GMT

I'm a general contractor and purchased the Professional 13 Planner 217430 floor model from my local store for $135 without stand or dust collection attachment (I have a shop dust collection system anyway). For $14.95 I added the 2-year warranty just to be safe. I'm not normally a Sears Craftsman fan, but I was pleasantly surprised. The unit fed my redwood 2x boards with little problem both standing up and laying down. Standing boards upright would occasionally stop feeding mid-length, but I could give it a gentle push and it would continue to feed without leaving any marks on the board. All boards came out clean, almost without any need for sanding. The top adjustment knob and total depth gauge for the cutting height was easy to use. I've run about 100 board feet through it and it's still cutting straight and clean. After reading some on-line reviews I was concerned a two head cutting system (vs. a 3-head system) wouldn't provide a clean surface, but the unit has provided nice surfaces......

Anonymous says "Problems from the start" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:00:20 GMT

I will start off by saying I use a lot of craftsmen products, and love them. This product is not one of those that I like. First off in the opening "feed" area there is a small piece of metal that hangs down from the cutter head right at the opening which can bind up wood. Strange design. I did not like that. If you check at eye level where you feed the wood you will see what I mean. Second the planer struggled thru planing oak and douglas fir. The motor worked very hard to get the boards thru/ Then during the 2nd use of planer one of the upper rollers on the exterior of the machine fell off. The planer did not measure up in terms cutting ability and smoothness of the other machines I have used in the field. Rigid and Dewalt do a lot better in my experience. Though, to Sears' credit, they took the machine back with no restocking fee....

Bucolic says "Great Machine" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:30:01 GMT

I love my machine. Works like a champ and you can't hurt it. I caused mine to fall off the table-top I had it sitting on, broke off the handle and bent the sheet-metal housing. Hammered out the sheet-metal and ordered a new handle, good as new. After three years, I finally need new blades, no reflection on the machine, but the web site doesn't work! Have to call by phone. :-(...

foxweld says "13" planer" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:45:05 GMT

The first time I used it was fine. It was all downhill after that. I have replaced the gears for the infeed 3 times. It's going in the trash now....

fdasilva says "happy saw dust maker" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:00:09 GMT

I've been using this planer for over a month and I'm very happy with it. Have probably planned 500 board feet of white oak and it has worked flawlessly. At first I was getting about two inches of snipe on the feed side but once I started locking the cutter heads that disappeared; also I make sure to stay well under 1/16 of an in on every pass. I haven't really notice any dust, its connected to my dust collector and everything stays pretty clean. I would definitely buy it again, especially when they have it on sale for under $400....

Robt1234 says "NOt Happy" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 23:00:18 GMT

Well looks like I'll give it one more try since being able to return it is easy. First one left a washboard effect on my wood. I tried all different thickness of cut and both hard and soft wood no luck. So I returned it and got another. Planed about 20 8' cedar boards real nice then moved on to some walnut did it nice too but had to turn the knives cause they got dull. now the machine is making a louder noise than normal and is on auto feed, the thing will creep as it cuts and before you know it is jammed. One more try only because sears is good about returns....

JPM2122 says "Outstanding Product" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:00:16 GMT

I purchased this unit about 6 months ago and use it regularly in my shop. I love the easy controls. So far the blades have held up to all the hardwood I've put through it. Its powerfull and easy to use. I connected this it to my shop duct collection system and never have to clean a mess. It runs smooth and acurate. I would recommend this to the professional and novice. Its priced right and will stand up to any high dollar planer on the market today....

Shannon1 says "Not overly impressed" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 06:45:02 GMT

I just recieved this planer and have not ran any wood through it yet, however I did want to state some things that were obvious to me. The manual for the setup of the planer is lackluster at best. But a normal person can figure out what needs to be done to set it up. Biggest gripe so far is the cover that goes over the blade in the back of the machine. It was installed so tight to the lockdown handles support bar that once it was removed, it was impossible to reinstall without loosening that support bar and raising it up, and then lowering it when the cover is reinstalled. An even bigger issue is that the cover that I mentioned also serves as a hold down for the safety lever that locks the blade so that it will hold still while you change it. Well, this cover's fit and finish was not very accurate and would not hold the safety switch open which would allow the motor to spin freely. The result is when you turn on the planer nothing moves and the motor gets quite a strain on it from trying......

GreenwoodGuy says "Thoughtful features on quality benchtop planer" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 22:45:03 GMT

To provide some background, I used two other bench-top models just before purchasing the Craftsman 13" planer. I rented the DeWalt 13" planer to re-surface reclaimed cedar fence boards for a new fence. It was miserable. Both ends of the boards had snipe. The cutterhead kept dropping while cutting (the vibration rotated the side mounted handle easily). The boards were chipped up by the blades regardless of speed or depth of cut and it didn't feed well. To be fair, it could have been abused as a rental and maybe it takes some time to figure out how to use it, but at best it obviously had some issues as it ages. I exchanged it for a never used Makita 12" planer. It was much lighter and didn't have 2 speeds or three blades like the DeWalt but it cut smoothly and it was relatively quiet. It didn't feed boards well. I had to drag them through leaving small marks when the board stopped while I moved from the front, pushing the board, to the back, pulling the board. It also left shavings everywhere,......

Luvnplaner says "Works great!" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 07:01:37 GMT

I realy love it, in works good on evrything I've put through it. The dust collecter works better than the one I have in my shop. I'm completly satisfied!...

awp3855 says "Missing my DW735" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Tue, 15 May 2007 19:00:08 GMT

I have had my third Dewalt DW735 Breakdown. With the hassle of credit card returns I exchanged the broken Dewalt for this model. The single speed,two blade cutter head does require sanding. The snipe is better than expected and the locking cutter head is a plus. The included dust collection is an odd set up, I do not like. this unit works well with my current dust collection setup. The auto cutter head adjustment would be better if it worked with the unit being plugged in and not having to be turned on. The power cord and dust collection outlet being on the left and right makes it a challange to manuver around the machine as its running, they should be on the same side. I wish Sears would have exchanged the dewalt for there two speed, three blade cutter head model but was told that was catalog/internet only....

NoviceUser says "My First Planer Experience" about Craftsman Professional 13 in. Bench Top Planer

sears-feed — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:45:07 GMT

I bought this planer to assist me in the refinishing of the window and door moldings in my 1913 craftsman style home. Planing included mostly 1 inch or less Red Oak and Pine boards. Some as wide as 10 inches and 12 feet in length. The planer itself performed flawlessly. It easily removed many layers of paint and stain. All boards came out looking 'better' than new. I estimate that I have run through 300-400 board feet, and the cutter heads are still going strong. I did experience 'some' snipe, but this was due to my inexperience. After I familiarized myself with the controls, snipe was greatly minimized if not eliminated. This is a 'great' machine for the price. I can't imagine anyone being unsatisfied. One Complaint: The dust collection system. I wasn't able to connect it to my shop vac, so I opted for the bag/barrel combo. i.e. attaching a trash bag as indicated in the instructions, and putting that bag in the trash can. No matter what I do, short of duct taping the collection bag......