Is the WEN PL1326 spiral planer comparable to the Dewalt 735 w/ spiral head upgrade? Looking at buying my first planer and I understand the advantage of going with a helix head, but is the DeWalt in this case worth paying more than twice the price, $427 vs over $1K? I've read good reviews about this WEN planer as well as their customer support.

WEN PL1326 thickness planer...

 

 

Without answering your question, consider that the insert cutters on the Wen are HSS instead of the carbide you'll find on the Dewalt 735 Byrd head (I guess that's what you are comparing). Not only that, they only have 2 cutting edges compared to the Byrd's 4 cutting edges. I suppose it's possible to sharpen the Wen cutters when they dull but that could be a tedious task. The 735 is generally considered the gold standard (or maybe it's the mustard yellow standard, I forget ) of benchtop planers. That aside, you about about twice the cost is a valid one, and it may boil down to how much use the planer will see. If you are a moderately heavy user, I suspect the Dewalt is worth the extra cost. For a light user, maybe not so much.

I don’t own the Wen but I do own a Dewalt 735 with spiral head and it is worth every penny that I have in it.  Hopefully, someone will chime in that does have the Wen.

YES!  That's what everyone who I've ever heard give an opinion of the 735 and Byrd head combo has to say.  Absolutely no regrets...but dang it's a Grand.

 

If I'm gonna drop the dough it's gonna be on a carbide head so I'd say that particular WEN is out of the picture now.  I have seen another version of the 13" WEN sold with a 3 blade cutter head for just north of $300.  I wonder if anyone makes carbide cutter head upgrade for the WEN?  That's probably be the best bang for my buck as I don't really see me using the planer all that much in the beginning.

 

Also, I've had this Oliver planer suggested to me.  Any opinions on it?

 

https://olivermachinery.net/12-5in-planer

 

 

Edited May 21, 20214 yr by bradleyheathhays

I have a Dewalt 735 with the factory steel blades.  I've been thinking about upgrading it to the Byrd cutter head.  The cost of that project made me think twice.  

 

I think I'm going to upgrade to the Oliver that already has a Byrd cutter head installed for $769.   https://olivermachinery.net/12-5in-planer

 

If I buy the new machine, I could offset the cost by selling the Dewalt and end up with a new carbide planer with a digital readout for about the cost of the after market head from Byrd.  

 

.40

 

Yeah, when the upgrade approaches the price of the machine itself it'd make anyone think twice.

 

What about that Oliver planer vs. this Laguna PX 12 at $599 ?...

 

https://lagunatools.com/classic/planers/px12/