Im thrilled with the build quality of this capable machine. The essential bits that sandwich wood, like the machine head element and base of feed plate are strong, heavy and robust (metal). The plastic housing is very much a non-issue as far as strength and performance goes and helps keep the price down without sacrificing performance. Depth of Cut Accuracy– For this evaluation we wanted to look at how accurately the planers remove a specified depth. Each planer has a dial that when turned a specified amount will theoretically remove a given depth in a single pass. We compared how accurately each planer was able to remove a fixed depth based on the dial. It is a heavy machine and requires a substantial stand, I built mine to meet my personal requirements. It is not a machine suited for continuous commercial use but then is not sold as such. All in all exellent value for the price. During this test, we set each planer to its maximum depth of cut (as recommended by the manufacturer) – usually 3/32 inch. We ran four species of wood through the planers and recorded the time for the cut and the amperage profile for each cut. Each wood sample for each machine was 45” in length. This was the same length of the no-load speed test. Our team set up a FLUKE 3001 FC recording ammeter that measured values on a one second interval and sent the data via wireless link to our computer for later analysis.

Anticipate a delivery window of 2-3 business days, although the objective remains within 48 hours post-dispatch. So far the finished face of the timber has been flawless, I note that some revies say you have to waste the first and last couple of inches of timber timber due to "snipe" I have found that by adjusting the feed plate slightly, feeding the timber flat on the feed plate and on longer pieces have a support, ideally a Triton Multi Support Stand, the problem is eradicated. The no-load speed of 8,500 rpm and maximum planing depth of 2.8 mm per pass is impressive for a benchtop planer. It means you can get a lot of work done without needing to make too many passes. The 7.5 m per minute feed rate isn’t too bad either.

Sporting a 1,250 Watt motor that spins the blades up to 8,000 rpm, this Scheppach planer is more suited to small pieces of wood. With a maximum cutting width of just 204 mm and a height of 120 mm, it’s not the best in its class, but it’s enough for most DIYers. We applied blue chalk to the surface to highlight the milling marks, and scallops, for a visual inspection. We also evaluated the smoothness by simply feeling the surfaces. While very subjective, we ranked the planers based on the samples of Maple shown below.

We tested how much material would be ‘lost’ to snipe. We had already adjusted each planer’s tables to be flat, and level to the planer bed, prior to the snipe test. Ear defenders: The the roller housing the cutting blades within the machine takes a couple of seconds to spin up to speed, and when planing volumes of work, you do want to be wearing ear defenders, unless you are just putting one or two planks through per day. It is loud and will be heard by the neighbours too.

String for Triton TPT125 Planer

I'm giving 4 out 5 stars, just for the fact I had to return my old device and wait on a replacement. The replacement was at my house, in less than a week. This machine has a maximum cutting width of 150 mm, and to help you deal with odd-shaped pieces of wood or even plastics, there’s a detachable fence on the side of the table. This can be angled anywhere between 90° and 135°, depending on the job at hand. The twin blades can take off up to 2 mm per pass, so combined with the feed rate of 6.28 m per minute you can get a reasonable amount of work done in a short space of time. Adjustments are made with a series of hand wheels and cranks, and four rubber feet help to keep the vibrations down. Its very nice to be able to pull rough timber from a skip and have it transformed into perfect planking which looks both shop bought and also new, in just a few minutes with a couple of passes. The machine holds planks steady when they are fed in edge ways, too, so all sides of planking can be worked on all sides.

As you can see above, the DEWALT DW734 performed the best with an average deviation from 3/32″ of just under 2 one-thousandths of an inch. The DEWALT DW735X came in second with just over 4 one-thousandths of an inch followed by Ridgid R4331 at just over 5 one-thousandths of an inch. Last place was the Triton that averaged just over 3 hundredths of an inch deviation. Snipe Evaluation

You should also wear a dust mask, safety goggles and ear defenders when using your planer. Never wear loose clothing, such as ties, scarves or jewellery, when using the machine as these can get caught in the rollers.

Also, very long and unintentionally twisted planking will come out at the same angle it goes in at. The inner chamber is less than a foot long and the front and rear ends of planking, if twisted, won't self straighten. Only the centre foot or so is steadied and planed level. A twist in a plank may be by several degrees, but that twist may exist over several feet. You need a manual hand plane to eliminate that. Loaded up with a big 1,800 Watt motor, the blades spin to an impressive 12,000 rpm. This fast-moving planer can take off up to 3 mm of material per pass, and each blade is double-sided, so you get twice the life out of them. The integrated dust collection port is ideally placed too. The 31.5cm max width has a curved input around the entry edges. What this means is that if you insert a long plank slightly skew, the curved edges will slowly push the wood straight if the wood being planed is put in at an angle. Another nice touch, it self straightens your product. Planers can also tear out small chunks (scallops) from the surface. Between the milling marks and scallops the board could require more or less sanding to create a finished surface that will take paint, stain or clear finish well. I was looking to set up a micro woodworking shop as I have limited space and looked hard at what was available and came across Triton initially via Men in Sheds. I then looked at the story behind Triton and then where I could buy their product. I selected Yandles and it was a good decision. I am a more than capable DIYer as I spent my school and university holidays ladding for tradesmen.As you can see above the times required to change the blades on the planers varied from just over 11 minutes to just over 25 minutes. The reality is a user might change blades once or twice a year (twice would be heavy use) so the difference from 11 to 25 doesn’t seem enough to warrant why you might buy one over another model. Therefore we’re not going to rank this category, simply share the data so you can see that blade changes are not overly complicated. Here we are again trying to rank the tools in our Head-to-Head and give you a winner. The more of these we do, the more we learn, and in this evaluation we’ve taken a slightly different approach. Some of the categories that we set out to evaluate we decided not to include in the final ranking. However, we did provide information from that category as we feel it’s valuable to some readers. Pre-Test Inspection and Adjustment– We looked at how level the infeed and outfeed tables were, we adjusted them, and noted how easy or difficult the process was. The blades come sharp! They are easily removed (with magnets supplied) and turned around so the other side (also sharp!) can be used. I did have a lot of difficulty in removing and inspecting the blades as the retaining screws were so tight that the tool that is supposed to open them got damaged at the tip. Finally had to get the dealer to help loosen the screws with better equipment. I have reassembled the blades and now can remove them easily for sharpening or replacement. It is a great machine and well worth the money paid for it. It looks and feels solid and strong. Glad I got this unit.