Woodworking Planer Quality Options

Afternoon woodworking people. Total scrub here, but I’ve been buying basic stuff in bits in pieces. Currently looking at a bench planer so I can properly square off boards/laminated boards.

There’s a deal on amazon right now for a sub $300 bench planer. 12.5 inch max allowance. Is this going to be one of those things I regret going cheap on 6 weeks from now and should have just bought quality the first time? Or this is like a hammer is a hammer is a hammer?

I do a lot of simple, but fine, woodworking - I have a lot of very high end art (as in Picasso, Chagall, Dali) and was tired of spending $5-6K to get things framed/mounted. (Been meaning to post in the “meathead art” thread, but not sure framing counts as “art”.)

Anyway, I find frames patterns I like and boldly plagiarize them or I do things like buy decorative pressed molding and build it up/cut/modify.

If you have the room and the budget, I’d skip the bench planer and go for a heavy-duty one. They are just more stable and can do more.

If you have to get a bench planer, the differences are not so much in the finished product but the upkeep and maintenance of the planer itself. The cheaper ones make a mess in your shop. The nicer ones catch the dust, clean the blades, etc.

The Dewalt planer (about $600) is good for a bench planer.

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My neighbor has one of these and likes it. He did his kitchen floor in old reclaimed oak, and a couple of pieces in reclaimed wormy chestnut.

On frames: I think they’re artistic, but that’s just my own bias. I’ll try to scratch up some I’ve done for glass, but I know there are a few laying around on here too. :blush:

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